[Laike]

Hi, pardon my newbie questions. I finally got my new Zune80 to replace my 6ish year old Sony MD player. I'm relatively happy with the so called premium buds that come with them, but I think I could be doing alot better. I'm willing to spend about 175-200 canadian tops here for something decent as this is my first foray into non stock buds. I've done my research and I've come down to two choices, the Super.fi 5 Pros and the JAYS Q-Jays. I'm pretty open to other suggestions though. My music taste is pretty wide and I listen to almost every genre on a regular basis although my I tend to hover around rock quite a bit. I have no particular preferences size wise, but I do need some durable earphones as they will go through some decent abuse from travelling. Also, my other concern is I've got a bit of problems with earwax. Should I be leaning towards something with a replaceable filter? I've noticed the super.fi 5 havent' said anything about such things. just a cleanign tool for the phones. I'm right now leaning towards the super.fi 5's but I'm really being tempted to make the effort and find myself a set of Q-Jays. I'd love to hear peoples thoughts on this. Thanks for the help.

 

[ClieOS]

I don't have any IEM recommendation for you. However, if you are planning to become an IEM user, I will suggest you clean your ear canal in regular interval, instead of relying the 'phone (filtered or not) to stop the wax from getting in. My $0.02.

 

[Laike]

I do clean them on a regular basis, but unfortunately things are just unnaturally messy in there. Long story short, still waiting for the doctors to do something about it, so I just need something I can do to ensure I can keep the IEMs clean.

 

[mrdeadfolx]

I habe not actually heard the Q-Jays, but I own super fi 5 pros, and they are GREAT for your price point, best Ive heard in that price range bya country mile, you won't be let down. As for the ear wax, just give em a quick cleaning before you insert and youre good to book. As log as you dont have like big chunks in there your IEM's will be safe.

 

[Guarneri]

Super.fi 5 pro is a great choice, although my first recommendation would probably be the Westone UM1s for their combination of comfort, build quality, and sound quality.

 

[earfanatic]

Hi! I proudly own a q-Jays....

As far as I know the 5pro is more bass heavy, but I can say, I like a wide variety of music, from metal to Jazz, and the q-Jays is just perfect for all of them.

I never use loudness or EQ so I use to flat sound, but the q-Jays still can blow my eardrums with Guns n' Roses.

For the wax problem (what I had recently) I can recommend You not to use the smallest eartips on them, because they are too short, the wax foes almost right to the filter. Yes, the important thing is the filter. A small circular black thing which is adhesive, and can be changed easily. You can get some more from Jays, and the earphones will sound after every filter change like they were new!

 

[ken36]

I always answer these threads with the Etymotic ER4 IEM offering. While I've spent a ton of money buying and selling the full sized headphones the ETYs remain.

 

[DKaz]

I am not a big fan of the Super.fi fit, but they do sound good. They prices have jumped up a little $179.99

UE Super.fi 5

The Denon AH-C700 apparently match up with the Zune amazingly well. They sound fantastic with my Sony. You can't beat them at $141.37

Denon AH-C700

 

[Laike]

Well, I've made the leap and I've put a hold on my black q-jays. I could have brought home a set of white ones, but it doesn't match my zune. Female, colour matching, I'm perpetuating a stereotype. Terrible. I know.

It ended up being q-jays being readily available locally (one of the retailers is just across the street from one of my weekly appointments) and super.fi's would be a bit harder here in Toronto. I'll post my thoughts on the q-jays as soon as they come in. One thing I will say is they're ALOT smaller than I expected. ALOT smaller.

 

[LaBreaHead]

Congratulations -- let us know how the Jays work out. (Thanks, earfanatic, for the descrption regarding the filter.)

I think black is a good choice -- not an anti iPod dig, or anything. The photos of the black Jays look especially nice.

Also, remember, fit is crucial to sound quality, so experiment to get the best fit, isolation and sound.

 

[intoflatlines]

SF5 Pro sound great.