QUOTE(asasas @ May 20 2009, 01:11 AM)
hi ClieOS...need help on this..i have to choose between these iem
- jbl reference 220
- jvc marshmallow fx33
- creative ep-360
- soundmagic pl-11
- soundmagic pl-20
if neglect the price n accessories factor which one is better??i need an iem that has a good bass with enough airiness and spaciness (good soundtstage)
currently only owns sony hmp-70 and a cheap 'china sony' iem...so i want to ugrade abit (but still on low budget)..
hope u can advice me on this...cheers n thanks

Few days ago I was scouting around the music and audio accessories section and I came across this JBL reference 220 at a very intriguing price so I decided to buy one for using at home with my lappy. Okay, so the item reached me just now from the seller

I took it out from the box and first glance at the IEM gave me a nostalgic appearance, the Klipsch Custom-3 as the building material of the wire of this JBL 220 resembles the Klipsch Custom-3 cable, the cable is thicker than the C3 cable though, results in the weight heavier than the C3 one. Some say this kinda of wires are not durable and easily spoiled but so far all my IEM doesn't face this kind of prob so it doesn't bother me much. The IEM is wear in the normal style, not over the ear type and it seems to hv a very bad microphonic(when you rub the wire, you can hear the noise very loud) I picked the largest silicone ear tips( as I noticed that the largest ear tips always fit the best for me regardless it's the Shure, Klipsch, or Sennheiser) and I stuff the IEM into my ears. To my surprise, the IEM conferred very gd isolation, way better than the isolation of IE8, almost as gd as the seal of Klipsch Custom-3 if not better. Then I try to play some songs on my iPod touch, to my utter surprise, the SQ of this IEM has darn gd SQ for it's price. The bass of this IEM is almost like 75% of the IE8 bass(at half knob), bass definitely stronger than the Creative EP630 and Shure SCL2/E2G/SE102, about the same as the C3 bass if not stronger. Clarity/treble wise, this IEM clarity is really gd, again definitely better than the EP630 and Shure SCL2 one, a little bit inferior compared to the C3 one though. How about the soundstage? I've to say that the soundstage is not bad, the instrumental separation is not as gd as the one of C3 and IE8. How about the price? It's retailed at USD 99~RM300++ but Lipfvng is selling at only RM66( mine is purchased from forumer so it's cheaper than that

) Anyway, this is really a gd IEM to go for if you're on tight budget, you can use the Fiio E5 to boost the bass and soundstage(not sure whether it works or not though as I ady sold my E5 xD) just my little opinion about the IEM