[xbkingx]

Hey folks,

Long time lurker, owner of about 8 different sets of cans (thanks for destroying my budget, btw). I just got a brand-spankin-new iPhone 3G, and right as I was about to toss the headset into the box o' crap headphones, I realized that I have a new headphone challenge: a stereo headset that works with my new glossy toy.

A quick check of my usual manufacturers revealed the Etymoric Hf2, the Sennheiser MM50, Shure 12c-m, and the Shure adapter with built in mic.

I generally use my Shure SE310s when walking around since they sound reasonably good, are reasonably easy to jam into my ears and remove quickly, and they don't pop out, but I much prefer the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro's sound quality. In general, I am a "Sennheiser person" - love my HD580s, even though I haven't splurged on an amp yet, and game with the PC 350 (which I think forum members here totally underrate, but that's another discussion) - but don't care much for their lower end items like the CX series.

Music taste: mostly industrial, synthpop, techno, electronic, ethereal. Lots of atmosphere, less on the instrumental/acoustic side, when on the go.

My take on each option (correct me if I'm wrong):
- Etymotic Hf2: I had a set of Etymotic ER6is, but the cords were apparently delicious to my cats. Never really cared for the harshness and lack of bass, which is what I am expecting from the Hf2s.
- Sennheiser MM50: Not expecting great things at all, and barely even considering. Am I wrong?
- Shure i2c: I had some E2Cs that died on me after alot of use, but the sound was a little muddy even for my tastes. Expecting similarly here.
- Music phone adapter: Probably my best option, and just keep using my SE310s, especially since they are detachable from the bulk of the cord length and would reduce the distance between earphones and mic. Still, I have the "upgrade bug" and would like to try something new.

Any thoughts? Are the Shure SE420s worth the extra money over the 310s (the 530s are a little rich for me right now)? Any recs on short corded IEMs (don't want to deal with modding, would be used with Shure adapter)?

Budget <$300, relatively picky about sound quality but these are going to be used primarily when walking around, so the distraction factor means that they don't have to be the best of the best.

Thanks much!

edit: I should mention I'm also interested in regular-sized headphones, but assume the list is limited due to cord length issue. Also, I know there are cheapo adapters, but I assume the Shure one uses a decent mic. True?

 

[jmht]

If you're willing to deal with Ebay, you can probably find Shure E530s for around that 300 range you're looking for.

The Push-to-Talk unit (PTR) is like an extra 30-50 or so, so without it, 250-300 should be do-able.

The E530 was my 2nd set of headphones after the HD580, and I definitely don't have any complaints with them.

Edit: I'll admit I didn't do much A/B-A/B'ing between the 580s and the E530s, but offhand they are fairly similar. The reason I didn't do that was because I was using my computer as a source at the time (without amplification), and so the Shures sounded HORRIBLE with the noise and pops coming from the comp.

 

[xbkingx]

I went ahead and ordered the Shure Music Phone Adapter, since a) the adapter to any headphone is the most flexible solution, b) I trust Shure to include a decent mic, and c) I can use my SE310s for the time being without issues.

For those that are interested, there are a couple other similar adapters. Griffin makes one that looks decent, but I always feel like they overcharge for the quality of their products (they're not bad, but ride the whole Apple Tax wave). Bose has an adapter set, but I don't like contributing money to them and it has no answer button. There are cheap-o solutions, around $5-7, but I can imagine the quality of the mic in those...

Question: Would I see that much of a difference between the SE310s or Super.fi 5 Pros and the SE530, especially unamped? I can definitely tell the difference between the two driver Super.fi and the one driver SE310, but figure that leap in quality diminishes with each step.

(The SE530s are $320 at buy.com, which is the best for sites I actually trust - now begins the coupon code waiting game... not sure about the PTH, though. Does it allow environmental sounds + music or does it cut off the music? I assume it just uses the mic and mixes/merges the two sources so you get both.)