[krelianx]

Howdy everyone! 

Long story short, my re-400s broke (which I loved), and I have a pair of vsd3s, the version with a removable cable, which are very fun and robust sounding but whose build I am just very suspicious of (the left earpiece is already finnicky). I want to buy something sturdy, with great soundstage, and smooth balanced presentation and extension. I'm pretty tired of having to buy a new set every year of two because of bad build quality. The re-400s sounded great, but the cable connector to the earpieces was weak, and it got detached and damaged easily. Pouch and all.

I have been wondering about the S1, S2, and the new Sennheiser Momentums. I would love to see some comparisons between these three, and/or the re-400s or vsd3s. I am trying to keep it under $100. These three seem pretty much top of the line for ergonimics and sound at price point. I've heard good things about the Havi B3, but they seem to require an amp. I'll be driving these through my HTC One M8 primarily. Any help would be appreciated.

I like a fairly balanced sound, specious, with good soundstage, clear and detailed mids, and enough air and sparkle on top to be detailed. I'm not into 'dark' soundind iems (I have a Fidelio X1 and hd-600 for full size). 
 

 

[goodyfresh]

 
I like a fairly balanced sound, specious, with good soundstage, clear and detailed mids, and enough air and sparkle on top to be detailed. I'm not into 'dark' soundind iems (I have a Fidelio X1 and hd-600 for full size). 
 

Trinity Delta.  Probably the best deal in the world for IEM's under $150 right now.  They sell on Amazon for about $120 to $130 at the moment, so they're maybe a LITTLE above your ideal price-range, and direct from Trinity's website for 90 British Pounds (about 135 dollars or so).  They're seriously amazing.  AMAZING!  For 120 dollars, you get a wide selection of silicone and foam tips, the earphones themselves which use dual hybrid (BA and Dynamic) drivers, have a wonderful build-quality with all aluminum housings and a nice braided cable and a spring-protected base for the jack with an included optional right-angle connector.  A hard carrying case.  And, best of all, they come with three separate pairs of tuning filters for giving options of different sound-signatures.  The stock gunmetal filter is reference, gives a very smooth but highly detailed and close to neutral sound, the silver filter is bassier and v-shaped but at the same time has even more clarity, and the purple filter is bright with powerful treble.

You can often find pairs of the Trinity Delta used on eBay for 99 or 100 bucks, which is an incredible deal. THey won't be covered by warranty in that case but, it shouldn't be a big deal since they are very sturdily built.
 
Just check out this rave-review from one of the most prolific and well-regarded reviewers in these forums: http://www.head-fi.org/products/trinity-delta-dual-hybrid-iem/reviews/12845
 
For an even better experience comfort-and-isolation-wise with them than with the included tips, at least according to that reviewer Brooko in his PM's with me, you can also choose to buy some Sony Isolation Hybrid Tips for about 12 bucks.  They can't be found easily here in the U.S., but are easily available on eBay.  If you're interested in how to find them and which model-number of the tips to get, you can PM me. for more info about them.
 
Anyway, I got the Trinity Deltas, they came in a few days ago, and I could not possibly be happier with them unless they also washed my clothes and did my grocery shopping for me

  They are significantly better in every area (except isolation, to be honest) than my Shure SE215 IEM's, which cost 99 dollars new on Amazon and other places.

Do note that the Trinity Deltas do tend to have some pretty significant cable-microphonics from movement/rubbing of the cable against objects.  HOWEVER, wearing them in an over-ear style is very easy, and eliminates the problem almost completely.

I can not stress enough how much I recommend the Deltas.  For the price of 120 to 130 dollars new, I'd rate them six-out-of-five stars without any hesitation whatsoever.

 

[Tail]

 
I am trying to keep it under $100. 

I like a fairly balanced sound, specious, with good soundstage, clear and detailed mids, and enough air and sparkle on top to be detailed. 
 

It's hard to find something for <100$ (or even for more) that can last full 2 years without any problem, especially since in ears are used on daily basis while moving. To save the cable problems you should go with the ones that have cable over the ear design (or at least those that can be worn that way), to reduce stress on the critical point where cable is connected to earphones (the point where most earphones stop working).
 
Sennheiser tho usually makes long lasting products, my friend had his CX300-II (worn "normal" way, not with cable over the ear) and they survived ~3 years, which is something for the price, so I doubt Momentums would be any worse. 
 
