Recommend decent in the ear headfones

No budget eh? Then I suggest a pair of Ultimate Ear UE10 Pro.

http://www.ultimateears.com/custom/UE-10-Pro.htm

Also, I find Ety's a bit on the analytical side, some like that some dont. They'll certainly tell you if your music is badly encoded though.

 

for 900 dollars they better damn well take a molding of my inner ear for a PERFECT fit, and it better come with a lifetime warranty against everything including a full refund in the event of damage or destruction during a nuclear holocaust

 

I agree! There's also the danger of wax build up, which I dont think is covered by the warranty (it shouldnt, you should clean those babies after every use) and I think it costs something like $600 for driver replacement.

BTW, do you visit any audiophile forums such as Head-Fi, Sugarcoat?

 

newp

 

I suggest trying ebay for ER6i, got mine ~$100 shipped to Europe.

I previously had the Shure E2C. Not bad at all, but the high end did need some EQing. ER6i on the other hand has quite a balanced sound and I don't EQ anymore.

I find the ER6i a bit more comfortable with the biflange tips compared to flex sleeves with the E2C, but of course everyone's ears are different. Both start to itch in my ears if I use them longer than about 2 hours straight. Helps to take them off for a while. ER6i is slightly better with the isolation. Sometimes I need to readjust the one in my right ear (with both ER6i and E2C).

ER6i foam tips are very nice for comfort and isolation (no need to readjust and better noise reduction), but I often use the earphones in situations where I might need to take them off to hear and might have dirty hands which would prevent me from putting the phones back to my ears with foam tips.

E2C has a sturdy build quality although I needed to RMA the first two pairs because of a problem with the cord. Those were simply some quirks in the build quality and the third pair has lasted 1.5 years without a hitch. The thick cord and the over the ear scheme eliminates microphonics from the cord. The thin cord of ER6i is susceptible to microphonics, but it is a non-issue if I use the shirt clip. ER6i certainly seem flimsier and they are a quite a bit lighter too, but I haven't read any reports of them breaking.

The ER6i is a little bit more discreet. The driver unit is small and doesn't protrude from the ears at all (biflange) or not much at all (foam and triflange which I can't instert too deep). E2Cs drivers are larger, but on the absolute level of scale they are discreet too.

 

If you can't find a decent pair of canalphones, there's always the Jecklin Floats:

 

Nah, get the Jecklin Ergo 2:





Or you could pick up a slightly used Ergo 1 for $160...

 

I just got a pair of Shure E4C's and I love them. If you were looking at that sort of high end sound though, I would most definitely go for the E500s. Triple balanced armature drivers, the PTH module, and rave reviews on audiophile forums. They are currently being compared to the UE10's and are only about half the price. I also own ER6i's, ER-4P's and various open cans , mostly Senns. the E4C's have a lot more bass then the ER4s do, at almost no expense to the highs. I'll be buying a pair of E500s though in pretty short order. I was looking at the UE Super.fi 5 Pro's also but decided to go with Shure b/c of build quality issues with the Super.fi's. You should check out headwize and head-fi, they are full of great, wallet busting information.

 

Stax SR-001
A bit more portable than those Jecklins

Though not in-ear nor for on-the-go listening, I've been using Grado SR-80 headphones for my home listening.
Decently priced and good sounding.
Koss Porta Pro's might be good too.

I did buy the Sony MDR-EX81LP in-ear headphones with a over the ear clip, but found them completely useless.
First, I just couldn't fit them in my ear and the earband didn't adjust behind my ears properly.
Second, the sound quality was awful.

 

All in-ear plugs will give you the effect, that's why I don't like them. Put a finger in your ear and you have the same thing happen. If that bothers you, go wtih the PMX-60, it eliminates the problem. (EDIT: and they're a real bang for the buck too)

 

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Or you get the 770M, they block out >30dB (AFAIR). They might just be a bit on the bulky side going with your iPod.

 

If I was going to get a DT 770 it would certainly be the DT 770/80 2003 version or a new DT 770/32 2005 version. The 2005 lineup from Beyerdynamic is sexy.

 

I have to say, i'm very very impressed with the in-ear headphones i bought last week... not sure which ones they are now but they're GOOD. Amazingly good, much better than the Sony ones i used to have... The name is on some other thread around here.

 

OT, but Jecklin Floats are a classic. I have a pair of these Stax ELS & solid state head amp that I haven't used in a while:

Lately I re-discovered some Sennheiser HD40s (in original packaging). What a sonic bargain they were!

 

MaximumPC just reviewed 4 pairs. In order of preference, Creative Zen Aurvana, Etymotic ER-6 Isolator, Extrememac FS1, and Sennheiser MX 55 VC Street.

The first two seem pretty close and beloved, the third a cut below, and the last to be avoided. Tho the last they hated the "twist to fit" implementation --they liked the sound just fine.