[Zariz]

I've been lurking this place for a while, it has been very informing/entertaining... but I think I could certainly use your experience
 
So I need IEMs for listening to FLACs/LAME MP3s w/ my old Cowon D2 in the subway
 
I'm pretty much an audio noob, I've only used some JVC Marshmallows until now
 
I'm also not a musician, so I don't really expect to have much of a 'refined ear'
 
I do like my music though, I listen to classical, hardcore, 90's rap and everything in between except for metal and 'droning dance electronica'
 
Anyway, what I like the most is a 'live music' sound
 
Also I don't want muddy/mumbled bass, it would be nice to be able to tell the notes apart
 
And finally, I like to be able to hear all/most details in the music (but they don't have to be the 'centerpiece' of the experience, I like 'mood' to be at the spotlight—am I making sense?)
 
And I'd like them to be fairly sturdy, because I'm pretty clumsy/heavy-handed
 
I'm willing to spend ~$120, but I'm really skeptical of the actual difference between that and say, a $70 product.
 
Anyway, I hope you guys have some good suggestions/experience to share.
 
Cheers!

 

[ExpiredLabel]

Hello there and welcome to the forums, Im fairly new myself but I've come across more than a few posts which might be able to help get you started and on your way to better overall SQ.

To start you might wanna look at these fellas. Starting with what I know and have seen this London gentleman (Don't know if he's actually from London nor a gentleman ) seems to be quite versed in a number of audio devices and has more than enough reviews to allow you to gain a better scope in what your looking for..
http://www.head-fi.org/t/478568/multi-iem-review-263-iems-compared-1964ears-1964-v3-added-11-04-12

Next there's Clieos who again is well versed and has his own comparisons
http://www.head-fi.org/t/450407/multiple-iem-shootout-v-3

Now going off of what I've seen there's a number of IEM's we can begin to recommend,
to start off with Philips SHE3580 which are really great for the price of 11$
But of course being your willing to throw some more cash to get more boom for your dollar I would personally recommend (being I actually have experience with these two) Either the MEE CC51 which are around 30 on sale and around 70-90 full price. Very nice good detail though not as much bass as I've come to enjoy from my recent replacement MH1C by sony. A recent release and around 30 (At the time being, trust me they just might go up again within a week, were originally 20$ two weeks ago) which offer REALLY solid sound, detail, stage and bass. Everyone who has them will tell you they easily compete with IEM's two to three times their price bracket.
Now if your looking for a REALLY good deal with solid detail, great highs and smooth bass I've heard the XBA-3's from sony are the next step up from the MH1C's. Usually around 280 they're on sale right now for around 100 at Future Shop of Canada. If you live outside of canada you'll need someone to help you with shipping but otherwise they're a steal for the current sale price.
Now in the interim stalk this part of the forums as all the deals are posted here and you just might come across something that strikes your fancy http://www.head-fi.org/t/518656/the-iem-portable-headphones-deal-alerts-thread-no-affiliate-links-permitted/6120

Good luck with your wallet and welcome to hell, you'll never get enough if you stick around here

 

[Zariz]

Thanks for your answer
 
I'm intrigued by how you found the Sony's bass preferable
 
Maybe it's because I'm used to what seem to be bassy earphones, I can only imagine the CC51 as sounding 'distant', or 'incomplete', hehe
 
I fear ending up with anemic sound, though I don't know if less bass can feel so 'extreme'

 

[H20Fidelity]

T-Peos H-100 Hybrid. direct from Shinwoo for $120.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/630235/t-peos-h-100-hybrid-iem-appreciation-thread

Here's how to order.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/630235/t-peos-h-100-hybrid-iem-appreciation-thread/450#post_8854132

 

[Zariz]

Thank you for the suggestion
 
I'm currently reading the thread, seems interesting/promising

 

[jeffsf]

Just a warning, it is a slippery slope. The better headphones you get and you start hearing problems in your compressed music. Then you start using lossless for everything and start hearing flaws in your headphones. You buy better headphones and you realize that it is your electronics that are now the limitation...
 
The problem is that, very roughly, you generally need to double price between the clearly discernible steps in quality. Going from $25 to $50 headphones, not so bad. Pretty quickly though you are up in the hundreds somewhere. Is there a difference? Yes, most definitely. Is it worth it to you? That is a question you need to decide for yourself.

 

[Zariz]

Thanks for the warning
 
I hope I can find myself satisfied before I end up with an empty wallet!

