[riffjaff]

Hey all, it's been such a long time since I've been on this forum. I've given up my pursuit of being an audiophile mostly due to my lack of funds, aka, college student. I'm content with being an avid music enthusiast. Anyway, I'm on my second pair of JVC Marshmallows and I want to get something better now. They have only been used for a few months, but I'm getting sick of them. I need something new. I've forgotten how great you guys and girls are about knowing your headphones so I hope you can make me believe if you again.

So, my criteria...

1. Isolation - I now live in a huge college campus (UIUC) and am forced to use public transportation everyday. Since I hate listening to people blab about meaningless events in their lives, isolation is a biggie. I've used both the silicon tips from the Sony Fontopias, as well as the foams from the marshmallows. I don't know which one is better, but I just want one that will shut me out of the rest of the world.

2. Sound quality - I like the bass. I do. But a complete sounding set of phones would be nice. I listen to electronica the most, followed by alt. rock/rock/indie. There's also some hip-hop, jazz, spoken word, and ska. There's nothing I can do about sibilance, but I try to ignore it.

3. Price - I would really like to keep the price below $40 including tax and shipping.

It seems like canalphones over iems are my best choice for my budget, but there are so many new phones since I left that I wouldn't know where to look. The last time I actually checked, the Panasonic RP-HJ70 were really good, but I really don't know.

 

[riffjaff]

Anyone, please???

 

[Syler]

I just did some research there for you and I can't find your specific headphones

...try some Sennheiser's in your price range then try to find a review for them...that's what I would do anyway. You want a lot for very little, but am sure there are some good headphones out there for what you want (Bass, isolation, clear sound). So as I said Senn's seem to be the ones for you (Closed one's anyway)and you just have to figure out wich ones.

 

[Syler]

Sennheiser HD212 Pro maybe? They seem what you looking for and price is just about right.

 

[tosh1000]

Do they have to be brand new?

 

[riffjaff]

I guess I should have been more clear with what I was looking for. I tend to do that....

Maybe it will help if I state what I've already used before. I have used the Creative EP630s, Sony Fontopias EX-51s, and the JVC Marshmallows. I really like canalphones because they are very unobtrusive and don't draw a lot of attention and they give me the sound quality that I like. I'm not an audiophile and don't know if I ever will be. I guess I just don't have the ears for it.

I would love some suggestions for cheap IEM's around $50 or canalphones around this price as well. I do have some old tri-flange ear tips that I can use for greater isolation.

I guess bass and isolation are really the two biggest things I look for. I can't hear the technical things that some of you guys do, and I'm fine just enjoying the overall music rather than picking up on the nuances of an instrument or something like that.

Thanks for your self, Syler!



Forgot to mention that durability would be nice. I tend to forgot how to care for my things so these will get beat up a little. I've gotten better, but I play with my wires too much. I'm just asking for wear and tear when I do.

 

[Kees]

Welcome to HeadFi, I have the distinct feeling that solving your problem will require some advanced magic...

 

[riffjaff]

Wow, I had no idea I came up with such harsh criteria. The headphone industry has grown so much since I last looked into it. I don't know how you guys keep up with it. Looks like I need to do some more research.

 

[jgonino]

Honestly, you wont find anything worth buying below 40 dollars other than the Marshmallows.

This is just my opinion of course, but there are a lot of other people who will agree.

Check the Buyers Guide link in my sig for all of your options.

 

[riffjaff]

Darn, time to start saving up.