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I am needing to replace my curent IEM for at a maximum budget of around $100 dollars MAXIMUM I was thinking of either the KZ ZS10 Pro 4BA+1DD 5 Driver In-Ear HiFi Metal Earphones with Stainless Steel Faceplate, 2 Pin Detachable Cable (With Mic, Blue) for $56USD But then I saw the 1MORE Quad Driver for $100USD on sale I am looking for some bass but clear audio for podcast and not to be uncomfortable. I am also open to other suggestions but they need to be IEM as these will be used mostly out and about and need to be something I can curl up put in my pocket so not overhead or wireless buds cases. I'm not interested in wireless but also NEEDS to have a MIC as it is something I do use. Thanks for any advice offered.

Hi Looking for In ear headphones but might buy full size headphone. Looking to spend max $250 but can spend more. I was looking at audio technica iems - ath im02 JVC Iems - JVC HA-FXz200 - ken wood HA-FX650 I am thinking of getting the Oppo PM-3 Believe they are at $399 MSRP for portable use I have the Westone um pro 20, they are ok but I find the bass too muddy for my liking. I had the JVC FXT90 when it was sold in future shop I liked them but the sound signature didn't sound that good once I went to a higher priced product. so any suggestions on Headphones/In ear Monitors to get for portable use?

Introduction If you saw my last article, you’d know I basically found the Bose QC15 to be a total failure in the only department I thought they might actually outperform, noise isolation. Turns out an earcup is an earcup, and no amount of fancy null wave technology will cancel out the low level rumbling of a small regional jet rattling along on its final serviceable year. However, the Proears and a lot of other hearing protectors I’ve seen used by ground crews around airplanes gave me the idea that earplug styled headphones might be a better option. An in-ear monitor is a small driver with a tip that sits in the ear canal. Its small size means it can be used to discretely monitor music both on and off stage, making it useful for musicians in high decibel environments. The major strengths of in-ear monitors are simply put, isolation. They are earplugs, plain and simple, and a good pair will beat anything at isolating sound, whether it’s a concert or an airplane. Of course, as anyone whose worn in-ear monitors can profess, they are simply frustrating and sometimes downright painful to insert, especially if they don’t come with a tip that fits your ears. Custom tips can be made to improve fit, but the process can be prohibitively expensive. For me, my prior experience with this kind of headphone has been very bad. Let’s see if Etymotics can change my mind about IEMs. Comfort (or fit, in this case) Does that lady not make the creepiest face you’ve ever seen? Yeesh. Regardless, I was directed to this video in the included case via a big yellow card inserted into a pocket on the lid. You know, it would have been nice if anyone had ever explained this about in-ears to me when I was a kid. They’d constantly fall out and they had no bass response, and the fact I didn’t insert them deeply enough into my ears is exactly why I thought that. Like the creepy lady shows in the video, I also found that the ear-tug and twist technique was a VERY effective way to insert the tips properly. When you actually get one of the Etymotic’s 6 different tip styles, all of which are included, to fit properly into your ears, they hold snugly in your ear canal. With the included shirt clip there’s no tugging to deal with either. However, even with the correct tip, they still feel really annoying in your ears, and opening your mouth noticeably moves them around in your ear canal. If your ears are as sensitive as mine are, this is still pretty annoying, but for in ear monitors, all that discomfort is a usual drawback. Sound QualityI’ve seen a lot of different in-ear monitors recommended in the forums around the $100 level. The Etymotic brand certainly includes models that are easily in this range and even a model for kids with really high impedance so they can’t blow out their ears on an iPod. This particular model, however, is their flagship model, and retails for around $250. So is there a major increasing in sound quality or isolation with this particular in-ear monitor? Oh yes. The high frequency response definitely gives the AKG K702 a run for its money. It’s a bright, clean, and sparkly sound all the way up to the highest chirps. There’s not a lot of “bloom” in the bass range as the lows are not pronounced, but definitely not subdued either. Overall, the sound of these headphones is dead flat, partly to thank to its extreme isolation. It’s sufficient to say this design finally achieved an acceptable level of noise isolation on my plane rides. It’s not 100% by any means, but it’s at least 90-95%. I can’t even hear the air conditioner right next to me in my hotel room, and I’ll have you know it’s quite loud! If I had any complaint about the sound of these monitors, it’s the one flaw that no in-ear can escape, that in-your-head feel to the soundstage, because, actually, it IS in your ear. Conclusion I think it goes without saying that I’ll be keeping these. Not only are they more compact than the Bose QC15, they don’t need batteries, isolate better, and sound as good or better than most headphones of any sort in their price range. It’s a win-win, unless you can’t get used to those tips in your ears. I hope the last couple of articles have gone somewhere towards proving my overarching point about picking out headphones – Design over features. Yes, design can of course include sound quality, but that shouldn’t be your only concern. Comfort, portability, and durability can be just as important in determining your ultimate choice, and you shouldn’t overlook any of these in favor of features like “noise canceling” or “surround sound”. This time at least, the simplest, most reliable solution was the best.

I've been looking for some good earbuds or IEMs (In Ear Monitors) for under $200, in my search I have come across Shure, Yamaha, and server other brands. Until I found Cosmic Ears, I will provide a link at the end of this post so you can do your own research, but I will post what they have on their website under features : Features Single balanced armature receiver – 1 x lows, mids and highs Full sized medical grade hard acrylic shell Various standard colours Detachable Cosmic Ears premium cable These headphones cost around $150 USD, and require you to go to an audiologist to get your ear impressions, or you can buy their kit and do it yourself. These seem like really solid IEMs and I would like to purchase them within 2 months time. Would it be worth it to get custom IEMs or should I get something like the Yamaha EPH-100SL? Here is the link to the Cosmic Ears BA1, I plan on getting the medium sized shell. These will be for music ONLY purposes.

Use code "Gifts" at checkout to get 20% off all IEMs (not including headphone amps) http://www.jhaudio.com/

So after a few negative comments about what I thought was my "lucky" grab of a pair of Sennheiser IE80s (off Ebay at an incredibly low $150 USD), I found out there are a ton of counterfeit products floating around out there. It doesn't help that the Chinese are incredibly good at creating fakes. There are a ton of signs that you've been ripped off and it seems the counterfeiters are constantly making their look a-likes look more... alike, but I'll include some pictures of the indicators I saw on my own fakes below. REAL The text on the right side have a blueish tint. FAKE The text on the right have a grey tint. REAL One "UPC" above the UPC barcode. Some text has blueish tint here as well. FAKE Two "UPC" one above, one to the right of the UPC barcode. Blueish tint is grey, and of much lesser quality. Serial No. sticker has corners much rounder than sticker used on real IE80s. Some more things I couldn't get good pictures of were cheap foam inserts in the carrying case, and nearly none of the silicone buds were exactly the same (many were flat out unusable). "Real" pictures via Head-Fi.