Sound wise GR07 win vs Momentums in my opinion on so many levels, a lot clearer sound overall and no mid bass "veil" so whole midrange sound clearer, generally much more balanced sound than Momentum in ear while having some less bass, but the bass is still there, it's not like they lack it, but again. not sure about build quality, friend has his for over 2 years now but he doesn't use them daily so not sure there. And GR07 are nicely worn with cables over the ear so they stay more secure inside ears, momentums are somehow strange... they fit ok but for me it was noticeably better with GR07.
 
No idea about the others honestly, just tested those 2.

 

[krelianx]

Thanks tail. Im eyeing those s2s right now as well, so ill wait for some. Comparisons and feedback on those.

 

[krelianx]

Trinity Delta.  Probably the best deal in the world for IEM's under $150 right now.  They sell on Amazon for about $120 to $130 at the moment, so they're maybe a LITTLE above your ideal price-range, and direct from Trinity's website for 90 British Pounds (about 135 dollars or so).  They're seriously amazing.  AMAZING!  For 120 dollars, you get a wide selection of silicone and foam tips, the earphones themselves which use dual hybrid (BA and Dynamic) drivers, have a wonderful build-quality with all aluminum housings and a nice braided cable and a spring-protected base for the jack with an included optional right-angle connector.  A hard carrying case.  And, best of all, they come with three separate pairs of tuning filters for giving options of different sound-signatures.  The stock gunmetal filter is reference, gives a very smooth but highly detailed and close to neutral sound, the silver filter is bassier and v-shaped but at the same time has even more clarity, and the purple filter is bright with powerful treble.


You can often find pairs of the Trinity Delta used on eBay for 99 or 100 bucks, which is an incredible deal. THey won't be covered by warranty in that case but, it shouldn't be a big deal since they are very sturdily built.

Just check out this rave-review from one of the most prolific and well-regarded reviewers in these forums: http://www.head-fi.org/products/trinity-delta-dual-hybrid-iem/reviews/12845

For an even better experience comfort-and-isolation-wise with them than with the included tips, at least according to that reviewer Brooko in his PM's with me, you can also choose to buy some Sony Isolation Hybrid Tips for about 12 bucks.  They can't be found easily here in the U.S., but are easily available on eBay.  If you're interested in how to find them and which model-number of the tips to get, you can PM me. for more info about them.

Anyway, I got the Trinity Deltas, they came in a few days ago, and I could not possibly be happier with them unless they also washed my clothes and did my grocery shopping for me   They are significantly better in every area (except isolation, to be honest) than my Shure SE215 IEM's, which cost 99 dollars new on Amazon and other places.


Do note that the Trinity Deltas do tend to have some pretty significant cable-microphonics from movement/rubbing of the cable against objects.  HOWEVER, wearing them in an over-ear style is very easy, and eliminates the problem almost completely.


I can not stress enough how much I recommend the Deltas.  For the price of 120 to 130 dollars new, I'd rate them six-out-of-five stars without any hesitation whatsoever.

Thank you so much for this input. I had no idea about these. The price is a bit over my budget, alas. I was going to try to find the S2s or gr07 for 100 flat tops. Right now i can find the s2s for about 80 new. So im really anxious to pick something up. I LOVED The vsd3s and the re-400s.... But them builds.

 

[goodyfresh]

Thank you so much for this input. I had no idea about these. The price is a bit over my budget, alas. I was going to try to find the S2s or gr07 for 100 flat tops. Right now i can find the s2s for about 80 new. So im really anxious to pick something up. I LOVED The vsd3s and the re-400s.... But them builds.

I'm telling you man, for only 20 to 30 bucks more if you do buy new instead of used, the Deltas will give you VASTLY better performance and build/reliability than anything you can get in the under-$100 range.  Just saying.  If you wanted to buy new, all you'd have to do is save up an extra $25 and you'd be golden and end up with IEM's which you'll never feel the need to replace.
 
Anyway hold on I'm about to PM you something.

 

[goodyfresh]

Something else to take note of: Trinity also has a cheaper model, the Techne, which should be RIGHT in your price-range, it's under $80 on Amazon for example.  It only has a single driver rather than dual-hybrid drivers, so it won't have as good a soundstage or QUITE as good detail as teh Deltas, but by all accounts it is an INCREDIBLY good earphone for its price, and has the usual excellent Trinity build-quality.  It does come with all the same accessories as the Delta, including the changeable tuning-filters.