 

[ExpiredLabel]

keep in mind CC51's were my first serious purchase, just getting into this whole audiophilia swing of things I took serious considerations getting those value and performance per dollar while searching over those deal forum and websites night and day it wasn't until I read Jokers review on the CC51 and saw what attention to detail and clarity they provided that I decided to jump on them (that and the fact I had just managed to come across them at 23$). When getting and using them with the extensive collection of music I have (Circa Survive, The Album Leaf, Jay Electronica, Sharks Keep Swimming, Nostalgia 77, The Sound of Animals Fighting, Lemongrass and This Will Destroy You to name a few) it was able to be quite versatile though lacked any significant bass that made me believe I was listening to a live recording. It wasn't until I got the MH1C's that it changed, and later that I reached out to another cat on the forums by the name of JOE BLOGGS that I started seeing if I could get more from my earphones, specifically through EQ. Now most people I imagine on these forums (correct me if Im wrong) are 9/10 going to be using flat EQ settings looking for a faithful reproduction of the music, providing all the clarity and detail from High Quality sources. There's nothing wrong with that, I use FLAC sources as well coming from my laptop (nothing high end in the least) but after toning the bass down a bit and tweeking a few other settings on the eq I was able to open up the MH1C quite a bit, getting just the right amount of BOOM from my bass as well as crystal clarity from female vocals. A good example of music that has all the prerequisites for a test is Nostalgia 77's Quiet Dawn. There's a Really good bass line all throughout sprinkled with light piano throughout and accompanied with talented female vocals. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr7zh3mlLTM&feature=player_detailpage

Listening to this song in HQ with the sonys simple is head over heals better than my CC51. In fact I pretty much find them perfect for all types of music, be it unlpugged acoustic, to rock, to rap, to IDM, ambient, what have you, it caters to all 31 flavors if you catch my drift. The only few things I would say is that at times your gonna have to bring the bass down a bit on eq, or up depending on the source of music, and your gonna have to start liking the idea of a flat J-cord. Now I have no problems with the cord itself and rather like the ergonomics of it, especially when worn right. I personally wear them around the neck, both buds hanging equally on both sides of my neck with the clip on the RIGHT cord nearest ones collar. Which provides really good support for the whole of the earphones which I didn't normally find with the clip on closest to the the division of the right and left cords.

Hope this as been helpful, good luck in your quest for good sound, and never stop asking questions

 

 

[Swimsonny]

Sony MH1 is not a bad start and really cheap. H-100 i will not recommend, cant do multi genre and vocals are awful.
 
Check this out:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/607311/my-iem-round-up-60-earphones-compared-with-a-lot-more-coming

 

[redquilang]

i think yo should try the xb90ex since they have some of the best bass ive heard from an earphone yet they have a surprisingly spacious sound that makes it easy to hear different details in the music. i just got mine and i was surprised about how well they do detail. i honestly just got them as a bass can for running, but they do so much more than that. and they are relatively cheap too! which is even more surprising.

 

[kmhaynes]

In your price range, for excellent clarity and details, for accurate but not bloated bass, for extreme sound isolation for the noisy subway, and for excellent durability: you can't do any better than Etymotic HF5.  You Cowon D2 will have the power to drive it and the EQ to beef up the HF5 low end nicely.

 

[nihontoman]

Quote:

i think yo should try the xb90ex since they have some of the best bass ive heard from an earphone yet they have a surprisingly spacious sound that makes it easy to hear different details in the music. i just got mine and i was surprised about how well they do detail. i honestly just got them as a bass can for running, but they do so much more than that. and they are relatively cheap too! which is even more surprising.

+1. Only thing is, I already knew that they were really good all around from the impressions of Dsnuts and Dannybai... 
 
The op mentions that he doesn't want bass light as he is afraid of not liking the sound, and that is totally understandable. For that the sony xb90ex are a safe bet - they are spacious, grand sounding I'd say, with lot of subbass if needed and detail and clarity to enjoy any genre. they are really good with classical and jazz and acoustic music in general. vocals, both male and female are well reproduced. depending on the recording, they can be really intimate or wide.
 
from what I gather, the mhc1 seems to be a bit "lesser" version of the xb90ex, so that one for about 20-30$ should also be really good...

 

[Techno Kid]

The R-50 is a great IEM for $120 and sounds better than any $70 IEM I've heard, the R-50 competes with $300 IEM's so its a really good IEM.  The MH1C is also a great IEM for $25 and can compete with other $100 IEM's I've heard like the Mee A161p but the R-50 sounds better so that's my recommendation.

 

[Zariz]

Thank you for your responses, they have been really helpful/informative
 
I'm still not sold on the R-50... I think I'll start with one of the interesting cheaper options that were recommended, and see where it goes from there
 
nihontoman was right in pointing out that I'm scared of absent bass atm; that's part of the reason why I'm taking the budget route from now... maybe I'll get different pairs and try different sound signatures
 
Also, for the note, I'm not averse to EQing, that's why I think I'd like a more 'resolving' earphone from a 'technical' standpoint, ideally not forgetting positioning/soundstage and all that sorcery

 

[Techno Kid]

Going with a cheaper option is smart to start with and if I were you it would be the MH1C all day over anything else you might be thinking of getting.