[dark2099]

Much like the guy in this thread, http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/506443/best-iem-s-with-mic-and-ipod-controller-for-iphone, I am looking to get some nice IEM's for my iPhone.  Few things I can say upfront is, I am on a budget, would like to spend around $100, might go over a bit if it is worth it.  As to what kind of performance I would like, I listen to a wide range of music, but most consisting of rock and its variants, techno/electro/house/etc, and hip hop/rap, so would like something that offers perhaps a little heavy on the bass, but pretty balanced beyond that.  For home listening I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 Pros which am very fond of so getting something similar but compact would be great.  Thanks.

 

[dfrost]

The comprehensive sets of reviews from joker and ClieOS should be required reading, if you haven't done so already.
 
The ViSang R03/Brainwavz M2 seem excellent for your musical tastes and budget, or the Hippo VB for more and deeper bass. If integrated iPhone controls are important, then the new MEElec M11P+ might be worth a listen. Those haven't made it to the review sets I linked above, but have been reviewed and discussed here and here. Both MEElectronics and Jaben/Uncle Wilson's have excellent customer service and return policies if those didn't work out for you. Be sure to give them 50-100 hours of burn-in before judging.
 
If you're willing to stretch your budget to $130, the Panasonic HJE900 might be a good fit for you, except that it doesn't have integrated iPhone controls.

 

[dark2099]

Thanks, I'll check those out, now for the burn-in process, how would I go about doing that, have read about it, but the few times, I think the person talking about it has had the IEM/headphones hooked up to an amp and other much more professional equipment than I have.
Quote:

The comprehensive sets of reviews from joker and ClieOS should be required reading, if you haven't done so already.
 
The ViSang R03/Brainwavz M2 seem excellent for your musical tastes and budget, or the Hippo VB for more and deeper bass. If integrated iPhone controls are important, then the new MEElec M11P+ might be worth a listen. Those haven't made it to the review sets I linked above, but have been reviewed and discussed here and here. Both MEElectronics and Jaben/Uncle Wilson's have excellent customer service and return policies if those didn't work out for you. Be sure to give them 50-100 hours of burn-in before judging.
 
If you're willing to stretch your budget to $130, the Panasonic HJE900 might be a good fit for you, except that it doesn't have integrated iPhone controls.

 

[dark2099]

Thanks for the suggestions, browsed through most of them, had seen a review for the Head-Direct HiFiMAN RE-ZERO on another site and read the review here, for what I see I think Either the MEE M11P+ or the RE-ZERO's sound like I would enjoy them, any personal feeling on either to maybe help sway my decision?  Also you mentioned burn in, now I have read about doing that, but personally never have nor know how to, so best way for me to do that?  Thanks again.

 

[dfrost]

I have had neither of those IEMs, so I can only go from what I've read here on head-fi. My M11's were the older, less bass version, so that experience doesn't apply.
 
The RE-ZERO will probably have less bass than the M11P+, and it is doubtful that any head-fiers would have both of those yet.  I can say that the build quality on the M11P+ is excellent. The RE-ZERO put me off because of the needed adapter for the "balanced output" connector. You know that the RE-ZERO doesn't have the mic/remote, right?
 
What was your opinion of the Hippo VB from reading the reviews? Others I should have mentioned are the Silver Bullet and Eterna models from Fischer.
 
I'm absolutely thrilled with my Fischer DBA-02's anyway, so no longer "in the market" for new IEM's, other than the second pair of DBA's I just ordered as backups. When I want phone capability, I use one of the phone adapters that can be found on Amazon.com. It's somewhat awkward, but I get to keep the DBA's awesome sound quality going.
 
Burn-in is a controversial subject (Is it real or just psychological?) that applies to dynamic IEMs only. I do it by just playing them continuously out of my iPod for a few days around the clock, with volume at or slightly above listening level.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

 
The RE-ZERO will probably have less bass than the M11P+, and it is doubtful that any head-fiers would have both of those yet.  I can say that the build quality on the M11P+ is excellent. The RE-ZERO put me off because of the needed adapter for the "balanced output" connector. You know that the RE-ZERO doesn't have the mic/remote, right?

Actually I have both the M11+ and RE-ZERO. I'm just not thrilled enough with the M11+ to post anything about it. It all comes down to the mic - if you need one, the M11+ is hard to beat. If you don't, I would recommend the RE-ZERO, Xears TD100, ViSang R03, Eterna, VB, etc over the M11+ depending on sound signature preferences. If you like the HD280 I would stay away from the RE-ZERO and look at the darker-sounding earphones - namely the R03 and Eterna.

 

[anirudh0802]

I will give you my Etymotic HF5's for what your looking for...

 

[dark2099]

Now after poking through those reviews more, the Eterna, VB, and R03's sound good too, though one of the things mentioned in one of the reviews on the R03 made me a little more skeptical of them, even though I don't understand some of the more technical speak.  Mic isn't as important as the controls, I actually hate to talk on the phone, just use the iPod while riding my bike around, so easier to have controls on the line rather than pulling it out of my pocket each time.  I won't be purchasing till I get back home next week, so have some time to think.  As for your offer anirudh, thanks, but something about used headphones/IEMs/etc just weirds me out a bit, even if they have been sterilized.  

 

[mnagali]

 
[size=medium]

headphones w/inline mic implies it has remote since most only have one button.  I'm not aware of any that has a remote without a mic
 
-click once: accept/end calls, play/pause song
-click twice: skip track
-click trice: previous track
​

[/size]


Quote:

Mic isn't as important as the controls, I actually hate to talk on the phone, just use the iPod while riding my bike around, so easier to have controls on the line rather than pulling it out of my pocket each time.   

 

[knugge]

I too was in the market for good iems with mic for my 3GS but remembered that the stupid iphone doesn't output my voice in the iems which makes it virtually impossible for me to speak with the plugs in my ears since I can't hear myself. So I went ahead and ordered a pair of Klipsch x5. Here in Sweden $140 but on amazon.com $120 I think.

 

[dfrost]

Quote:

 

headphones w/inline mic implies it has remote since most only have one button.  I'm not aware of any that has a remote without a mic
 
-click once: accept/end calls, play/pause song
-click twice: skip track
-click trice: previous track
​

I found a $20 Scosch adapter at Walmart (short - only about 5" long) that has pause/play/skip fwd/reverse and volume +/-. Volume control is actually changing the iPod output volume, rather than attenuating the through-signal, which is pretty cool. It's quite handy when I have the iPod in a pocket. Two downsides: It doesn't control the output from my Blackberry, and the connection to the IEM cable has become somewhat intermittent after only a month of use.
 

 

[mnagali]

didn't mention just using an adapter because never been a fan of them.  I'm still ever searching for any cables w/inline mic+remote for use with custom IEMs

 

[dark2099]

Call me a fool, but at the airport flying home, saw a random electronics shop, had some IEMs, checked out a pair of Kipsch S4i, and personally I find them to be pretty good, bass response like I like, can't specifically say that they are balanced, but don't get the impression that any single range over powers another.  Don't really have a chance to burn them in, but have volume controls, which was my one beef with the M11P+, didn't see volume control.