[yunaforever009]

I am running an unamped iPhone for portable music and am looking for a good IEM.... that is comfortable. Because I have small ears and have had issues in the past with Shure, I am trying to find small devices... but still have the drivers to deliver some decent bass for my crosscountry running music (techno and basshunter) but will give me some good tunes for Adele and Ludovico Einaudi. Are any of these three, X10, er4-P or the Q-Jays going to fit the bill?

 

[Zalithian]

If you're looking for bass, the X10's are known to be the bassiest of the bunch as well as very comfortable.

 

[Bluey]

...and you might think about the Ultimate Ears 700. i haven't heard them, but they have been getting some good feedback here on Head-Fi. [i'm close to ordering them]

 

[duanepo]

not considering the Sennheiser IE8? then might as well go with the X10

 

[ka-boom]

X10 are very comfortable, and very full of bass.

Check the review in my sig for more info.

 

[yunaforever009]

Well, I think that because of the comfort present in the X10.... I may bounce for that. Those or maybe the UM3s.... I never realized how much affect the tip had on sound quality and fit...

 

[Djren12]

X3 on the X10's, great for running tips stay in ear well. The phone's wires are light and you wont even notice you have them on while running if you wear them under your shirt.

 

[Bilavideo]

I'm a Grado lover who, on a recent trip, realized the virtues of IEMs for noisy environments and bought up a fistful of IEMs, including the Westone 3, the UM3X, the Shure 530PTH, the UE Triple Fi 10 and the Etymotic Er4P.

In running A/B tests, I've come to realize the importance of finding the right tip. Each one of these has its charms, but only if you get the right fit. I love how the Westones fit in my earlobes, curled up like hearing aids. The UM3X fits better than the Westone 3 but both models stay in better than with the other makes. The Westone 3 has more prominent bass while the UM3X has a better balance. I actually like its bass better because it doesn't sound artificially enhanced. Another great IEM for the bass is the Triple Fi 10. I had more trouble keeping them in my ears, but when I found the right tip (smaller, to go deeper), I was very impressed with the low, low bass.

The Er4p isn't very bassy at all. I had to jam and corkscrew these phones deep into my ear canal in order to get any bass at all. Using larger tips only kept them shallow and thinned out the sound. Their design is like having little drivers attached to toothpicks. I always felt a little spooked, as if somebody could come up and slap me in the ears and puncture my eardrums. The Er4p, once screwed in far enough, produces a very clean sound, though one with greater impedence than its contenders. Even without the adapter to turn the Er4p into an Er4s, there's a several-decibel drop in sound. You have to crank up the volume to properly hear them, though when you do, it's a nice sound. But if you're looking for something bassy, and if you're driving without an amp, you'd be better served by the Westones than by the Etymotics.

My biggest surprise in this was the bass response off of the UE Triple Fi 10s. The UM3X is still my favorite IEM but the Triple Fi has some amazing bass, and it's a very attractive headphone with shiny cobalt shells and a thicker cable. The Triple Fi is the universal version of the $900 UE 10. I like the Westone UM3X, which provides ample bass, but I was surprised at the low thump on those Triple Fi's.