# need earphones for ipod touch. budget lowest possible [max 1.5k]



## happy17292 (Jan 26, 2013)

Hello, i am looking for good earphones [in ear type] for my ipod, my requirements are:

*1. should be reliable [i will use it for ~2years. good warranty and build quality preferred]
2. good sound quality [good bass preferred]
3. earphones must have right angled 3.5mm jack. not straight ones*

i have previously used only cheap earphones. like local Rs150 walas and stock LG p500 and ipod touch earphones. almost all of them died in 1year [except stock ipod earphones]

i am considering these,

1. sennheiser CX180 street II



please suggest some good earphones according to my requirements.


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## pranav0091 (Jan 26, 2013)

Anything except the twinwoofers.
I have heard of pretty bad stories about them. Not worth it. I took a look myself at the related Flipkart page and yes, I am convinced about the fraud.

I dont know how the two others sound, but keep off your hard-earned cash from the twinwoofers.


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## tkin (Jan 26, 2013)

PL30 eyes closed, or E30 if you can get a deal.


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## thetechfreak (Jan 26, 2013)

Pick either the PL30 or the Sennheiser. I own the latter and have say that the CX180 is a great pair of IEM‘s.


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## audiophilic (Jan 26, 2013)

pranav0091 said:


> Anything except the twinwoofers.
> I have heard of pretty bad stories about them. Not worth it. I took a look myself at the related Flipkart page and yes, I am convinced about the fraud.
> 
> I dont know how the two others sound, but keep off your hard-earned cash from the twinwoofers.



Those are outrageous statements from someone who has never used Twinwoofers. Sounded like my grandma when he said "I have heard..."

My advice is you can go for Twinwoofers, its the best you'll ever buy for 1000-3000Rs. Usually people are jealous of it because they don't have the guts to accept that its an Indian brand. And PS, Twinwoofers is the most popular sub Rs.1500 headphones everywhere you will go.. from flipkart, to snapdeal to infibeam. So my advice is, don't listen to lamers who only know to hate. Other than this, its your own decision. You can believe me or not. If Twinwoofers can easily blow cx300ii out of the equation, then cx180 stands no chance! I've never used soundmagic products so i won't say anything.


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## red dragon (Jan 26, 2013)

audiophilic said:


> Those are outrageous statements from someone who has never used Twinwoofers. Sounded like my grandma when he said "I have heard..."
> 
> My advice is you can go for Twinwoofers, its the best you'll ever buy for 1000-3000Rs. Usually people are jealous of it because they don't have the guts to accept that its an Indian brand.


Oh!really!!
AFAIK you have managed to convince a couple of naive members with your TW crap,and all of them later realised their mistakes.
Regarding Indian brands,heard of Signature Acoustics? They are the first and only good iem manufacturer form India.


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## happy17292 (Jan 26, 2013)

i forgot to mention, [edited 1st post too], earphones must have right angled 3.5mm jack. not straight ones.. PL30 has the straight ones. sennheiser CX180 and twinwoofers have right angled jack.




pranav0091 said:


> Anything except the twinwoofers.
> I have heard of pretty bad stories about them. Not worth it. I took a look myself at the related Flipkart page and yes, I am convinced about the fraud.
> 
> I dont know how the two others sound, but keep off your hard-earned cash from the twinwoofers.


any other earphones meeting my requirements in that price range?



tkin said:


> PL30 eyes closed, or E30 if you can get a deal.



PL30 has straight 3.5mm jack.   and E30 is out of my budget



thetechfreak said:


> Pick either the PL30 or the Sennheiser. I own the latter and have say that the CX180 is a great pair of IEM‘s.



thanks. how's build quality and bass ??



audiophilic said:


> Those are outrageous statements from someone who has never used Twinwoofers. Sounded like my grandma when he said "I have heard..."
> 
> My advice is you can go for Twinwoofers, its the best you'll ever buy for 1000-3000Rs. Usually people are jealous of it because they don't have the guts to accept that its an Indian brand. And PS, Twinwoofers is the most popular sub Rs.1500 headphones everywhere you will go.. from flipkart, to snapdeal to infibeam. So my advice is, don't listen to lamers who only know to hate. Other than this, its your own decision. You can believe me or not. If Twinwoofers can easily blow cx300ii out of the equation, then cx180 stands no chance! I've never used soundmagic products so i won't say anything.



