Looking for best in ear headphones for under $150
Feb 13, 2013 at 11:05 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 16
OSULeprechaun

OSULeprechaun

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Ok, so I just joined Head-Fi and I just started getting more into an audiophile.  Anyway,  I'm looking a pair of in-ear headphones for under $150 to replace my Klipsch Image S4i II's which, when I plug them in to any 3.5 mm jack, don't want to touch the left side of the jack so the audio is either partially there or completely gone most of the time unless I apply constant pressure.  Some pairs that I have already taken a look at are: V-MODA True Blood Revamp (buying for sound quality, not TV show), Klipsch Image A5i Sport which are pretty new so I haven't been able to find many customer reviews on them yet, Velodyne VPulse, Shure SE 215, VSonic GR06, and the Sony MDR XB90ex.  I need a pair that are very durable as I want to be able to work out with them and I also fall asleep listening to music and I'd like for them to have pretty good bass and nice noise isolation.  I listen to a lot of rock and alternative music, some electronic, and a little pop.

I'm no audio expert but here are some artists that I listen to frequently just to give you a better idea of what kind of music I listen to:

Deftones
Knife Party
Deadmau5
Killswitch Engage
10 Years
Incubus
Twenty One Pilots
Silversun Pickups
Muse
Weezer
Walk the Moon
Chevelle
Alice In Chains

I always like to do a fair amount of research whenever I'm buying something that costs a decent amount of money or more so it's really important that I get the best bang for my buck and buy something that will last a while.  I have now gone through 3 pairs of Klipsch S4i's (two of the first model and one of the second).  The second pair that I got was because I saw that Klipsch has a 2 year warranty so I returned the first pair to Best Buy (where I got them) for a free 2nd pair.

Thanks for the help guys!
 
Mar 1, 2013 at 10:58 AM Post #4 of 16
How come the SE 215's?  And why the Ltd edition as opposed to the black ones (other than the blue ones look better in my opinion)?  Have you both used them before or are you basing your opinions off of reviews by others?
 
Mar 1, 2013 at 11:55 AM Post #5 of 16
Sometimes you can find the Ultimate Ears triple fi 10 for under 150$ on amazon. Imo they are a great pair of iems, but there is one problem: they dont fit very well and you definitely wont fall asleep while wearing these :D 
So in general I think they are great, you could reshell them into customs but that would obviously be a bit more expensive...
 
Mar 1, 2013 at 7:07 PM Post #7 of 16
Yes, I tried both the SE 215 and the Limited Edition ordered both from Amazon.  The Ltd. had better bass extension with less roll off of the highs with "some" of the usual Shure forward mids.  I ended up giving the 215 Ltd. to my wife and bought the SE 535 Special Editions for myself after trying out the Westone 4r. 
 
Mar 1, 2013 at 7:58 PM Post #8 of 16
TDK BA200 and RE262 are really great under 150 for all around balance. EPH-100 for a more dynamic bass and mainstream sound. Rock-it R50 or Brainwavz B2 for analytical signature.
 
Mar 20, 2013 at 12:06 AM Post #12 of 16
If you can find the TF10s they're a great buy; unlikely however. There's only one listing on eBay at the moment, and no doubt it'll rise >$100 very quickly.

215's are a good choice. They're ergonomic etc. I'm pretty sure the 215's are a cosmetic difference though. Not 100% sure.
 
Mar 20, 2013 at 11:26 PM Post #13 of 16
Quote:
swiftay said:
If you can find the TF10s they're a great buy; unlikely however. There's only one listing on eBay at the moment, and no doubt it'll rise >$100 very quickly.

215's are a good choice. They're ergonomic etc. I'm pretty sure the 215's are a cosmetic difference though. Not 100% sure.
Click to expand...


SE215 will fit ok. TF10 will stick out of your ears, and it's definitely not for under-helmet wear.
 
Mar 20, 2013 at 11:52 PM Post #14 of 16
Quote:
swiftay said:
If you can find the TF10s they're a great buy; unlikely however. There's only one listing on eBay at the moment, and no doubt it'll rise >$100 very quickly.
 
Click to expand...

 
I have not seen the super low $100 price in a while personally though they've gone down to $140 here and there.  I've had to replace my cable on them several times so while the phones themselves might be durable enough, I'm not sure this would meet that criterion.  You could conceivably fall asleep with them if you swapped R/L to avoid them sticking out. 
 
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