[raxness]

Hey guys,

looking to buy some new headphones after killing my E2C's and FS1's and wondering where to go next. previous headphones i bought ranged between approximately £60-70.00. willing to spend more now -upto say and beyond £150.00 but unsure what to go for.

problem is whilst i dont mind spending money (hey who doesnt) i do demand performance and value to justify the cost but that can be hard to find. i would rather have cheaper phones knowing their best value than more expensive ones which whilst better dont justify the price. conversly rather pay more for serious performance than less for mediocrity. As im unprepared to go top end would be very grateful if you peeps could let me know what you think is the best headphone for the money...

1. Shure SE210
2. Shue E3C
3. Shure SE310
4. Shure SE420
5. Superfi 5 Pro
6. Superfi 5EB
7. Anything i havent mentioned


I've read that the SE420's dont provide twice the performance over the SE210's and hence not worth twice the price. can anybody confirm..?

Many thanks

BTW dont know if it matters, my music taste is pretty varied but im mainly into my electro, house, r&b, cheers

[cunny678]

I recently bought a pair of Grado SR60's for £63 I think. They were rated best cans under £100 by one hi-fi mg - can't remember which one! They are excellent with detail and top end for money but are light weight in the bass. So not suitable for everyone and depends if you have a "bassy" system. I like them in my system but I could see how people may be disappointed if were looking for more bass........

They have more expensive versions up to £1000 I think, so you could look at the more expensive models in your price range.

Cheers

Chris

[lisnalee]

You should have a look at custom made livewires. They are custom made iems from the US, they cost $249 plus the cost of having impressions made which is about £10/£20 depending on who does them. I got mine about a month ago and can highly recommend them both in terms of sound and comfort.

[Akasan]

shure e4's are good, as are the se210's which I am currently using (my e4's are broken, too lazy to send them in for warranty replacement (all shure eligible replacement 2 years from the date printed on the jack). The se210's have excellent bass, but this is dependent upon your source. With my sony nwz-a618 the se 210's provide incredible clarity and bass with NO distortion. With this particular player they sound just as good as the e4's to my ears (although the e4's have a wider soundstage.

[Samsun]

I just bought a pair of Shure e3g (same as e3c but with shorter cord) for around £58 delivered. Im trying them out for the first time. So far I'm impressed. I did own the e2c's previously and they are a marked improvement.

Something to think about if you feel like having a nice bit of change from that £150! Heres a link to how to get it for this price:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/forums/sho...ighlight=shure


On a side note. Does anyone have any experience with the new black foam sleeves? Do they work as well as the old ones? and what size would you say is equivalent to the yellow foamies? Thanks

[godzilla1]

Originally Posted by raxness

Hey guys,

looking to buy some new headphones after killing my E2C's and FS1's and wondering where to go next. previous headphones i bought ranged between approximately £60-70.00. willing to spend more now -upto say and beyond £150.00 but unsure what to go for.

Sennheiser HD 650? I've never heard them before, but will pick up a set one day. They where available for £169 a few months ago. I should have bought them then. Cheapest i can find is £184.99.


http://www.play.com/Electronics/Elec...searchsource=0

[dancemb]

I have a pair of HD 600's, and can highly recommend them to anyone, but I only use them at home as they are not really any good to use outside the house as everyone can hear what you are listening to almost as well as you can!

I think what people are after is portable earphones for there MP3 players.

Whats the best you can get for upto £200 now?

I do have a pair of Westone UM2 and received custom made sleeves for them, which really does make all the difference, from a company called ACS, worth every penny of the £88 I paid out.

Can I get any better than these UM2's anywhere??

[will1970]

Originally Posted by Samsun

On a side note. Does anyone have any experience with the new black foam sleeves? Do they work as well as the old ones? and what size would you say is equivalent to the yellow foamies? Thanks

The black foamies are great especially as you can wash them and they last alot longer than the yellow ones. I do begrudge paying the cost of the yellow ones. I think the medium ones are about the size of the yellow ones.

Will

[dancemb]

In terms of getting these foam sleeves, I would say not to bother with those, because when I first got my Westone UM2's, I got the foam sleeves and was never happy with them.

Now I have got my custom made sleeves, I know I will get a comfortable, instant fit whenever I put them in, and what is better is that I wont have to replace these like you have to do with the foam ones, which was going to cost more than the one-off fee for custom sleeves.

