Want a set of in-ear headphones for a Sony Walkman phone

[RussianSensation]

I have a Sony Ericsson W580i and am looking to replace the stock phones with in-ear headphones price range ~$75-120 buds. I mostly listen to house/trance/dance/classical (no hip hop or R&B).

I did a little bit of reading and have found that these 4 models are pretty good in the price range I am looking at:

1. Etymotic Research HF5 - $125
2. Sennheiser CX 500-B - $46
These actually cost $80 regularly but right now they are on special everywhere it seems. You also get $15 MIR bringing the price to a very cheap $30! It doesn't seem fair to compare these to the other models here but reviews for these are very positive.
3. Shure SE210 - $100
4. V-Moda Vibe $80

Obviously the Senn's are the cheapest but if one of these is vastly superior, I don't mind paying up to $120. Any other recommendations are welcome.

Thanks!

EDIT: Just found this review: Etymotic HF5s are most recommended it seems - Does anyone agree with this assessment?

 

[Tiamat]

Add the Altec Lansing IM716 to your list.

 

[RussianSensation]

Thanks Tiamat. I've been reading reviews all night so far and I still can't make up my mind yet. As far as I can see the top 3 quality names in my price range are Etymotic (HF2, HF5 or ER-4P), Shure (SE210) and Ultimate Ears (i.e. Super.fi 5 Pro). It seems the Senn's I linked are targeted towards lower end. I've been using stock Sony headphones though so anything should be an improvement 😉 Just wanted some advice from audiophiles.

 

[Tiamat]

Well, to tell you the truth, I didn't really like any of the IEMs in the <$150 range. They lacked real <60hz bass even with the plugs inserted correctly (which is paramount). These IEMs really suffer from microphonics where any slight tug or rubbing on the wire will be transfered loudly to your ear like a stethoscope.

I liked how they isolated the noise, but they also made my ears have a continuous sensation where I wanted to pop them but couldn't. I didn't like that so I ultimately gave them up.

My advice to you is to borrow a friend's IEM for a week to see if you can live with the microphonics and the pressurization effects. I couldn't, but I found out the hard way (buying a product rather than auditioning).

 

[RussianSensation]

Hey,

The stock headphones with my phone are actually IEMs. I don't mind them at all but they pop out sometimes and I find that I have to push them in every 2 minutes or so to get the sound isolation again. I realize that it's hard to produce good bass from tiny speakers like that though. So point well taken.

I guess because I am not really an audiophile (using onboard DS3L AC888 sound chip and Logitech 5300Es), I am not sure if I'll notice the difference in quality between a $70 IEM set and a $180 set. My friend at work has the Shure SE310. I'll take your advice and try them out (hopefully the sony rubber earpiece will fit on his 🙂) before spending $150+.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
Hey,

The stock headphones with my phone are actually IEMs. I don't mind them at all but they pop out sometimes and I find that I have to push them in every 2 minutes or so to get the sound isolation again. I realize that it's hard to produce good bass from tiny speakers like that though. So point well taken.

I guess because I am not really an audiophile (using onboard DS3L AC888 sound chip and Logitech 5300Es), I am not sure if I'll notice the difference in quality between a $70 IEM set and a $180 set. My friend at work has the Shure SE310. I'll take your advice and try them out (hopefully the sony rubber earpiece will fit on his 🙂) before spending $150+.

Damn it, several times today when I comment I go to click "reply to topic" and it erases my message rather than posts it.

Anyways, you would be able to tell the difference between say, shure e2C and e4C especially in the bass.

If you are afraid of ear wax getting on the phones or whatever, you can just wash the rubber pieces in warm water and a tiny little drop of soap. Don't use acetone or IPA as they can (might) damage the rubber material.

You might be able to get bigger flanges for your current Sony IEMs. That way they will fit better, and you might think it sounds good enough saving you quite a bit of money!

 

[NaOH]

i have the ultimate ears Super Fi 4 for my iphone ( which is the 4vi ) and I like those a great deal. Way better than the shure E2C i had before and better than my marshmallows.