[newphones]

I would love to get some IEM's for noise isolation but have been soured by a very disappointing pair of klipsch IEM's. Horrible sound quality. 
 
I may give IEM's another change with vsonic GR06's, which should provide good isolation and hopefully adequate sound quality. 
 
I have always wanted to try a pair of grado's, and I would like to start with igrado's and possibly mod them. 
 
Question 1: how do the vsonic's compare with igrados's for SQ?
 
Question 2: how do either of these 'phones compare with standard value bearers: koss portapro, koss ksc75 and now the apple earpods?
 
I don't mind a slightly darker sound signature as is the case with the portapros...

 

[Tsujigiri]

There are plenty of IEM's out there with excellent sound quality. But they do provide a very different experience than full-sized headphones do. At that price range, I'd prefer full-sized headphones. Grados work well for a lot of people, but I eventually found mine to be too fatiguing and uncomfortable for my tastes. Also, Grados are open. If you want some noise isolation, you could get a closed pair of headphones. They won't isolate as well as the best-fitting IEM's, but they'll certainly do a better job than open headphones. Some popular options within your price range would be the Koss DJ100's, JVC S400's and S500's, and Creative Aurvana Lives. I personally would not go with the CAL's because Creative's customer service is so bad (they won't even talk to you on the phone or by email if you're not within the warranty). Check around for reviews on those headphones and drop in to their appreciation threads, and one might jump out at you.

 

[newphones]

Quote:

There are plenty of IEM's out there with excellent sound quality. But they do provide a very different experience than full-sized headphones do. At that price range, I'd prefer full-sized headphones. Grados work well for a lot of people, but I eventually found mine to be too fatiguing and uncomfortable for my tastes. Also, Grados are open. If you want some noise isolation, you could get a closed pair of headphones. They won't isolate as well as the best-fitting IEM's, but they'll certainly do a better job than open headphones. Some popular options within your price range would be the Koss DJ100's, JVC S400's and S500's, and Creative Aurvana Lives. I personally would not go with the CAL's because Creative's customer service is so bad (they won't even talk to you on the phone or by email if you're not within the warranty). Check around for reviews on those headphones and drop in to their appreciation threads, and one might jump out at you.

Really appreciate the suggestions. Will def. investigate the CAL's. It seems as they aren't overly harsh like grado's. Too bad about cust. service though.