Greetings pros and sifus... Dreamworks here requires some advice on IEMs Nothing too expensive, something around RM300 or less.

I'll be pairing it with a DAP for on-the-go music listening. I used to own a Fuze and nano but sold them away some time ago, might be going for a Zune HD or iPod touch 2G/3G.

Source mostly consisting of CBR@320kbps/VBR@v0 MP3s ranging from all types of genres except jazz, classical, and metal... Dunno why I can't stand those Sound quality takes priority, although a good looking pair wouldn't harm right haha...

I've shortlisted a few models though.
Buy locally:
1) FA Eterna (Wait for v2? It's already May )
2) FA Silver Bullet
3) Hippo VB
4) Philips SHE9850
OR
Buy and ship from US (Hard to get or super duper expensive locally):
1) Monster Jamz @ USD85
2) Klipsch Image S4 @ USD69

Any other suggestions besides these? NO Crossroads/Koss/V-MODA(Heard they are not reliable?)/Sherwood(Too big?) ya. I could spare a lil extra for an amp like FiiO E3/E5, but best without since I hate carrying so many things around

Thanks!

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Added on May 4, 2010, 12:48 pmForgot to mention I have MX400, PX100, SHE9500, Pro|Tone m100, Le01, X3i, so I'm hoping the new IEM will be an upgrade to what I have

This post has been edited by Dreamworks: May 4 2010, 12:48 PM

Thank you for the feedbacks Oh man, wanna buy something also so hard to decide

Wow, I didn't expect the Klipsch Image S4 to be crossed out though, it is a highly regarded and favoured IEM for audiophiles Headroomers and head-fiers think it sounds in between balanced IEMs and the Eterna, which is why I included it in my list, afraid the Eterna might turn out to be too "fun" for me Such a pity I can't audition anything in Penang

For the Silver Bullet or Shroom, perhaps I can buy a Fiio E3/E5 to "warm" them up?

That's why I'm a little worried about getting the Eterna, it's either a hit or miss. weib mentioned that some people may experience motion sickness after listening to the Eternas for a while, while some head-fiers from India said the mid-range is artificially coloured But of course, majority who bought the Eternas are happy with them haha...

Well... The VB is configurable, so I can still change its sound if I don't like the current setting.

This post has been edited by Dreamworks: May 4 2010, 09:43 PM

I guess it's either VB or Eterna for me then

Erm... Any particular reason why this 2 models are recommended?

A sub-RM100 Koss is comparable to a RM300-ish Klipsch huh? Too bad I can't really get used to earphones with pads covering my ears...

I think the closes thing you can compare impedance to is resistance. A headphone/earphone with higher impedance will be harder to drive, so if you pair a high impedance headphone/earphone to a low power output source, you might find the volume inadequate even on maximum level.

Sensitivity, a earphone/headphone which is more sensitive will be able to pick up more detail(s) from the source. There is a pro and con to this. If you have a high sensitivity earphone/headphone, a high quality source will allow you to hear all the tiny details of a song. However, if your source is noisy/very lossy, then well... It'll pickup all the noise.

Maximum power input I guess is the max power you can supply to the earphone/headphone without damaging it.

As for frequency response, 20Hz to 20kHz is just theoretical... No one on earth can have this hearing range unless your physical body is PERFECT A earphone/headphone with wider frequncy response range doesn't mean it's better. The Triple.fi 10 sounds really good even though its max frequency is only 17kHz.

Eterna is around RM250~260 and SE-777 sells for RM320~330. The Phiaton would double the price of these 2 though if not mistaken... Not too sure about CKS70.

Try twisting it a bit as you insert the VB slowly, that's what I did As for the burn-in, I ran mine for almost 100hrs ady... Only with normal music though, and on normal listening volume.