Audio Random IEM / Headphone Rants

I'm interested in buying good in-ear buds under 500 bucks(+/-50).

I read #esanthosh review of soundmagic es18 and monoprice 8230. Is this it or can I find anything better in this budget? Which of these two is better?
I'm from Pune. Where can I find any of these two(or any other you might wanna suggest).

Mostly I'll listen songs with my nokia c7 and watch movies on my laptop. Will these work fine?

Thanks.
 
Anyone tried this? iPhone 4S hooked to external DAC yep its working

aipess,

MonoPrice 8320 is only available from MonoPrice. The cost of shipping will make the $7 IEM work out to $45. ES18 is no longer under Rs. 500 in most places. It should be selling at Rs. 650 now (except for IndiaTimes - Buy SoundMAGIC ES 18 Earphone online, SoundMAGIC ES 18 Earphone Price, Reviews @ Indiatimes Shopping). Other choices would include PL11 for Rs. 600 odd. I have not listened to SHE3570 enough to form an opinion of how it goes against ES18 and PL11.
 
I am damn frustrated about the skimping mfrs do on tips :lemmings:. I used to recommend the PL11 over the EP 630, but that was because of the bi flange tips - my ear canals are a bit large, so getting a good seal is hard. Now that soundmagic has stopped shipping the bi flange tips with the PL 11, and worse, jacked up the prices driving it above the EP 630, it doesn't make any sense :sleep:
Then I thought the JVC marshmallow would be a good idea. Had read about how foam tips give you better sealing, only to find out JVC gives ONE additional pair of tips, and NEITHER of them fit. And you can't fit any of the other tips onto it either (even with the rubber tube pieces). I can get glimpses of what theyre supposed to sound like when I press them into my ears, but otherwise , that was a total waste of money.

Now am managing with my MP21 on my phone, but It's sad that you can't get bi flange tips on the cheaper phones, or even buy a good after market set.
I'll make one of my friends a guinea pig for the ES18, but am still worried if their cables are as durable as the older ones...
 
Haha that's good old fashioned rant, just what the thread needs to live up to its name. I've got issues with seal too. There's a cheap DIY custom earplug tutorial, will try finding a link tomorrow. Interesting but I'm far too lazy to do it.
 
Alright then, monoprice is ouuta ques then. Is es18 worth it?
As I said I'll mostly listen songs on my cellphone and watch movies on my laptop, so wadya think?

And there's a local shop selling es18 for 400INR, should I get these?

And santhosh, your reviews are really great btw!
 
Receive GR06...at last:)yahoo:........also receiver M2 a few days.....the difference between the two to my noob ears as of now.....
1) M2 has a more hard hitting bass compared to the GR02..............impact is more
2)GR02 has more prominent treble....it has the best of the phones i have listen to so far........well bass is not as hard hitting as M2 but a bit on softer side
3)GR02 to my ears has a better balance(balance= good balance of bass and treble....to me)
4).M2 has this amazing capability to step the bass when needed......
may be i need to burn in these a bit more and see what happens....if there is any change of sorts....

---------- Post added at 08:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:13 PM ----------

also a huge amount ear tips with the GR2......almost 3 times as M2

Man trying to change the tips of these GR02 's is like trying to make a baby wear their nappies while they are throwing their legs around.....frigging impossible.....only the double flanges supplied seems to slip in comfortably..
 
aipess said:
And there's a local shop selling es18 for 400INR, should I get these?
Click to expand...

At that price, they are a good choice.

greenhorn,

Why not try something like this? Just make sure the IEM you want has the same nozzle size of 5.5mm from Joker's thread.

sbuch,

Congrats! VSonics, IME, needed one size more than usual (Large vs my usual Medium). So, try the Large as well to see if it seals you better.

Instead of burn-in, I suggest that you listen to GR02 for 3-4 days in isolation. Then compare it to M2 and see how it goes. Usually when brain is used to a certain signature for a while, differences become much easier to pick.
 
@esanthosh
have you ever bought anything from ebay global easy buy..?
those buying from them negate the chances of items being stuck/lost/stolen from the customs
 
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sbuch,

No! eBay GEB is much costlier in many cases.

Except in cases where the item is valuable to me (not the price, but the worth), I do not mind paying a little more for a safe, tracked option like FedEx / UPS / DHL etc., In other cases, I can take a bit of a risk. Like many, I rant on about negative experience with M4, but then there are many items which I received before and a couple after that safely. One more (I hope not!) incident like M4, I might stop buying or go for the safest shipping options.

greenhorn,

I think debit cards should work via Paypal. It's $4.69 shipped, which is under Rs. 300. While that makes each tip cost an arm and a leg, it is also a small amount you can risk. With LostEarBuds, I got some 30 pairs of tips for around Rs. 500 (way before INR depreciated). Not sure if he does that kind of combined shipping any more, but won't hurt to ask. You can choose the type of tip, size and # of such tips. It comes in an inconspicuous packing, so not much chance of customs inspecting it.
 