how is the build quality? i am planning to use them for ~2yrs. and i don't listen to music regularly. [3-4times a week total 2hrs in a week]


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## tkin (Jan 26, 2013)

happy17292 said:


> i forgot to mention, [edited 1st post too], earphones must have right angled 3.5mm jack. not straight ones.. PL30 has the straight ones. sennheiser CX180 and twinwoofers have right angled jack.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My bad, get CX180 Street II, or Soundmagic PL21:
[REVIEW] SoundMAGIC PL21

I recommend the PL21.

And don't buy Tekfusion, you'll regret it, period, I will not repeat myself(this coming for someone who owns Koss Portapro, AT M35, both PL30, E30, and a range of sony headphones), it can't match Senn/Soundmagic quality.

Also tekfusion has horrible build quality, cable breaks easily.


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## pranav0091 (Jan 27, 2013)

audiophilic said:


> Those are outrageous statements from someone who has never used Twinwoofers. Sounded like my grandma when he said "I have heard..."
> 
> My advice is you can go for Twinwoofers, its the best you'll ever buy for 1000-3000Rs. Usually people are jealous of it because they don't have the guts to accept that its an Indian brand. And PS, Twinwoofers is the most popular sub Rs.1500 headphones everywhere you will go.. from flipkart, to snapdeal to infibeam. So my advice is, don't listen to lamers who only know to hate. Other than this, its your own decision. You can believe me or not. If Twinwoofers can easily blow cx300ii out of the equation, then cx180 stands no chance! I've never used soundmagic products so i won't say anything.



Now look, I havent used a twinwoofer, I admit it and I never said anything otherwise. I was once upon a time eyeing them and I did my pre-purchase research. So I have every right to advise OP regarding them. Popular isnt the same as good, just because a product is popular doesnt mean that its good. If I sound like your grandma then I can assure that your grandma gives sound and measured advice, so maybe take a moment to listen to her.

@OP: Have a look at the Panasonic HJE120 IEMs. They are dirt cheap at less than 500 rupees and have exceptional comfort when worn. They do have a right angled connector too. I havent heard the soundmagics or the cx180, but I do have a grado sr60i and comparing the difference in the prices of the panasonic and the grado, it is a mighty fine achievement. The good level of noise isolation coupled with the comfort and fit makes them a wonderful purchase at Rs.500

They do have a slightly flimsy looking cable but nothing to be really worried as I have been using mine for nearly 8 months now with absolutely no issues. Since you are willing to shell out 1.5k , you might have better options though. Anyways, just take a look if interested.

Btw, OP, dont trust my words about the tekfusion blindly, why not have a look here:
Tekfusion - Twinwoofers In-Ear Headphones Reviews in India: Headphones | Flipkart.com


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## audiophilic (Jan 27, 2013)

> how is the build quality? i am planning to use them for ~2yrs. and i don't listen to music regularly. [3-4times a week total 2hrs in a week]



I've not used them for 2 yrs, but they have surely lasted me for 8 months and i'm still using them. You should be far off with them compared to cx300ii, which is another low budget headphones. If you prefer to use a pair of headphones for 2 yrs or so, you shouldn't ask for a max 1.5k headphones, because none will last you that long without at least one warranty claim.  Just my 2 cents from my experience.

*Obviously Twinwoofers is way better than any sub-Rs.5000 earphones from sennheiser, skullcandy, sony, bose, beats, monster, v-moda, and ofcourse philips*. Its up to you to decide when you listen them. Check out reviews from professional websites such as Exhibit magazine, which voted them 5/5, rather than listening to a couple of douches here. For your reference:

*exhibitmag.com/review-tekfusion-twinwoofers-earphones/


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## red dragon (Jan 27, 2013)

Oh yeh?
Professional huh!


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## audiophilic (Jan 27, 2013)

red dragon said:


> Oh yeh?
> Professional huh!



