[Guitarded88]

My faithful RE0s have officially retired today, when my left headphone suddenly went silent (after I fixed the case opening a few months back). They served me well for over a year, which is unfortunate for my warranty.
 
 
Anyways... I want to grab a new portable pair of headphones for using mostly with my iPhone with a Fiio e1. I listen primarily to metal, but also listen to a lot of Prog, so need something good for super heavy music, as well as slightly lighter synth and keyboard rock.
 
I remember being very fond of the RE0s when I had bi-flanges, but I lost those a while back and since using Sony Hybrid tips have felt the sound quality to be lacking, and very brittle sounding. This could be due to an issue with the headphones for all i know, they've definitely fallen apart enough times.
 
I know the S4s have the iphone control, which is an added bonus... but im concerned I'll notice a drop in sound quality. So far, I haven't seen anyone compare the Re-zero to the S4s...
 
Does anyone have any advice?
 
P.S. Budget should be roughly around 100 bucks... Im broke and in university... and i know people are going to recommend those shure iems.
 
thanks!
 
 

 

[FearSC549]

IMO, the S4s are terrible for the price. You will definitely notice a difference and it's not a good one.
 
You can try the Sunrise X-cape, which is similar to the RE0, but I heard it has more bass.  

 

[Guitarded88]

Thats what I was afraid of. I read a lot of people raving about them for heavy music such as rock and metal.

 I guess RE-Zero seems like top choice, until I look into the Sunrise X-capes. I also wouldn't mind investing instead in a full sized pair of cans, if they're portable enough. I wore my HD280s to school today and they didn't bug me as much as I thought they would. Any suggestions?