[Lourdes]

Mr. Doc Holliday

what about these : MEElectronics M6 / M6P .. i can see you haven't mentioned these outstanding iem's , and you can get them for u$ 22, they look, sound, isolate great... 

They sound plain, bland and bad. I got them after they came up in every thread about headphones for the gym or running but I was completely disappointed, I've owned other headphones as cheap or cheaper that sound far better.

 

[DogMeat]

yeah, but the MEE cw's,(wood housing), are not too shabby, after decent burn in.
Not gonna beat a shure triple driver or a REAL Senn...... but not a bad mellow sound for acoustic,(say Kottke or Fahey), and the price tag is ,(I think), around 50 bux.
 
Anybody mention Ortofon yet?
Nice reviews from almost everybody.
The EQ5 is right around $250usd.
That's outside of the $100 bracket, but I think these puppies WAY out perform their price tag.
Especially since I bought them when they cost less than that....

Compete rather handily against the westone 3's and ue's and etymotics in higher cost brackets....if you can do a good fit.
Biggest complaints about them seem to stem from fit issues.
 
 
 
 

 

[stozzer123]

pfe 112 eats a lot of higher priced phones inc the eq5 when price is brought in.

 

[Doc-holliday]

Just tried my buddy's ue 200s he just got on sale for 9 bucks. Hoped they might be a candidate for inclusion on my list -- the result? To me sounded like 9 dollar phones. Reminded me of apple stock with that little in-ear adapter thing. No go.

 

[SpartanD63]

The Ety Hf5 are a good bang for the buck IEM at only $100 on Amazon. They even best my brother's more expensive ($200 or 300 I can't remember exactly) V-Moda cans. (Yes, I know you aren't supposed to compare IEMs to cans, but oh well.)
 
I can hear so much more detail on the Etys.

 

[Zelda]

she 3680 $15
CKM500 $60-70
r-50 $120

 

[christoophat]

I 'm a cheap bastid, so my faves are lower end, but..
 
1. JVC HA-FX101-Bs, my current late night music in bed iem. For $10 lousy bucks, these things suprised the heck out of me, especially after some burn in. They are bass-centric, but only to a point, and they are balanced & smooth enough in the highs & mids , fun for listening to most any music with a decent amount of accuracy.
2. NuForce NE-770X - got these on one of their trade in deals (sent in my NE-6s), didn't really know much about them (except they came in 3 colors) but these $50 iems have a terrific soundstage, and gobs of detail.
3. JVC FX-40s - Really really nice iems for around $25. Took them as my only set for two weeks "back home" visiting family, & found myself looking forwards to listening thru them in the evening

 

[Doc-holliday]

Ok so i thot i mighta been a bit hard on Bose by saying the 20 dollar sennheiser cx200s blow away the 100 dollar bose in ear model so i dug my bose in ear phones out of a drawer (first version - we got them 3 years ago as a gift at work).

I was thinking maybe with a little better isolation they might sound ok. So i grabbed some comply 400 tips which will streatch onto the bose pretty easily. I thot maybe i might make a vast discovery with my experiment and well.....

I was WRONG!!!! Do not even try it. Wow any semblance of detail that existed before were completely absorbed by the comply tips. I just made an aweful pair of earphones sound even more aweful. Not just trying to bash bose, i was trying to give them a fair shake, but I really dont know how bose justified that price tag and sincerely hope they improved them with version 2.

So i still stand by my little Sennheiser's. Still on my top 3.

UPDATE:

Ok mail just came in after posting the above. Just in are the audio technica ath ckl200 budget iems.

Think these are going on the list. 9 dollars from buydig although the sale is over. But for that price..... Oh my dont those sound good. More sparkly than the cx200 (which i like personally).

So IMHO you have 2 models in the 20 dollar price range in the cx200 and the ath-ckl200 that solidly compete with the likes of the se215s for 90 bucks (in terms of SQ at least). Build wise the shures seem more solid but on the other hand the other two are both so lightweight and tiny that you forget they are there.

Update again:

After listening more maybe i spoke too soon on the ath ckl200 sound better than most but dont quite touch the cx200 or the se215 for that matter. Deficient in bass for sure but still better than most low dollar iems in overall sq. Especially good if you can manage to find them for 9 bucks again!

 

[William007]

Ok so i thot i mighta been a bit hard on Bose by saying the 20 dollar sennheiser cx200s blow away the 100 dollar bose in ear model so i dug my bose in ear phones out of a drawer (first version - we got them 3 years ago as a gift at work).
I was thinking maybe with a little better isolation they might sound ok. So i grabbed some comply 400 tips which will streatch onto the bose pretty easily. I thot maybe i might make a vast discovery with my experiment and well.....
I was WRONG!!!! Do not even try it. Wow any semblance of detail that existed before were completely absorbed by the comply tips. I just made an aweful pair of earphones sound even more aweful. Not just trying to bash bose, i was trying to give them a fair shake, but I really dont know how bose justified that price tag and sincerely hope they improved them with version 2.
So i still stand by my little Sennheiser's. Still on my top 3.
UPDATE:
Ok mail just came in after posting the above. Just in are the audio technica ath ckl200 budget iems.
Think these are going on the list. 9 dollars from buydig although the sale is over. But for that price..... Oh my dont those sound good. More sparkly than the cx200 (which i like personally).
So IMHO you have 2 models in the 20 dollar price range in the cx200 and the ath-ckl200 that solidly compete with the likes of the se215s for 90 bucks (in terms of SQ at least). Build wise the shures seem more solid but on the other hand the other two are both so lightweight and tiny that you forget they are there.
Update again:
After listening more maybe i spoke too soon on the ath ckl200 sound better than most but dont quite touch the cx200 or the se215 for that matter. Deficient in bass for sure but still better than most low dollar iems in overall sq. Especially good if you can manage to find them for 9 bucks again!