You're on fire buddy! haha


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## happy17292 (Jan 27, 2013)

tkin said:


> My bad, get CX180 Street II, or Soundmagic PL21:
> [REVIEW] SoundMAGIC PL21
> 
> I recommend the PL21.
> ...



checked some ownership reviews on other sites and forums. i think twinwoofers might sound better, but they are not as good as soundmagic or sennheiser in terms of reliability over long period. many people reported issues like wire problem and one earphone stops working etc. i've decided to stay away from twin woofers. 



pranav0091 said:


> Now look, I havent used a twinwoofer, I admit it and I never said anything otherwise. I was once upon a time eyeing them and I did my pre-purchase research. So I have every right to advise OP regarding them. Popular isnt the same as good, just because a product is popular doesnt mean that its good. If I sound like your grandma then I can assure that your grandma gives sound and measured advice, so maybe take a moment to listen to her.
> 
> @OP: Have a look at the Panasonic HJE120 IEMs. They are dirt cheap at less than 500 rupees and have exceptional comfort when worn. They do have a right angled connector too. I havent heard the soundmagics or the cx180, but I do have a grado sr60i and comparing the difference in the prices of the panasonic and the grado, it is a mighty fine achievement. The good level of noise isolation coupled with the comfort and fit makes them a wonderful purchase at Rs.500
> 
> ...


already checked it yesterday. decided to stay away from them. reliability is my main concern.



audiophilic said:


> I've not used them for 2 yrs, but they have surely lasted me for 8 months and i'm still using them. You should be far off with them compared to cx300ii, which is another low budget headphones. If you prefer to use a pair of headphones for 2 yrs or so, you shouldn't ask for a max 1.5k headphones, because none will last you that long without at least one warranty claim.  Just my 2 cents from my experience.
> 
> *Obviously Twinwoofers is way better than any sub-Rs.5000 earphones from sennheiser, skullcandy, sony, bose, beats, monster, v-moda, and ofcourse philips*. Its up to you to decide when you listen them. Check out reviews from professional websites such as Exhibit magazine, which voted them 5/5, rather than listening to a couple of douches here. For your reference:
> 
> Review: TEKFUSION TWINWOOFERS EARPHONES | Exhibit Magazine



i liked twinwoofers but i've decided not to buy it  

and actually would listen to people who've used it for 6 months or so. reviewers don't use them that long before reviewing so they can't really tell about long term reliability.




did a little research and found this: [correct me if i am wrong]

sennheiser CX180 : good warranty package 2year, lacks bass, too much treble
SoundMAGIC PL21 : good sound but lacks bass [not sure, reviewers said its ok but some people say its not good], some people reported its not reliable.
Creative EP-630 : reliable and good quality sound and bass but lacks right angled connector
Panasonic RP-HJE120E-K  :cheap and good quality sound and bass for its price wil buy it if none of other earphones satisfy my needs


how is Sony MDR-EX220LP and MDR-EX100LP  ??

ps: i've no sennheiser/soundmagic service center in my city. so does that make 2yr warranty on senn useless? i cant rma in case earphones die w/o svc center in my city.


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## tkin (Jan 27, 2013)

audiophilic said:


> I've not used them for 2 yrs, but they have surely lasted me for 8 months and i'm still using them. You should be far off with them compared to cx300ii, which is another low budget headphones. If you prefer to use a pair of headphones for 2 yrs or so, you shouldn't ask for a max 1.5k headphones, because none will last you that long without at least one warranty claim.  Just my 2 cents from my experience.
> 
> *Obviously Twinwoofers is way better than any sub-Rs.5000 earphones from sennheiser, skullcandy, sony, bose, beats, monster, v-moda, and ofcourse philips*. Its up to you to decide when you listen them. Check out reviews from professional websites such as Exhibit magazine, which voted them 5/5, rather than listening to a couple of douches here. For your reference:
> 
> Review: TEKFUSION TWINWOOFERS EARPHONES | Exhibit Magazine


From the review:


