Sound Isolating IEMs for $100 or less

[AbNoRMaL]

Hi,

My wife bought me a pair of Bose Triport IEs for my b-day since the guy at Best Buy told her they would block out outside noise. Boy was he wrong, they were immediately returned after I opened them and listened to them a bit. They sounded great but needed to be turned up to 3/4 to get any volume out of them and had very little sound isolation.

I looked around BB for a bit and debated between the Shure e2cs and Sony's new MDREX90s. I also thought about trying some of the cheaper in-ears like the Sony MDR-EX51s and the Philips SHE9500s but since I already had the $100 go ahead I figured I would stick with that price range. I want to be able to do things like use the snow-blower and lawnmower while wearing them and not have to blast my hearing away.

I bought the e2cs and have been trying them out for the last two days with the different ear pieces. I'm not 100% sold on the comfort of them yet. Is there anything that might be more comfortable out there? Also, I could just be putting them in my ears wrong too. Any advice would be great.

Thanks,
AbNoRMaL

[Jokieman]

Hi,

My wife bought me a pair of Bose Triport IEs for my b-day since the guy at Best Buy told her they would block out outside noise. Boy was he wrong, they were immediately returned after I opened them and listened to them a bit. They sounded great but needed to be turned up to 3/4 to get any volume out of them and had very little sound isolation.

I looked around BB for a bit and debated between the Shure e2cs and Sony's new MDREX90s. I also thought about trying some of the cheaper in-ears like the Sony MDR-EX51s and the Philips SHE9500s but since I already had the $100 go ahead I figured I would stick with that price range. I want to be able to do things like use the snow-blower and lawnmower while wearing them and not have to blast my hearing away.

I bought the e2cs and have been trying them out for the last two days with the different ear pieces. I'm not 100% sold on the comfort of them yet. Is there anything that might be more comfortable out there? Also, I could just be putting them in my ears wrong too. Any advice would be great.

Thanks,
AbNoRMaL

Sony EX90's though the cord is a bit delicate. Westone UM1's, Altec Lansing's iM716's (Though you'd have to wait for a sale.) -- However I'm not sure on the Isolation Qualities of the EX90's.

Super.fi 3 Studio monitors from Ultimate Ears, Super.fi 5 EB (On sale) Shure E3C On Sale.

Stay away from the EX51's, 71's, 81's, the cords disintegrate on them after a few months. Can't comment on the Phillips.

2 other users posted that Shure's were being had at a Sam Goody's in California for $29.00, and I've seen them as low as $60.00 online quite a bit so I think you paid too much for them at best buy.

[Jackonicko]

They are superbly comfortable, the fit is superb, but isolation on the EX90 is partial, by design. They are safe to walk in, but I would not mow the grass in them.

The E2C is not comfortable, and the sound is no better than average for the price. I would caution you against the Sony EX51/70/71, and against the SuperFi 3 (the 5s are great, the 3s poor). The Phillips She 9500 series is OK, but nothing to write home about, in my opinion.

Better choices might include the Panasonic HJE70 (lovely warm, 'listenable' sound, look great, very comfy), or the Audio Technica ATH CK7 (if you don't mind a lack of bass), or the rather cheaper Sennheiser CX300. There is also a promising but unproven new $101 headphone that may prove to be a good alternative, and a new phone from Sweden that I haven't heard.

[Bob]

The E2C is not comfortable...

I actually find the E2 when used with the foam sleeves to be very comfortable over long periods of use. There is no doubt that the rubber/silicon sleeves are OK for those times when you might want to be putting the phones in and out of your ears but they certainly make lengthy sessions less than comfortable.

I tried the triple flanges and the soft grey sleeves on the Shure E500s and once again the foamies beat rubber hands down for comfort.

I may try getting the Westone UM56 custom molds for the E500s (£85 from http://www.pjbox.co.uk + audiologist fee for impressions) just to to see if they will cut down on foam usage.

[Jackonicko]

I just find the stiffness of the E2Cs wires uncomfortable and all but the foamies are too solid for my taste.

I can't get into foamies - they aren't practical for me, they get nasty too quickly, and they aren't nice when exercising.

