[philipjames6]

Hi all im a massive noob and am in need of some help. m having one hell  of a time trying to find a good set of earbuds that fit what I need and have somewhat consistent reviews. I need something that is under $150 and will ideally work with galaxy s3 and ipod. I listen to just about all types of music but mainly dance music. If possible I'd want some that will stand up to a good hard workout but if not ill just stick to my cheapo pairs for the gym.
 
Ive been looking at monster dna's, klipsch s4, soul ludacris sl99, bose smie2i, shure se215 and monster isport immersion. I like bass but am not a bass head where thats all I want to hear.
 
All the stores near me that seem to stock any kind of In ear headphones wont let you try before you buy. So ive been looking at the reviews for my guidance and havent been overly impressed due to the negatives of all of them. I understand that not everyone will be impressed by tge same thing thats why im asking you guys,  the experts rather than a disgruntled fool.
 
Thanks for any help.
 
Phil

 

[Techno Kid]

Do you need them to have a lot of bass or do you like a more analytical sound or a warmer sounding IEM, info like that will help people make better suggestions.

 

[philipjames6]

I listen to mainly dance music so I dont really need to hear the tiniest of detail but I do like to hear it if its meant to be heard.  I like my bass to be there when it should be there and when it is there I like it to sound how it was meant to not 'muddy' as ive heard somr peopele describe it.  On my home set up I used metallica one as a test as I found it had a punchy bass highs and lows. And then some jack johnson for acoustic and vocals, and then scrillex for the dubstep/dancy side. If the headphones were bass heavy but well controlled and didn't take away from the rest of the music then that's fine.

 

[mAnthony]

Shure SE-215-K. $99 on Amazon. Great IEMs for the cost, IMHO.

 

[philipjames6]

Would these hold up to a stint in the gym?

 

[Techno Kid]

Well in that case I think maybe the Yamaha EPH-100 would be a good choice, they sound much better than the IEM's you've listed.  They have good detail but they're not analytical and the bass has good impact and depth and never sounds muddy plus it has a nice spacious soundstage.
 
Other than that I also think the Klipsch X10 would be maybe an even better option.  I really like them as they have great clean bass with very good impact and depth but its not bloated.  The mids are a bit forward and they sound really good with electronic music and the vocals sound very nice.  Soundstage has good width and depth along with some height and the imaging and separation is also good.  I enjoy the X10 about as much as my SM3 V2 which is $300 more than the X10 which is a little over $100 on Amazon at the moment.
 
So those are 2 that I think would work well and you can find plenty of reviews of them on here and other places.  Along with these 2 you can still find others that will sound better than the few you had listed above but out of those the SE215 is the best sounding imo but the EPH-100 and X10 both sound quite a bit better than the SE215.

 

[Techno Kid]

Oh and the X10's fit is perfect with good isolation and you don't even feel them after awhile as they're very small and they stay put so working out or running in them wont be a problem.  The EPH-100 also has a good fit with good isolation I just think the X10's a little better.

 

[djvkool]

Judging by your description, UE700 would be perfect for you

 

[mAnthony]

Quote:

Judging by your description, UE700 would be perfect for you

Noooooo! The 700s have a common problem with the wiring separating at the 3.5 mm jack end. 

And since you can't disconnect the wire at the IEM end like on Shures and other brands, if the wire goes you have to send the entire pair back, etc.

For $150, I would expect higher quality cabling.

Pic to demonstrate:

 

[philipjames6]

Thanks for your help. At the moment im leaning towards the x10 just need to convince the wife to let me spend the extra $ to get the mic version. Any idea how these hold up against some sweat from the gym?

 

[Techno Kid]

Quote:

Thanks for your help. At the moment im leaning towards the x10 just need to convince the wife to let me spend the extra $ to get the mic version. Any idea how these hold up against some sweat from the gym?

 
I've used mine to jog in a couple of times with no problems, as long as you don't get sweat into the nozzle they'll be fine.