[EViS]

Having searched and read over the relevant threads in the forum, I've come up with the following shortlist of the most recommended in-ear headphones within my budget (approx. £50). However which could be recommended as the real winner?

Sennheiser CX300 - Cheap headphones, can they really be better than the other two?
Shure E2C - Apparently there's a problem with the wire cracking quickly and having to be placed around the ear to create a comfortable fit?
Futuresonic EM3 - Don't know much about these...

Any input appreciated !

[appledell]

Tried the senns cx300 - crap

went for the sony 90's from play (£44) - great, good fit and very good sound

[Prospekt]

I've only used the E2Cs in that list. Had my pair for about a year and had no problems with the wires, and I don't keep them in the case and I pull them out of my ears by the cable which is a big no-no according to Shure. The designed way to wear them are to place them in with the wire coming out of the top and you loop it around the back of you ear. That always annoyed me, personally, and just wear them like normal earphones.

[micaab]

i have the CX300 and e2c.

while the CX300's aren't great I do like the punchy sound that comes out of them. they are very comfy to wear for long periods but the insulation on the wire is a bit flimsy, if the wire scrapes along the zipper on your jacket you can hear alot of noise thru the phones

after a couple of days using the CX300s putting the e2c's back in the ears really does show the quality difference - i think that £50ish is decent value for money for the Shures. Only grip is that i find the cable behind the ear thing a bit annoying on the shure's. I have had a replacement pair due to the Y cable breaking but Shure replaced then very quickly and easily.

the shures also have better external sound isolation than the CX300.

can't comment on the FutureSonics but hope that helps a bit.

[DorKnight]

I recommend the Future Sonics, great IEMs for the price IMO.

[karkus30]

Futuresonics for me.

You probably wont buy them anyway as you will no doubt plump for the Shure E2cs 'cos everybody else does and they look a bit flash..............Im not saying that the E2cs are bad, not at all, but the Futuresonics are very, very good and extremely robust.

[Funky]

I'll recommend you adding the following in-ear into your list.

Audio Technica ATH-CK7
Sony MDR-EX85LP

Both of them are excellent in-ear under £50 and both of them come with a eye-catching outlook.

[DorKnight]

If you're interested at looking at others then take a look here (I nearly always forget about them);

http://www.jays.se/

[EViS]

Despite what karkus30 said, I'm very tempted by the FutureSonics, however they're just a touch over my budget and still need to be convinced they are worth that amount...

How are they for comfort for long periods of time? Robustness of wires and phones themselves?

[karkus30]

Originally Posted by EViS

Despite what karkus30 said, I'm very tempted by the FutureSonics, however they're just a touch over my budget and still need to be convinced they are worth that amount...

How are they for comfort for long periods of time? Robustness of wires and phones themselves?

I have used them for hours at a time, you buy the foam plugs to suit your ear holes (I use the small ones). Because they are foam they gently expand to fill your aural cavities (ooh matron) giving perfect sealing and great bass response. I find solid and silicon ribbed plugs very uncomfortable which is why I chose the FS.

Robustness- Well they were designed for and used by rockstars while they jump around the stage. Anything designed for performance use needs to be reliable and tough (have you seen the state the amps and drums get into).

Owned mine for a year now, no issues, despite me tugging and pulling on them, going running in them, using them while drumming, chucking them in and out of my pockets without any protection (I am quite rough with stuff in general).

No one who has bought them ever has anything but praise for them. Lovely sound quality and very unfatiguing, great bass lovely clarity.

[Scott_Mac]

I bought my Etymotic ER6i from eBay (from the US) for £54 delivered and rate them greatly. Have had them for a year and they've been problem free, sound stunning and match your iPod if that's your bag

[EViS]

Where can I buy the Futuresonic EM3's? Can't find anywhere that sells them online...

[Reano]

Originally Posted by Scott_Mac

I bought my Etymotic ER6i from eBay (from the US) for £54 delivered and rate them greatly. Have had them for a year and they've been problem free, sound stunning and match your iPod if that's your bag

Listen to this man

[karkus30]

Originally Posted by EViS

Where can I buy the Futuresonic EM3's? Can't find anywhere that sells them online...

www.handheldaudio.co.uk

great company to deal with too. OOps not anymore apparently ?

