[rb67]

My vote goes for the ER-6i's.

 

[BadFish81]

I was just about to settle on the UM1's, after deciding that the poor isolation on the Vibes may be worse for my hearing. The tacky gold case kind of turns me off as well, I don't want to purchase a new case for my hundred dollar investment after already plunking that money down.

Then I read a review for the UM1's on CNET and GoodGearGuide, and both recommended the Ety Er6i over it.

So I'm sort of undecided again, but may just settle with the Ety's after all.

 

[mastercheif]

"I generally listen to Alternative and Classic rock with some techno beats mixed in when commuting, and end up with more relaxing Enya/Dido/Pink Floyd when working on the computer."

I don't think the Er6i is very well suited for what your listing habits seem to be.I found them very lacking in bass for some of my music such as Radiohead's Kid A.

 

[BadFish81]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mastercheif /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't think the Er6i is very well suited for what your listing habits seem to be.I found them very lacking in bass for some of my music such as Radiohead's Kid A.

I've heard the same about the UM1's though. Vibe gets better remarks towards sound and bass, but then there is an isolation issue.

Is there a single IEM that I mentioned that will give me a full range of sound, with adequate bass and good isolation?

 

[BadFish81]

I'm going to give myself a break and sleep on it I think. I really appreciate everyone's contributions.

I'm going to check back in the morning before I place my order. I may just suck it up and go with the Vibe's, at least I know from the unanimous reviews that it has amazing sound for the price, and is made with quality. I'll just have to settle without the full sound isolation and the tacky case.

Still, if anyone has any further input, I'd love to hear it.


A final description, a general day has me putting on earphones and walking to the BART (Noisy Subway,) riding that for a half hour to the city, walking a half hour through noisy streets to class, and then diligently working on a computer in a busy room for several hours. I like to get lost to my music during all of this.

I listen to everything from The Doors, Rolling Stones, Sublime, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Incubus, Nightwish, System of a Down, Radiohead, Jack Johnson, Gorrilaz, Depeche Mode, Dido, Eminem, Enya, Fatboy Slim, Massive Attack, Some 80's Rap, Phish, Shakira, Strangefolk, Guns and Roses, and Various Orchestrated Music Soundtracks. So yeah, like I said a wide variety of music.

Looking for a pair of IEM's that would be ideal for all of that.

 

[Meloncoly]

If you want earbuds for BART, DO NOT GET THE VIBES! They provide little if not no isolation at all. I used to have one and I would hear everything, since it's an open designed earphone. Great sound though, no isolation was a total turn off for me. I recommend the UM1s just because they're comfortable. Really good highs and mids, I can wear them for 8hr+ and they do a good job of noise isolation on the BART. When I'm on Market where Ross is, I hear nothing but my music. Blocks out the ambient noises really well, I only hear the high screeches from the F Line, but it's a very light and muffled noise that is easily not noticed. Also the UM1s are bass lacking...but EQing on my A2 eliminates that. Why not the Shure E2C regular? Kramer mod them and you have a great earphone under $100 if you're not willing to push for the price tag of the Westones. Those are the only earphones I could vouch for, hope your decision will suit you well!

 

[tonyfiore75]

From what I've read in my 3 obsessed months here as a member- you can't really go wrong with Westone. Just about every other manufacturer has their fans and enemies. Westone, for some reason or another, is like the Cinderella of this forum. So, if nothing else, you'll have peace of mind by choosing them ; )

I can say, having had the UM2s, that the Westone signature sound is a beautiful thing. The Westones are not known for lack of bass. Many people who are concerned about bass should be aware of lower end Shure and Ety models. That's where I see many a comment about bass-less-ness (particularly Ety, sorry Ety fanboys). All I'm saying is that Westone users don't seem to have that problem. Keep that in mind when you make your decision.

My vote, obviously, goes to the Westone UM1.

 

[cindyk]

Either Super.fi 3(which sounds even better than Shure E3c imo) or Westone UM-1. But Super.fi 3 might not be comfortable for you, depends on whether you have smaller ears or not.

 

[BadFish81]

Alright, thanks so much for the last few suggestions. Looks like I'm back to the UM1's, which isn't bad from all the praise I've been hearing. It's just that the UM1's got really lackluster reviews on all the "professional" sites I looked at. Still, it sounds like it really has a godlike reputation on this site, that many pleased customers couldn't be wrong, right?

