Earphone Review: Battle of sub $80 in-ears earphones plus others!

hottiedoggie

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Hi all,

I'm in search for a new earpiece, my dunu trident stopped working, i think the connection is loose anyway of fitching it?. Currently im looking at MEElectronics A151, Amazon.com : MEElectronics A151-BK Balanced Armature In-Ear Headphones for iPod, iPhone, MP3/CD/DVD Players (Black) : Electronics, just wondering how is it and whether it is durable or not. I guess you can say that im a very heavy duty person? Over the past 3 years i replaced 2 earpieces, 1st was brainwavez M1 then my dunu trident. i listen mostly through my iphone 5 and mostly rock genre. Could really use a suggestion my budget it about $50.

Cheers!
 
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Kero291

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- Your rig: HTC One
- What type of usage: Music & Mic
- File format used in your source: Mp3
- Genre of music you listen to: Rock, Pop, Vocals
- Headphone / earphone type: Earphones
- Other requirements (if any): Good sound, Durable. One earphones for everything :)
- Budget <$100
 

TeamStereo

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Is there any difference in sound between UM1 EPIC G2 CABLE and the old Um1?
Technically there isn't any difference. :)

- Your rig: HTC One
- What type of usage: Music & Mic
- File format used in your source: Mp3
- Genre of music you listen to: Rock, Pop, Vocals
- Headphone / earphone type: Earphones
- Other requirements (if any): Good sound, Durable. One earphones for everything :)
- Budget <$100
You can consider the Ultimate Ears 400 which most person and personally feel that it has good clarity with adequate amount of bass. Durability will depend on how the earphones are being used so it is hard to tell how long or how good their durability is. :)
 

Gevancksya

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Credits:
RePlaY: For his idea and suggestion. And members support.
Cypher02: For applying some glue to this thread.
Me: For all the text and photos!
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Introduction:
Ok. So here we go. This is a review (photos included) on some of the popular budget in-ears available in Singapore. So who are the contenders? They are: Sony MDR-EX71SL | Panasonic RP-HJE50 | Philips SHE9500 | Cresyn LMX-E630RL | Creative EP630 | Apple In-Ears. The Sony MDR-EX51 will not be included because it is very similar to the EX71 with different cord design. The MDR-EX81 doesn’t seem popular and I do not own one anyway. Audio Technica’s ATH-CK5 wasn’t in the review as well because I wasn’t able to borrow a pair. I've also included the new ATH-CK7, ER6i, UM1 and traditional earbuds in the review. All earphones reviewed here are able to match all players out in the market. All are fairly easy to drive and require no amplifier.

The review will be structured according to the order above and includes design/cord, sound quality, built quality, comfort and ear tips. And lastly, a conclusion and personal preference. They will be graded according from 1-5 stars with 5 being the best and 1 the worst. Of cause, 5 stars does not mean it is the best earphone in the market, 5 stars=best in its price range. Since most people will be using them for portables, this review is conducted using a iPod Shuffle and a Sony D-E705 Discman without any amplifier. Songs are in at least 192kbps MP3 format. CDs: Metallica-Black, Coldplay-X&Y Robbie Williams-Intensive Care, Madonna-Confessions on a Dance Floor.

Design and Seal: <------First time users, please read the entire paragraph!
These earphones work by blocking some noise with a seal. It is a little different from the high-end, more expensive IEM like Etymotic Research/Shure/Westone. The rubber tips seals on the outside of your ear canal instead of jamming it in all the way like the high-end ones. Its advantage is better comfort and convenience. Disadvantage is that it blocks less noise than what a true IEM will. It is essential that a good seal is achieved before they will sound good and work to its best. How to get a good seal? Select a suitable size tip and insert it into your ears until you hear some ambient noise being blocked out. All six earphones reviewed feature similar size sound nozzle, so the ear tips are inter-changeable. Each manufacturer has different ear tip design and quality although they look similar. Isolation levels are about the same. It depends on the individual achieving a good seal using a suitable size tip. The first 4 earphones reviewed are neck-chain designs and the last 2 are 'Y' cord.

Summarized version:
1-5 stars with 5 being the best and 1 the worst.

