Buying IEMs

Deleted User 37864

780 Posts

January 31 2010 03:12 GMT

Hello everyone!
I am in need of new earphones.
But before that, I have some questions for audiophiles or earphone-savvy people.

In my past experiences, my broken earphones have something in common. When I plug the jack all the way in, the sound is all muffled and I can only hear the backtrack (no vocals). When I take it out halfway, everything sounds completely fine! So does anything know what is the problem and if it is fixable??

Now onto my real need. I recently broke another pair of IEMs (I know.. :<) and I need to buy new ones. I remembered some of these blogs on TL.net so I know some of you know some stuff.

I am on a budget of about $15~20..but maximum can be $30. I have no preference over treble, high, or bass. Honestly, my ears aren't that great anyway. BUT, I can tell apart shitty iPod earphones and my SoundMagic PL30's. I do not want headphones because I'm just a casual listener and headphones are quite huge.

My past earphones were SoundMagic PL30's and Altec Lansing UHP336. I liked them both very much.. so I am just asking for suggestions from the TL.net community.

tl;dr version:
+ Show Spoiler +

in need of new IEM/earphons. budget: $15~20...maximum $30

Thanks!

Cloud

Sexico5880 Posts

January 31 2010 03:24 GMT

If all the headphones have that problem in common shouldn't the player be the one with the issue?

skronch

United States2717 Posts

January 31 2010 03:25 GMT

Sennheiser CX300

I had these until they broke.....really liked them. Great bang for the buck. The earbuds have asymmetrical cord length so that could be a good thing or a bad thing for you, depending on what you prefer. I liked being able to loop them around the back of my neck. Only main complain I had was that the microphonics are pretty bad.

Deleted User 37864

780 Posts

January 31 2010 03:43 GMT

On January 31 2010 12:24 Cloud wrote:
If all the headphones have that problem in common shouldn't the player be the one with the issue?

Not quite.. because I have switched from this Chinese brand that I used to my iPod Touch.
The same thing happened.
I know it is most likely because I take bad care of them and it probably fucked up the metal on the jack. But I want to know more about it than "i took shitty care of them"

leejas

United States440 Posts

January 31 2010 03:54 GMT

CX300s are decent for that range.

T.O.P.

Hong Kong4685 Posts

January 31 2010 04:39 GMT

It's hard to get sound quality that's as good as the SoundMagic PL30's and Altec Lansing UHP336 with your budget.

If $30 dollars is ok though, the Head Direct RE2s offer great sound quality. http://www.head-direct.com/product_detail.php?p=23

edit: I have the UHP 336 right now. It's broken too. My first UHP336 broke in 1 month, then I send it in for warrenty, and my second one lasted 4 months and I'm going to send it in for warranty again.

lac29

United States1485 Posts

January 31 2010 04:42 GMT

Creative EP630 if they're cheaper than the CX300... especially since they're basically the rebranded Senn CX300.

Deleted User 37864

780 Posts

January 31 2010 04:49 GMT

On January 31 2010 13:39 T.O.P. wrote:
It's hard to get sound quality that's as good as the SoundMagic PL30's and Altec Lansing UHP336 with your budget.

If $30 dollars is ok though, the Head Direct RE2s offer great sound quality. http://www.head-direct.com/product_detail.php?p=23

edit: I have the UHP 336 right now. It's broken too. My first UHP336 broke in 1 month, then I send it in for warrenty, and my second one lasted 4 months and I'm going to send it in for warranty again.

How did they break?
I thought if you break it yourself, the warranty won't cover it?
Because what I did was stuff it in my pocket, and the earpiece somehow got forcibly ripped apart.

And thanks for your reply. I am looking into either rebuying the PL30 or trying out the PL21 instead.
PL30 are $23 and PL21 are $21 at focalprice.com.

DivinO

United States4796 Posts

January 31 2010 04:58 GMT

CX300s or AKG K313's.

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