Bash bose as much if you like. We don't like it to much

 

[milan425]

Quote:

yeah, but the MEE cw's,(wood housing), are not too shabby, after decent burn in.
Not gonna beat a shure triple driver or a REAL Senn...... but not a bad mellow sound for acoustic,(say Kottke or Fahey), and the price tag is ,(I think), around 50 bux.
 
 
 
 

 
I have to tune in
 
I ordered cw31 cause i got some discount. I knew they don't have the best sound that I will ever hear, but only pretty good bang for buck. These will be my first "audiophile" cans, a good point to grow from, and not bad choice since I won't use rigs, only my smartphone.
Now, u sad they need decent burn in, that's forcing some good tunes through 'em, right?
My Q is- what volume on music (or flamethrower) should I use? I read one post where guy used noices for that- white noice, pink noice, brown noice... Ruined IEMs in the process.
And, also, did I make a bad choice (they did set me back under 30$) ? 

 

[Doc-holliday]

Okay, here is my update. My personal list of overachievers (most overachieving at the top.)

1. Sennheiser cx200 with comply tips. $20+$15 for set of 3 tips
2. Cx200 with stock tips. $20 bucks
3.. Ultimate ears Triplefi 10 $150 bucks (come stock with both silicon and comply foam tips.)
4. Jvc ha-S500 portable headphone $75 bucks shipped from japan (import only).

Headphones that keep being mentioned on this thread that would agree fit the category based on other people's remarks not necessarily my own empirical evidence: I'll admit this list is somewhat arbitrary because I am picking and choosing based on:
a) Quality of OVERALL sound vs. price point and b) Are there many other headphones or IEMs that have similar SQ at that price. In otherwords they HAVE TO COMPETE WITH MORE EXPENSIVE MODELS and not have another 5 models at the same cost. If you really insist something should be added or removed from this list, please put enough of an argument on WHY so I can make adjustments. Links to informative threads would be helpful. (in no particular order)

1. Koss Portapro $45
2. Koss KSC75's modded $12 bucks plus free mods (although not very practical for the noob to do mods)
3. Grado SR80i headphones $99 bucks.
4. Audio Technica ATH-M50 $99 bucks.
5. JVC HA-FXD80 $110 bucks (for US import only - amazon or ebay)
6. JVC HA-fxd40 $20.
7. (to be continued..........)

Remember just because they sound "good" doesn't put them on the list. The SE215's have been brought up several times yet there are dozens of competitors in the 99 dollar price range (or lower in my personal list above with the 20 dollar cx200s).

I will add a post later on with details each entry on my personal list.

 

[papant7]

IEMs:
TDK EB950 and BA200. These guys punch way above their weights.  EB950 is one of the best dynamic earphones I've tried and BA200 is simply stunning for a dual balanced armature at less than 150 USD that can sound this good.
Vsonic Gr06 and Gr07 the package included when you buy these are overwhelming. http://www.erji.net/attachment/Mon_1110/23_119377_087e78d466564fa.jpg
Sunrise Xcited, awesome price for performance.
 
I disagree with the M6, I have listened to tons of IEMs but the M6 is still one of my faves.  The fit is PITA though and that probably made it sound bad for you.
 
Circumaural:
Superlux products: Most if not all of them. 

Takstar Pro 80, some say that these are poor mans Beyer DTXX0.
 
Supraaural:
 
Grado SR80i, a lot of people get introduced to the world of head-fi thru these cans
Grado iGrado, same drivers different wear style
AiAiAi Tracks, incredible bass and unique sound sig.
JVC Flats, same description as the tracks.  You can get them for as low as $9.

 

[Seven1816]

Apologise for being a UE / Logitech zombie.
My vote for TF 10's, purely down to the fact they are bang for buck. Half the price of a lot out there yet they do not deliver half the performance.

 

[Doc-holliday]

Gr99 maybe should beon the list? Anyone?

When i get back in town the jvc fx40 will be waiting for me to try for myself.

 

[taintedpeak]

Long time lurker. Recently was looking for the best IEM under $100 USD. I turned to joker's 250+ IEM review as he is one of the few qualified people who have had experience with a large majority of IEMs on the market and provides the most "unbiased" review (data he has collected is a testament to not only his experience but legitimacy). This to me is preferred over many in this forum who state their current purchase of IEMs has the best value/highest SQ/etc when their own scope is limited to say a handful of IEMs. 
 
His chart scoring IEMs against each other helps to sort the best from the worst: http://cdn.head-fi.org/a/a8/a86568db_IEMchartljokerl.png
 
Depending on how you want to break down the price ranges dictates whats the best value:
 
At <$100 the Etymotic HF5 for $99 on amazon. Scoring an 8.6 overall per his review.
 
At <$70 the VSonic gr06 scores an 8.25   
 
At <$40 the Vsonic gr02 bass edition scores a 7.80
 
At <$30 the Vsonic gr99 scores a 7.20
 
I understand prices fluctuate and not all IEMs are listed but ideally this is the closest you'll get to actually auditioning all these IEMs yourself.