> Review
> The build quality of these Tekfusion earphones is really quite good, with details in design of almost every little component present on it. They are quite light weight too but tough. They are fully metal made, and have partial gloss and partial matte finish – a thing of beauty. Below each earpiece is a strain relief that separates the drivers from their cables. This protects them from breaking at the joints, we presume. The Y splitter is compact, and surprisingly small in size. There is a cable slider and clip you can use from this point. Coming to the plug – they have 3.5mm gold coated connector, and the plug is not right angled. This may be a red flag for the right angle plug lovers. The silicon eartips provided are extremely comforting to the ear canals, and you can keep listening for hours without noticing something is in your ears. Coming to the actual sound output, we can simply say – that it is OUTSTANDING! The HIGHS are very clear, the MIDS are excellent and BASS is booming! Even though the BASS of some of the competition is slightly higher, it is barely noticeable. Plus, the separation of the HIGHS, MIDS and BASS is also very good – right up there with competition like *Klipsch*, *Sennheiser*, Bose and *Sound Magic.*


So funny, oh, do provide us with some more hilarious sites, this one was mildly amusing.


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## pranav0091 (Jan 28, 2013)

@ OP : The HLE120 is definitely better than the Creative EP630s. That much I can assure you.

@audiophilic: I can swear I have read that review (atleast parts of that review somewhere else too. That alone is enough reason to not take that particular review very seriously)
Further, looking at the extremely vague comparisons the reviewer makes, I am not very convinced by his reviewing abilities.


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## Faun (Jan 28, 2013)

I am overwhelmed by that review. SUPERB !


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## tkin (Jan 28, 2013)

Faun said:


> I am overwhelmed by that review. SUPERB !


Yes, 5 lines to describe stuffs like the clip, connectors, wire quality etc and one line for music, "Its teh good, hurr durr, boom"


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## happy17292 (Jan 28, 2013)

how is Sony MDR-EX220LP and MDR-EX100LP  ??


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## pranav0091 (Jan 28, 2013)

Going by the looks of it, I think a friend of mine has the EX100LP, if its indeed the same, then the Panasonic is better than it. I'll confirm tomorrow.


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## happy17292 (Jan 29, 2013)

pranav0091 said:


> Going by the looks of it, I think a friend of mine has the EX100LP, if its indeed the same, then the Panasonic is better than it. I'll confirm tomorrow.


ok let me know. 

i am also considering soundmagic ES18. seems pretty good VFM


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## Hrishi (Jan 29, 2013)

As far as TwinWoofer goes , they were pretty good for 1100 RS , when launched initially. Can't exactly say them as crap. They do require lot of burn-in time though. Have decent balanced sound.
Good build quality and finish. However had certain issues with left/right ear pieces for lots of users.

Don't buy yourself Creative EP630 if you are planning for a long time , rough use. THey are not durable. My couple of friends had them , but most of them complained about its durability.


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## pranav0091 (Jan 29, 2013)

Yes, its the EX100 and I'll vote for the Panasonic over it. I feel the sony sounds rather "brittle" in the sound it produces. Brightish treble and not enough bass to compensate. Havent heard ES18's


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## Scavenger (Jan 29, 2013)

I would recommend SM E10 if you can afford few more bucks...It's will satisfy all ur needs overwhelmingly!!!
SoundMAGIC E10 IEM Earphones (Red-Black)
*Use coupon "fb2012fiver" to get 5% discount.*

If you can't afford it then try SM ES18, you can buy it eyes closed and it's very cheap and its sound quality can compete with headphones priced twice than it!


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## audiophilic (Jan 30, 2013)

Rishi said:
			
		

> Good build quality and finish. However had certain issues with left/right ear pieces for lots of users.


This is a very common issue with most earphones mate, even the cx300ii failed within 6.5 months of usage, klipsch s4i within 1 year. Skullcandy will fail you in 2-3 months. If total no. of people were to write about failing headphones, this would be one hell of a boring forum over here . My pair of Twinwoofers have survived for too long already, so i guess they're still cool for me and i'm still using them..  

I'm trying to figure out something here... Over time, the dust has accumulated on its surfaces. I want to know to clean them. I want those shiny lines visible again!


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## pranav0091 (Jan 30, 2013)

Those failures are just waaayyy too early. I havent had a single failures on any of my IEMs yet (Using IEMs for nearly two years now, most are the supermarket cheapos you find everywhere). Claim warranty if possible...


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## audiophilic (Jan 30, 2013)

pranav0091 said:


> Those failures are just waaayyy too early. I havent had a single failures on any of my IEMs yet (Using IEMs for nearly two years now, most are the supermarket cheapos you find everywhere). Claim warranty if possible...