I went to a company called (I think) ACS or something (check my earlier Westone UM2 posts elsewhere) and I went to Boots hearing centre for the impressions, then about 3 weeks later they posted them to me and now I couldnt be happier!

[Jaunty]

Originally Posted by will1970

The black foamies are great especially as you can wash them and they last alot longer than the yellow ones. I do begrudge paying the cost of the yellow ones. I think the medium ones are about the size of the yellow ones.

Will

Hi there. Sorry to but in, but can I ask where you got your black foamies from? I ordered some from ebay.com in USA (DiscountHeadphones.com) but they have not turned up twice. They have been fine, and are refunding me, but I still want to get some to try with my Shure SE500s.

Thanks

[will1970]

Originally Posted by Jaunty

Hi there. Sorry to but in, but can I ask where you got your black foamies from? I ordered some from ebay.com in USA (DiscountHeadphones.com) but they have not turned up twice. They have been fine, and are refunding me, but I still want to get some to try with my Shure SE500s.

Thanks

Micro Anvika on Tottenham Court Road stock them

Will

[py6km]

Sennheiser HD25s have always been my headphone of choice

[Samsun]

Originally Posted by Jaunty

Hi there. Sorry to but in, but can I ask where you got your black foamies from? I ordered some from ebay.com in USA (DiscountHeadphones.com) but they have not turned up twice. They have been fine, and are refunding me, but I still want to get some to try with my Shure SE500s.

Thanks

You can get them on this site: http://mercury-av.com/sales/

I still havent got any but will have to soon, my yellow ones are looking a bit tatty already

[dancemb]

Is there any IEM earphones that can beat my Westone UM2's for under the £300 mark?

[Jaunty]

Originally Posted by Samsun

You can get them on this site: http://mercury-av.com/sales/

I still havent got any but will have to soon, my yellow ones are looking a bit tatty already

Thanks, they are a better price than Micro Anvika (£19.60 for a pack of ten delivered vs £15 plus postage for a 5 pack from MA) Wrong!

EDIT - Micro Anvika are £14.99 plus delivery for 5 PAIRS and Mercury are £17.61 plus delivery for 5 PAIRS. Their website says 10 pack, but this is 5 pairs

[Reano]

Originally Posted by raxness

Hey guys,



Many thanks

BTW dont know if it matters, my music taste is pretty varied but im mainly into my electro, house, r&b, cheers

You never get twice the performance for twice the price with headphones as you go up the quality band. The Westone UM2 should also be on your list.

[Reano]

Originally Posted by dancemb

I have a pair of HD 600's, and can highly recommend them to anyone, but I only use them at home as they are not really any good to use outside the house as everyone can hear what you are listening to almost as well as you can!

I think what people are after is portable earphones for there MP3 players.

Whats the best you can get for upto £200 now?

I do have a pair of Westone UM2 and received custom made sleeves for them, which really does make all the difference, from a company called ACS, worth every penny of the £88 I paid out.

Can I get any better than these UM2's anywhere??

Shure 500 (or whatever the equivalent is) beat the UM2. Is it worth the additional cost? Well thats only something you can decide

[Reano]

Originally Posted by dancemb

Is there any IEM earphones that can beat my Westone UM2's for under the £300 mark?

Yes look for the shure 500 or equivalent. They are the reason I sold my Westone UM2's.

[Jaunty]

And if you do get the Shure E500s make sure you try them with the Shure black foamies - I only just have, and it is a BIG improvement from the Shure black ultrasoft that I was using

[NethLyn]

Oops - as pointed out below, it's the MX 300s on offer from Richer, and the extra couple of quid for the MX 500s gets you a slightly better sit together with more bass.

Sorry all!

[dancemb]

Those foam earbuds I really did hate an awful lot, especially when they did not feel they was set in the ear correctly.

Thats why I did treat myself to custom ear moulds, and with the comfort they are very much worth the price I spent on getting them done (£88)

So is everyone saying that the Shure E500's are the best you can really get at the moment?

[Barton1967]

Originally Posted by NethLyn

For anyone who still has the Sennheiser CX300s on their radar as a cheapie set, perhaps for spares - sign up to Richer Sounds' email, print out the voucher, go in there and spend a tenner on something else and you'll get them free - that's replaced the free mug or blank media they used to do for years on end.

I think they are the MX300s. Still better than nothing, but not in the same league.