[Rockadile]

What's the most comfortable IEM under $30? There wasn't a 5/5 comfort for one in the price range.
I've only used Skullcandy inkd and didn't find them comfortable after 30mins.

 

[Maxvla]

I found the MEElectronics M9 to be very comfortable. Are you sure you are inserting them correctly? Grab the top of your ear and pull up slightly and drop the IEM then release the top of your ear to create the seal. This helped me get a great fit and better seal at the same time. If this isn't comfortable, try either a smaller deeper single flange, or on the opposite side try a shallower biflange or find a happy medium with foamies.

I've worn the M9s for as long as 6 hours without anything but general contact irritation (6 hours is a loooong time to have something in your ear constantly) after I took them out.

 

[ljokerl]

 
Quote:

What's the most comfortable IEM under $30? There wasn't a 5/5 comfort for one in the price range.
I've only used Skullcandy inkd and didn't find them comfortable after 30mins.

Comfort is a highly subjective thing that depends not only on ear geometry but other factors such as correct insertion technique and choice of eartip size. If you're sure it's the earphone I'd say try the Soundmagic PL30 or JVC Air Cushions. PL30s need to be worn over-the-ear but on the whole both sets are ergonomically 'correct' for most ears.

 

[Rockadile]

Looking between the M9 and Air Cushions. Personally like straight down cable.
I use foam ear plugs for lawn work and find them more comfortable than the standard single flange. Are the foam tips on the Air Cushion anything like the ear plugs?
Oh and how short is the Air Cushion cable exactly?

 

[Maxvla]

Foam earplugs have an advantage as they are solid throughout. They don't have to worry about attaching to a shaft with a tuned channel. When you have a solid squishable material it can spread pressure out far better than a tip of an IEM.

That said, it should be possible to find something that works just right after enough trial and error.

 

[ljokerl]

 
Quote:

Looking between the M9 and Air Cushions. Personally like straight down cable.
I use foam ear plugs for lawn work and find them more comfortable than the standard single flange. Are the foam tips on the Air Cushion anything like the ear plugs?
Oh and how short is the Air Cushion cable exactly?

M9 fit is very similar to the Ink'd buds which is why it's strange that Ink'd buds get uncomfortable so quickly for you.
 
Air Cushion foam tips are made of thicker/harder foam than conventional earplugs. Cable on the new ones (FX67) is okay - just under 4ft I think. Older ones (FX66) had shorter cords.

 

[Anaxilus]

For comfort <$30 I'd go for the Klipsch S2 just because I love the oval gels. 

 

[divinenow]

Great thread ljokerl! Unfortunately, I'm left considering way too many earphones and despite the buy-all influence of head-fi, I really only have time and money for one. I was wondering if I could receive some further advice with which IEM to get. I currently own the Nuforce NE-6, which I enjoy although I'm not overly impressed with, and the Shure SRH 750DJ which I really enjoy too but they seem to be missing a bit of something... Although, I mainly listen to music off of my computer or my walkman MP3 player so the source isn't exactly the highest quality.  I've also had the Etymotic ER-4P before but wasn't too huge a fan - while I liked picking out the instrumental parts it seemed like it was lacking in fullness and a bit piercing when it came to the treble. What I'm looking for is a solid, fun IEM that has that wow factor. Bass is definitely important to me as I love listening to heavy electronic music, although clear vocals and high-end detail are also very important (I listen to a fair share of blues, rock, classical, and all kinds of genres). So far I have it down to this:
 
 
$30 - $60 range:
-RadioPaq Jazz
-ViSang R02
-Xears TD100
 
$60-100 range:
-ViSang R03
-Thinksound TS02
-Fischer Audio Eterna
-Fischer Audio Silver Bullet
-Hippo VB
 
I'd consider going a bit above the $100 range if the IEM is good enough (I had previously been looking into Monster Turbines), but it doesn't really seem too necessary especially given that it's mainly for MP3 player use.
 
Any advice is really appreciated!
 
Thanks.

 

[kiteki]

First, sorry for ranting a bit about the new Sony IEM's, I have good experiences with sony sound so it's exciting (for me) that they have three new IEM's that haven't been documented yet, but in a thread covering all kinds of IEM's I haven't heard, I'm sure Sony aren't the most technically proficient out there, their sound is coloured, as am I in that respect.
 
Second, @DaEmOnTEnTAcles, I recall some of your posts and advice to me in regards to speed in IEM's and sa5k and reading your comparisons with DBA-02 and CK10, you led me (along with joker and countless others) to the ck10's which I now use, so thanks for sharing your experiences there.  I have to admit I don't think the ck10's are the fastest 'phones on earth as per my definition of speed, I think they are very good at imaging and have very high detail retrieval, also a flat FR +they show everything in the frequency spectrum, these merits combined give the impression of very fast speed but in reality I think the mids are not so fast, they are smooth and the smoothness covers up the friction of a violin string or the rawness of an electric guitar, I feel the notes in the mids are something like hundreds of fish in a river. I didn't have this feeling with my SA5k, which I found the faster phone in all respects, though the ck10 wins in detail retrieval insofar as it can rather effortlessly display every niche of sound on all frequency bands with none taking precedence over the other.
 
