# Please help me choose one. Budget IEM (1.5-3k)



## nomadsorion (Feb 16, 2013)

Hey all,

Help me choose a good pair of IEM.

Sennheiser CX175 / CX 270 / CX 300II / Sound Magic E10 / Sound Magic E30 / Klipsch S3 / Brainwavz M2. All these cost b/w 1.7k-2.7k. I generally listen to Hans Zimmer tunes, Mozart tracks, a bit of ARR melodies and I am not much into usual rock/metal. 

Misplaced two pairs of Sennheisers recently. Looking for good quality sound. To be frank, I have no idea how much bass I need, so that these Hans Zimmer background music tunes sound good. Please guide me.

Thanks.


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## ratul (Feb 17, 2013)

+1 to E30.


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## nomadsorion (Feb 17, 2013)

ratul said:


> +1 to E30.



Hey, thanks for your response. I am a bit skeptical about noise isolation in E30. Is it decent enough?


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## 5fusion (Feb 17, 2013)

As per the music genre you listen to, E30s would be perfect . isolation is mediocre, just bump up the vol. a little and it should be fine. its the most comfortable though. you can even listen to them while sleeping/relaxing sideways as they sit nicely in ears.


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## nomadsorion (Feb 17, 2013)

5fusion said:


> As per the music genre you listen to, E30s would be perfect . isolation is mediocre, just bump up the vol. a little and it should be fine. its the most comfortable though. you can even listen to them while sleeping sideways as they sit nicely in ears.



Thanks. That helped me.


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## nomadsorion (Feb 17, 2013)

Thanks. BTW, what is the price? FK shows 2.4k whereas infibeam has fixed the price as 1.9.


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## 5fusion (Feb 17, 2013)

get it from infibeam as the price is good and it doesnt fall below 2k nowadays. it ranges from 1.9k to 2.5k. even i got it from infibeam delivered on time and was lucky enough to get it in 1.6k long back. may be it was the last piece in stock that time .


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## nomadsorion (Feb 17, 2013)

5fusion said:


> get it from infibeam as the price is good and it doesnt fall below 2k nowadays. it ranges from 1.9k to 2.5k. even i got it from infibeam delivered on time and was lucky enough to get it in 1.6k long back. may be it was the last piece in stock that time .



Thankyou 5fusion. One last query; are Techfusion Twinwoofers good? The design seems nice.  And, if I use the buds/tips of my good old Sennheiser with E30, would it improve the isolation?


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## Scavenger (Feb 18, 2013)

nomadsorion said:


> Thankyou 5fusion. One last query; are Techfusion Twinwoofers good? The design seems nice.  And, if I use the buds/tips of my good old Sennheiser with E30, would it improve the isolation?



I suggest you to stay away from Twins, their reviews are scripted.
I suggest to get some foam buds to improve noise isolation and get better comfort.


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## nomadsorion (Feb 18, 2013)

Thanks @all 
SMC Intl at Nehru Place is saying that it would cost me 2600 
Will get it from infibeam Rs1900, as I dont think I can get it cheaper than this


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## 5fusion (Feb 18, 2013)

Scavenger said:


> I suggest you to stay away from Twins, their reviews are scripted.


yeah..heard a lot of complaints regarding build quality by many. one of the buds stops working quite early. cant say anything about the sound as i never tried them though as i much i read about them, the sound is not much likeable out of the box.



nomadsorion said:


> And, if I use the buds/tips of my good old Sennheiser with E30, would it improve the isolation?


nope silicon tips wont do much for isolation. i guess e30's do come with foam tips that gave me better isolation but i dont remember if it was of my old pl30s or e30s. Mp4nation says 3pairs of foam tips included. so it should have it.



Scavenger said:


> I suggest to get some foam buds to improve noise isolation and get better comfort.



you can get the foamies from here also if u wanna try new tips-- Accessories
m using t-500 comply tips though t-400 is the compatible one as per the official comply site.