Sony MDR-EX71SL | Overall Rating: 2.5 stars
Design/cord: 4 stars
Sound Quality: 2 stars
Built Quality: 1.5 stars
Comfort/Ear Tips: 5 stars

Panasonic RP-HJE50 | Overall Rating: 4 stars
Design/cord: 4 stars
Sound Quality: 3.5 stars
Built Quality: 3.5 stars
Comfort/Ear Tips: 3.5 stars

Philips SHE9500 | Overall Rating: 3 stars
Design/cord: 4 stars
Sound Quality: 2.5 stars
Built Quality: 2 stars
Comfort/Ear Tips: 4 stars

Creative EP630 | Overall Rating: 4.5 stars
Design/cord: 4 stars
Sound Quality: 4 stars
Built Quality: 3 stars
Comfort/Ear Tips: 4 stars

Apple In-Ears | Overall Rating: 3.5 stars
Design/cord: 3.5 stars
Sound Quality: 3 stars
Built Quality: 4 stars
Comfort/Ear Tips: 3 stars

Read on for the full review!
_____________________________________________________________________________________

[highlight]Other reviews contributed by members and my updates:[/highlight]
_____________________________________________________________________________________

FAQ:

[highlight]If you're having problems with:[/highlight]
[highlight]All you need to know about Cresyn and please direct all questions to this thread[/highlight]

great review thanks :)
 

WallyPolly

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hi all , anybody has any recommendations for good headphones ? Price range ard $200 $300.. do letme know thank you!
 

angrybeaver

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What Earphones to get ?

-Your rig: Samsung Galaxy S3
- What type of usage: daily usage on bus,etc., atleast 3 hours per day
- File format used in your source: mp3 & youtube (whatever format that is)
- Genre of music: Hip-hop, pop
- Headphone / earphone type: IEMs
- Other requirements: durable & remote for Samsung Galaxy S3 (optional)
- Budget: $200

Help is greatly appreciated ! Thanks a lot :s13:

PS. I used the TDK IE800 beforehand, found it great however its housing is too bulky and it spoils too quickly for me >< . Replaced twice within a year :s13:
 

TeamStereo

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-Your rig: Samsung Galaxy S3
- What type of usage: daily usage on bus,etc., atleast 3 hours per day
- File format used in your source: mp3 & youtube (whatever format that is)
- Genre of music: Hip-hop, pop
- Headphone / earphone type: IEMs
- Other requirements: durable & remote for Samsung Galaxy S3 (optional)
- Budget: $200

Help is greatly appreciated ! Thanks a lot :s13:

PS. I used the TDK IE800 beforehand, found it great however its housing is too bulky and it spoils too quickly for me >< . Replaced twice within a year :s13:

Believed you had posted in our promo thread. Please refer to reply there. Thank you. :)
 

nyvled

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To teamstereo!

- Your rig (HTC One X with and without beats audio)
- What type of usage (music mainly)
- File format used in your source (mp3, m4a, acc)
- Genre of music you listen to (Quite a huge variety just mainly no screamo and classical)
- Headphone / earphone type (earphone)
- Other requirements (if any) (in ear, not necessarily with Mic and controls but would be good to have)
- Budget(max 80)

Previously owned Jays a jays One, Sennheisser CX-215 now. Find my current CX-215 bass to be overwhelming after prolonged listening sporadically but I like it for short trips within two hours. Also wish for something a bit more balanced and sharper in clarity compared to the CX-215s. So I hope I can find something better than this current pair.

Just sharing headphones I had the beats solo (which came with my HTC for $150) and I found it crappy without beats audio because the higher ends were too mashed sounding and the bass wasn't really like the CXs but it had like, 'layers' in the music it put out (somebody care explaining this to me?). Then I got the AKG K67 which was near perfect to what I needed.

So hopefully from my description of headphones you'll understand better what kind of sound I'm looking into in ear. Doesn't have to be exact like the AKG but I just need something a lil better than the CXs now. I've tried urbanears and one of the UEs (forgot if it was a 400) I found the sound too warmish. So I don't want to go into those overly warm sounding kind.
 
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TeamStereo

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To teamstereo!

- Your rig (HTC One X with and without beats audio)
- What type of usage (music mainly)
- File format used in your source (mp3, m4a, acc)
- Genre of music you listen to (Quite a huge variety just mainly no screamo and classical)
- Headphone / earphone type (earphone)
- Other requirements (if any) (in ear, not necessarily with Mic and controls but would be good to have)
- Budget(max 80)

Previously owned Jays a jays One, Sennheisser CX-215 now. Find my current CX-215 bass to be overwhelming after prolonged listening sporadically but I like it for short trips within two hours. Also wish for something a bit more balanced and sharper in clarity compared to the CX-215s. So I hope I can find something better than this current pair.

