[qpop]

Hi guys

Spent the last while reading up on here, and on the av forums, trying to work out what IEM's to upgrade to.

Been rocking Sennheiser CX400s for the last 2 years or so - Bought for £50, loved them, felt like a real upgrade from the PX100's I owned previously.

Previous headphones: CX400 <- PX100 <- CX300 <- MX500 <- crappy bundled headphones
Current Equipment: HTC Desire Z, Cowon iAudio S9 (gathering dust at the moment but some new headphones might re-ignite my love for it!)

Budget £100 ABSOLUTE MAX - ideally less.

So, the situation is: My poor old Sennheiser CX400s have been through the washing machine 3x now, and are starting to come apart... I appreciate that they're not particularly audiophile-esque but they've served me well. As you can see from the list above I pretty much have only owned Sennheisers.

The kind of music I listen to:
These are an example of some of the albums on my phone, a typical example of music I listen to:
Justice - Cross
Nitin Sawhney - All Mixed Up
Braintax - Biro Funk
Biffy Clyro - Blackened Sky
Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys
Plan B - Defamation of Strickland Banks/Who needs actions when you have words
Nine Inch Nails - Downward Spiral/With Teeth
Chase and Status - No More Idols/More than A Lot
Cinematic Orchestra - Ma Fleur
At the Drive In - Relationship of Command
Atmosphere - God Loves Ugly
A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms
Yo-Yo-Ma - Bach Cello Suites

As you can see, fairly eclectic. I would describe myself as a "bass-appreciator" rather than a bass-head! But bass is important to me...

So far I've been looking around and have thought about...

"portable headphones" - decided against due to size/looking a bit silly! - also I like to run/weightlift, and IEMs have always served me better in this.

Etymotic xx - no bass/aneimic bass/accurate bass - none of these terms appeal.
Klipsch S4 - sounds quite exciting, but not much of an upgrade from CX400s? - put off by the idea of sibilance
Westone 1 - Top end of price range but apparently worth a look
Shure SE215 - from the first impressions thread these sound like they might be perfect, but priced prohibitively at £99!!! (especially when you can pick them up for $80 stateside )


So guys, for someone who really *does* appreciate hiphop, but also has an ear for a lot of other music, please recommend me a decent upgrade for the poor old abused CX400s I've been lugging around.

 

[blackz88]

Brainwavz M3
 

 

[qpop]

I've not heard of those, a quick google doesn't give me many sources to purchase from (I'm in the UK) - any breakdown of what they're like at all?

Any more ideas / help ?

 

[qpop]

It seems that whilst the Shure SE215 are just coming into stores in the UK, at £100, they're also selling Shure SE315s at £140 - which I could stretch to if I thought it would be worth it!

The bass is important to me, I like the look of Shure's, are they worth while? Or would I be better served by, say, Monster Turbines or similar?

 

[dweaver]

The SE215 is a very nice IEM, it has not quite as much bass as the Monster Turbines but it still has a lot of bass and more importantly it has better quality bass. Beyong bass though is has a better midrange, better treble, better sound stage, better detail, better build design and quality, better cables, better comfort etc.It is well worth the price.
 
I would take the SE215 it over the SE315 myself as dynamic IEM's are better at bass than BA based IEM's.

 

[qpop]

Well based on what I've read on the SE215 thread I've gone for a pair, clear, from theheadphonecompany.co.uk. I'll report back!!! Cheers guys

 

[davidcotton]

They'll be fine for delivery, nice and quick even with the free delivery.