Audio IEMs under 1k??

Shubham1401

Shubham1401

Adept
Hi Folks,

I am looking for a new IEM after my Xiaomi earphones mysteriously disappeared in my offce :arghh:

I have used ES18 for 2 years before this and I found them more balanced but less fun than the PL-21 I had earlier. (Same with my PL-30 which were almost perfect but not as exciting to listen to)

Now I am looking for something new. Should I go for PL 11 or repeat PL 21 which i had the best experience with so far? Or any other choice in my budget?
 
Philips SHE3590
While far prom perfect , overall better balanced than Piston3, ES18, Pana HJE120/125, Cowon EM1 (EM1 in particular sounds just pathetic)[DOUBLEPOST=1473138600][/DOUBLEPOST]If you are into earbuds I'd suggest VE Monk Plus ($5) and Auglamour RX1 ($22 and a giant killer)
 
I second the 3590s too. Bought them couple years ago for 7-8$. They were phenomenal sound quality considering the price. Way better than the over-hyped (imo) es18. I had also bought the mee m9 for about $12 and while the performance was ok, they wouldn't seal properly in one of my ears. More a problem with the shape of that particular ear than the buds i think.

Unfortunately, one side of the 3590 developed a problem with the wire after a year or two and stopped working. I think it's the lack of a long cable bend relief.

Edit: ultra cheap on FK. Makes me nostalgic to buy em even though i now use a pair of mee m6 pros
 
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Lol, for research all you had to do was go here!

I'm curious if there's a quality difference between the ones i bought from amazon and these local one. But then again, because it's a philips and not sony or something, chances of fake is relatively less.

A word of advice: because they're small and round, it's hard to get a grip on them once they're lodged in your ear. And the lack of the usual cable bend relief means the usual thing most people would do is to pull it out by the cable. My guess is this is how i killed mine. So be sure to somehow pull it out by the body, not by tugging on the cable.[DOUBLEPOST=1473188106][/DOUBLEPOST]Wtf, they're out of stock on FK. Did you buy the last piece ws retail had ? lol[DOUBLEPOST=1473188198][/DOUBLEPOST]This is the cheapest option now, but it's white
 
Will take care while removing them though I manage to break them anyways. :p
I've had 4 Soundmagics, 1 Sony MDR, 1 xiaomi and 1 panasonic so far in last 4 years :p

Interestingly, my headphones last a lot longer with both my Samson SR 850 and Sennheiser PX80 lasting nearing 3 years and going strong.

And no, I haven't ordered yet. I'll get them from Nehru place this weekend. :D
 
With stock tips the Philips is bass heavy and a little peaky in lower treble @ 4-6KHZ (although still very enjoyable considering they have much lesser issues than most budget IEMs).
I've tried several tips with them and settled down with the Pana HJE125 medium tips. The bass extends low and hits harder while the lower treble though still uneven , is not as peaky.
 
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