[Punky]

Hey folks,

I was hoping to pick up some new IEMs. My last pair of MC5s broke on me, but luckily, J&R gave me a refund. So I've got a $70 gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket. Here are my priorities, in order of importance.
 
- Sound quality. I realize that I'm somewhat limited at this price point, but I'm willing to go up as high as $150. I liked the Etymotic MC5s, disliked the V-Moda Vibes, and found the Klipsch S4s a bit too muddy and not good on the high end. For over the ear headphones, I love my Sony MDRV-7506 headphones, though the isolation is lame. I like bass to be present, but it must be controlled. High end clarity very is important to me.
 
- Isolation. I live in the NYC area, and I ride the subway a lot, so there's a lot of noise I'd like to block out. I also would love to get them before January 8th, as I have to fly to LA from NYC, and don't want to deal with the damn airplane noise.
 
- Fit. Neither my Klipsch S4s nor my Etyomtic MC5s were that comfortable, and I couldn't wear them for long periods of time (they started to hurt after about 4 hours). None of the tips felt right. I have somewhat smaller ears, between the medium and the small size tips for most IEMs.
 
- Durability. I'd really like this pair to last me.
 
- I'd like to be able to get them at the J&R store, as that's where my gift certificate is for.
 
 
Any advice would be welcome! Thanks!

 

[Inks]

Off the top of my head, Ety HF5s. 

 

[Punky]

Anyone else have any suggestions on this? I need these IEMs by this weekend (which is when I'm flying to LA) so any advice would be awesome.

 

[sc53]

If you didn't like the MC5 tips the Ety HF5's probably won't be comfortable either, but they come with a whole packet of other tips and I found a set that works perfectly for me. So I'd recommend the HF5's for sound, and I find them very comfortable.

 

[TAUS93]

you can try, Brainwavz m3, fishcer audio silver bullets

 

[olegausany]

Your problem is to find tips which will give you proper seal so i would go to B&H get Comply T-100 sample pack (has one pair of S,M,L) and Shure black olives in size small and medium and try them with  Klipsch S4. Small olives are working for me as well as Klipsch preinstalled medium ones. Without proper seal any IEM will sound to you not the way you want sound quality wise . I tried Sony EX500 but since no tips even Comply ones gave me right seal they didn't sound the way i want but when i got S4 instead they sound great for me right out of the box but Shure olives just made them more comfortable. I use the while waiting for my SE530 to be replaced under warranty since i started to hear almost no sound on left side.

 

[Punky]

Huh. I didn't know I could get comply tips at B&H. I'm glad there's somewhere in town I can get these. I picked up the HF5s. It's funny - they don't sound all that different from the MC5s to me. I may return the HF5s, get another pair of MC5s and save $50.