[Tracon]

Howdy!

Long story short: I bought a pair of Skull Candy 50/50 in ear headphones for my ipod touch a month ago. I needed something that would allow me to listen to music outside on the farm I work at without getting in the way of my job. I think I paid just over 50 bucks.

They just broke. I am new to this audio stuff and I am trying my best to learn all the acronyms you have, but please forgive me upfront if I come off slightly behind the curve.

I would love to spend 400 dollars on some over hear headphones, but that just isn't in my budget, and to be frank, it's not what I want. Like I said I work on a farm, so I can't walk around with a pair of headphones on! I need something in ear. Maybe 150 dollars? I'm willing to spend more but I feel this is a fair base price. Kiwikat tells me Head-Fi knows their stuff, and I don't, so give me what you got!

P.S. It feels good to be here, I hope it lasts.

 

[Kiwikat]

Welcome to Head-Fi Mr. Tracon!
 
Say goodbye to your wallet... 

 
 
I'll let others suggest IEM's for you.  I don't know hardly anything about them.

 

[Bop]

Can you imagine a certain sound signiture that you might prefer?
 
Analytical vs. Bassy Fart-cannons vs. Fun?
 
Your choice of music would be helpful...

 

[Tracon]

It's hard for me to say because I am interested in such a wide variety of music; justin timberlake, eminem, lou reed, george harrison.

Strong clear vocals and smooth bass rumbles interest me too.

 

[scannon18]

Check out this link, as I don't see it listed yet:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478568/multi-iem-review-150-iems-compared-jvc-ha-fx700-fad-fi-ba-ss-1964-t-added-02-27
 
For $150 you can find a whole lot of good IEMs. 
 
Good Luck, and try not to turn this innocent quest for a good pair of IEMs into a lifelong crusade for audio nirvana.   I started out looking for a good pair of IEMs too, and now I have several pairs of IEMs, a full sized headphones, new speakers, bunches of external components. . .  welcome aboard!

 

[DervishD]

For less than a third of your budget, you may like the Meelec M11+. They're an all-terrain phone, reasonably cheap, and well built. I've used them with A LOT of different musical styles and they did ok with all of them.
 
On the other hand, if you want to spend more, you may want the Meelec CC51, the ceramic IEMs from Meelec. I'm still impressed by the sound quality! I'm going to write a review in the next days, so you may want to wait a bit and read it just in case they are not what you're looking for.
 
I wrote a review about the M11+, too: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/523169/my-personal-impressions-on-meelec-m11
 
The CC51 sound better, that's for sure, and it's more balanced than the M11+, but the M11+ is more than good for the price.
 
In a much cheaper league, you may try the Meelec M9 or the Philips SHE3581, both are good budget phones. I prefer the M9s, though.

 

[Tracon]

Those Meelec CC51P's would be perfect for my ipod touch, and at a price under 80 bucks it would allow me to save for some "real" heaphones.  Does anybody else have any experience with this model?  Does the P variant with ipod controls come at a cost of audio quality?  I am told most ipod headphones are pretty poor..

 

[Zephyron]

Meelec know what their doing IMO Their P variants don't detract from the sound quality of their non-mic based cousins =)

 

[DervishD]

 
Quote:

Those Meelec CC51P's would be perfect for my ipod touch, and at a price under 80 bucks it would allow me to save for some "real" heaphones.  Does anybody else have any experience with this model?  Does the P variant with ipod controls come at a cost of audio quality?  I am told most ipod headphones are pretty poor..

Chances are that if you try the CC51P you won't want "real" headphones anymore 

 
The sound quality is just amazing, and the looks... well, you can see the photos for yourself.
 
And no, no "P" model sacrifices sound quality at all. They have the same drivers than their "non-P" counterparts, same cabling, etc. Only changes are the plug (TRRS instead of TRS) and the annoying microphone. Annoying for people like me, who don't like microphones on their headphones
 
If you want an additional advice: if you are an iPod user you may be tempted to buy the white model, as it looks more... "iPody", but the black ones are IMHO the most beautiful phones I've ever seen. They look like graphite or magnesium, mind boggling!
 
I'm going to publish a review as soon as I can. I have the text written, the photos prepared, etc. but I have to put together some time to copy the text here, apply formatting, etc. If you want to read my review before buying, you will have to wait a day or two, maybe. On the other hand, since I utterly love these puppies, my review is just going to convince you even more 

 
Seriously, if you like them, buy them. You won't be dissappointed regarding sound quality.

 

[Tracon]

The CC51P's might be the way to go for me, and at only 90 dollars, that leaves me with $60 from my IEM budget I can put towards some at-home professional headphones.  How are these for weight?  Dervish D can you let me know when your review is up?

 

[exec-]

i don't know if the CC51P has an improved cable over the previous Meelec IEMS but for use while working in a farm might not be such a great idea due to their microphonics!
Sure their IEMs are said to be solid and good sound quality for the buck. 
 
If you are in the usa, and do not want to spend so much on earphones, i'd consider getting the Ultimate ears superfi 4 which is actually $30 with free shipping on logitech's site
 
With coupon code :    superfi4_22511

 

[Tracon]

Quote:

i don't know if the CC51P has an improved cable over the previous Meelec IEMS but for use while working in a farm might not be such a great idea due to their microphonics!
 

Is there something about microphones I should know about lol?
 

 

[exec-]

microphonics.. 
like a stethoscope.. when hitting the cable, all the sound can be heard and thus disturbing your music. It's annoying.. i don't know how to describe it more :/ sorry..
 
i own some meelec products.. and i use all of them only at work.. where i do not move much..
 

 

[DervishD]

Quote:

The CC51P's might be the way to go for me, and at only 90 dollars, that leaves me with $60 from my IEM budget I can put towards some at-home professional headphones.  How are these for weight?  Dervish D can you let me know when your review is up?

They are heavier than plastic phones, that's for sure, because the housings are ceramic, but certainly weight is not something to be worried about, they're very light.
 
The review, I plan to have it published tomorrow if I can afford the time. Anyway, ljokerl wrote a review and in the sound aspect it is much better than mine, that's for sure (I'm not an expert like ljokerl). Check his multiple IEM review thread.

 

[DervishD]

 
Quote:

Is there something about microphones I should know about lol?
 

I think that exec- refers to microphonics, not microphones I don't like microphones in my headphones because they're a dangling thing I'm not going to use and they increase the price of the phones. I don't like microphonics because it is noise gathered by the cable when it rubs against the clothes, etc.
 
The CC51 have, in my opinion, more microphonics than other meelec models. But since the other meelec models I own have zero microphonics, the CC51 is still well below average
 
Sorry, exec-, I don't agree with you: of the many phones I have, Meelec ones have the less microphonic cable. The M11+ has virtually no microphonics even when worn straight down, and CC51 has tolerable microphonics. Nothing to be worried about, in my humble opinion. I'm not the only one who thinks that one of the best characteristics of Meelec products is the cable: sturdy, low mics, even good looking for some people.
 
The super-fi are a good option at that price, too. I prefer the CC51, but that's because I'm in love with them