I had a look on the Futuresonics site and they seem to have begun manufacturing directly for http://www.xtrememac.com/audio/earphones_recorders/fs1/
as Ipod upmarket accesories.

They look like they are also launching a new model http://www.earmonitors.com/atrio/index.html

and the 'ears' specifically designed for ipod users http://www.futuresonics.com/apple/index.html

anyway the upshot is...........you cant have the EM3s as they dont appear to make them anymore !! I reckon they are not going to be selling the new ones for anywhere near that price. It was always cheap for what you were getting.

[EViS]

So what's the second best option?

[McCol]

I would recommend the V-Moda Vibe earphones. Bought these a few days ago and so far i am amazed at the sound quality, build and comfort of these phones.

Over the last few years i have used ER6-i's, E2c, Sony ex71's and the cx300. The vibe's imo are better sounding than all these they are probably on a par with my Altec Lansing im716 earphones and better in some respects.

The vibes have a nice full bass sound but dont sacrifice on the trebles either. Head over to headfi there is a 30 page thread on them over there.

They may be a little more than you want to spend though, approx £67 in the uk but V-Moda are doing a special offer on int shipping at moment so worth a look.

Here's the phones themselves- http://www.v-moda.com/collection/modaphones/vibe.aspx

[Crispy o_O]

Just remember, what is right for you is not for another...

The good thing to note about the Shure models (think this is the case) is that they have a 2 year warranty...

I used to go through Sony IEM after just over a year when their warranty had lapsed and decided it was worth investing in something that would have a decent warranty... the sound quality on the Shure's E3c's is awesome, not too much bass though, but i blame that on the crappy EQ of the IPOD which prevents customisation, booo...

In short, whatever you go for, just accept your choice and remember how much better it is than those phones that come with mp3 players...

[Scott_Mac]

Originally Posted by EViS

So what's the second best option?

Irrelevant, the Etymotics are the best option and cheap as chips!!!

[DorKnight]

I would go for the Westone UM1 over the Etymotic 6I, though it would probably cost £60ish delivered from the US for the Westone.

[Agincourt]

I've got both the Shure E2Cs and the CX300s. Both have a 2 year warranty - I've had to use the Shure warranty (loss of round from the left phone) and service was excellent. No problems with the CX300s, which are significantly smaller and the cable thinner. Sound isolation is similar using the soft black rubber sleeves but the Sennheisers do seem to pick up more noise from the cables rubbing on clothing. The Shures come with a much wider variety of sleeves, meaning you're more likely to find ones with a comfortable fit. They also have replaceable wax guards, which helps get round the unpleasant but unavaildable problem of wax buildup. The CX300s have asymmetric cables - the right cable is longer than the left; the Shure's are the same length. The Shures have a gold-plated jack plug; the Sennheisers don't.
My recommendation out of the two would be the CX300s - at around £15 it's a significant saving (~£30) over the Shures if you find you like them and not too much of a loss if you don't.

[paulharrison]

Originally Posted by McCol

I would recommend the V-Moda Vibe earphones. Bought these a few days ago and so far i am amazed at the sound quality, build and comfort of these phones.

Over the last few years i have used ER6-i's, E2c, Sony ex71's and the cx300. The vibe's imo are better sounding than all these they are probably on a par with my Altec Lansing im716 earphones and better in some respects.

The vibes have a nice full bass sound but dont sacrifice on the trebles either. Head over to headfi there is a 30 page thread on them over there.

They may be a little more than you want to spend though, approx £67 in the uk but V-Moda are doing a special offer on int shipping at moment so worth a look.

Here's the phones themselves- http://www.v-moda.com/collection/modaphones/vibe.aspx

These look good, just typed in V-Moda Vibe on ebay and you can get them for £49 free postage shipped from US. Tempting. I've bought the CX300s and not been that impressed, like a few others have mentioned though it might be down the the lack of EQ modifiers on my ipod