Like you, a few days ago I was considering a replacement for my ck10's in the RE252 or perhaps RE262 which looked like good candidates, aside from all the above praise I find the ck10's don't sound natural enough and I don't get immersed in the music, long story short I think it's better to compliment them rather than replace them, find something that shines where you think they err, I got lucky and did so right away and now I'm using two IEM's and I'm pretty satisfied, the difference in some tracks is laughable, I don't think I'd be having such quality listening time with the RE252 alone.
 
@rawrster, while I like the 10kHz emphasis, I have to agree with you, cymbals sound like a kitchen sink on the ck10's.

 

[mootookang]

Quote:

Yep, the TF10 is one of my oldest high-end IEMs - I just haven't gotten around to reviewing it (and post all of my other UE reviews). I definitely liked the fit of the SF5Pro better when I had them but in terms of sound it's no contest IMO. 
 

 
The fit of TF10 and SF5 pro really isn't that different for me, I guess it's because I have fairly large ear canals.
 
When compare the two sound signature, I find the SF5 pro to be louder and brighter, but there are a lot of roll off high notes when compared. The mids also feels a bit recessed, even after EQ the mids sound unnatural and grainy. As of right now (with limited burn in), the TF10's sound signature feels fairly dark, and the bass feels a bit light when compared to other headphones that I own. To describe graphically, I think the SF5 pro has a more U signature that focuses heavily on the two ends, and TF10 has a more v shaped sound signature, the mids are more presented and there are less roll offs, but the headphones feel more dull in comparison.
 
Interesting note, I'm very surprised how forgiving the TF10 is to poor recordings, because of the more laid-back sound signature, it allows me to EQ accordingly to the music style I'm listening to. I think this is a huge plus to a portability factor, since most PMP has a fairly limited memory storage, allowing to user to enjoy audio files with a worser sound quality that's smaller in size is also part of how well a portable headphone performs.
 
I don't really think the TF10 compares that well to other sub $200 headphones in the current market, but if UE can drop the price to around $150-170, it'll probably be one of the best contender in the sub $150 audiophile market.
 
Also, I think the M6 is probably the most comfortable IEM that I've come across that's under $30. The sony hybrids will greatly increase the comfort and fit, and the total will still be under $30.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Great thread ljokerl! Unfortunately, I'm left considering way too many earphones and despite the buy-all influence of head-fi, I really only have time and money for one. I was wondering if I could receive some further advice with which IEM to get. I currently own the Nuforce NE-6, which I enjoy although I'm not overly impressed with, and the Shure SRH 750DJ which I really enjoy too but they seem to be missing a bit of something... Although, I mainly listen to music off of my computer or my walkman MP3 player so the source isn't exactly the highest quality.  I've also had the Etymotic ER-4P before but wasn't too huge a fan - while I liked picking out the instrumental parts it seemed like it was lacking in fullness and a bit piercing when it came to the treble. What I'm looking for is a solid, fun IEM that has that wow factor. Bass is definitely important to me as I love listening to heavy electronic music, although clear vocals and high-end detail are also very important (I listen to a fair share of blues, rock, classical, and all kinds of genres). 

 
Fairly  standard question - what would you want to see improved over your NE6s. They aren't lacking in fullness and certainly don't have piercing treble so it's got to be something else. My standard suggestion for an NE6 upgrade would be the Brainwavz M2/R03 or Brainwavz ProAlpha/R02 since they are so reasonably-priced. But if you want more bass, for example, they won't do.

 

[divinenow]

 

Originally Posted by ljokerl /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Fairly  standard question - what would you want to see improved over your NE6s. They aren't lacking in fullness and certainly don't have piercing treble so it's got to be something else. My standard suggestion for an NE6 upgrade would be the Brainwavz M2/R03 or Brainwavz ProAlpha/R02 since they are so reasonably-priced. But if you want more bass, for example, they won't do.

True, the NE-6 definitely have some fullness, although I would say that on the rare occasion the treble can be a bit too sharp and fatiguing for my liking - but that really depends on the music. A few things I'm looking for in an upgrade:
 
-Even more on the low-end - less of a polished, punchy bass and more of a heavy-hitting, powerful bass
-More clarity - soundstage and imaging as long as the IEM doesn't sound too distant
-A little bit more of a high-end sparkle
 
Right now I'm considering just ordering both the Eterna and the Silver Bullet to test out and selecting between them.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Right now I'm considering just ordering both the Eterna and the Silver Bullet to test out and selecting between them.

Ha, I was about to suggest the Eterna before I read the last line. That would be a very good way to do. I don't think the SB is bassier than the NE-6 but it does many things so well that you may be able to live with that.

 

[ljokerl]

Added the Sunrise Xcape and Brainwavz M3.
 
There probably won't be any more updates for at least two weeks as I'm on the final stretch of getting my first real degree. 
 
Also please let me know if there's any errors in these two reviews as I haven't had the chance to proofread them as many times as I usually do. 

 

[MaxwellDemon]

Quote:

Added the Sunrise Xcape and Brainwavz M3.
 
There probably won't be any more updates for at least two weeks as I'm on the final stretch of getting my first real degree. 
 
Also please let me know if there's any errors in these two reviews as I haven't had the chance to proofread them as many times as I usually do. 

So many IEMs and you are still in university?
 
I kinda wish I got THAT much money to spend when I was in uni...