[Corban227]

hey guys,
my mom travels a lot and recently expressed a desire to get some better "ear buds" for herself.  so i figure what a great Christmas present!  but I'm very uneducated when it comes to these products, which is why I'm here O.o.  so my budget is max of 100, but would like to keep it lower unless i can get people to pitch in.  
features in order of importance:
 
1.Noise Canceling
2.Comfort
3.Sound Quality
 
She does a lot of long plane trips and all she is using right now is the basic mac ipod buds which suck hardcore.  if i had the money or could find them used cheap, i would just get her a pair of QC from bose because she wont be able to tell the sound difference and they have the best noise canceling and comfort (so i hear) but since they like to charge an arm and a leg they are out.  
 
thx for the help

 

[Yoga Flame]

Head-direct RE0 is within your budget at $70-$80. It's an in-ear type that blocks out engine noise quite well. Sound quality is excellent. Certainly leaps and bounds better than Bose. And you might still have some budget left over for a FiiO E5 amp to go with it, though an amp is not strictly necessary.

 

[djevoultion]

Meelectronics (http://www.meelec.com) are having a sale on the M6 for $13.99. Worth considering especially at that price. I've ordered a pair, you can find a review here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478568/multi-iem-review-121-iems-compared-hifiman-re262-added-11-25

 

[Dabears2240]

Meelec M11's are comfortable and isolate very well, and should be on sale sometime this week and will probably be $35.  See this guys(^) post for their website.  I think these are probably more comfortable than the m6's because those are made mostly for working out

 

[Corban227]

hmm thx guys i like the look of both those.  are you sure the m11 will go on sale?  cause if they do i might pick up a pair for my gf as well and be done with it O.o
 
if i were to go with teh m11 would they benifit from teh fiio5 amp?

 

[hojomojo96]

 
Quote:Shmulkey

  Partial list of expected Meelec deals:
 

12/12	M2	DAILY_DEAL_M2	$5.49 after $6.50 off
12/13	M6 clear	[size=medium] [size=11pt]DAILY_DEAL_M6-CL[/size][/size]
12/14	M11+ red	[size=medium] [size=11pt]DAILY_DEAL_M11-RD[/size][/size]
12/15	M9 black	[size=medium] [size=11pt]DAILY_DEAL_M9-BK[/size][/size]
12/17	M6 black	[size=medium] [size=11pt]DAILY_DEAL_M6-BK[/size][/size]

 
The 12/12 deal appears to be working, though the front page graphic announcing the deal isn't up yet. 

 

[Dabears2240]

Quote:

hmm thx guys i like the look of both those.  are you sure the m11 will go on sale?  cause if they do i might pick up a pair for my gf as well and be done with it O.o
 
if i were to go with teh m11 would they benifit from teh fiio5 amp?

I don't think the amp would make that big of a difference, they are fairly easy to drive

 

[Dr-Atrocious]

I'm gonna go the mainstream route and say the Klipsch S4is.
The oval tips are comfortable, and sound quality is superb.
Isolation, I can't say too much about since I tried them in a relatively quiet environment.

 

[buffalowings]

lady gaga heart <3 beats? (dreamy eyes)

 

[mythe]

I would skip the amp, your mom would probably just think it's a hassle and it won't improve the sound that much with these easy to drive headphones.
Etymotic Research MC5 and RE0 are both very good choices.  If your mom can learn to use the triple flanges that come with ER's headphones correctly then you will get a ton of isolation.  You could also get foam tips.
Klispch s4i might be good if you want something with ipod controls or a mic.  I don't think they isolate as much with the included oval tips though.

 

[Corban227]

when you say how learn how to use them, what do you mean?  ive never used them myself either so i wouldnt know the difference
 
also how do the MC5's compare to the M11s?  the m11's went on sale today for 45 dollars.  would it be worth the 40 dollars in savings to get the m11s or would the MC5's beat them out easily.  since the sale ends today ill need to decide by today

 

[Corban227]

well i was bit on a lightning deal on amazon for some Etymotic ER6i headphones.  they were on sale for 59 dollars.  the meelec m11s were 50 after tax and since i was already picking up the HD595 (also lightning deal for 109)  i figured why not order them both from the same place