Need help with choosing earphones on the budget

[JK1]

  Thanks for the tip, I've just googled the Koss and it's slightly above $20 here so it might be doable but... dang, I've read the warnings that this forum is bad for walltes and pockets but I thought I could resist the temptations easily...
Let's just say that now I would like an earbud, I wouldn't want to wear that Koss on the street, on train, etc.
 
About the Sennheisers you mentioned, if the MX375 is better than the 365 (which is not so good as you mentioned), then it doesn't necessarily mean that it's good, just better than the worse one.
 
I guess the Monk would be a safe bet, I haven't really read bad things about it (for that price anyway).

Open earphones are not good for use on trains. The noise of the train will get you to raise the volume, perhaps to dangerous levels. For use on a train, bus, or airplane, an open earphone is a bad idea. An IEM should be used instead. The MX375 is likely not as good as the MX580. I have the MX580, and its sound is great, with plenty of bass, which is extraordinary for an open earphone. Open earphones tend to fall out of ears while you are active, unless they have ear hooks, like the JVC HA-EB75 has. Aside from earphones falling out of ears being annoying, after a while those drops will break them. If you use a shirt clip, at least when they fall out of your ears they won't hit the ground and break. 
 
The problem with Head-fi is that many here will try to convince you that things that are $200 are inexpensive. To me inexpensive is under $20, not slightly under $200. After a while, some here start believing $180 or so is inexpensive. After all, they might say the $180 product is so much cheaper than the company's $800 product.

 

[Norba]

I don't like being isolated from the environment and don't want to stick anything in my ear canal so it's earbud that I want. I can control my volume, I mean I don't increase it until I can't really hear anything else on a busy day while I'm on the street, train, anything. That's why it's not for everyone, because some blast it in their ears, I know.
 
About the budget I'm more on your side... now.
It's like when I started to fancy the guitar. When they told me that under $300 everything is an entry level guitar I was taken aback but since then I can kinda understand what's going on.
 
So I appreciate your tips, I guess I'll avoid the Sennheisers I mentioned.

 

[Raketen]

  Well the Monk would be a huge step back (judging by the prices alone). I haven't read anything bad about the Zen 2.0 or I can't recall anything negative about it, so congrats for it.
Having Monks as backups might be good as long as you don't deplete the stock before people who really need 'em. 

Wish I could have that kind of faith in audiophile pricing schemes

It is a niche product, produced in limited quantities by a small company, so the price isn't unfair- but in terms of materials and manufacturing process, the difference may not be so huge. It might be totally possible to produce a competitive product at a much lower price like the Monk (could even be advantageous for a new company like VE to to use such a thing as a loss leader in order to get its name out there build reputation).

+1 on the KSC75, a really enjoyable headphone, the porta-pros too... the build quality is pretty bad though, earbuds probably offer a longer life- does Koss offer the lifetime repair/replacement thing in your region? If not you'd probably have to come up with a DIY mod/repair scheme to make them a bit more roubust (in my experience the clip attachment to the earcup wears out pretty quickly, and the wire strain relief/soldering in the earcup is the next thing to go). Over here the price hits as low as 12-15$ so might be worth keeping your eyes open.

 

[Norba]

I don't say that the prices are unfair, if the Zen is worth the price than it's ok, I just can't afford one right now, and I'm not really sure if I'd like to spend that much on an earphone. I would always worry what if the cable breaks or something, not saying that it's bad quality but you know... crap happens.
 
I've read a little about the Koss and someone else mentioned too that the clip might fall off but it's reattachable, but it's generally not the best quality. I've just never had that kind of earphone and I think it would be weird to me to wear a half headphone on the streets.
 
I'm pretty sure I will order maybe 2 Monks but as I heard the shipping could take more than a month, until then I have one pair of not-really-sure-it's-original old apple earbud and 1-2 more with switched (repaired) jacks. That's why I'm still open for suggestions because untill I get a Monk I might need an earbud. Or heck, what if I don't like the Monk? That could happen...
 
So yeah, this kind of Koss is out now, I am not really sure about the warranty thing but there are some shops or retailers if nothing else then they would give a year or two warranty I guess.
 
By the way, I forgot to mention that I don't need mic and volume control. I will add this to the original post.

 

[chrisjackson]

Maybe the best bet is to order an inexpensive Sennheiser (or whatever) that has the same shell size as the Monk. They're bigger than old apple buds and you'll want to know whether you can get a good fit before you order two Monks.

 

[Norba]

I've tried a Sennheiser once (I don't know which series though). My friend had it with a broken jack so I replaced the jack for him. Of course I tested it and it felt ok, at least I don't recall any discomfort or anything.

 

[Norba]

  might be worth it going by what i've read... actually just got the Zen 2.0 myself which was kind of a ridiculous decision, they're very nice but now I feel like I need to try more earbuds just to compare them with, probably be getting some monks too

 

By the way, how did you not get a Monk with your Zen? I thought everybody gets one, is it just a new thing? Lee just posted that Zen buyers get a Monk too.

 

[chrisjackson]

That's good. Hopefully you won't have an issue. Just had two of my adult nephews around to try out the Monks; they just popped them in effortlessly; I struggle a bit.
Sennheiser did address the problem some while back for folks with smaller ears; see picture at bottom of this page :
http://www.head-fi.org/t/430222/review-a-novices-take-on-sennheisers-mx360-mx460-mx660-and-mx760/90

 

[Norba]

So Sennheiser does 2 sizes. But it wouldn't help me if the Monk was a bad fit.
I hope that wouldn't be an issue. I guess I'll see if I get it.

 

[nolife1123]

Just to add up to the previous replies and suggestions, I own a sennheiser mx375 for 1.5 years now, they're extremely light and comfortable, they're not extremely loud when pumped by phones/players, but the sound on them is quite good, soundstage is average but female voices lack, it's okay for rock music (i'm a metalhead myself, all the way from classic rock to melodic death metal), it seems to be particularly good at power metal and heavy metal even, the bass is decent, doesnt blow your head out of the water but it's just the right amount, i've returned them once over this past 1.5 years cause one of the earbuds' contacts snapped and stopped working.
But there is one gigantic flaw with them, if you, by any chance, use them while traveling (trams, buses, general city areas) like me, nothing i've mentioned above will matter as you wont be able to hear them at all, the sound isolation is just horrible, whenever a car passes by or there's someone having a semi normal to loud conversation meters away the only thing you'll be able to hear is that.
But if you intend to use them in a home area, they're fine, they outshine my brothers equally expensive pioneer earbuds so much that they sound like they're from a whole new level!
I'd recommend that you keep close track of the VE monks page, they usually sell out within a day, i ordered two but i'm yet to receive them and compare them to the mx375s.
Forgot to mention that you get a small leather carrying bag with the mx375s, a pair of foamy slips for the earbuds which make it more comfortable, but i somehow never managed to get them to fit properly (likel due to my ear anatomy).

Hope i helped, good luck choosing!

 

[Norba]

Thanks, it's good to read reviews based on personal experiences.
I wouldn't use the earbud at home too much because I have a headphone for that purpose. Maybe sometimes, but the goal is to make commuting less boring.
 
The bottom line is to wait for the Monk, again. I guess I really should after all that. If nothing else, I can get Sennheisers later from a local distributor, shop if the Monk doesn't fit for me or something.