I made a post in
OOT a couple weeks ago about getting a new pair of IEMs. There have been some developments since then, but I do think I've identified the best contenders in the $100-$200 price range.
First, I'll say that I ended up ordering a pair of Shure E4Gs from DigitalEtc via Amazon. They were supposed to arrive some time between April 5 and today and I just found out today that they haven't even shipped yet. So, I've e-mailed to try to cancel the order. I hope I can cancel. This whole thing is killing me, as I've had to use a big, bulky, crappy pair of Panasonic headphones with no isolation whatsoever this whole time and it's sucking hard.
I'm now thinking that I just want to go get a pair of the JAYS d-JAYS for $99. I'm also flirting with getting a cheap pair for a month or two until I can get a pair of JAYS' new q-JAYS.
Here's how my list currently stands, in rough order of preference:
1) JAYS d-JAYS - $99
2) Shure SE210 - $149
3) JAYS q-JAYS - ~$180 + a cheap (Koss "The Plug," JVC Marchmallow, etc.) hold-me-over until I can get them in May/June
4) Shure E4g - $180
5) UltimateEars Superfi.5 Pro - $190
6) Etymotic ER-6i $70
7) Etymotic ER-4P $150
If I go for the q-JAYS, I
might also be able to convince my wife to go in on something like a pair of ER-6i with me for $70, use those for a month or two, and then she'll take them when I get my q-JAYS.
Here are a couple of reviews for the
d-JAYS and
q-JAYS, for those who haven't heard of them before.
My OOT post:
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I'm looking into a new pair of canals and I'm leaning towards the Etymotic ER-4Ps, but there are a couple of hangups that could be deal-breakers for me.
First, here are my requirements, in order of importance:
1) Noise isolation - very important in chatty room situations as well as on airplanes
2) Sound quality - the reviews I've read on the ER-4s indicate that their sound is flat and accurate to a fault - that they're almost too crisp. I think this is actually what I want - I want to be able to hear everything.
3) Comfort - so subjective that I'm not sure it's fair to list
3b) Aesthetics & other non-sound issues
And of course, price is in there somewhere around 1 or 2 - I'm trying to keep it around $150-$180 or less.
The cans I'm currently debating between, in order of preference at this very minute (it changes roughly at the top and bottom of each hour):
1) Etymotic ER-4P (or 4S?)
2) Shure SE210
3) Shure E3c
4) Shure E4c
5) Ultimate Ears Super fi.5 Pro
Now, the ER-4s seem to be nearly everything I want with one small, yet potentially killer hang-up. On the basis of performance only, they seem to be the clear winners. However, I hate hate HATE that they seem like they're going to be sticking way out of my ears and that the cables just hang straight down in the standard Y style. Beyond the desire to avoid looking like some sort of alien or some idiot with cables sticking an inch straight out my ears, I'm concerned that the cords will be very susceptible to brushing and catching on my clothes, getting microphonic effects, pulling out of my ears, and just generally being annoying as hell. This is something that will ruin the whole thing for me. I keep looking for a picture of someone actually wearing these earphones, but for the life of me, I can't. I imagine there's a pretty good reason for that - they're not exactly the best-looking earphones to begin with and I'm pretty sure any pictures are only going to confirm my fears.
Can any ER-4 owners comment on these concerns? Do you happen to have a good picture of you wearing your ER-4s that you wouldn't mind putting up on the internet? How about my next question? I'm wondering if I should get the ER-4Ps or the ER-4Ss. I'm planning on using these exlusively with my iPod, which suggests that I pick up the ER-4Ps. However, when I listen to my iPod, I always have the volume as low as I can possibly have it. Unless I'm in a real loud place (airport, on the plane), if I listen to it any louder with canalphones, it's too loud. Should I just go for better sound with the ER-4Ss and expect to turn the volume up a bit? If I get the ER-4Ps, will I be able to turn the volume down low enough if I'm already listening to it at the lowest level with my crappy Sonys? I know I can buy the cable to essentially convert the Ps to the Ss, but I don't want to shell out an extra $65 or whatever it is.
Finally, does anyone have enough knowledge of the SE210s to comment on them in comparison to the others I have listed? Any other opinions on any of them? Oh, and I do know about head-fi.org and I've been poring over the info over there.
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Follow-up post:
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Well [censored]. Now I've got JAYS d-JAYS on the list. More troubling, though, is that I now REALLY want to get the q-JAYS, but those are now not expected to be available in the US until May. I can't wait that long! Plus they'll almost for sure not be available on Amazon and I'm hoping to use $90 in Amazon gift certificate on these things.
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I'm no longer worried about buying on Amazon, as I've been able to offload my $90 Amazon gift card for $90 cash.