[ryder78]

I would appreciate some recommendations on a good pair of earphones that will be used with a smartphone with good audio output (LG V20 with Quad DAC and Sabre chip).

I was looking at the Sennheiser CX-300ii but read comments about their fragility and the thing breaking apart just after 1 year of use. I also looked at the Soundmagic that was recommended but not too sure if it's good. Just need something solid and reliable (won't break apart easily) and sounds good. I mostly listen to jazz fusion from the likes of Brian Culbertson, Acoustic Alchemy etc. mostly piano-based music. I don't listen to rock too much.

I was looking at the $100+ price range but it can go up to $200 or more if better sound quality can be attained (without adding any additional gear such as DAC or amp). The intention is to just plug the earphones directly to the headphone jack of the smartphone.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

KZ ZST. For $100 you can get the IEM plus one spare cable, then keep $60 change in case you manage to break the shell by dropping it as opposed to the more usual cable breakage.

 

[serman005]

If you can swing it, another good option for you would be the 1More Quad Driver. Well-constructed and really sounds outstanding. Very hard to beat at its price point. Good for jazz. Maybe read about it and see what you think. It's possible it could work for you.