Cheap IEMs

[CtrlAltDelete]

-Price range: less than $80

-Balanced sound (I'll mainly be listening to EDM)

-Solid build quality. I don't want to yank on these the wrong way and have them break.

-Longevity. I want them to last a lot longer than 5 months.

 

Does such a thing exist?

[iNothing]

Monoprice 8320s

[Peter Vaughan Truslow]

I have a pair of the 8320. they sound great for the price, but are the absolute most uncomfortable earphone I have ever owned, and therefore I use them less than I use old apple earbuds.

sennheiser cx200 is my favorite cheap IEM. Klipsch S4 is recommended a lot, but I still use mine and still love mine. switching back and forth with m50 isn't jarring and those are commonly considered to not be extremely unbalanced.

[creatip123]

In my experience so far, IEMs under $100 only falls to 2 category: bad sounding and good sounding. Say we take away the bad sounding, the remaining good sounding ones would pretty much sound the same (with minimal differences in nuances). What I meant to say is, just find good sounding IEMs (from the recommendations), and get whichever you like the most (based on brand, looks, etc)

 

Middle and higher end IEMs ($100 up) start to varies. For example, A and B are both good sounding, but got very different sound characteristic. You start to pick one based on preferences, like bassy, warm, bright, clear/clarity, etc. 

 

ATM, I'm using el cheapo phrodi M-201 + comply foam tips ($10 + $5 comply tips, http://www.amazon.com/XREXS-Pod-007P-Performance-Dynamic-Earphone/dp/B00IP3ROBC/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404115902&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=phrodi+m200). It's cheap, but the nearest upgrade that I found (that's worth upgrading) would be the Shure SE-215, which is considered middle end. Dunno about durability though, I always wound it and bring it around in an IEM case when not using it, so no problem for me so far.

 

I'd say, give them a try (they're cheap anyway), you'll be amazed how cheap stuffs could be. Just remember to get the comply foam tips, it upgrades the sound and noise isolation a lot....

[Lauen]

I like my JBL J33. First pair I had I plugged into a higher powered amp (and a bad one, to be precise) and it fried them, LOL. Got a second pair, and they've lasted me about 6 months now, still going good. 

[mindoculus]

XIAOMI PISSSSTTTONZ !!!!!!!!

 

 

[NannerBeans]

Maybe something with detachable cables? Like the Shure SE-215

[ShearMe]

Alternatively, also owned the JBL J33 mentioned above - good for a slightly V-curve sound. Soundmagic E10's are balanced with a touch of bass for warmth (E30 is more neutral without as much bass supposedly), and House of Marley EM-JE011-MI for very bassy sound. The Marley's sound amazing (for $20) with EDM, slightly muddy with other music, but it's cheap and has lasted me years as my "beater" pair in the worst of environments. J33's flat cable is nifty unless you want to wear them around your ear, and the comply tips they come with are nice to at least try out. I didn't have the E10's long because I broke them (user error, not bad build), but they sounded pretty great during initial tests. 

 

Personally just bought a VSonic VSD1S - will let you know tomorrow evening what they're like? Got dat treble roll off I like according to le graph. Honestly, only got the VSD1S over another pair of E10's because I like to try new things.

[creatip123]

Personally just bought a VSonic VSD1S - will let you know tomorrow evening what they're like? Very bassy according to le graph.

 

"Total burn-in period needs to be 80 hours" 

 

Were they for real...??

[ShearMe]

"Total burn-in period needs to be 80 hours" 

 

Were they for real...??