[singha]

Hello guys. As fun as this hobby has been, I have now spent about $800 in headphones and realized that I need to end this obsession. I am a med student and spend way too much time on these forums and can't really afford to play around with this hobby anymore cause I'll be $150,000 down in loans before I get my first check. I already have found a portable (HD25-1) and open headphone (HD650) that I can walk away from head-fi with perfectly content, and I am hoping you can help me do this with an IEM also. My target price range is $250-300.
 
I listen to absolutely all kinds of music but listen to more instrumental, indie, and vocals rather than trance or dance music. For my previous IEM experience, I liked my RE-0's more than my coppers and the TF10. I found that the copper's were warm but just didn't give me what I wanted in the mid and upper range. The TF10's sounded great but just didn't give my an analytical enough sound signature. I did read the top tier showdown by I2EHAN, but realized that he had a completely different sound signature preference than me since I tend to like brighter headphones. Comfort is also somewhat important since I usually use these headphones for long periods of time for studying. I will be amping it with an E11 or mini3. Please recommend an IEM. Thanis.
 
 

 

[KaliKot]

That leaves the SM3 and UM3x out of the equation since you don't like dark sounding sigs.
 
I would look at the CK10 and DBA02. SE530/535 might be good as well
 
One thing though, I heard that the E11 is dark sounding which might not be your thing

 

[singha]

My E11 is coming tomorrow so I'll see how that pairs. I was also thinking that the DBA02 and CK10 would be good for me. Hard to find an authorized reseller for the CK10.