Best IEMs

[beercules1028]

Hey everyone, I'm a student and use my ear buds every day at school. But recently one of my ear buds died. What would be the best replacements? I like lots of bass, and please keep it under 100$. Thanks everybody

[Guest Kloaked]

Just my preference on IEM's (I've owned a few, but not as expensive as these): Shure SE-215.

 

They also make a mobile version (SE-215K) that has an in-line mic and volume control for your phone.

[AMICLG]

Just my preference on IEM's (I've owned a few, but not as expensive as these): Shure SE-215.

 

They also make a mobile version (SE-215K) that has an in-line mic and volume control for your phone.

The SE 215 great but have no mids meaning acoustic music sounds terrible.

 

They're a little bit over budget but the Westone UM Pro 10 are amazing for the price especially if you get them on sale.

[Guest Kloaked]

The SE 215 great but have no mids meaning acoustic music sounds terrible.

 

They're a little bit over budget but the Westone UM Pro 10 are amazing for the price especially if you get them on sale.

 

They have mids bro, lol. 

 

 

EDIT: Here's a frequency response graph with another pair of IEM's/Headphones being tested

 

 

 

They're not completely flat, clearly, but they do have mids and they're present.

[AMICLG]

They have mids bro, lol. 

No they really don't, just ask any professional audio guy on this forum.

[Scia]

Sennheiser CX 300 II
 I like these a lot before you go to 200$+ territory.

[Guest Kloaked]

Sennheiser CX 300 II

 I like these a lot before you go to 200$+ territory.

 

I know someone with these and they're purdy good for the price, I must say.

[iNothing]

I use monoprice 8320s

[7nationarmy]

They have mids bro, lol. 

 

 

EDIT: Here's a frequency response graph with another pair of IEM's/Headphones being tested

 

 

 

They're not completely flat, clearly, but they do have mids and they're present.

 

 

No they really don't, just ask any professional audio guy on this forum.

SE215's midrange is less forward and engaging, when compared to the rest of the Shure lineup (especially looking at you SE535) but this is not a bad thing at all. Shure tend to have exaggerated positioning of the midrange, making it more authoritative compared to the rest of the spectrum. But SE215 by no means is a mid-recessed (or some might say no-midrange) IEM. Comparing to some higher-priced IEM with notorious V-Shape frequency response like UE TF10, the SE215's midrange will still sound more forward and smoother.

 

So it all comes to what OP prefers. Forward, engaging mids, or laidback, relaxing one. Hope this helps

 

Personally, I would go with less known, yet outstanding brands for better bang for buck. VSonic, Hisoundaudio, T-PEOS and Astrotec comes to mind. They tend to offer really good sound quality for the price. If you want to stick to well known brands, Shure SE-215, Westone UMPro 10 and Audio Technica IM-50 are good choices. For bass-heavy signature, the IM50 or this one: http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone_review/hisoundaudio-wooduo-2/ are great.

[Guest]

SE215's midrange is less forward and engaging, when compared to the rest of the Shure lineup (especially looking at you SE535) but this is not a bad thing at all. Shure tend to have exaggerated positioning of the midrange, making it more authoritative compared to the rest of the spectrum. But SE215 by no means is a mid-recessed (or some might say no-midrange) IEM. Comparing to some higher-priced IEM with notorious V-Shape frequency response like UE TF10, the SE215's midrange will still sound more forward and smoother.

 

So it all comes to what OP prefers. Forward, engaging mids, or laidback, relaxing one. Hope this helps

 

Exaggerated what of what making it more what? I didn't get much out of that except that the mids aren't recessed, which is obvious from the graph. By the way, I'm assuming midrange to be from about 200 to 1500Hz or so.

[7nationarmy]

Exaggerated what of what making it more what? I didn't get much out of that except that the mids aren't recessed, which is obvious from the graph. By the way, I'm assuming midrange to be from about 200 to 1500Hz or so.

Exaggerated from a flat frequency response. The midrange tend to sound closer to you than it actually is when compared to the bass and the treble. The mids of the SE215 ideally speaking is not recessed as seen from the graph. It sound recessed only when compared to the rest of the Shure lineup (SE315, SE425, SE535).

[dre92]

Sennheiser CX 300 II

 I like these a lot before you go to 200$+ territory.

I own one of these. I can say that the bass is decent, it can get pretty deep but it might get a bit muddy especially for dubstep. Mids and highs are also quite good, I can still hear the vocal clear enough in some bass heavy songs, but if the bass gets too heavy, the vocals might fade away. The higher sounds like cymbal sound quite good and not ear-piercing. I mostly listen to trance music like Armin van Buuren, sometimes rock (Paramore, Nickelback, Dead Sara, etc) and jazz (Norah Jones, Stacy Kent, etc), and I can still hear every instruments as well as the vocals. If you play with the eq a little bit, you can get better sounds out of it.

As for build quality, I can tell you that I have been using this for almost 4 years now, and it still looks good as new except for the sennheiser logos on the back of each earbuds, they got wiped out a little bit.

If you are tight on budget, I can definitely recommend this. There aren't much IEMs that I know of that can sound this good around the price range. Last time I checked you can get one of these for under $50 on Amazon (shipping included).

[beercules1028]

Ok, I've narrowed it down to the Shure SE215s, the Audio Technica ATH-IM50s, and the Sennheiser CX 300B MK II. Which one of these best fits my specifications?

[dre92]

Well apparently if you love a lot of bass without necessarily losing the overall tonal balance, you might wanna get the ATH-IM50. My opinion is mainly based on this review http://goo.gl/qWOHSb because I have never tried one of those, yet.

[7nationarmy]

Ok, I've narrowed it down to the Shure SE215s, the Audio Technica ATH-IM50s, and the Sennheiser CX 300B MK II. Which one of these best fits my specifications?

Depending on these:

1. Do you prefer over the ear cable? If so get the SE215 or the IM50. If you prefer cable down, get the CX300.

2. SE215 is a tad less bassy than the other 2 options. So if you'd like bassier signature, the IM50 or CX300 might be better fit for you. 

3. Pricing from wherever you are buying it from. Sound quality wise (generally speaking), imo IM50=SE215>CX300. In my country, the IM50 is the cheapest of the three, so I would definitely choose that. 

[frontliner]

The 215's are okay, but be warned, the cable that wraps around your ear may break as the wire than runs through the kevlar is quite weak. Other than that, I love them. The over-ear cable thing is a preference thing but I got used to it pretty quickly and they NEVER fall out. If your DAP can EQ properly (IE. NOT AN IPOD CLASSIC) then you should be able to up the bass a tad if that's what you like. I use mine with a Cowon S9.

[7nationarmy]

The 215's are okay, but be warned, the cable that wraps around your ear may break as the wire than runs through the kevlar is quite weak. Other than that, I love them. The over-ear cable thing is a preference thing but I got used to it pretty quickly and they NEVER fall out. If your DAP can EQ properly (IE. NOT AN IPOD CLASSIC) then you should be able to up the bass a tad if that's what you like. I use mine with a Cowon S9.

Yeah the stock cable is not the strongest cable out there, but I guess this goes for the majority of entry level, non-braided IEMs. Good thing is that the cable is removable, and the connector is MMCX. Easy to find better replacements if it breaks, although higher quality braided cables tend to be quite expensive.