Earphone Suggestions

staticlullaby

So my Monster Jamz in-ear headphones broke today and I'm looking for a replacement if it's too much hassle to fix them under warranty. I really liked these earphones and I feel I'm going to have a hard time replacing them. They've lasted me around 7 months and I'm sure they would've lasted much longer if it wasn't due to me being lazy and not placing them in their pouch when they weren't being used.

Budget: < $150

Please don't suggest earphones from the brand Skullcandy either

Searching for
- in-ear headphones
- DURABLE. I'm aware that all earphones will break eventually but I'd still like to get my money's worth from them before they break. I'm really reckless with my earphones but when I do decide to buy new ones I'll definitely be investing in a splitter and placing them in my protective pouch.
- Noise cancelling. I'd like a pair of earphones similiar to my current ones, where even if I have no music playing I could just plug them in and it'd have the ability to dramatically reduce surrounding sound.

Minor preferences:
- I'd really prefer if the area around the earphone jack and the earphone to be metal instead of rubber
- I don't like cords that feel stiff and cheap

Thanks in advance for your suggestions~

s13

I don't know how you listen to your music, but the Shure SE215 are good iems for the money. Around $90-$100 these days. Bass, mids, highs are all there. The cable is kevlar coated so it should be pretty strong. It's also detachable from the actual earbuds so if the cable ever breaks, I think you just send that in for warranty or just get new ones/upgrade. Only thing is they don't got any noise cancelling. Check out the numerous reviews online.

I'm using the SE425 which are about to turn two years old and they are just fine. I don't use the case for them either, just put them in my backpack.

Sho

Hi staticlullaby

I just read your request and I really understand the situation you're coming from. I'm from UK and I always have problems in finding the right earphones until the in-ear styles were out and I couldn't stop listening with them. Anyways I think you should look for Sony In-Ear Headphones in either Amazon or eBay and the Sony products are really good in quality and quantity and trust me, you won't be able to listen to the noises around you while you listen to music lol.

They will last you within a year and some of them have a good price because of the good quality from the earphones. =)

boka

I've had experience with many IEMs over the past decade.

If you're willing to go up to $200, I'd recommend a set of UE triplefi 10 pros off amazon.com. They're like the Shure 5 series, but more "musical" sounding and with better treble. They're also cheaper now.

I'd say don't buy the Shure consumer IEMs. They really really don't meet your durability criteria. The 1 and 2 series just don't sound right. The 3 and 4 series are OK but lacking in musicality. The 5 series sound great but are about three times what you're willing to pay and are notorious for cable problems (even with the replaceable cables). I bought the E500 (internally the same as the SE535) seven years ago and have since had it replaced twice in warranty and twice out of warranty for cable issues. They obviously knew about their cabling problem and were trying to fix it - each time they replaced mine, they gave me a revised model, which was the same thing but with different cables (E500/SE510/SE530/SE535), none of which lasted much more than a year with moderate use, but at least now I can just replace the cable myself when it eventually breaks.

The best entry-level IEM I've tried is the Thermaltake Isurus - these are cheap as and are on par with $100-$200 offerings from other companies. I use these daily at home on my computer, the balance is similar to the high end IEMs. Nice bass with nice midrange. Treble starts to roll off at higher volumes, but this is typical of dynamic drivers and isn't really an issue with normal use. Sound is not quite as detailed as with balanced armatures, but you won't notice it at all unless you're listening hard for little details. It has an inline mic and single TRRS plug for phone use but also comes with a splitter/adapter so you can use the mic with your computer/laptop too. The cable is quite skinny, though I've been using these daily for two years on my computer and have ran over them a handful of times with my office chair without any problems.

Mid-range: Denon C360, Ultimate Ears 350 - both nice and musical and play well with popular electronics. I'd recommend both. The C360 has slightly "warmer" mids.

Generally stay away from: low-end MEElectronics and iMetal models; they sound like you're listening through a plastic cup on a string and I'd rather just not listen to music than use these. Don't get the Sony XBA-4 unless you've tried them yourself - they're the most detailed (across the range) IEMs I've tried but the balance is quite unusual, very uncomfortably treble heavy and clinical sounding, the bass is tinny too - and you just can't quite get the spectrum right with equalizing.