Just sharing headphones I had the beats solo (which came with my HTC for $150) and I found it crappy without beats audio because the higher ends were too mashed sounding and the bass wasn't really like the CXs but it had like, 'layers' in the music it put out (somebody care explaining this to me?). Then I got the AKG K67 which was near perfect to what I needed.

So hopefully from my description of headphones you'll understand better what kind of sound I'm looking into in ear. Doesn't have to be exact like the AKG but I just need something a lil better than the CXs now. I've tried urbanears and one of the UEs (forgot if it was a 400) I found the sound too warmish. So I don't want to go into those overly warm sounding kind.
Maybe you would like to give the range from Audio Technica and JVC a try.
Namely the ATH-CKM500, ATH-IM50 and FX1X. Would find that they have a higher timbre as compared to the CX215 and Ajays One. Do feel free to drop by our outlets and give them a try.
 

nyvled

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I just went to hear the ajays one to know how it sounded like again at newstead nex I think. The guy there talked to me and long story cut short, it ended up that i liked ajays two and tjays two. The ajays were lower in bass, but the voices I heard were flat, yet the tjays were a little higher (hence missing a bit on "The Monster" by Eminem where they started wolf whistling) yet the voice were not flat (not sure of terminology). Which would be better to have?
 

thelastname

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To teamstereo!

- Your rig: Samsung S4 or Ipod touch 2nd gen
- What type of usage: mainy for use in a gym and on threadmail
- File format used in your source: mp3, m4a, acc
- Genre of music you listen to: Kpop and english pop
- Headphone / earphone type: earphones
- Other requirements (if any) mic or volume controls are not a must. hope it would stay in place during workout.
- Budget around $100 can push slightly higher if needed.

please recommend me one
many thanks in advance :D
 

TeamStereo

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To teamstereo!

- Your rig: Samsung S4 or Ipod touch 2nd gen
- What type of usage: mainy for use in a gym and on threadmail
- File format used in your source: mp3, m4a, acc
- Genre of music you listen to: Kpop and english pop
- Headphone / earphone type: earphones
- Other requirements (if any) mic or volume controls are not a must. hope it would stay in place during workout.
- Budget around $100 can push slightly higher if needed.

please recommend me one
many thanks in advance :D

You might want to consider the range of sports earphones that we have. Would personally recommend the Yurbuds Inspire Duro.
 

DareyX

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To team stereo
Rig: iphone5s
Usage: commute and gym
File format: mp3,Acc
Genre: all kinds, from classical to rock to new age
IEM only, mic and volume preferred. Must get good seal
Budget <200
Thanks
 

unicorned

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to TeamStereo,

-Your rig: iPhone 5s
- What type of usage: commute, traveling
- File format used in your source: mp3, flac
- Genre of music: Experimental, Fusion, Funk, Electronic Dance
- Headphone / earphone type: over-the-ears headphone
- Other requirements: durable, comfortable for long usage hours (in travelling)
- Budget: $200 - 400

many thanks!
 

TeamStereo

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to TeamStereo,

-Your rig: iPhone 5s
- What type of usage: commute, traveling
- File format used in your source: mp3, flac
- Genre of music: Experimental, Fusion, Funk, Electronic Dance
- Headphone / earphone type: over-the-ears headphone
- Other requirements: durable, comfortable for long usage hours (in travelling)
- Budget: $200 - 400

many thanks!

Hi there, the Shure 215SPE is one of the cost effective iems for your requirements. A good amount of focus on bass which is great for EDMs. The new W series by Westone W10 is another model you can look into, more balance and neutral though so might not have the that much as you like for EDMs but may have versatility over most other music genre. Both are over ears and should be comfortable for long listening periods. Feel free to try them out at our stores and see if you like them ya.
 

SomeH0w

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Rig: Use with iPhone 5, Lenovo Miix 2 8, iPad Mini, Laptop
Type of Usage: For Commute, watch videos, phone calls
File Formats: mp3, aac and video formats (mp4 avi)
Music Genre: Pop, Pop Rock, Alternative Rock
Earphone Type: Inner Ear, J-cord (or Neck Chain design or whatever else it is called)
Other requirements: Mic, Volume Control. Durable (since I sleep listening to music)
- Budget: Below 100.

I have considered ATH CKN50 but I am just afraid that when I sleep I will destroy the ring ._."
Thank you to anyone who can recommend me a earphone.
 
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