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## tkin (Feb 18, 2013)

Soundmagic E30 is really good, but if you want to order from abroad: Brainwavz R1 Dual Dynamic Speaker Earphones With Microphone + Brainwavz Peridot Headphone Stand - Free Fedex 2 Day To Select Destinations - BRAINWAVZ
This one is really good, its just that there are some risks ordering from abroad. But if the free fedex shipping applies to India, get it eyes closed.


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## samudragupta (Feb 18, 2013)

i've been using the Sony XB30EX Extra-Bass Stereo Headphone that i got for 1900/-. I have owned the E30's and they are fragile and broke in 3 months. i've got the sony since 1 month and IMO they are better than the Soundmagic. + the sony warranty is better than overseas soundmagic. Just my opinion.


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## tkin (Feb 18, 2013)

samudragupta said:


> i've been using the Sony XB30EX Extra-Bass Stereo Headphone that i got for 1900/-. I have owned the E30's and they are fragile and broke in 3 months. i've got the sony since 1 month and IMO they are better than the Soundmagic. + the sony warranty is better than overseas soundmagic. Just my opinion.


What do you do with your headphones? Play tug of war? Mine's still intact and I use them regularly on the streets.


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## Superayush (Feb 18, 2013)

How about these 
Vsonic GR02 Bass | eBay
Of course if you are willing to buy online internationally...heard really good about them


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## samudragupta (Feb 19, 2013)

tkin said:


> What do you do with your headphones? Play tug of war? Mine's still intact and I use them regularly on the streets.



A stupid way of putting across your point. Are you sound magics sales executive? Are you a woman who keeps her head phones in her purse?  Well I'm a guy and keep it my upper shirt pockets or in jeans and a Headphone should not be so fragile that it can't take the daily wear and tear.  As I mentioned above if you haven't read carefully,  that it was my view point and I did not ask for your intervention. If you had a good experience with sound magic it seems doesn't mean that all have.  Search the forum and you will find many users who had issues with the durability of sound magic. Don't just try to be a critic and appreciate others suggestions and posts.


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## 5fusion (Feb 19, 2013)

samudragupta said:


> i've been using the Sony XB30EX Extra-Bass Stereo Headphone that i got for 1900/-. I have owned the E30's and they are fragile and broke in 3 months. i've got the sony since 1 month and IMO they are better than the Soundmagic. + the sony warranty is better than overseas soundmagic. Just my opinion.


i know its your view. but please dont compare soundmagic with sony. sound is not all about bass. E30 is miles ahead as far as SQ alone is concerned.



tkin said:


> What do you do with your headphones? Play tug of war? Mine's still intact and I use them regularly on the streets.


exactly my concern . i use it daily everywhere and its been a year.



samudragupta said:


> A stupid way of putting across your point. Search the forum and you will find many users who had issues with the durability of sound magic. Don't just try to be a critic and appreciate others suggestions and posts.


take a chill pill..hes just being frank.
an iem has to fail someday or the other. i disagree on that part. e30 are one of those IEMs which have seen the RMA the least. its just you were not lucky enough.
and by the way OP has mentioned the kind of music he listens to and hence e30 is recommended as it suits the genre better than any others do not coz we like one particular iem or so.


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## tkin (Feb 19, 2013)

samudragupta said:


> A stupid way of putting across your point. Are you sound magics sales executive? Are you a woman who keeps her head phones in her purse?  Well I'm a guy and keep it my upper shirt pockets or in jeans and a Headphone should not be so fragile that it can't take the daily wear and tear.  As I mentioned above if you haven't read carefully,  that it was my view point and I did not ask for your intervention. If you had a good experience with sound magic it seems doesn't mean that all have. * Search the forum and you will find many users who had issues with the durability of sound magic.* Don't just try to be a critic and appreciate others suggestions and posts.


You are confusing tekfusion with soundmagic, I haunt this forum daily and yet to see any protest about soundmagic, specially E30(PL30 did have a flimsy bass knob), plenty of users whose tekfusion has gone bust though.

PS: I had the Sony XB Series, exactly that model, and to say they are better than E30  
Do the sony models come in kevler? To play tug of war that is....


