Better In Ear headphones

[badsarge]

Gentle Readers,

In an effort to secure better portable music, I have conquered several digital copy challenges recently.

EDIT: (With the generous assistance of several lounge members!)

Approximately 230 GBs of music have been successfully ripped and copied into FLAC files from my BlueSound Vault 2i to an SD Card.

I have a Fiio M9 on order. I'm searching for a better than adequate pair of in-ear headphones.

For portability reasons and positive reviews I considered the Beyerdynamic Soul Byrd and the 1MORE Triple Driver in-Ear Earphones.

Both are in the $100 range.

Initial reviews of both products are exceptionally glowing.

Through Amazon reviews, I came to realize that the long term viability for both of these products is somewhat questionable.

I refuse to venture into the $1000+ arena for headphones, $200 is my max.

Is there an in-ear, wired pair of earbuds that meets the expectations of the Emotiva family??

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks! Steve

[GreenKiwi]

I think that there are lots of IEMs in the $75-150 range that sound really good. It's a bit tricky, since fit and sound preferences come into play.

Are you looking for isolation? Or just portability? Would you consider second-hand IEMs?

I have the following
* Fiio F9 (though I'd get the F9 Pro if I were getting them again, they weren't available when I purchased them) -- very clean and enjoyable, maybe a little less bass than I might want. I got them for $60 over on HeadFi. The FH1 is supposed to be quite good too, and cheaper.
* Massdrop Noble X -- very smooth and enjoyable -- I got them second hand for $125 w/ the lightning cable
* Cardas ear speaker em5813 -- these dropped in price recently. They are very laid back, maybe akin to the HD650?
* iBasso IT-01 -- I generally liked the sound, but they didn't fit in my ears particularly well.

If you just want portability, you might check out the Audeze iSine 10. They might still be on sale for $149. They are an in-ear planar headphone.


I'd definitely recommend checking out the used headphone section over there:
www.head-fi.org/forums/headphones-for-sale-trade.6550/

Here are a few that jump out
* Fiio FH5 - $150
* iBasso IT01 - $60
* Massdrop Plus Universal $190
* Noble X - $160

Good luck... and enjoy.

[badsarge]

GreenKiwi,

Thank you for the insight.

I would possibly consider gently pre-loved equipment.

In-ear phones are a rather intimate purchase. My only concern would be warranty / returns.

I checked out Massdrop recently. Reviews of various headphones were submitted with users complaining of shoddy parts, workmanship and possibly counterfeit practices.

Did I read about a NO-Return policy on Massdrop?

I will ABSOLUTELY conduct some research on the items you suggested!

Thank you kind Sir!

[autiger]

I like these RHA MA750 I have the wired version but they also have wireless. www.soundguys.com/rha-ma750-wireless-review-15944/

[DYohn]

I currently use a set of 1More triple drivers when I travel. They sound pretty good, and are at their best with a little power behind them. I currently use a VModa Vamp DAC/AMP and my iPhone X as a source.

[badsarge]

Autiger,
I liked the soundguys website. Hadn't run across them yet. Thank you Sir!

DYohn,
The Soul Byrd's garnered a 5-star rating on the What Hi-Fi website. On second look, the Byrds did better on Amazon user reviews than my first impression.

Reviews may have started to blur around midnight.....

Thank you as well Sir!

[GreenKiwi]

Apr 27, 2019 8:56:55 GMT -5 badsarge said:

In-ear phones are a rather intimate purchase. My only concern would be warranty / returns.

I was definitely that way, then I thought about it a bit. It's worked reasonably well so far. I only purchase used if there is a significant price difference, and then I always pay with PayPal regular purchase, so I have protection for DoA. I figure that there _hopefully_ isn't too much that will go wrong with a pair of IEMs.

Then when they arrive, I wipe them with an alcohol wipe, even though every pair has been pristine so far. Note, my "N" isn't very large here. I've purchased 4 IEMs and two pairs of larger Mr Speakers headphones. One of those pairs did need to "air out" a little.

Good luck and definitely come back with your trials and experiences.