And the plastic bodies are too hard, and the points dig into the ridgy bits in my ear. Dreadful!

[Jackonicko]

I don't know if I could put E500s or E5s in my ears. I feel guilty enough with $250 Super.Fis (and I was given those!). With people starving I find the idea of spending that amount of money on phones faintly obscene.

It's not logical, and it's far better than spending much smaller sums on jewelry or luxury food (I expect Bob uses his E500s several hours per day, will get £350 of value out of them, and does far more for charity than I do), and it's better than buying multiple phones that then sit in the desk drawer (as I have done - literally wasting and frittering money), and I don't mean to sound like a judgemental jackass - but that's why I don't comment on higher end ear gear.

[AbNoRMaL]

After reading some of the how-to's on in-ears I've found that I'm getting better at inserting them (the e2s) into my ear. They are more comfortable than I had initially found them to be. They also sound much better too, and maybe they'll sound even better after putting a few hours on them.

I bought them at Best Buy since it's been so easy to return them if I didn't like them. Sometimes I don't mind paying for convenience and instant gratification.

[Jokieman]

I don't know if I could put E500s or E5s in my ears. I feel guilty enough with $250 Super.Fis (and I was given those!). With people starving I find the idea of spending that amount of money on phones faintly obscene.

It's not logical, and it's far better than spending much smaller sums on jewelry or luxury food (I expect Bob uses his E500s several hours per day, will get £350 of value out of them, and does far more for charity than I do), and it's better than buying multiple phones that then sit in the desk drawer (as I have done - literally wasting and frittering money), and I don't mean to sound like a judgemental jackass - but that's why I don't comment on higher end ear gear.


Don't worry bro, I sort of feel the same way. I don't begrudge anyone spending their money however they choose to, but for me I just could not see spending $500.00+ on a set of IEM's that would be used on a $250.00 Ipod. :P

Though I'd really like to find a place where I could test out some Dual and Triple driver IEM's one day to give them a good going over, and possibly review them, I'm not holding my breath. hehehe.

[Jackonicko]

There is a general correlation between price and sound quality - but it's not universal, and the step points (where you get a huge increase in performance) are not always where you'd expect them to be.

The UE SuperFi 5, for example (a $250 phone) is great, but it's only a marginal improvement over the best of the $90-110 phones. By contrast, the step change you can get by paying just a little bit more than an EX71 is huge.

By bizarre and spooky coincidence, a pair of E5s arrived in the post this morning, presenting me with a small dilemma, since even though they didn't cost me a penny, it will still feel like driving round the village in a blinged out Rolls Royce when I try them out....

[Bob]

After reading some of the how-to's on in-ears I've found that I'm getting better at inserting them (the e2s) into my ear. They are more comfortable than I had initially found them to be. They also sound much better too, and maybe they'll sound even better after putting a few hours on them.

Fit is everything - stick with practising putting them in correctly and I don't think you'll be disappointed.


I don't know if I could put E500s or E5s in my ears. I feel guilty enough with $250 Super.Fis (and I was given those!). With people starving I find the idea of spending that amount of money on phones faintly obscene.

They were a 50th birthday present - I had a hard time justifying even suggesting them, but as I got them for almost half the UK price (strong £ v $ rate) my guilt was eased.

It's not logical, and it's far better than spending much smaller sums on jewelry or luxury food (I expect Bob uses his E500s several hours per day, will get £350 of value out of them, and does far more for charity than I do), and it's better than buying multiple phones that then sit in the desk drawer (as I have done - literally wasting and frittering money), and I don't mean to sound like a judgemental jackass - but that's why I don't comment on higher end ear gear.

It took me quite a while to actually find IEMs that I liked the sound of. I was using the E2 for sometime, mixed with the Etymotic ER6 and far preferred the sound of the E2. I trawled the floor of Macworld in January trying out every phone there and the E500 just blew the others out the door for me.
It might be seen as extravagent to have phones which cost more than my iPod but as Jacko points out these will stop me filling a desk drawer up in an endless quest to find that perfect set of 'phones. I have found them. And I think I have worked long enough and hard enough to have the odd treat ;)

And I do give to charity so no guilty feelings in that respect....