I guess most of the sub-$100 models are lacking on bass, and I should just accept that for the time being.

The Super.fi 3's sound good as well, but they just seem like they'd really stick out obtrusively to me from the pictures. I have "medium" sized ears the best I remember from the last time I was fitted for earplugs.

The Vibes are currently only $70 on Amazon, which is even more attractive, but I think I really do need the sound Isolation.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[theBigD]

i started with tri-port from circuit city based upon many favorable reviews at circuit city. there is very little detail from those phones, and silicone tips dont stay in ear or on driver well enough. they also dont isolate well. i returned within a couple of weeks and then tried etymotic er-4, and ultimate ears super pro-5. i like the detail of ety, and soundstage and comfort of ultimate ears. i still haven't found an iem that truely satisfies my quest for audio nirvana. but my vote in your price range is the ultimate ears from my experience, just for comfort mostly.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cindyk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Either Super.fi 3(which sounds even better than Shure E3c imo) or Westone UM-1. But Super.fi 3 might not be comfortable for you, depends on whether you have smaller ears or not.

Yep, to my ears, Shure e3cs have more detail, but the super.fi 3s sound fuller, more natural to my ears. I have the super.fi 5pros as well and those blow both the Shures and the super.fi 3s out of the water in every aspect thanks to dual driver design, except that the Shures have better isolation. But, honestly, I can't beleive how bad super.fi 3s are in comparison to super.fi 5pros though - a much bigger difference than, say, moving from Shure e2cs to e3cs IMO. I have yet to hear the Westone UM1s - I have heard the Westone UM2s, but liked UE super.fi 5pros more.

 

[Pianist]

Okay, so I listened to Westone UM1s today and wasn't very impressed by them. They seem to have a pretty bloated bass and muffled highs compared to my UE super.fi 3s The mids are pretty nice though, and the isolation is very good. Still, I would take super.fi 3s over the Westones anyday.

 

[BadFish81]

Thanks for the added input, but I did already give in and ordered the UM1's this morning.

It's probably better that I didn't read your reviews because I couldn't deal with anymore split decisions. So hopefully your wrong Pianist.

I'm sure I will be more than happy with the UM1's, considering that my last pair of earbuds was a 30 dollar set of uncomfortable fontopias.

Maybe I'll look into these amps I've been hearing about some day when I have a few extra bucks again.

I'll write back how I feel after a few weeks with the UM1's, and sorry for making yet another IEM post, but it just seems like everyone has their own set of IEM's that thier trying to decide between. Thanks one last time for all the help everyone!

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BadFish81 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the added input, but I did already give in and ordered the UM1's this morning. It's probably better that I didn't read your reviews because I couldn't deal with anymore split decisions. So hopefully your wrong Pianist. I'm sure I will be more than happy with the UM1's, considering that my last pair of earbuds was a 30 dollar set of uncomfortable fontopias. Maybe I'll look into these amps I've been hearing about some day when I have a few extra bucks again. I'll write back how I feel after a few weeks with the UM1's, and sorry for making yet another IEM post, but it just seems like everyone has their own set of IEM's that thier trying to decide between. Thanks one last time for all the help everyone!

I am sure you'll like the Westones - they will be a big improvement over the fontopias that for sure! Yeah, I do like the UE super.fi 3s when it comes to sound quality, but I do believe that the Westones have a better build quality and isolate quite a bit better too. I do wish that my UEs had more isolation, when walking along a busy street or in the subway.

 

[Claus-DK]

Just to confuse you a little bit more, I think that you also schould consider the d-JAYS...
They are well suited for your musical taste, which are quite similar to mine....

I can only compare to CX300 and Shure E500, they blow the cx300 out of the water easyli and are more fun and less demanding than the E500, the E500 sounds better but tha d-JAYS are more "fun" to listen to...

The signature of d-JAYS is their strong mids (vocals, guitars) highs and lows are a little bit in the background not much but the mids take up a little bit more space...

What I like best about the d-JAYS is the way they handle male vocalist, which they do very well, if worn over the ears they have little to none microphonics...

What I miss in the d-JAYS are the deep and punching bass that the e500 deliver and a little bit soundstage...

Lastly they are very comfortable and can be listen to for hours whitout any fatigue, if you are a sucker for isolation it is easy to make foamies for them as well....