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## samudragupta (Feb 19, 2013)

tkin said:


> You are confusing tekfusion with soundmagic, I haunt this forum daily and yet to see any protest about soundmagic, specially E30(PL30 did have a flimsy bass knob), plenty of users whose tekfusion has gone bust though.
> 
> PS: I had the Sony XB Series, exactly that model, and to say they are better than E30
> Do the sony models come in kevler? To play tug of war that is....


can we not have a debate in this forum. All i am trying to do is share my experience with others. And yes i do find the Sony's better than my earlier soundmagic. And perhaps my earcanals arent as sensitive as yours but are fine enough to provide a good suggestion to newbies. I never said that sound magic are bad, infact they sound awesum with my ipod, but only if they had a proper warranty in India they were my obvious choice over the sony. I think i am entitled to my opinion, isnt it?


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## tkin (Feb 19, 2013)

samudragupta said:


> can we not have a debate in this forum. All i am trying to do is share my experience with others. And yes i do find the Sony's better than my earlier soundmagic. And perhaps my earcanals arent as sensitive as yours but are fine enough to provide a good suggestion to newbies. I never said that sound magic are bad, infact they sound awesum with my ipod, but only if they had a proper warranty in India they were my obvious choice over the sony. I think i am entitled to my opinion, isnt it?


Sure, but what do you mean by proper warranty?


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## samudragupta (Feb 19, 2013)

tkin said:


> Sure, but what do you mean by proper warranty?


i mean that i had a hard time dealing with the ebay dealer whom i got it from. He refused exchage. i guess it was my bad, and that i should have contacted mp4 nation for the repairs. I was just unlucky with the sound magic and was just afraid to get another pair. I would rather prefer to deal with a unit which has the ease of local warranty. I agree they are really good and got me a lot of attention from my friends, but the babies just did not long last. On the other hand the Sony are really sturdy and well built. 
P.S. Sorry mate if i sounded rude. Just wasnt my intention.


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## tkin (Feb 19, 2013)

samudragupta said:


> i mean that i had a hard time dealing with the ebay dealer whom i got it from. He refused exchage. i guess it was my bad, and that i should have contacted mp4 nation for the repairs. I was just unlucky with the sound magic and was just afraid to get another pair. I would rather prefer to deal with a unit which has the ease of local warranty. I agree they are really good and got me a lot of attention from my friends, but the babies just did not long last. On the other hand the Sony are really sturdy and well built.
> P.S. Sorry mate if i sounded rude. Just wasnt my intention.


Wait, wait, wait a minute, you bought it from ebay with dealer warranty, when Indian distributors are importing it with proper warranty? Indian distro of SM is Acro aka SMC in delhi, they have service branches all around India 

The same guys who import a lot of computer peripherals as well like Razer


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## samudragupta (Feb 19, 2013)

tkin said:


> Wait, wait, wait a minute, you bought it from ebay with dealer warranty, when Indian distributors are importing it with proper warranty? Indian distro of SM is Acro aka SMC in delhi, they have service branches all around India
> 
> The same guys who import a lot of computer peripherals as well like Razer


what a shame, i just threw them away few days back with 2 months warranty left. Can you be kind enough to provide the ebay dealers link? thanks for the clarification.


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## tkin (Feb 19, 2013)

samudragupta said:


> what a shame, i just threw them away few days back with 2 months warranty left. Can you be kind enough to provide the ebay dealers link? thanks for the clarification.


?? I don't know which dealer you bought it from, but here are the service locations: Our Presence

Acro will only service them if the package has an imported by acro sticker on it. SM sold by HS18, flipkart etc will be an acro unit, also in ebay if it says Manufacturer warranty its by acro: Soundmagic E30 In Ear Earphone Headphone Noise Isolation 4 iphone ipad tablet | eBay


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## samudragupta (Feb 19, 2013)

tkin said:


> ?? I don't know which dealer you bought it from, but here are the service locations: Our Presence
> 
> Acro will only service them if the package has an imported by acro sticker on it. SM sold by HS18, flipkart etc will be an acro unit, also in ebay if it says Manufacturer warranty its by acro: Soundmagic E30 In Ear Earphone Headphone Noise Isolation 4 iphone ipad tablet | eBay


thanks a ton... will get them once i get paid... would like to have them in my collection


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## nomadsorion (Feb 19, 2013)

Thanks @all for your suggestions. Ordered E30 yesterday at infibeam and would be getting it tomorrow.
Thanks a ton.


