Portable headphones/IEM under 70 USD - findings from my research
Nov 3, 2010 at 2:26 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 17
ricardobio

ricardobio

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Hello,

I have been looking for some IEM/headphones. I found some interesting alternatives and I would like your help with the decision.
 
The characteristics they should have are:
 
  1. To be comfortable (this might be very subjective, I know, but give me you opinion) as I will use the for long periods of time;
  2. To be durable (cables and specially connections should be resistant) as I am not the best owner for my gear;
  3. To be noise insulating (I will use them to be able to focus while working in busy places);
  4. To be portable.

I listen mainly to pop/rock/indie music.

Keep in mind that they do not need to be earphones. They just need to be portable.

Any suggestions apart from the ones in the poll?

All the best and thanks for your time
 
Nov 3, 2010 at 4:24 PM Post #2 of 17
There won't be many people who have owned more than two of these so chances are it would be a popularity contest. Do you want to wear them over ear or straight down? That cuts your choices in half if cable noise is an issue. If you haven't had any good earphones before I imagine you'll be happy with any of them so which do you like the look of? So many of these things are personal opinion.
 
Nov 3, 2010 at 9:06 PM Post #3 of 17
Quote:
marcus_c said:
There won't be many people who have owned more than two of these so chances are it would be a popularity contest. Do you want to wear them over ear or straight down? That cuts your choices in half if cable noise is an issue. If you haven't had any good earphones before I imagine you'll be happy with any of them so which do you like the look of? So many of these things are personal opinion.
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Marcus_C,
 
Thanks for your answer.
 
It is true I never had a good set of earphones. But the sound is not my biggest concern here.
 
Honestly I wanna be able to carry them around without having to be extra careful about them. I also want to be able to be focused on my work, so insulation is a must and if they are not comfortable I won't be able to use them (and focus) for long.
 
I would probably not be able to distinguish between two phones that sound good, but I probably can identify the ones that do not sound good (kinda like some years ago when I started to get more into wines, I guess).
 
So what I would like to know is if somebody had some experience with these models that do not meet my needs (I saw some reports on the cables of the eterna being dislodge)  and if one of these is genuinely bad soundwise. Also if you saw something in the market I might be missing.
 
Thanks for your time,
 
R
 
Nov 4, 2010 at 11:20 AM Post #6 of 17

Quote:
marcus_c said:
There won't be many people who have owned more than two of these so chances are it would be a popularity contest. 
Click to expand...

 
Exactly this. Recommendation 'polls' don't work for this reason since you can't see who voted for what and what gear they've actually tried/owned. In all honesty I can't recommend buying the Eterna if you don't plan to be at least somewhat careful with it. It's got these little rubber grommets holding the cable in place and they will come loose if you cram the earphones into your pocket too many times. I carry mine in a carrying case and it still happened after a few months. The M2 used to have a similar problem but they claim to have fixed it (by switching to stronger glue...). The TS01 and klipsch S4 don't have obvious construction faults but overall they feel even more delicate than the M2/Eterna. If you really want to be rough on your earphones I'd recommend preordering the new Mp4nation proAlpha which is similar to the M2 in sound but has integrated strain reliefs that will hold up to abuse better. 
 
Nov 4, 2010 at 8:32 PM Post #7 of 17
Quote:
ljokerl said:
Recommendation 'polls' don't work for this reason since you can't see who voted for what and what gear they've actually tried/owned.
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ljokerl thanks for this advices. will take this into account in future posts.
 
Quote:
ljokerl said:


In all honesty I can't recommend buying the Eterna if you don't plan to be at least somewhat careful with it. It's got these little rubber grommets holding the cable in place and they will come loose if you cram the earphones into your pocket too many times. I carry mine in a carrying case and it still happened after a few months.
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I had a set of cx 400, probably bootlegged that I got from ebay. I was +- careful about them and then they failed due to strain reliefs displacement. I am not gonna be that uncareful with this ones, but I still would like them to be resilient. Also the fact that the Eterna fit overhear makes me have second thoughts.
 
Quote:
ljokerl said:


IIf you really want to be rough on your earphones I'd recommend preordering the new Mp4nation proAlpha which is similar to the M2 in sound but has integrated strain reliefs that will hold up to abuse better.
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Is there any other good sounding IEM that features similar strain reliefs and decent wires?
 
Thanks for your time.
 
R
 
Nov 4, 2010 at 10:57 PM Post #8 of 17

Quote:
ricardobio said:
Is there any other good sounding IEM that features similar strain reliefs and decent wires?
Click to expand...


Well the ProAlpha is a very old design which is why it works. That particular housing has been revised so many times that it's nearly bulletproof at this point. You can get other IEMs in the same style - Lear Le01+, Grado iGi, VSonic R02ProII, etc but none of them sound quite as good as the ProAlpha. There's also the Brainwavz M1 but it's missing the excellent strain reliefs of the ProAlpha (though it is identical otherwise when it comes to construction). There are other well-built IEMs out there in the price bracket - Panasonic HJE900, Etymotic MC5, Meelec M11+, etc. I just mentioned the ProAlpha since it sounds similar to the M2 (and I assume you've done your research on that) and is well within your budget.
 
Nov 5, 2010 at 5:53 PM Post #9 of 17
 
Quote:
ljokerl said:
There are other well-built IEMs out there in the price bracket - Panasonic HJE900, Etymotic MC5, Meelec M11+, etc. I just mentioned the ProAlpha since it sounds similar to the M2 (and I assume you've done your research on that) and is well within your budget.
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Ok, thanks for your suggestions.
 
I really did some research on headphones/earphones/IEM that fit my needs but apparently I missed a lot of the products that are out there. I did some preliminar reading on the topic and the ones I mention seem to be the most consensual.
 
Can you indicate me more phones that fit my needs or, at lest, how should I proceed to get knowledge of more models and do some research on ratings/reviews/similar items?
 
Thank you once again,
 
R
 
Nov 7, 2010 at 7:54 PM Post #12 of 17
the M2's are plenty durable. i see no reason why mine wouldn't last quite a long time.
 
definitely better built and more durable than the S4, better sounding too.
 
Nov 7, 2010 at 9:24 PM Post #14 of 17


Quote:
jonasklam said:
You listed Eterna v2. Just out of curiosity, why not v1? 
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They are discontinued and if you want a set you'll have to find a used one.
 
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