Sennheiser had actually refused to approve my claim, saying that i had to pay a service charge of Rs.250 and it will take 2-3 weeks to get problem solved. I gave up. So i got myself a new cx300ii, just to keep it in my existing collection. I'd say i don't hate it but i don't like it either. Either way, its not a bad iem. No mate, such failures can occur any time, and its never too late because the smaller the audio equipment is there more difficult its to handle them safely. I do my best, so after my first lesson, i became more careful. I'm also pretty careful with my twinwoofers, so it hasn't failed me yet! jajaja You're lucky not to experience any such failures, maybe coz you has been careful already


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## 5fusion (Jan 30, 2013)

Scavenger said:


> I would recommend SM E10 if you can afford few more bucks...It's will satisfy all ur needs overwhelmingly!!!



Soundmagic E10 would be best in that budget. now available on homeshop18 for just 1.5k. grab it before it gets out of stock.
has a straight plug but wont matter much for the sound quality you get.



tkin said:


> E30 if you can get a deal.



IMO nothing beats soundmagic for sheer sound quality in the prices they are available for but again sound is subjective


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## ratul (Jan 30, 2013)

+1 to E10  from HomeShop18, buy it ASAP, coz they go out of stock pretty soon.. 
to assure you of it's sound quality:


Disclaimer: Sound Quality is subjective and depends on the ears of the listener.. ​


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## pranav0091 (Jan 30, 2013)

Sorry for hijacking this thread, but I have decided to buy the E10. According to ClieOS its got a slightly U shaped response which is exactly what I use with WMP with HJE120.

Are these the same? 
Sound Magic E10 Headset . Buy Best Sound Magic E10 Headset at Lowest Price Online
Sound Magic E10 in ear Headphone - Red Black . Buy Best Sound Magic E10 in ear Headphone - Red Black at Lowest Price Online


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## Scavenger (Jan 30, 2013)

pranav0091 said:


> Sorry for hijacking this thread, but I have decided to buy the E10. According to ClieOS its got a slightly U shaped response which is exactly what I use with WMP with HJE120.
> 
> Are these the same?
> Sound Magic E10 Headset . Buy Best Sound Magic E10 Headset at Lowest Price Online
> Sound Magic E10 in ear Headphone - Red Black . Buy Best Sound Magic E10 in ear Headphone - Red Black at Lowest Price Online



Yes bro you are damn right!!!
PM me if you need a discount coupon and buy it @1200k


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## audiophilic (Jan 30, 2013)

^^LOL. I have one more award for it. The ugliest looking...or should i say 'funniest' looking. They do look like they have been kissed all over by a chick. Anyone checked out other soundmagic products? does anyone even have a link to their products?


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## tkin (Jan 30, 2013)

pranav0091 said:


> Sorry for hijacking this thread, but I have decided to buy the E10. According to ClieOS its got a slightly U shaped response which is exactly what I use with WMP with HJE120.
> 
> Are these the same?
> Sound Magic E10 Headset . Buy Best Sound Magic E10 Headset at Lowest Price Online
> Sound Magic E10 in ear Headphone - Red Black . Buy Best Sound Magic E10 in ear Headphone - Red Black at Lowest Price Online


Both same, just different colors.


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## pranav0091 (Jan 30, 2013)

audiophilic said:


> ^^LOL. I have one more award for it. The ugliest looking...or should i say 'funniest' looking. They do look like they have been kissed all over by a chick. Anyone checked out other soundmagic products? does anyone even have a link to their products?



Thats not a matter of concern. I feel its a decent looking pair. I own the *RED* hje120 (it was 70rs cheaper than the black when I got it) 


UPDATE: Ordered the E10 at 1.2k. Thanks a lot Scavenger.  

@OP: If you can wait for a week, I'll let you know what I think of these as compared my mighty  Panasonics.


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## 5fusion (Jan 31, 2013)

Scavenger said:


> PM me if you need a discount coupon and buy it @1200k


great.. would be a steal @that price


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## happy17292 (Jan 31, 2013)

E10 has straight 3.5mm jack. I wanted a right angled one.
Anyways. Ordered es18 yesterday

Thanks for your help guys.


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