[Stalwart]

Recently the left bud of my Klipsch S4 stopped working (after 1 year of use).
As a result I'm looking for an upgrade. How noticeable the upgrade is going to be -
it depends...
 
Yesterday, I had the chance to hear IE7, however for some reason I just don't feel
comfortable with them; although the soundstage is great there are many drawbacks
according to my liking.
 
(I mention IE7 due to the fact that they receive great reviews, and I'm able to get them
quite cheap.)
 
As of now I consider buying Monster Turbine, however I see great reviews of
Fischer Audio Eterna Rev. 2 and Fischer Audio SBA-01. Also, initially I was going to
get IE6, but since IE7 are not to my taste I doubt it.
 
What is most important to me:
 
- highs
 
- bass
 
- isolation
 
- durability
 
- comfort (I guess I can put weight here as well)
 
less important
 
- good soundstage is preferable as always
 
- sound leakage
 
Mostly listen to 90's, house, dance, yet appreciate classics, and older stuff.
 
 
I would appreciate any advice and/or recommendations.

 

[Ohungry]

From what I know, the SBA-01 are a lot less bassy than the other two in your list.
I own the eterna v2 and I think that the isolation and comfort are great.  They isolate so much that I cant hear people talking to me when i have music on unless they basically yell at me.  The durability on the Eternas are probably not the greatest.  Within the first day of me using them, a strain relief became loose and basically came out of its place.  I've also seen a few more cases of strain reliefs coming loose in the FS forum. =P As for weight, the Eternas a quite light.
 
=) seems like we have similar tastes in music.  For me, the Eternas have too much bass and not enough highs, so i had to use EQ.
 
Hope my comment helped =)
 
Might want to check out the SB too.

 

[Stalwart]

Ohungry, thank you for your reply.
 
I wasn't aware of the Eterna's durability issues.
However I assume that is the case for not a small number of different earbuds
i.e. in my case the S4's failed but I kinda expected that due to the flimsy cord.
 
Also, I read the same for Monster Turbine and IE6 as well.
 
It seems that I cannot find any decent earbuds below $200 that are to my liking
i.e. probably I would need to sacrifice some of the features... however it's a
little unexpected to me with regard to the price range i.e. I own Sony MDR-EX56LP
which I bought for $30 ($17 currently on amazon) years ago, and they are still rock
solid...
 
Anyways, I would appreciate any further recommendations.

 

[yearsofwisdom]

you should add HJE900 onto your list.... great bass and treble. superior build quality.

 

[Stalwart]

yearsofwisdom, thank you for the recommendation.
 
It looks like they are a good choice, however I read that they
don't provide good isolation. Can they take advantage of the
comply tips?
 
Also, some members here report sibilance issues, which I suppose
could be resolved again by using comply tips...
 
In addition they seem a but heavy...?

 

[yearsofwisdom]

I personally have not owned them yet since iam waitting for it to go down to 75 dollars but from my EXTENSIVE research the isolation is above average/average. and u are correct, the treble is harsh to some people but i hear the foam mod can easily fix that.

 

[rawrster]

The HJE900 are a bit heavy but over the ear is fine and isn't terribly heavy. Isolation is average but with more isolating tips isolation should be able to be used for portable use although I have no problems using it if I wanted to and my commute is pretty loud. I typically use my HJE900 in a cafe where sometimes it gets loud and it's not too bad. I didn't get sibilance for the most part but it was harsh on some tracks and a simple foam mod fixed that. I don't use comply tips but I suspect T500 I believe will work.

 

[Stalwart]

rawrster, appreciate your opinion,
 
it truly shed light on some of the issues. I'll probably go with them.
 
But before that I would like to hear some opinions about the MT Golds.
Do they justify their current price tag? ($200 on amazon) And how well
would they fit into my requirements mentioned in the first post?

 

[rawrster]

I don't have them both to compare with me but I did review the Golds a while ago. The Golds are also on the heavier side although they are easier to wear over the ear since they do not have that long connector like the HJE900 have due to their detachable cable. The HJE900 should be better built and should anything happen to the cable you can buy a Sleek Audio cable replacement but I had no issue with the Golds and they have a lifetime warranty. Isolation on the Golds is better since they are not vented while the HJE900 has 3 vents near the nozzle area. The Golds are a bass head earphone imo.
 
Whether they are worth their price tag is up to you. For someone who has the HJE900 and has auditioned the Golds for a couple weeks I would say that the Golds are not worth $100 over the HJE900. If I had to choose around $90 for the HJE900 or $200 for the Golds then the HJE900 would easily be my choice although your decision may be different and the Golds may be more pleasing to you in terms of sound.

 

[Stalwart]

Great comparison, thanks!
 
It confirms my thoughts that the turbines are better. However as you
mentioned, I have the feeling that the price tag is a bit off.
 
What about Westone 1, IE6, should I consider them as well?
 
Also, probably JVC HP-FX500 would be another option as well?
However it's "interesting" to see how their price tag resonates
between $40 and $160...

 

[Stalwart]

Can HJE900 be compared with IE6?
 
I'm about the get the HJE900, however it would be great if there
is someone who have listened to both in order to share his opinion.
Thanks.

 

[rawrster]

I never said the Golds are better. I'd probably pick the HJE900 over the Golds if given the choice if price was not a factor. Of course I don't have both to compare but I'd say they offer sound signatures while them both being very good. The IE6 never got popular since their release was not very good on Sennheiser's side. They released the IE6,7,8 all at similar times so the IE6 for passed by for the IE7 and IE8. They are going for pretty cheap however for a refurbished unit. Lastly FX500 is known to have lots of fakes around so I'd be careful from buying off ebay or some other sites. The same can be said for the Golds.

 

[Stalwart]

Thanks guys,
 
I went with HJE900.

 

[yearsofwisdom]

nice choice dude... did you get it from JR.com? im waiting for them to go back down to 75 but the waiting is killing me...