[Gage]

Hey everyone, I was just wondering what a good, relatively cheap IEM is for metal? Because of the way metal is suppose to sound, I would presume a harsh sounding IEM would be great, I like the harsh intense sound in my ears anyways, I don't like laid back sounding IEM's,
 
Now don't get me wrong, I love the Denon C710's I was advised to buy not to long ago, they sound amazing, but there sound is pretty laid back so it isn't something I like to listen to all the time, if I'm in the mood for Children of Bodom, laid back sound isn't really where I'm aiming at at that time. I want an "in your face" harsh sound, I'm not so much aiming for bass monsters but bass quantity never hurts a bit.
 
I know Skullcandy FMJ's have quite the intense harshness aspect to em, but I cannot for the life of me get a nice fit with them, and one ear always seals more then the other and they sound lop sided, even with the comply foam tips. My other skullcandies have all broken as they always do.
 
I don't want to spend much more then $30 cause I need to save up for University.

 

[mrdeadfolx]

$30 bucks? Yikes. Youre setting the bar pretty low. If you could scrape up another $30 you could probably find some UM1's or something, theyre great for metal.

 

[ljokerl]

Meelectronics M9. Plenty of bass and some harshness thrown in. Shouldn't cost more than $20.

 

[Wrist-Fi]

Not too long ago woot.com ran a sale on Maximo iMetal IM-490's.  It was some ridiculous price, like $17 shipped. That's over, and now they are $50-60 on Amazon.   But if you don't mind getting them through ebay, you shouldn't have a problem finding a brand new pair for $20-30 shipped.  While ebay can be tricky with fakes, it's a fairly common practice for resellers to pop up with woot goods after sales like this, so if you got them soon I think you'd most likely end up with the genuine article.
 
I missed the woot sale but hit ebay soon after for these.  I listen mainly to rock of all types -- progressive metal, post-rock, classic, etc -- and to be honest with you, I sort of hated these with my first listen.  I heard they had good bass, but it was just a bit too much for me.
 
Luckily there is something to burn-in, because after only about 20 hours, maybe it was less, they definitely sounded better.  Definitely good enough to recommend them.
 
At least I can recommend them for the low-end.  As far as harsh, I can't say they sound harsh to me, but head-fiers with better trained ears than mine have described them as having a bit of a high-end edge.  I definitely have been enjoying them for the music I listen to.  Overall I think it's a good sounding earphone, especially at it's available price point.
 
EDIT: 24.98 shipped (new), here: http://sn.im/imetals

 

[Gage]

K guys, I'm changing it up a bit, as $30 is a bit ridiculous.
 
SO, I am bumping up to <100 because I finally found myself a decent paying job.
 
anyways, I am looking for a balanced sound that is not bass heavy, that has an intense, in your face, kind of sound, I am not a fan of laid back sounding IEM's, even a harsh sound is not a bad thing. I'm looking for intense sounding mids and highs.
 
I like my Denon C710, but im not always in the mood for the booming bass, and would like a bit more of a mid-high sounding fast detailed IEM every once and a while.
 
suggestions?

 

[Vash-GR]

one and two
also, harsh sound usually refers to a harsh treble, which is a bad thing. I am guessing what you want is a mid forward sound. It would also help to state your player.

 

[Mochan]

PL11 maybe? Or JLabs J3.

 

[Gage]

hmm, not really harsh, but "intense" the kind of sound that keeps your heart pumping heavy and fast, a very sharp sound... hmm, I'm trying to think of a better way to explain it.
 
That said I seem to have an ear that likes poorer quality, I really like the sound of the Skullcandy Titans, thats the kind of harsh im thinking, in your face and intense that keeps you on your tip toes. That said they keep breaking... just living up to there skullcandy name I suppose...
 
My Denon's are classified a mid forward phone, and they tend not to have the in your face impact I am looking for occasionally. I am looking for extended treble to needs to go high for music such as slayer with his intense screams. I love my Denons but sometimes I need a bit of variety.
 
I have a 120GB Ipod Classic, seems to put out decent power.