And now you have E5s!!!! Enjoy the dilemma.....

[Jackonicko]

I can beat you on headphone excess, Bob.

I have a desk drawer bursting with phones I haven't liked, that come out only when I'm reviewing a new arrival, for comparative purposes.

I thank god I haven't paid good money for all of them (but I have for enough of them to make me pretty stupid!).

And while I'm getting confessional, I have to admit that I was sent a set of over-the-ear phones that look and feel so expensive that I've actually avoided looking up how much they cost in order to avoid the guilt.

I have three main IEM/in ear canal phones on the go - a pair for walking with me all the time, and two casual listening pairs - one in one 'man bag', and one in another.

Any on-the-go review phones will be additional to this (when I pluck up courage the E5s will join the ETMNSTN, and, next week, I think, a pair of Bose In Ears.

My walking phones at the mo are Sony EX90s, and my other top three are the SuperFi 5EB and Panasonic HJE70. The novelty of the SuperFi 5EBs is starting to wear off, however, and I'm beginning to suspect that they may be laptop-bagged and replaced by a phone I'm reviewing at the mo.

These are my three favourites of the moment. The next favourite (No.4) goes into my main laptop bag, the next (No.5) into my lightened stripped down overseas laptop bag, with my passport and a disinfected toothbrush in a case, soap and a spare pare of shreddies and socks. No.6 lives on its wits in the camera bag (but is, I'm ashamed to say, always a swanky brand....). The next two (7 and 8) go into a pair of differently sized rucksacks that accompany me on trips if I don't take a laptop, and the ninth lives in a smarter overnight bag. 10 and 11 live in my wife's and my respective cars. The laptop bags also each have a lightweight over-the-ear phone (Senny PX-200 or Sony G73) and a small travel speaker, and several of the bags also have an earbud (Apple, Sony 888, V-Moda Remix M) of some sort.

That leaves the overs that I really don't like in the desk drawer, which include more than one ER6i, a Shure E2C, E4Cs, and a SuperFi 5 Pro, as well as trash like the Koss Plugs.

If I like a phone that I buy or am sent, I decide on its ranking, and it takes the place of that phone - if it's my new top favourite, ten phones end up being cascaded down the ranked list of bags, unless I've gone off the old No.7 (say) when the madness can stop at that point. Or unless I realise that there's no point carrying a phone you don't like in your laptop bag just because it has a good reputation and a high price. If I feel that the E2C (for example) isn't as good for day to day use as (say) a cheaper Sennheiser CX300, then the E2C gets relegated to the desk drawer when I see sense.

[Macromedia]

At least you're not thinking about spending $700 on the Grado RS1 and around $500 on an amp...

[archesdevil]

ETY's er6i!!! Once you find the right fit, shure will seem like bose. BTW Jack, the fact that you can't spell realize or favorite correctly renders your post useless to me. You seem like someone who is to impetuous to know good phones!

[Jackonicko]

archesdevil

I spell in English, so spell Colour properly, too.

Nor does being too (note the second o) impetuous have anything to do with spelling.

But the Etymotic ER6i is junk. Nasty, cold, and clinical.

[Jokieman]

After reading some of the how-to's on in-ears I've found that I'm getting better at inserting them (the e2s) into my ear. They are more comfortable than I had initially found them to be. They also sound much better too, and maybe they'll sound even better after putting a few hours on them.

I bought them at Best Buy since it's been so easy to return them if I didn't like them. Sometimes I don't mind paying for convenience and instant gratification.


No problem man, I wasn't trying to pick on you for buying at Best Buy, I just wanted you to know you could find them cheaper if you wanted to.

[AbNoRMaL]

Yesterday I bought the e3cs from Best Buy to give them a try. In my opinion they are much flatter and truer to the music reproduction but I think as others have said the e2cs have a sound that is more fun. Since I mainly listen to alternative and rock I think the e2cs fit my needs perfectly. I didn't like how intrusive the e3cs were either. I felt I had to put them too far into my ear canal. After I got my Shures both the e2cs and e3cs, I noticed things I've never heard before, for instance I've never noticed the interesting tone the bass guitar has in Interstate Love Song.