Audiophiles, get in here!

  • Thread starter Mike Rotch
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Mike Rotch

Mike Rotch

Aluminium Overcast
Staff Emeritus
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Australia
Down under
Okie dokes.

For the past 6 years I have been rocking my pair of Sennheiser CX300II inner ear phones virtually every day of the week. They are probably my 'best' purchase in terms of how much pleasure they have returned (right after my Sony Walkman purchased at the same time). I've probably logged nearing 10,000 hours on them - listening to music at work has its perks :D.

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I've gone through 5 pairs of rubber earphone replacements and the jack has more than its fair share of tape holding everything in place now....but it's approaching time to retire it to a life of leisure in my pedestal drawer and be replaced with a new set.

I've done some reading, but nothing seems very conclusive, so I am looking for some recommendations.

As I get so much use out of them, the framework to work in would be:

- <$250
- Must be inner ear only, no 'hanging off ear' designs
- Components, such a replacement rubber buds must be easily obtainable
- No microphone component, just straight audiophones
- I would prefer to stay with recognised specialist brands (AKG, Sennheiser etc), but am will to consider others.

Fire away :)
 
I recently acquired a pair of Bose A2, and boy what a life change. Granted, they are not the best Bose has to offer by far but they do sound amazing and were an awesome update from my old $10 pieces of crap. I know you want inner-ear design plugs, but these don't hang onto the ear, they kinda engulf it and isolate the sound amazingly well.

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Mine were about $180 or so, in here, os you should be able to find them well bellow that.
 
I'd suggest a pair of Shure with nice foam tips. Or if you can get them down under, RHA make some cracking sounding in-ear phones that are cheap as chips.
 
These are yours for 150 AU$.
They come with 6 pairs of buds.
They have very good sound quality for the price and are very well worth a listen.
 
Ultimate Ears/JH Audio makes the best monitors, but they require custom ear molds to be taken by an audiologist. Those'll be the most comfortable IEMs you can have, but that will probably also put you way over budget.

I wasn't a fan of the Etys and Shures that I've tried, but that was like more than five years ago. I think even J. Harvey sold off Ultimate Ears, hence the new JH Audio brand.

Hell, they make IEMs with 4 drivers and detachable cables now. That's crazy, lol.

Anyway, for the money, you might want to just grab another pair of CX300s. You might not like how some of the other IEMs in your budget sound. I tend to be finicky with IEMs, anyway. If you want to spend $500, then you can start making use of more of the objective reviews and critical analysis of sound performance that the more expensive products are subjected to. Everything else is just going to come down to which monitor presents sound in a way you most prefer, or, put differently, whose shortcomings you can best tolerate.
 
I was advised to get some RHA earphones last year and they've proved to be brilliant. Rich bass, no tinny trebles and very comfortable. IMO they're worth a look as they fall way below your price limit and punch well above their weight.
 
Thanks the suggestions, I'll do some research on the RHA's tomorrow, as well as the Philips. 👍

I have been checking out Etys and these RBH Ep1 which seem to get some good reviews online - they are probably at the top of the list at the moment.
 
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I have RHA MA350s, and they are fantastic. Very reasonably priced, great sound, and have outlasted every other set of headphones that I have ever owned, despite being heavily abused.
 
IMHO, its hard to call any earbuds audiophile grade... I rock Sennheiser RS160 headphones, which are not audiophile, but best bang for buck in wireless. Wireless changed my life
 
lemansfanatic
IMHO, its hard to call any earbuds audiophile grade... I rock Sennheiser RS160 headphones, which are not audiophile, but best bang for buck in wireless. Wireless changed my life
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Paint me interested. How much? I'm considering 'heisers once the Boses die, and wireless sounds brilliant.
 
Not exactly an audiophile, but I do love my earbuds :D I'll pitch in with my two options though they might be way lower than your budget.

Currently I have a pair of a-Jays Three earbuds. They might be considered more of a "fashion" brand alongside the Skullcandys and Beats, but they do sound rather good. Solid bass, overall very clear sound, though the mids are a bit muffled. The flat cables are a huge plus as I do not have to spend hours untangling them:crazy: The huge range of accessories available definitely justifies the cost. Got mine for about $95.

However, yesterday, I tried the Klipsch Image S4A's, and I was absolutely blown away :eek: The bass is solid, but the overall sound is much clearer and more complete than the a-Jays. I would have bought them in heartbeat, had they not been sold out :( Pricing is similar to the Jays (a tad more expensive), and though they do come with less accessories, the sound quality definitely blows the Jays away. Oh, and they do come with flat cables too :dopey:
 
Monoprice makes some quality products for the price. I just received their 8323 headphones in the mail and they're pretty good. I should do a review.
 
Well, I ended up buying the RHA MA600's today, so let's see how we get on with them when they arrive in 1-2 weeks 👍.
 
Mike Rotch
Well, I ended up buying the RHA MA600's today, so let's see how we get on with them when they arrive in 1-2 weeks 👍.
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Just checked those out now that you mentioned buying them. My brother wants some nice earbuds. I think I might go along and get those for him for a Christmas present.

That's if I have the money too.
 
Mike Rotch
Well, I ended up buying the RHA MA600's today, so let's see how we get on with them when they arrive in 1-2 weeks 👍.
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Got them today in the mail (finally) - timely too as my long serving and hardy Sennheiser's decided to call it a quits this very morning unexpectedly. I cant find any lose wires or loose connections so it must be more terminal (pun).

Very happy with with thusfar :). Very rich sound, comfortable and nice sound insulation too. Thanks for the recommendation :cheers:
 
Report back:

After listening to them for a bit my conclusion is this: probably slightly better than the outgoing Sennheisers, probably short of what I was hoping for, but worth what I paid.

They are a bit tinnier/ trebly than I was anticipating, but nothing some fiddling with equaliser settings cannot resolve and they are comfortable. Also, they seem to be unable to tangle, unlike the Sennheisers which tangled even if left alone in a drawer.
 
lemansfanatic
IMHO, its hard to call any earbuds audiophile grade... I rock Sennheiser RS160 headphones, which are not audiophile, but best bang for buck in wireless. Wireless changed my life
Click to expand...

Agreed. Earbuds are not audiophile quality. My first set of real 'phones were from Sennheiser. I don't remember the model number, as they are long gone. I now have a set of Grado RS2i Reference headphones which I love, and a pair of Audio Technica Professional Monitoring headphones, which (despite their relatively low price) sound amazing.
 
Skullcandy Aviator's. Amazing quality if lacking "annoy people on the bus" volume but it's hard to have both. Managed to pick them up for £100 off in the mental post-Christmas sales, after my speakers they're my favourite purchase. :)
 
These don't EXACTLY fit your guidelines (due to their having an inline mic, which doesn't really get in the way, I might add), I have been EXTREMELY impressed with the Noisehush NX80's. The look amazing and sound amazing. They have a real bassy sound, which I like. And the cord is flat so it doesn't tangle. They go for INSANELY cheap on Amazon, and it comes with eartips. Be wary of their build quality, my first pair's jack wore out. Take a look, though.
 
Since this is a bit dedicated to audiophiles I want to ask: can you give me a recomendation for cheap earphones to do sport?
 
AlvaroF
Since this is a bit dedicated to audiophiles I want to ask: can you give me a recomendation for cheap earphones to do sport?
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What kind are you looking for, just regular in ear or the kinds that have plastic like this to keep them on your ear? Also, what is your price range?
 

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