I'll be getting es18 then. Best thing is you get a carry pouch at this price, its awesome!

Thanks @esanthosh for all the advice.

offtopic: I'm coming Coimbatore for a trip in jan 2013! :)
 
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esanthosh said:
http://www.techenclave.com/member.php?u=46355,

At first, I had no idea that something other than GR06 was coming. Then, hzant6681 informed me that he has sent a "mystery budget IEM discovered at head-fi". Given the "discovery" of SHE3580 on head-fi, I was hoping that the mystery IEM would be 3580, but 3570 is said to sound similar, if not same.
I will compare it to ES18 in 2-3 days
Click to expand...
are those Phillips SHE3580 same as Philips SHE3570WT In-the-ear Headphone | Headphone | Flipkart.com

how are those compared to the ES18.....which find to be quite good considering the price
 
Tell you what..Es18 is worth it even it were priced at 800... Take my word for it..esanthosh has said it , its the best iem he's heard under 500 bucks or even under 1000...That speaks volumes..

Btw esanthosh will be shooting some pm's regarding "presentation" this time... hope you still have the gr06's for comaprisons
 
sbuch said:
are those Phillips SHE3580 same as Philips SHE3570WT In-the-ear Headphone | Headphone | Flipkart.com

how are those compared to the ES18.....which find to be quite good considering the price
Click to expand...

I got the 3570 (same as the one you linked), which are said to be 3580 - some bass quantity. I have not compared ES18 yet. But, I have a feeling that ES18 might still be a little ahead.

sandeepsachin said:
hope you still have the gr06's for comaprisons
Click to expand...

Looking forward to your doubts.

I still have all the IEMs (GR06, SHE3570, A161P + 2 others, Pro Alpha), just not the time. Everyday, I think of catching up on my impressions backlog, but something or the other keeps screwing that plan up. By the time I am free, I feel too sleepy to be in a mood to do a proper listening. Would try to finish them soon.

In random news, Cowon X9 seems to be keeping up with the battery life promise. After about 2-3 hours of listening (regular use), it has been "burning in" an IEM for 54 hours straight with the battery indicator dropping to only 50% (was 75% last night). Remember that this is with an almost complete FLAC library with only 8 songs in 320kbps MP3. So, I don't expect it to touch the 110 hours battery life, at most about 70% of it. Probably, I should leave it charging tomorrow morning (takes 4.5 hours to charge according to manual). It would be cool however, if it could last till tomorrow evening :)

Edit: While looks changed, the forum is still 'symbol shy'
 
psygeist i see you got some pretty impressive camera gear there in your signature . you into photography?

makes me wanna ask, what is it with all our TE audiophiles completely switching to photography ? :p Benny faheem and a few others have already isolated themselves from the audio section and seem to be on the verge of becoming professional photographers :happy26:

esanthosh i hope you don't have any hidden interests which you have been working on secretively ? writing a book perhaps? :scared14: (although it would be a welcome change seeing you swaying towards other directions :p )

i did enjoy your comments in the movie section for a while ..pretty extraordinary tastes i must say...makes me wanna watch those legendary actors
 
sandeepsachin,

My interest in any hobby usually waxes and wanes. It picks up, goes to a point where almost my entire free time is fixated on it and then starts dropping slowly to the other extreme. Right now, my interest for IEMs is waning (that's why I fear getting customs. No use spending only to keep it locked).

Back then, there was anubhav2345 buying everything in sight (much like what i2ehan did in head-fi) and I was doing the same. There was discussion running parallel to head-fi's discussion about IEMs. But, many of the participants from that period have stopped posting or have moved on. strategy is the only one still on the right track having bought Miracle, Anedio D1, HE-6 + Vintage Amp, Koss ESP-950. If only I could stop myself from buying sub-$150 (especially sub-$75) IEMs, I would have gone the same route, but then I am what I am.

Movies - certainly. If not for loaners, I should be a couch potato already (See here). But the untimely failure of one of my HDDs (meaning buying a replacement and getting back lost content) would easily set me back by another month. I should take a long break once the current set of impressions and sales are done.

Besides, life has an interesting way of stirring up things when you least expect. So, I don't know what is in store tomorrow ;)

Edit: Where can I find the cheapest Sandisk 64GB microSDXC card?
 
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