[milford30]

 
I'll look into that. Since you say the shures are overpriced, where would you put the Shure SE215LTD earphones at if they were priced correctly or fairly in relation to other models that were like them or better? Currently they're going for $149.99.

 
It's hard to say if something is overpriced, often there are trade offs, in this case shure is a brand name in the iem market i.e they have customer support all over the place compared to some chinese company. So to some it's worth paying for the peace of mind and warrantee.
 
Thee are always newer, better and cheaper iems coming out all the time, right now there are $60ish iems out there like the ones hatefulsandwich and I mentioned would crush the se215 for gaming purposes, the ones I recommended have strong bass impact, good for exciting explosions in game and decent soundstage for determining where the enemy is coming from, the ones he mentioned are rather new, which I have not heard.
 
ATH im50 would be my first choice, they are a big audio company, problem is the fit may not be good if you have small ears, read up on that.

 

[Ivabign]

That was so much more succinct in my head...

That made perfect sense to me - but I have issues. Seriously, you can make yourself crazy just comparing reviews - just pick something that has positive reviews - that sounds like it will reproduce the signature you think you like, and buy! There are many that will not be a major investment - if they don't work for you, gift them to a friend or family member - spread the love. (Of course you can resell them)

 

[aionis]

How do Klipsch IMAGE S4 In-Ear Enhanced Bass Noise-Isolating, compare to Shure SE215LTD Limited Edition Sound Isolating Earphones with Enhanced Bass?
 
 
edit: I've been trying to find earphones that have a volume dial/microphone on them.. at the moment the shures are the only ones I've found, but paying $40 for a cable wire and then $140 for the earphones seems pretty ridiculous
 
2nd edit:so Etymotic ER23-HF3-BLACK HF3 In-Ear Headset with 3-Button Remote Control for iPod, iPhone, iPad (Black), + 2 previous + Westone UM PRO 10..
 
All 4 of those vary between $90-$140, does anyone have any insight on all 4 of these products? Not sure about the west/etym if it'll have enough bass that I want

 

[hatefulsandwich]

You can get little attenuators for volume control of any IEMs that plug in between your earphone's cable and your source, so it's not something you have to get with your earphones. Why is the volume control so important to you, btw? I've never found myself needing volume control on my cable - i always set it on hardware or software and I usually haven't any need to adjust it unless I change headphones.

Comparing earphones and headphones is pointless, IMO. It's just not something that I do. They each stand on their own merits. Many will say IEMs can't compete with headphones, but I just view them as different experiences entirely. Kind of like how I don't compare filter coffee to instant coffee - they're just different drinks to me..

The Shures have those MMCX connectors that are prone to breaking, but otherwise seem pretty good for something with removable cables and a well-known name. You can get replacement cables with in-line mics that are very good, apparently.

Klipsch S4 is not something I have, but I've read enough to know that the IEMs I listed are considered to trump them, despite their low prices. I think you need to think hard about what your money can buy you and where it's going in those cases - I can tell you that a fair chunk of the Shure price is brand. A big reason most of the IEMs I listed are going so cheap is because they don't have the recognized brands and because they're from smaller companies in China.

The notion you have that you must spend over $100 to get something that's better than your Steelseries is a bit off, but exactly what the Shures and Westones of the world want you to think. But if it will satisfy you psychologically to spend more money on IEMs considered to be lower SQ than the ones mentioned, then go for it.

But if I were you, I would get the Tenores and then continue my audio journey by looking at what other options and upgrades are out there. They're cheap and they're just wowing everyone who tries them - some saying that they're the best earphones they have tried, period. How can you not be even slightly tempted by that for around $50? if I could get them for below $80 (bloody eBay vultures), I totally would. I plan on getting them in with a Tenso order one of these days, though.

I recently bought myself some cheap Koss PortaPros despite having better headphones and I'm pleased as punch. I prefer them to my first head-Fi purchase, the JVC S500s, which cost more and had huge hype surrounding them. They're not better than my other headphones, but they're just so pleasant to use since they don't reveal compression artifacts and sibilance as readily as my higher-quality headphones.

I own the Westone UM3Xes, but I've still ordered the Ostry KC06As for something different and to see just how far this price bracket has come.

Hatefulsandwich cannot write brief posts. Woe is me.

 

[aionis]

You can get little attenuators for volume control of any IEMs that plug in between your earphone's cable and your source, so it's not something you have to get with your earphones. Why is the volume control so important to you, btw? I've never found myself needing volume control on my cable - i always set it on hardware or software and I usually haven't any need to adjust it unless I change headphones.

Comparing earphones and headphones is pointless, IMO. It's just not something that I do. They each stand on their own merits. Many will say IEMs can't compete with headphones, but I just view them as different experiences entirely. Kind of like how I don't compare filter coffee to instant coffee - they're just different drinks to me..

The Shures have those MMCX connectors that are prone to breaking, but otherwise seem pretty good for something with removable cables and a well-known name. You can get replacement cables with in-line mics that are very good, apparently.

Klipsch S4 is not something I have, but I've read enough to know that the IEMs I listed are considered to trump them, despite their low prices. I think you need to think hard about what your money can buy you and where it's going in those cases - I can tell you that a fair chunk of the Shure price is brand. A big reason most of the IEMs I listed are going so cheap is because they don't have the recognized brands and because they're from smaller companies in China.

The notion you have that you must spend over $100 to get something that's better than your Steelseries is a bit off, but exactly what the Shures and Westones of the world want you to think. But if it will satisfy you psychologically to spend more money on IEMs considered to be lower SQ than the ones mentioned, then go for it.