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## tkin (Feb 19, 2013)

nomadsorion said:


> Thanks @all for your suggestions. Ordered E30 yesterday at infibeam and would be getting it tomorrow.
> Thanks a ton.


Congrats


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## Scavenger (Feb 20, 2013)

nomadsorion said:


> Thanks @all for your suggestions. Ordered E30 yesterday at infibeam and would be getting it tomorrow.
> Thanks a ton.



Yeah, another one to SM family


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## tkin (Feb 20, 2013)

Scavenger said:


> Yeah, another one to SM family


The cult of Soundmagic


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## nomadsorion (Feb 21, 2013)

Yay! Received it from infibeam today. Overwhelmed with the sound quality.  Thanks for the great suggestions!

New query: Where can I get foam tips/buds in Delhi? Something like the Comply products. Nehru Place?


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## tkin (Feb 21, 2013)

nomadsorion said:


> Yay! Received it from infibeam today. Overwhelmed with the sound quality.  Thanks for the great suggestions!
> 
> New query: Where can I get foam tips/buds in Delhi? Something like the Comply products. Nehru Place?


Congrats, but foam tips are not available in India, I found this, but it looks chinese: Fischer Audio - Earbud Foams Tips 3 Pairs In A Pack [ SP-130 ] | eBay

You did get 3x pairs of foam tips with that right?


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## ashintomson (Feb 22, 2013)

are u searching for this thing ? :/ Ear-Tips


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## tkin (Feb 22, 2013)

ashintomson said:


> are u searching for this thing ? :/ Ear-Tips


Costly


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## 5fusion (Feb 22, 2013)

tkin said:


> Congrats, but foam tips are not available in India, I found this, but it looks chinese: Fischer Audio - Earbud Foams Tips 3 Pairs In A Pack [ SP-130 ] | eBay
> 
> You did get 3x pairs of foam tips with that right?


mate those are for normal buds not for In Ears. btw fisher audio is not chinese. its a russian brand dealing in high-end IEMs & headphone world
and foam tips are available in india.



nomadsorion said:


> New query: Where can I get foam tips/buds in Delhi? Something like the Comply products. Nehru Place?


dont know the place in delhi though you can get it online from the place i mentioned in my previous posts.



5fusion said:


> you can get the foamies from here also if u wanna try new tips-- Accessories
> m using t-500 comply tips though t-400 is the compatible one as per the official comply site.


these are one of the best foams one can get. i use the t500 and they do change sound a little bit.


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## tkin (Feb 22, 2013)

5fusion said:


> mate those are for normal buds not for In Ears. btw fisher audio is not chinese. its a russian brand dealing in high-end IEMs & headphone world
> and foam tips are available in india.
> 
> 
> ...


No no, I know about fischer audio, I think that one in ebay is fake fischer, look at the bud quality and the packaging, looks fake chinese.


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## 5fusion (Feb 22, 2013)

tkin said:


> Costly


nope when you want some good stuff. i use my e30 with foams only and they do sound slightly better than stock to my ears with better fit. at first even i thought so but realized this "audio thingy" is that way only. this iem addiction is getting over my head  & i am thinking of an upgrade to e30 but no cash


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## tkin (Feb 22, 2013)

5fusion said:


> nope when you want some good stuff. i use my e30 with foams only and they do sound slightly better than stock to my ears with better fit. at first even i thought so but realized this "audio thingy" is that way only. this iem addiction is getting over my head  & i am thinking of an upgrade to e30 but no cash


If you're a serious audiophile then you should visit these places:

Warranty, but less products, more cost: The Audio Megastore
Warranty, but you need to ship it to them or something like that, very good service in any case, less cost, large selection: MP4 Nation Audio, Video & Gadget Store


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## 5fusion (Feb 22, 2013)

ProAudiohome is my fav place to get my audio stuffs. they are simply outstanding in everything, be it support, suggestion 
as far as i know cost is minimum all over india for whatever they provide. got many stuffs when price was the least with them than anywhere else.
Mp4nation is a known place too but at the cost of warranty(being student cant afford to ship back) and add to that customs and duty


