[marina]

I mostly use my headphones to listen to audiobooks rather than music, so sound quality isn't very important. What I need is some good isolation to cut off all the outside noise I used to have Etymotic hf5, which were absolutely awesome in terms of isolation, but cable disintegrated in less than a year.  I generally tend to kill my headphones very quickly, thus looking for something not very expensive or something very durable. Any ideas what to get?
Thanks!

 

[gsevilla]

Might be more than you want to spend but the following is what I found to be the best iem for audiobook, radio, podcast, etc. It took me a few years of trying various "cheap" earbuds for non-music listening but I settled on these. I have both the single and double ended ones. The seal is perfect, they're almost indestructible, and I can lay my head on my pillow and hardly feel them. No affiliation to seller. Just a satisfied customer.

S-plug IEM

S-plug IEM

 

[marina]

Those look very interesting! A bit expensive, but its a good option Any other suggestions?

 

[zombywoof]

  Those look very interesting! A bit expensive, but its a good option Any other suggestions?

For about $100, you might try the Shure SE215...great isolation and good sound for the price should you ever decide to put some tunes through them.  Very comfortable as well.

 

[JoeDoe]

 
For about $100, you might try the Shure SE215...great isolation and good sound for the price should you ever decide to put some tunes through them.  Very comfortable as well.

+1 for the SE215. Good isolation and replaceable cables. The MEElectronics A151 is another option. Good isolator with an excellent braided cable.