[SolidSnake3]

Well as the title says I'm looking to upgrade from my Senn CX300. I have used these for quite a while now and although I still enjoy them I have a bit of money that I can spend as well as a new headphone amp. I want a new pair of IEM's but I'm not really sure what to go with as I'm a bit new to the IEM market.

My ideal pair would have:
Great Isolation
Good for all types of music
Work well/benefit from my amp *PA2V2 Amp*
Lowish cost $50-80 or so

From my bit of looking around and reading forums the Etymotic er6i seem to fit my ideal description but I'm not too sure. Does anyone have any other ideas or suggestions, or could testify to the quality/ability of the Etymotic to fit my goals?

Thanks a lot everyone!

 

[yipcanjo]

To be honest, most *any* IEM is going to be an upgrade from the CX300s. I owned them as well --- for years, in fact --- and have since realized how "muddy" they can be.

Anyhow, I would check out Joker's IEM thread. Find the "price point" you like and read the insights he has. VERY, very helpful.

For your purposes, I would consider the.... SoundMagic PL-50, Cyclone PR1 Pro, Head-Direct RE0, or Maximo iM-590.

Hope that's helpful!

 

[rawrster]

coming from the cx300 the ER6i will appear to have zero bass. It really depends on what you are looking for. However that link to joker's iem thread is a good starting point in looking for what you want.

 

[Mphile]

Might have a look at the klipsch S2/X1

 

[litigator]

the Cyclone Pr2 should be considered also. Same amount of bass if not more, and much cleaner sounding too.

 

[Pott]

I'm actually a fan of the CX500s. Now I've never heard the CX300s so I don't know exactly how much of an upgrade the 500s would be. But they're clear enough, even compared to the Klipsch S4s, and have a lot of bass (which is what bothered me at first, but I can't make the S4s seal correctly so I went back to the 500s).
Isolation and fit is great and they're very comfortable.
I got mine for about 35GBP on sale. Totally worth it.

 

[kunalraiker]

I did to RE0's mate, couldn't find anything better

 

[SolidSnake3]

Well from reading through the IEM guide the RE0's look to be pretty good. Could be worth a shot, to those that have them, how is the isolation on them? That is one of the big factors for me and a major reason as to why I was originally considering the Etymotic er6i. Also, will my amp PA2V2 help with the bass on the Etymotic er6i if I went with those? I'm not a bass head by any means but I would like a little something.

 

[rawrster]

The isolation is good but it really cannot be compared to the ER6i. However very few iem's can compare to that kind of isolation. I used RE0 with decored olives, sony hybrids as well as the stock tips. They were all adequate with the decored olive providing the most isolation.

I would imagine your amp should help with ER6i or the RE0. Do note that the RE0 does require some power to sound its best but by no means does it sound horrible out of a mp3 player or whatever it is that you use.

You may not be a basshead but coming from the CX300 it will be quite a shock. They have a ridiculous amount of bass (not in a good way). However I did go from CX300 to the ER6i a couple years ago and never looked back

 

[semisight]

You may also want to look at the me-electronics M11 for a little more isolation; RE0 has average isolation unless you're using foam tips (then it's pretty good).

 

[SactoMan101]

If you like decent bass, go with the Klipsch Image S4--but replace the original ear tips with either the Comply T-100/Tx-100 eartips (medium size) or the medium-sized "olive" ear tips used by Shure for their SE-series IEMs.

I have the Klipsch Image S4i with the Comply Tx-100 eartips and the bass quality and noise isolation are nothing short of superb.

 

[SolidSnake3]

Ah ok so the er6i is sort of top dog for isolation? I'm leaning now more than ever toward the er6i due to the combo of isolation and what seems to be pretty good sound. The only thing that seems to be holding me back a bit is that I am concerned with possible fit issues. On my CX300 I use the smallest of the 3 sizes of included black eartips and those fit great however I have never tried the style that the er6i use. Anyone care to share experiences on the fit of those?

Thanks again everyone for being so helpful!

 

[Dreamnine]

If you can find them, I recommend the Sony EX500LPs - good bass but not so overwhelming as cx300s and nice mids and treble. A very warm sounding iem but good value also.

They're what I upgraded to from cx300; I now have ie8s but still like my Sonys. I can't say they're better than what others suggest, just my 2c.

 

[yipcanjo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SolidSnake3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ah ok so the er6i is sort of top dog for isolation? I'm leaning now more than ever toward the er6i due to the combo of isolation and what seems to be pretty good sound. The only thing that seems to be holding me back a bit is that I am concerned with possible fit issues. On my CX300 I use the smallest of the 3 sizes of included black eartips and those fit great however I have never tried the style that the er6i use. Anyone care to share experiences on the fit of those? Thanks again everyone for being so helpful!

I have small-ish ear canals as well, but the included Ety tips work just fine. I don't think you'll have any problems. Take note, though, that IEMs like these really go into the ear canal, unlike the CX300s. Something to think about.

Bumping up a bit in cost, you might also consider the Ety HF5s. Generally considered to be better than the ER6i in most every way. Also great with isolation, clarity, and fit.

 

[SolidSnake3]

Good to know about the really going into the ear canal thing and the fit. I don't think the going into the ear canal deeply will be too much of an issue for me as I have never had issues with q-tips or anything else I can think of. Granted this is a different situation but I think if I had some great aversion to something in my ear I would probably have had something happen where I would know.

The Ety HF5's look great although I really can't afford them. The er6i seem to cost around $80 new and that is already a bit more than I really should be spending. Unless I see a great used deal or something I think the price is just too high on the HF5 leaving the er6i as the winner.