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## tkin (Feb 22, 2013)

5fusion said:


> ProAudiohome is my fav place to get my audio stuffs. they are simply outstanding in everything, be it support, suggestion
> as far as i know cost is minimum all over india for whatever they provide. got many stuffs when price was the least with them than anywhere else.
> Mp4nation is a known place too but at the cost of warranty(being student cant afford to ship back) and add to that customs and duty


Me too, got my Audio Technica M35 and FiiO E6 from them, but recently their prices had gone up and they don't stock most stuff, not as much as they used too, I was planning for a Audio Technica M50, but from 8k straight to 10k


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## 5fusion (Feb 22, 2013)

tkin said:


> Me too, got my Audio Technica M35 and FiiO E6 from them, but recently their prices had gone up and they don't stock most stuff, not as much as they used too, I was planning for a Audio Technica M50, but from 8k straight to 10k


thats coz that m50 is the "Limited Edition" one and is definitely costlier than the standard one. and it just looks too good to resist. only if i had cash, i would have grabbed one. just get it if you have cash and happen to like its sound, you wont find that exclusive version anywhere in this country. and these are released once in while only. good thing is that these guys have managed to get it even when its hardly available anywhere in world.
and that 8k price used to be before $price increase. imagine importing it from somewhere else and one ends up paying double the cost.


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## tkin (Feb 22, 2013)

5fusion said:


> thats coz that m50 is the "Limited Edition" one and is definitely costlier than the standard one. and it just looks too good to resist. only if i had cash, i would have grabbed one. just get it if you have cash and happen to like its sound, you wont find that exclusive version anywhere in this country. and these are released once in while only. good thing is that these guys have managed to get it even when its hardly available anywhere in world.


That's not the issue, I managed to get 8k, I could have spared 10k, then it went out of stock for over 3 months and I blew my cash on M35 and an external HDD, I sold my GPU(GTX580) to get Optimus L9, and I have to get it first before anything, I simply don't have the cash(10k) to get a M50 atm, FML


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## 5fusion (Feb 22, 2013)

guess thats what the problem with techies like us. we save cash for somethin & if not available tend to spend somewhere else. we keep hovering over forums, reviews constantly wanting something or the other all the time & that blows our wallet
look at me. i already had e30, recently bought one more iem, have an ad300. guess thats more than enough and now me want an upgrade to e30 for no reason with no cash in hands
sold GTX580 for l9 ..why??

price of standard m50 as of now--
Audio Technica Ath-m50 Dynamic Stereo Headphone - price in India : Rediff Shopping
Buy Audio Technica Headphone Athm50 Online | Best Audiotechnica Headphones in India | Furtados Online
Buy Online | Lowest Price | Free Shipping| Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Studio Monitor Headphones - Buy online at the guaranteed lowest price in India - BAJAAO - Buy online and Review Musical Instruments, Pro Audio, Studio, P.A. Audio Equipment in India

may be less somewhere but i could not find a single place


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## tkin (Feb 22, 2013)

5fusion said:


> guess thats what the problem with techies like us. we save cash for somethin & if not available tend to spend somewhere else. we keep hovering over forums, reviews constantly wanting something or the other all the time & that blows our wallet
> look at me. i already had e30, recently bought one more iem, have an ad300. guess thats more than enough and now me want an upgrade to e30 for no reason with no cash in hands
> sold GTX580 for l9 ..why??
> 
> ...


Actually I am going to join work next month, can't take the rig there during training, so no use for the GPU at home during that time, when I take my rig to my workplace a few months later I'll buy a new GPU(7950 or 660Ti).

Thanks for the M50 links, will buy one by this diwali for sure.


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## 5fusion (Feb 23, 2013)

thats great then and good utilization of things. i hope to get some work too in few months.
those links were just to show that proaudiohome is still very good with prices. i know you can get what you want from best place possible whenever you need to.


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## red dragon (Feb 24, 2013)

M50,even the LE is horribly overpriced.
SQ wise it should not even cost 5-6k.


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