But if I were you, I would get the Tenores and then continue my audio journey by looking at what other options and upgrades are out there. They're cheap and they're just wowing everyone who tries them - some saying that they're the best earphones they have tried, period. How can you not be even slightly tempted by that for around $50? if I could get them for below $80 (bloody eBay vultures), I totally would. I plan on getting them in with a Tenso order one of these days, though.

I recently bought myself some cheap Koss PortaPros despite having better headphones and I'm pleased as punch. I prefer them to my first head-Fi purchase, the JVC S500s, which cost more and had huge hype surrounding them. They're not better than my other headphones, but they're just so pleasant to use since they don't reveal compression artifacts and sibilance as readily as my higher-quality headphones.

I own the Westone UM3Xes, but I've still ordered the Ostry KC06As for something different and to see just how far this price bracket has come.

Hatefulsandwich cannot write brief posts. Woe is me.

Volume control is for computer related things/gaming, I don't want to have to unplug my earphones every time I open a new game, or a youtube video, etc. The mic is also computer related.
 
I realize that a lot of the shures is brand name.. but one of the nice things about brand names are that they normally back their product pretty well, meaning I'd at minimum get 2 years out of the earphones, plus a possible 4 additional years. It's not that I am so much against trying the brands listed, it's more along the fact of having that warranty and the fact that I know they'll at least last me 2 years.
 
However the suggestions have helped, and explaining it more thoroughly has helped as well. So thank you.
 
 
As far as the in-line mics/volume control goes, is there anything you'd recommend that I could plug into the shures? I've tried looking for a decent while and can't really seem to find much. Shures has a brand that they sell with it, but like I said, that's $40. ($190 total) Coupled with the fact, that $40 seems absolutely ridiculous for wires/cables/volume dial/mic and along with the fact that reviews have said they break a lot... I'd rather just use another type of brand that I could just connect to them if possible. Seems like it'd just be better to get a $20-30 wire with all those things listed, or just better earphones in general that have all those things.
 
However, for a $150 price range it doesn't really seem like there are many options for enhanced base, good mid/highs. isolation, volume control, and it having a mic.
 
Edit:Also, if you check amazon, the earphones you've listed are selling for under $50. And the connector issue with the shures that you mentioned as well, do you mean the piece that the wiring connects to in the earphone is breaking, or the wiring itself that connects to it?

 

[milford30]

It will only work with your laptop if your laptop supports trrs connectors, westone mmcx cables should work. If you're not willing to spend on a cable the only iem that sounds good in the sub $100 price range is the sony M1c. Otherwise sub $200, Audeo Phonak PFE 132 and westone w10 with mic control.

 

[aionis]

It will only work with your laptop if your laptop supports trrs connectors, westone mmcx cables should work. If you're not willing to spend on a cable the only iem that sounds good in the sub $100 price range is the sony M1c. Otherwise sub $200, Audeo Phonak PFE 132 and westone w10 with mic control.

Yeah.. I just realized that this wouldn't even work to begin with, because like you mentioned, it's a trrs connector.
 
..Technically speaking however, couldn't I just take the wiring apart and solder the mic copper wire to a mics trs connector, and do the same for the stereo?
 
..Everything should work correctly then right? The volume control, and the mic.

 

[milford30]

 
Yeah.. I just realized that this wouldn't even work to begin with, because like you mentioned, it's a trrs connector.
 
..Technically speaking however, couldn't I just take the wiring apart and solder the mic copper wire to a mics trs connector, and do the same for the stereo?
 
..Everything should work correctly then right? The volume control, and the mic.

 
Again depends on your laptop, on my samsung ativ book 9 plus, the trrs connector works naively i.e volume control and mic.
 
It would be easier to just buy a connecting splitter, they are not expensive, although for a poor quality cable, you may notice problems with degradation of the sound.
 
No the volume control won't work with the adapter/re-solder, that needs the trrs to work, unless you add in an additional inline volume control.

 

[aionis]

   
Again depends on your laptop, on my samsung ativ book 9 plus, the trrs connector works naively i.e volume control and mic.
 
It would be easier to just buy a connecting splitter, they are not expensive, although for a poor quality cable, you may notice problems with degradation of the sound.
 
No the volume control won't work with the adapter/re-solder, that needs the trrs to work, unless you add in an additional inline volume control.

Could you point me in the right direction with that connector? Can't really seem to find something. .. I mean one that has a stereo/mic jack that would connect to the trrs connector.
 
..Seems like I'm going to have mix earphones/extensions/and solder a different cable onto those to get everything I want.

 

[milford30]

 
Could you point me in the right direction with that connector? Can't really seem to find something. .. I mean one that has a stereo/mic jack that would connect to the trrs connector.
 
..Seems like I'm going to have mix earphones/extensions/and solder a different cable onto those to get everything I want.

 
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=trrs+splitter&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Atrrs+splitter
 
or search trrs splitter at you favorite buying website, no just add a volume control between the splitter and your computer audio jack like:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Stellar-Labs-35-4180-Headphone-Control/dp/B008DJTB32/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1401121849&sr=8-15&keywords=volume+control
 
I have not used these so I don't know if it will degrade the sound...
 
Edit: make sure you get the right splitter, the trrs jack for android (sony m1c) and iphone (most others) are different, the middle 2 rings are switched if I remember correctly, ask the seller first.

 

[GodBless]

Where are you come form aionis?

 

[hatefulsandwich]

I have never, not once, needed to unplug my headphones in order to adjust volume. And once I set the master volume on my PC, it doesn't really change between applications. I dunno, man. Strange.

Get the Shures. Sounds like they offer you what you're looking for. Pony up $40 for the mic cable. Get the splitter. Don't jerk around with soldering, a splitter won't be expensive.

And then leave this forum and never look back because $40 cables are just the beginning of a slippery financial slope.

I'm out.