[RavynX]

 
I've been using the Skullcandy Aysm's (above image) for the past year or two at work (I'm a web developer) and I love them.  I think they have a nice balanced sound and aren't too tinny in the highs or boomy in the lows.  They fit in my ear perfectly with the mid-sized ear piece and I like how they wrap over my ear; I don't feel they're there after listening and coding for a while.  Unfortunately the plastic sheath over the wire has cracked where it touches the top of my ear.  This is the second pair that it has happened on.  I think it's from contacting the oil on my skin because the rest of the plastic sheath is fine; it only cracked where it touches the top of my ear.  Skullycandy doesn't make these any more and I would prefer not to keep buying them and replacing them after a year's use; these remain on my office desk and don't go anywhere else.  I have tried the Skullcandy Ink'd and Titan models and hated both of them.  Poor sound quality and/or they fell right out of my ear.
 
I've been reading reviews here and on other sites and some headphones I'm looking in to in no particular order:
 
- Klipsch S4
- Beyerdynamic DTX 80 or 100
- Shure SE215
- Looking for other options...
 
I would prefer to keep the price range in the sub-100 region.  I'm not looking for super fancy $100+ sets since I use these at work and they're only used to keep me from be distracted by others in the room but I do prefer decent sound quality though for the price range.
 
Any recommendations on my current list or others I haven't mentioned?  I'll keep sifting through reviews in the mean time.

 

[jleewach]

Going from the skullies, you'd probably see a huge increase in sound and build quality with the new SE215's. Shure is in a COMPLETELY different league when it comes to build quality. 
 
I'm not going to completely trash skullcandy, since their lower priced iems really arent horrible (aside from the looks) but their build quality is utter crap. Every single sc iem-headphone I've owned has broken. 
 
(actually, the Asym is one of the few SCs I can tolerate, appearance-wise. I like that they did an over the ear model.) 

 

[RavynX]

Quote:

Going from the skullies, you'd probably see a huge increase in sound and build quality with the new SE215's. Shure is in a COMPLETELY different league when it comes to build quality. 
 
I'm not going to completely trash skullcandy, since their lower priced iems really arent horrible (aside from the looks) but their build quality is utter crap. Every single sc iem-headphone I've owned has broken. 
 
(actually, the Asym is one of the few SCs I can tolerate, appearance-wise. I like that they did an over the ear model.) 

If it wasn't for the wire sheath cracking I would keep these since I think they sound great for my current application; nothing else have broken on them either.  Like you said, the skullcandies are great... for their price.  It'l be interesting to hear the sound quality difference going to either of my next choices.  I'm definitely liking how the Shure 215's are over-the-ear design AND the cables are replaceable!  

 

[jleewach]

Quote:

Like you said, the skullcandies are great... for their price. 

Uh, I didn't say they are great. 

 
I hear what you're saying though. 

 

[RavynX]

lol, glad you know what I meant.  

 

[50an6xy06r6n]

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478568/multi-iem-review-154-iems-compared-monster-jamz-padacs-aksent-added-03-21
Have you checked here?

 

[RavynX]

Thanks guys.  I decided to try the Shure SE215's and got them in the mail this past Wednesday.  From reading threads on here about the dynamic drivers I'm supposed to give them roughly 30-50 hours of listening time before judging them.  Out of the box they sound fairly close to my Skullcandy Asym's but seal outside noise a bit better with the memory foam plugs compared to the molded soft plastic of the Asyms.  Sound is a bit polarized with highs and lows standing out and the mids are still a little low in the background.  I'll give them some more time but I'm loving how they fit just like my Asyms with the chord wrapping behind the ears.