Your Favorite In-Ear Headphones/Monitors (I hate calling them earbuds)

[zhianosatch]

er4 - worth it? i had a pair of er-6i and was super impressed with the isolation, though they somehow seemed to sound a little cheap and less detailed than even mdr-7506s. would love to get much better sound with the same excellent isolation. i have to admit, though, that falling asleep with the etymotics in your ears can be incredibly uncomfortable when you wake up.
any way i could give them a trial somehow?

Which tips are you using with your ER6is? I used the triple-flange tips for about a year before I finally tried the smaller double-flange tips. The doubles fit my ears a lot better, and sound quality improved dramatically.

they were in a backpack that got stolen almost three years ago, unfortunately. but i used to use both the triple-flanged and the orange foam tips. the orange foam seemed to put a slightly stronger but duller pressure on the earhole but were ultimately more useful, from what i can remember.

[Gutbucket]

Personally, I love the ER4 and didn't care for the ER6 sound at all, but I know others love the 6's and are very happy with them.

[mosquito]

MUAAHAHAHAHA!  HA! HA!

Thanks for the ER4 page, so much!  Mine are currently busted from a bit too much abuse and there's a loose connection in one wire plug assembly.  I'd been waiting until I could justify spending the cash to send them in, but now I know there's nothing in there I can cut the puppy open and do my own surgery!  Many times I've spent 30 minutes or more fiddling with it to get sound in both ears so I could edit something.  Soon fixed!

--

For the monitoring, I've got ER4Ps with the P-to-S adaptor from Etymotic, so I pop off the adaptor and can turn them up loud enough to hear what I'm recording, I just can't carefully listen at that volume and I'm certainly not a Chicken of the Spring so I don't really like getting it that loud either.

Noise cancellation... Hmm.  Anyone tried over-the-ear active noise canceling headphones just for the isolation over in-ears?  One thing I want to be able to do is choose the precise height and orientation of my mics as most of the time I don't have a lot of choices for position in the room.

And since I'm going to do modifications, I think I'm going to try out some sort of shock absorber to minimize the microphonics.  (That does bug me about them, but I've found it a small price.)

[zhianosatch]

bought a pair of er-4p, should be arriving today. i can't wait to be alone in the crowd again

[jlykos]

Bought a set of the new Westone 2 earphones that arrived last week.  I love these.  As comfortable as the Westone UM1 IEMs but with a wider soundstage and more bass extension.  I like the bass extension the best: not boomy and over-pronounced like the Ultimate Ears but tight and well-presented like it should be.  Midrange detail is also outstanding.

Anybody looking to put down the money for Shures, Etymotics, or the like should take a listen to these.

[zhianosatch]

er-4p: starting to think my ear canals might be smaller than normal. a fair amount of pain with the flanged eartips, so the foams it is for now. much better detail with the er-4p than i remember with the er-6i, but i'm definitely missing some bass response when compared to my mdr-7506s (obviously). i guess a better-fitting eartip could help with it.
but i'm in my own world in a loud office. unbeatable.

[s1rrah]

Shure SE530's for me.

I've heard all the Shure's, the Seins, the UM's, etc. ... even the (truly fabulous) JH Audio JH-13's ... and even though I think the JH-13's, technically, are a bit better than the SE530's? I still can't help but feel the SE530's are the more valuable, *extensible* kit considering the relative prices. JH-Audio JH-13's for $1300 or the SE500's for $300 or so (used/ebay) ...

But that's just me.

I've used Shure's mic's for years and perhaps I'm biased ... maybe a bit fan-boi-ish ...

But I really love the SE530's ...

Have fun.

[George]

The only problem I have with my 530's is that the damn wiring keeps giving on one one side and I keep sending them in for warranty exchanges...wish Shure would use better wiring.  I'm on my third pair and guess what?  The left ear is going out (same thing happened to my last pair).

[MattD]

Phonak Audéo. I've written about them before. I used to own a pair of Etymotic ER-6 and I like these better, both for their sonic characteristics and their fit.

[s1rrah]

The only problem I have with my 530's is that the damn wiring keeps giving on one one side and I keep sending them in for warranty exchanges...wish Shure would use better wiring.  I'm on my third pair and guess what?  The left ear is going out (same thing happened to my last pair).

I've read horror stories similar to yours and I don't envy you the trouble.

Myself? I've not had any problems. I wear them in really nasty outdoor conditions too ... working outdoors in dusty, damp and pretty unforgiving locales along the Port of Houston ... daily use, etc.

I have, however, every few months or so, moistened the cabling with a damp cloth or even rubber conditioner every now and then (because, again, of stories like your own) ... but I've had no problems for a year or so.

I will say this ...

They are sort of source dependent ... I find they are at their best only after being amp'd and only after careful EQ'ing ... but again, that same versatility is why I like them for the money.

I really want a pair of JH Audio JH-13's but I don't have a spare 1300 bucks laying around for new IEM's.

LOL.

BTW:

Shure is set to release (mid 2010) the SE535's which will feature detachable/replaceable cables; apparently, the same drivers, but the replaceable cable is nice and it also opens wide the doors for 3rd party custom cables to be made ...

Check it!

http://www.trustedreviews.com/mp3/news/2010/01/07/CES-2010--New-High-End-Shure-Earphones/p1

[Brian Emerick]

Shure SE530's for me.

I've heard all the Shure's, the Seins, the UM's, etc. ... even the (truly fabulous) JH Audio JH-13's ... and even though I think the JH-13's, technically, are a bit better than the SE530's? I still can't help but feel the SE530's are the more valuable, *extensible* kit considering the relative prices. JH-Audio JH-13's for $1300 or the SE500's for $300 or so (used/ebay) ...

But that's just me.

I've used Shure's mic's for years and perhaps I'm biased ... maybe a bit fan-boi-ish ...

But I really love the SE530's ...

Have fun.

me too!

It's not specific to them, but I hate how the foam inserts collect wax like WHOA.  I always have to wash them off, even if I use Q-tips a lot.

[George]

The only problem I have with my 530's is that the damn wiring keeps giving on one one side and I keep sending them in for warranty exchanges...wish Shure would use better wiring.  I'm on my third pair and guess what?  The left ear is going out (same thing happened to my last pair).

They are sort of source dependent ... I find they are at their best only after being amp'd and only after careful EQ'ing ... but again, that same versatility is why I like them for the money.

Thanks for the info! 

Btw, have you ever listened to your shures on a Rio Karma.  If not, you have no clue what you're missing...it makes them sound godly (no joke).  This is coming from someone who once owned the Baby O's (Sennheiser Baby Orpheus, aka HE60) and sold them off since the 530's+Karma did the trick. 

I wish my karma was working   

[crossthreaded]

anyone have any experience with the AKG IP2 headphones?

I won a pair for a very decent price on ebay, and they have pretty decent reviews, but not many of them.  I'm just looking for something to upgrade my iphone headphones that I carry to class with me.  My senns are too big to carry to class and walk around with.  I've got 2 hours in between each of my classes on tu tr this year so I have been using my ipod headphones a lot and they are really shitty.