[CareyPrice31]

My music consists of Dance, Club, House, Pop, Rap and others.
 
I like strong-tight quick bass but nothing too much.
 
I'm looking at the following:
Westone 4
Shure SE535
SM3
DBA-02 (Possible, much under my budget).
 
What do you guys think? Recommend?
 

 

[albertnam]

At this price point, have you considered offerings from 1964Ears or the JH5 Pro?

 

[CareyPrice31]

Right now, I'm interested in universals.
Quote:

At this price point, have you considered offerings from 1964Ears or the JH5 Pro?

 

[aamefford]

From your music tastes, the Westone 3 sounds a nice option, more so than the DBA-02.  I owned the Westone 3, sold it for too much of a smiley faced EQ curve, but they had great bass.  The DBA-02's (which I currently own and really like) have great detail and presence, nice speed, detailed bass, but less quantity than the W3's.  The mids are nice and lush, and for the most part accurate, but just a touch too far forward to be perfect for me.  I think I am in the minority on that part, though.  I had the Shure SE530 a couple of years ago - I really liked them at the time, but I just don't have a decent memory of the sound signature any more.  No comments on the rest, I haven't heard them, or anything close.

 

[yello131]

Radius DDM my favorite IEM for dance music.
SM3 is also very nice as well but cost double the cost of DDM.
Also new Radius W21 model is coming up in about 2 weeks, perhaps worth to wait and see..

 

[mywallethurts]

hifiman re 262
nothing beats it if you can find one for $160 or below

 

[dweaver]

jump on that westone 4 while it's on sale with an additional 5% preorder discount.

 

[Bennyboy71]

what this very wise person said.
 
Quote:

hifiman re 262
nothing beats it if you can find one for $160 or below

 

[CareyPrice31]

The only thing that worries me about the W4's is a possible UM4X or removable cable upgrade.

 

[ZARIM]

Sennheiser IE8 has bass knob to increase it to maximum and it's very punchy.

 

[mywallethurts]

Quote:

what this very wise person said.
 
Quote:

hifiman re 262
nothing beats it if you can find one for $160 or below

 

yep its the best in that price range. could even compete with the big boys @ $300 range

 

[Phoenyx1]

I was actually in the same situation as yourself and I went with the SM3s.  After hours and hours, if not days upon days of research I found the SM3 to be my best bet.  Now to look for a amp/DAC for it...

 

[dweaver]

I still own and listen to my SM3 and like their mid-range but find they do not have enough extension in the treble and it is a bit recessed, I also find the bass is a bit to polite for my liking but this may be a trait of BA based IEM's which is why I recommended the Westone 4 as it has the extra driver for bass which will hopefully help over come that. On the other hand the SM3 (and any BA based IEM I have heard) have tremendous detail and a the SM3 in particular has a very unique sound stage which you will either love or find awkward. My current love is the D7000 and I am really wanting to find an IEM that approximates the sound of that particular full-size headphone. I have ordered Denon's mid-tier IEM AH-C560R but would not think it would be in the range your looking for quality wise, if I find it very nice though I will mention my findings, as Denon does have the AH-C710 also available as well which is supposed to be their flagship IEM.