[dany74q]

Hi there all ,
 
I`m new at the forum , heard great words about this place and would like to try it out.
 
Firstly, let me point out that my budget is low, about 200$ for IE headphone with a mobile amplifier.
 
Secondly, the earphones that will be bought following by the recommendations here will be connected to a mobile phone , the Nexus one to be accurate , so there is no demand for high end products .
 
My goal is to get the bet value-sound quality products with the best devision of the budget between the two products - amp and earphones.
 
The ear phones will be bought on E-bay probably , or any other mentioned store that will ship internationally.
 
I thought about head direct RE0/1/2 + Fiio E5/7 amp ,seems like I can do better with the budget though.
 
Any recommendations will be appreciated.
 
Thanks,
Danny.

 

[AmanGeorge]

Hi Danny - welcome to Head-Fi, and sorry about your wallet....
 
I'd spend your entire budget on the earphones. Some benefit slightly from amplification, but really only slightly. You'll get better sound from a great $200 headphone than from a good $100 headphone plus a good $100 amp.
 
What sort of music do you listen to? Do you listen to compressed files?

 

[dany74q]

My music flavor starts at classic rock and goes to heavy metal (queen-deep purple-dire straights->system of a down-korn)
The audio files are compressed-lossless  (FLAC format) .
 
For a side note - the mobile phone gives low sound with the stock ear-phones (lower sound with my HD-485), I think that the phone would`nt handle ear-phones with larger amount of Ohm , would it ?

 

[rawrster]

I'd ditch the portable amp and use the entire budget you have on a pair of earphones. At $200 you should be spending it on an earphone and not on a $100 earphone and a $100 portable amp.
 
What do you want out of your earphones? What I mean by that is do you want strong impactful bass, clear highs, balanced, neutral, etc.
 
I have no idea if that phone you have is good or not in terms of source but that sound you are hearing may be hiss. If the headphone (in your case HD485) is plugged in but music is off and you are hearing a constant buzz like noise that is hiss. I won't claim to have the technical knowledge to tell you why that happens but I believe it has something to do with that your source lacks the power for the phones you have connected to them but that could be way off. Also the majority of the earphones have 16-32 ohm but there are exceptions of course such as an ER4S.

 

[dany74q]

As for sound quality my choices will be - clear highs , good bass , I would guess that is the "standard" for rock music .
With my HD-485 I hear clear sound , but in my case the volume is too low - at least for a daily use , no buzz whatsoever .
 
What earphones would you suggest for the price range ?
 
Thanks again .

 

[koonhua90]

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/476315/top-tier-universal-iem-comparison-chart-frequency-response-charts-discussion-first-post-updated-often
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478568/multi-iem-review-63-iems-compared-yuin-ok1-added-05-03
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/450407/multiple-iem-shootout-v-3
 
Spend all the $200 on the earphone. If you can get Monster Copper/Gold/Miles Davis for $200, it would be pretty good. So far lowest I have seen is $250. Quote $250 at onecall.com.

 

[pinkmoon1972]

Quote:

My music flavor starts at classic rock and goes to heavy metal (queen-deep purple-dire straights->system of a down-korn)
The audio files are compressed-lossless  (FLAC format) .
 
For a side note - the mobile phone gives low sound with the stock ear-phones (lower sound with my HD-485), I think that the phone would`nt handle ear-phones with larger amount of Ohm , would it ?

Panasonic HJE900's are great for that sort of music, much more impact than the RE0's and just as much detail, some of the reviews say they are on par with monster copper's and much cheaper too.

 

[dizzyraider]

You should be able to get a hold of UE Triple.Fi 10vi for around/just under 200. It is one of the top rated iem (Triple BA) and it also comes with a mic to work beautifully with your phone

 

[dany74q]

Thank you all ,
 
my four top choices are :
TF10 Vi
sleek audio SA6
hifiman RE0
fischer audio Eterna
 
When the RE0 and the Eterna seem like a good choice , they are cheap and got fantastic reviews , 
in the other hand - the TF10 vi and SA6 could be a class or two over the RE0/eterna , cost twice as much .
The question is if I will hear a decent difference with a mobile phone as an output source between the mentioned earphones, or at least big enough that will overcome the price differences.
 
What would you recommend ?

 

[dany74q]

My indecision still exists , any sort of help would be great .

 

[mark2410]

do you have any idea what sort of sound you want?
 
 
otherwise id say IE7

 

[dany74q]

As I mentioned before - I`ll be hearing every genre between classic rock - > heavy metal , I can`t really say what kind of sound would I like , because I really can`t tell .
I will chose the ear-phones that will output the best sound with the genres above .

 

[AVU]

Hey Danny.  Lots of choices - I'd agree with those above who suggest not getting an amp.  They help - but really only a little compared to the headphone itself.  If you're comfortable buying used, that's always the best deal.  Look for a $300+ IEM on sale for $200 or less and buy that.  I've seen Westone 3s, Senn IE8s, and the Monster ones for about $200, as well as the UE10.  Those will all sound great without an amp out of your phone.  There's no real reason to use an amp with your setup, because the phone is probably the limiting factor.  But even with low-res files and a bad dac, you'll still get a good sound with good headphones.  And yes, you'll hear a difference between $100 and $200+ IEMs, even through the phone.  Also check sales.