[race2c]

Everyone this is my first post on Head-Fi, and will definitely not be my last.
 
I just recently got a set of Sennheiser PXC 450s as a gift, and actually looking at trading or selling them to get a pair of IEMs. 
 
I have always used a pair of cheaper Sony earbuds, and the PXCs made me realize I should step up my game. What do you recommend I should possibly trade for/or look for, in terms of IEMs wise? Budget is in the neighborhood of what BNIB PXC450s are, if a $$$ is needed ($150/200 or so)
 
Ipod Video (5g) (completely stock/no rockbox/no DIYmod/etc) or Ipod Nano (5g) (completely stock)
FiiO E5 Portable Amp
Music: Rock/Alternative/Country (largely Texas/Red Dirt Country)
 
Thanks

 

[50an6xy06r6n]

Take a look here first: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478568/multi-iem-review-138-iems-compared-meelectronics-cx21-cw31-added-01-26
ljokerl's got some really comprehensive comparisons, as well as a good ranking system, oh, and did I mention there are 138 different earbuds?

 

[race2c]

Yeah, I read the reviews for a good 3-4 hours last week.
 
Just figured that someone would with previous experiences with similar music genre tastes would add in their personal opinions and comments.
 
I am not a typical forum "noob" who doesn't search before making a thread. I know people have made opinions on rock/alternative stuff before but looking for IEMs mostly for country.

 

[lucozade]

Over your budget i know but for my country music i love the sound of my ortofon eq7 and SE530 the best out of the iem's i own .

 

[Rmccullo]

 
wow, better than your sm3? from all the posts I read, most make it seem as if they are unbeatable

 

[lucozade]

Quote:

 
wow, better than your Sm3? from all the posts I read, most make it seem as if they are unbeatable

Now i still love my SM3 and it is still my main work horse  which i use more than any other iem in my collection but for country music, yes i prefer the eq7 and SE530 over the Sm3s ,they are more suited to that genre with there sweeter sounding midrange and tamer bass and treble . That is not to say that country music does not sound good on the Sm3 ,it does but i am very particular as to how country music should sound and for me the other two just do it that bit better than the Sm3.
 
However i much prefer rock music,rhythm and blues , blues on the Sm3 and if i could only keep one of my iems it would be the Sm3 as it really is an excellent all rounder but like all phones not everything you play through them sounds as good as it possibly can  .

 

[50an6xy06r6n]

Quote:

Yeah, I read the reviews for a good 3-4 hours last week.
 
Just figured that someone would with previous experiences with similar music genre tastes would add in their personal opinions and comments.
 
I am not a typical forum "noob" who doesn't search before making a thread. I know people have made opinions on rock/alternative stuff before but looking for IEMs mostly for country.

Oh, sorry then... I guess I sort of jumped the gun in assuming you hadn't read it... Sorry! 

 

 

[race2c]

Not a problem, I know some forums can be real picky about "noobs" not searching before they make posts.  If I came across as an a$$hole, don't take anything from it.

 
Well...I think I have made a decision for right now...I think I am just gonna go for a pair of MEElectronics M9s or M9Ps, and get a set of higher quality IEMs (probably DBA-02s) when I am out of graduate school. Of course, this will be in conjunction with a FiiO E5.

 

[50an6xy06r6n]

Are you sure? I don't think the M9s are exactly mid-fi, let alone hi-fi... And if you're going to get something for ~$20, why not get the M6? Amazon has them for around $20 atm... It's your choice, but since you mentioned your price range was ~$150, I just thought you might want to get a slightly higher-end pair...

 

[race2c]

No, I am not entirely sure right now...haha.

In terms of my selection of M9s was due to the review on the IEM shootout. The M6s being an over-the-ear design isn't my favorite and the difficulty of new tips due to nozzle/stem diameter, but will research more of it tomorrow during office hours/class breaks. If the M6s are the same comparable prices to M9s, I may think about it.
 
Do you recommend or have any experience of the M6/M6P? Do you recommend the microphone version or not? The only thing I would find useful about this is the ability to control a media device, as I use my smartphone as a normal phone (not handsfree) and have a bluetooth device in my vehicle when traveling.
 
I know my budget was around $150, but I think I am going to save some of that for $ a LOD (or at least the parts to do a DIYLOD). 

 

[50an6xy06r6n]

I'm not a huge expert on source/amp/dac quality, but I think that up to a certain point, the headphones you use make the biggest difference in terms of sound quality. At least until you get into $100+ headphones, I don't think an amp makes a huge difference, esp. in regards to IEMs... If I were you I would probably grab a pair of RE-0s or something, and save for an amp later on... but that's just me 

 

[race2c]

Well its been a while, but I ended up getting the 2-pack from Meelectronics of M6s. The pink pair has been dedicated to gym duty and the black pair had a problem.
 
The m6s had a problem with the drivers, so they got sent back and replaced by Meelec with a set of M6Ps.
 
Cam