[xtr3me]

First of all, I'd like to say that I'm just starting in "head-fidelity".
Being a music lover, and having a good stereo made me buy a pair of decent headphones recently (I was tired of listening to music in my dorm with crapy speakers).
Right now, I'm just looking for a good pair of headphones in-ear, since these are the ones I use with my laptop in colege (and I don't want to bring my hd-25 along).
So my question is, now that my sony mdr-ex71 "died", which phones should I buy, considering I'd like them to cost arround $80? (at the most, with shipping costs to Portugal)
Should I buy another ex71s or should I look for something a little better.

NOTE: comfort is an important requirement

Thanks in advance

PS: my first post in the forum

 

[smeerkaas]

I Think the sharp md33 or the creatie ep-630 would be your best bet. These are basically the same IEM's. They are more balanced then the ex-71 and the wires or better designed (most ex-71's die due to bad wires).

you could go a step up for the shure e2, Here in Holland you can get em for 80 euro's but that already above your budget

whatever you do i wouldn't recommend the ex-71, i've had 3 pair in 6 months and my current pair is also already broken

 

[xtr3me]

Mine died that way (the copper wire busted the rubber band, and the left phone died).
When I say $80 I'm not saying the exact price. I'm talking about aprox. price, which means I don't want to spend 150 euros on phones

Here in portugal it's hard to find shures, super.fis, etc, so I'd have to buy them on ebay or here at the forum.
I'll wait for more opinions ... but thank you very much for your reply

 

[smeerkaas]

The shure e3 goes for about 100 dollar on the for sale forum here that would also be a good choice in your price range.

the er-6i is also an option, they go around 80 dollars but you can get em cheaper. The er-6i is very clear and some say it's a bit lacking in bass. Compared to the ex-71 it'll have a lot less bass. If your not an basshead these are great.

 

[xtr3me]

I really need bass

 

[smeerkaas]

Then the ep-630 will be good and if you're willing to spend the money the e2c would be even better

 

[Veggie_Musician]

I think my EX71s have poor bass compaired to my cheaper Sony MDR931s and UM2's

the 71s now sound thin and not enough bass!!!!!

 

[Ploop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by veggie_musician the 71s now sound thin and not enough bass!!!!!

thats a first....

 

[drarthurwells]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtr3me First of all, I'd like to say that I'm just starting in "head-fidelity". Being a music lover, and having a good stereo made me buy a pair of decent headphones recently (I was tired of listening to music in my dorm with crapy speakers). Right now, I'm just looking for a good pair of headphones in-ear, since these are the ones I use with my laptop in colege (and I don't want to bring my hd-25 along). So my question is, now that my sony mdr-ex71 "died", which phones should I buy, considering I'd like them to cost arround $80? (at the most, with shipping costs to Portugal) Should I buy another ex71s or should I look for something a little better. NOTE: comfort is an important requirement Thanks in advance PS: my first post in the forum

I think the Etymotic 6i is the best for under $100 of any ear or head phone.

You can get them for $90 shipped in the USA if you search around - if you can go the extra $10. Shipping by air letter express (OK for 4 pounds or less) is not expensive for shipment to Portugal. Look at buy.com for when they have their 10% off sale (from time to time) or do a search to find the same price.

The Sony EX71 is ok for most portable sources but not nearly as good as the ER 6i. A good clean source reveals this.

 

[azncookiecutter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drarthurwells I think the Etymotic 6i is the best for under $100 of any ear or head phone. You can get them for $90 shipped in the USA if you search around - if you can go the extra $10. Shipping by air letter express (OK for 4 pounds or less) is not expensive for shipment to Portugal. Look at buy.com for when they have their 10% off sale (from time to time) or do a search to find the same price. The Sony EX71 is ok for most portable sources but not nearly as good as the ER 6i. A good clean source reveals this.

x2
Er-6i are one of the best IEMs at that price range, but bass might be lacking. You need to get a good seal for the bass to come through. ER-6is usually go for sale @ around $60-70 in the FS forums, and head-fiers are pretty generous in where they ship to.
Avoid the EX-71s like a plague. I know at least 4 people in my school right now with EX71/51s, and almost all of them have striped wires hanging around.

 

[xtr3me]

Ok, i'll check them out.
Just to know, comparing to some shures e2c and to the super.fis 3, are the ER-6i better (in terms of sound and comfort)?

Thx in advance

 

[smeerkaas]

The er-6i have a very clean sound and is a good earphone in it's pricerange (better then the other 2 you mentioned). but if you're a basshead you'll be better of avoiding these

 

[xtr3me]

I need my new phones to have at least as much bass has the ex71s.
I listen to a lot of different music, but since I like metal I need to have some bass on my headphones

 

[afbug]

Avoid the ER6i then. Go for the EP630 or MD33, these will match the EX71 in bass.

 

[smeerkaas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by afbug Avoid the ER6i then. Go for the EP630 or MD33, these will match the EX71 in bass.

I agree with afbug. since you're living in europe the ep-630 is the easiest to come buy.

Here in holland they cost 40 euro's but creative also has a 'zen micro premium pack' containing the ep-630's, extra battery for the micro, silicone skin, neck strap and power adapter. This pack also costs 40 euro in holland

Anyway if you can get the premium pack, sell everything except the phones through ebay. Someone i know did this and got 25 euro's for this. So he only paid 15 euro for the ep-630's

I don't know how this is in Portugal but you can give it a try