[LukeV]

I've had my JVC Marshmallows for almost a year now and though I enjoyed them very much they have a few things I'm looking to get away from.

In the course of a year I've lost one set of buds and I had them drop on the ground many times while taking them out of my ear or out of my pocket mainly because they aren't held on very securely and also they are a pain to clean.

I'm not looking to spend alot of money. Something between the €50-€80 range maybe. That should get me a decent upgrade from my $20 Marshmallows no?

Also my options are quite thin due to my geographic location. My best shot would be finding something on ebay.

 

[ZARIM]

JVC FX300, FX C50, FX C70, CX300, Sennheiser CX400, CX500, CX95 and Sony EX300

 

[LukeV]

Well that's a pretty long list. I'll try and narrow it down a bit.

I'm mainly looking for something comfortable to wear, sturdy and secure. I usually find myself having to push my marshmallows back into my ears every few minutes cause they just slip out.

I listen to a wide variety of genres consisting of electro, rock, classical and instrumental guitar. So it's important that the earphones be good all rounders.

Also, I definitely do not want earphones that leak sound.

Those are pretty much the deciding factors. As for sound quality, I'm using a 3rd gen ipod nano so I guess there's no point in putting in a lot of money for high fidelity earphones.

I'm really liking the sennheiser cx 95. I have a pair of sennheiser cans at home and they're also great all rounders. I can't seem to find a pair that I can get shipped to my location on ebay though. Does anyone know a shop that ships to Malta? Preferably in Europe.

EDIT: I noticed the CX 95 have a pretty short cable and come with an extension. I'm not a big fan of the idea as I only want something that can go from my head to my trouser's pockets without leaving a lot of wiring bundled up.

 

[ljokerl]

Soundmagic PL50. Very comfortable, reasonably cheap, worldwide free shipping, and really, really good sound for the price.

 

[LukeV]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljokerl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Soundmagic PL50. Very comfortable, reasonably cheap, worldwide free shipping, and really, really good sound for the price.

Where from? What's there website? Never heard of soundmagic before, are they one of those non-mainstream companies that make surprisingly good products?

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LukeV /img/forum/go_quote.gif Where from? What's there website? Never heard of soundmagic before, are they one of those non-mainstream companies that make surprisingly good products?

Yes, they are one of those companies. Their PL30s made a big splash here last year and the PL50s are a new offering. Both have reviews and appreciation threads here. Also, I think today is the last day to use the $5 off coupon when ordering them from dealperfect (see here).

 

[LukeV]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljokerl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, they are one of those companies. Their PL30s made a big splash here last year and the PL50s are a new offering. Both have reviews and appreciation threads here. Also, I think today is the last day to use the $5 off coupon when ordering them from dealperfect (see here).

Oh wow that's great. Should I get them

.

Doesn't seem like I'll be taking advantage of the offer though I can't order them today. Granted they sound like great earphones but I'm really not liking the way they look.

Now I know that should be the last thing to worry about but the dark blue color, bulky cuboid look, with large pieces of bright blue/red is really turning me off. It just screams "cheap chinese product".

 

[ljokerl]

Well, in that case so should the Etymotic Er-4p/Er-4s, Sennheiser HD25-II, and all the other phones that have color-coded Left-Right strain reliefs. I happen to like the way the PL50s look, personally (but perhaps you should look at Skullcandy instead).

I don't expect other phones that are on their level in terms of sound quality will be easy for you to get.

Edit: btw if you look at Mark's review here, you'll see that they aren't bulky at all. Pretty tiny actually.

 

[LukeV]

Well it's not the fact that they're color coded that bothers me it's just that bright red orangey plastic so popular with chinese electronics and various other products.

I can't convince myself to like the way they look, I just don't but I'm not going to let that stop me from buying a superior product.

So don't the pl50 have any competition in their price range or anything?

 

[ZARIM]

I think comuteruniverse.net has good prices and they ship internationaly.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LukeV /img/forum/go_quote.gif So don't the pl50 have any competition in their price range or anything?

Sure, the compeition IMO is the Nuforce Ne-7M's, the Maximo Im-590's and the Meelectronics Ai-M6. But I recall people outside the US having trouble getting their hands on all of these at reasonable prices. Also, the PL50's are still the most comfortable.

 

[Belabor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljokerl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sure, the compeition IMO is the Nuforce Ne-7M's, the Maximo Im-590's and the Meelectronics Ai-M6. But I recall people outside the US having trouble getting their hands on all of these at reasonable prices. Also, the PL50's are still the most comfortable.

Yes, that's the reason why I got the PL50. The Nuforce NE-7M was my second choice, and because these are only reasonably priced on Amazon.com, which has reasonably high shipping costs to Europe, I turned away from it. The IM-590's are only available through eBay and the Meelectronics aren't available for Europe at all.

So, basically there was only one choice left for me. But I'm sure the PL50's won't be the worst of the lot.

 

[LukeV]

Alright so I found the Maximo iM-590s for €45 and the nuforce NE-7Ms for €42 on ebay. From dealperfect the PL50s are nonly €38 but all 3 of these are outside the EU so I'm guessing I'll have to pay duties and taxes for all of them.

So what's the next step up from these? Technically I'm still undershooting my €50-€80 budget.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LukeV /img/forum/go_quote.gif Alright so I found the Maximo iM-590s for €45 and the nuforce NE-7Ms for €42 on ebay. From dealperfect the PL50s are nonly €38 but all 3 of these are outside the EU so I'm guessing I'll have to pay duties and taxes for all of them. So what's the next step up from these? Technically I'm still undershooting my €50-€80 budget.

Lol... undershooting isnt necessarily a bad thing. Ever heard of diminishing returns? All of the IEMs recommended thus far are huge upgrade from Marshmallows. Anyway, the next tier is the JVC HA-FX500, Phonak PFE's, Etymotic HF5, and Head-Direct RE0.

 

[LukeV]

Hmm those are a bit too expensive I think. Obviously I'm not going to mind undershooting my budget but I'm just saying I have a bit of breathing room left.

Anyways, so excluding the ones you just mentioned above, would you say I should get the PL50s. I'm looking for something with a nice thump to the bass and yet can still deliver a nice sweet sparkly sound for the classical and synth bits.