[yomomma1]

Quote:

portapro anyone? 

Was just gonna put that the porta's are a glaring omission!

 

[The Fed]

IEM -Shure 215.... good tight bass, treble is smooth... cant go wrong for $85

Sennheiser 558... lush mids, smooth treble, that powerful bass that sennheiser is famous for.... All for $175

Ultrasone HFI 780... awesome Sone house sound for under $150

Of course porta pros... my first love affair with headphones back n he 90's.... and ATM50's...

Hifiman Re-0 and Re-zero... both outstandng iems under $100.

Grado SR 80's... after burn in they really are a lot f fun... high fidelity on the cheap.

 

[Doc-holliday]

I see u like these and recommend them but the flavour of this thread are goodies that outdo everything not only in its "class" or price range but surpass even higher teired products. Lemme take ur first two for example:

IEM -Shure 215.... good tight bass, treble is smooth... cant go wrong for $85
Sennheiser 558... lush mids, smooth treble, that powerful bass that sennheiser is famous for.... All for $175

The senns are hugly popular and sound great but do they really outdo the rest of the 175 dollar range? Same with the shure. There are lots of iems for that price that compete (or surpass) that model.

Pls put why u think they overperform. I dont want this to just turn into another version of the recommendations thread.

 

[r4tr4tr4t]

very useful thread, thanks man
ive checked a couple of $150 budget (my current budget) threads and mostly all replies tend to name iems like gr07, r50, dba02, re262, fxt90, etc. but none of them had in mind tf10s can be gotten for a couple extra bucks, which i think would be a better choice right ?

 

[Doc-holliday]

very useful thread, thanks man
ive checked a couple of $150 budget (my current budget) threads and mostly all replies tend to name iems like gr07, r50, dba02, re262, fxt90, etc. but none of them had in mind tf10s can be gotten for a couple extra bucks, which i think would be a better choice right ?

IMO the tf10 competes at a high level. all i can say not having the oppurtunity to a/b all iems with the tf10 is read on head-fi the description of the tf10 sound signature (and fit/comfort is not for everyone but i have no problem). If you, like me, enjoy that sorta u shaped sound, you will not be disappointed at all.

 

[TTNK]

The portapros IMO compete with the beyerdynamic dt 770's. They have a similar sound signature (though people say that the 770's have over-emphasised highs, I don't hear much of a difference between the two. They both sound great and unflatiuging to me but that is just me). Yes, the 770's have better bass overall and a deeper sound than the portapros, in the end it is not that huge of a difference. You can search the site and see other people kind of annoyed that their 770's are almost beat by a 40-50 dollar can .

 

[DaggarHawke]

[size=1.7em] To me, the Audio Technica ATH-AD700 are a fantastic value for $90. Big sound stage, and very well balanced after burn in for that money. I got them for my girlfriend--she loves that they're super comfy - and purple! Sometimes she wears them in the winter even while not listening LOL. The other mention I'll give is the Grado SR-60. I own the 125s, and have listened to studio mixes through the the GS1000. What stands out to me about the 60 is that they sound easier for a phone or an mp3 player to drive, and hence are a great entry point. Honorable mention to the Klipsch S4s because for jazz, ride cymbals and snares crackle and sizzle amazingly! But I don't love earbuds generally so I can't compare--they just seem like a great value.[/size]
 
I will say, however, the problem with a question like this is that there's too much subjectivity to the experience each person has and prefers. Glenn Gould hated bass sounds so he always turned the bass to its minimum on the amplifier dial at home (but then, he was Glenn Gould). Some people have preference for warmer or more crystal sound. I like the AKG K701s, but some people hate them. There's almost nothing quantitative about it, such as when benchmarking CPUs or graphics cards. The experience people have with their cans goes far beyond just the straight up quality of the sound--sometimes the experience is more immersive because it physically feels more immersive such as when using some big pillowy closed circumaural Senns--to a non audiophile, the difference between the HD650 and the RS180 may be a moot point. 
 
PS. not a clue why the formatting of my post is weird in preview. 

 

[dlrepp]

Been looking for a well-balanced set of iems for a while. Tried Skullcandy Titans for $16 but bass overload but rest of family liked them. Then jvc ?- no bass, shrill highs. Saw an ad on the DAK site for $26 including shipping for BSR iems. Interesting concept with bass driver somewhat separate so larger. Pretty good sounding as far as balance of frequencies go. I can listen to them all day. Might not have all the detail of a more expensive pair but I can't afford to compare them to high-money sets. A few musicians who demoed them with a shuffle were impressed. I think well worth a try. Dan

 

[sferic]

Easy, for open, Grado SR80 ($100) For closed, Ultrasone HiFi 580 ($120).
 
Sennheiser, Denon, all the other brands you read about on here make great phones, but for the low price range, I think these 2 companies really excel.
 
That said, every ear is different.

 

[alex d]

I would always hesitate to recommend tf10s because of awkward fit. I would say vsonic produce some of the best vfm iems with the gr99, gr06 and gr07. fischer audio dba 02 mk2 are great vfm, as are rockit sounds r50s.

 

[stozzer123]

Quote:

Easy, for open, Grado SR80 ($100) 

Allessandro ms1 are also 100 and i think much better, having owned both.

 

[djvkool]

Bite me -- I'm an UE lover
 
My top 5 ---
 

• UE700
• TF10
• UE600
• MTPC (paid $120)
• Hippo VB (SUPERB for hip hop listening)

 

[cel4145]

Quote:

Sennheiser 558... lush mids, smooth treble, that powerful bass that sennheiser is famous for.... All for $175

 
I was going to ask about these (I'm considering them) because their frequency response is very close to the 598s (=2851&graphID[]=2861]558 vs 598). And then with the removing the foam mod gets even closer to the 598. Seems like a top value for open phones at under $200. 

 

[JohnSantana]

Yes I agree with you about the UE700
they sounds great for portable entry level IEM
 
Quote:

Bite me -- I'm an UE lover
 
My top 5 ---
 

• UE700
• TF10
• UE600
• MTPC (paid $120)
• Hippo VB (SUPERB for hip hop listening)

 

[William007]

Wharfedale Isodynamic. These costed £19. in 1975 now $70-150 still worth it. some say these sound like the lcd2