Decent Budget Ear Buds for Under $150?

M

Matt Vivlamore

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Jan 11, 2011
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www.meerkatsound.com
I have seen a few used IEM kits/systems pop-up recently for a good price, but they aren't including ear buds. I know majority of the time, the artist brings their ear buds. However, I am going to run into situation where I need to have a "back-up" set or for when "oops, I forgot mine" situations come up.

Anyways, I am looking for a decent set of IEM Ear Buds for under $150. Have any suggestions?
 
re: Decent Budget Ear Buds for Under $150?

I've been using Futuresonics Atrios for a while and they've been my favorite. I also own a new set of se315's and an old set of e500's but I like the sound of the Atrios better. They retail for $199 but I got mine on a 14 day trial with the option to purchase for $99. They're not the most aesthetically pleasing buds but they're inexpensive and sound great.
 
re: Decent Budget Ear Buds for Under $150?

Matt,

I would also consider the etymotic research HF5 which is a single driver IEM similar to the Westone mentioned in another response. They sound great. I like to use the Shure "olive" foam tips. They will stay in place better with those than with the silicone tips.

Loren Jones
 
re: Decent Budget Ear Buds for Under $150?

If you want these for rentals then stick with the Sennheiser IE4's and foam tips. The tips are disposable after the show, so order a bunch.

We do some ethnic shows where the artists or the dancers are requesting IEM's with earbuds (ie, they are not bringing their own) and this is how we do it.
 
re: Decent Budget Ear Buds for Under $150?

Matt,

It seems like the common responses in the $100-$150 price range have been UM1 and HF5s. What did you end up with, and how have they worked out?

Since I've been ending up on monitors for bands using IEMs a lot recently, I'm interested purchase a pair for myself. I'm not looking to splurge for custom molds though.
 
re: Decent Budget Ear Buds for Under $150?

About eight years ago I found a used pair of Etymotic ER-4S earphones for about $150. (New they're $300.) They're amazing, and quieter with the disposable foam - not the silicone.

I use them enough that every 2 years I have to send them back for repair and Etymotic replace the drivers (and sometimes the whole cable) for a very reasonable price.

[A few years later I was fortunate to get a back stage tour of U2's Vertigo tour at Madison square garden. In the monitor underworld I noticed two EIM belt packs with ER-4's and labelled "The Edge." I was told for some people the foam doesn't break the seal of the ear canal like many custom molds do when singing. I.e. the ear canal changes shape due to jaw and neck movements.]
 
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re: Decent Budget Ear Buds for Under $150?

From what I understand the hf5 is the same driver and basic design as er4 except they don't match the drivers for frequency response on the left and right. I love my ety hf's. They have extended frequency response at both ends, no major response anomalies that I can hear and are very detailed. Really great especially at the price.
 
re: Decent Budget Ear Buds for Under $150?

Loren Jones said:
From what I understand the hf5 is the same driver and basic design as er4 except they don't match the drivers for frequency response on the left and right. I love my ety hf's. They have extended frequency response at both ends, no major response anomalies that I can hear and are very detailed. Really great especially at the price.
Click to expand...

I think I'll try those out. A set of UM1s came today. I'm actually pretty un-impressed with their sound; I plan to send them back.

They're not anywhere close to accurate in terms of reproducing the source audio at all. Very low-mid heavy, and the highs roll off pretty quickly. To get them close to where I'd like them, I need to make a large cut centered around 250Hz, and lift the highs a significant amount. They don't go low either, but I wasn't expecting them to.

With that said, the noise cancellation is great, and handling noise with the wire isn't bad at all.

I'm definitely new to in ears, but I expected a lot more out of these. Is this a 'you get what you pay for' situation, or do other products in this price range, such as the HF5 do better? Has anyone who has used both?
 
re: Decent Budget Ear Buds for Under $150?

I haven't used both. I would say that the HF5 does have good LF extension. The HF may roll off early for you but I find it to be OK (as long as earwax hasn't clogged the internal filter). They aren't a mind altering experience to listen to but for around $100 I think they are a pretty good deal. I like them better than my Senn HD280 for about the same money
 
re: Decent Budget Ear Buds for Under $150?

David Karol said:
I think I'll try those out. A set of UM1s came today. I'm actually pretty un-impressed with their sound; I plan to send them back.

They're not anywhere close to accurate in terms of reproducing the source audio at all. Very low-mid heavy, and the highs roll off pretty quickly. To get them close to where I'd like them, I need to make a large cut centered around 250Hz, and lift the highs a significant amount. They don't go low either, but I wasn't expecting them to.

With that said, the noise cancellation is great, and handling noise with the wire isn't bad at all.

I'm definitely new to in ears, but I expected a lot more out of these. Is this a 'you get what you pay for' situation, or do other products in this price range, such as the HF5 do better? Has anyone who has used both?
Click to expand...

If you are using foams or silicone tips, you need to get used to putting them WAAAY inside your ear. The generic tips don't give you the right response until they are pretty far in there. It takes some practice, but once you learn the sweet spot I think you'll see an improvement on the freq response.
 
re: Decent Budget Ear Buds for Under $150?

As an owner of molds and someone who has tried just about every 'mainstream' universal fit out there, the fitment is the only way you'll ever get a good sound. If they don't seal correctly, it changes EVERYTHING. When I'm on monitors doing IEM's for a band that isn't used to them, we have a little lessons on proper IEM fitment, just so I can start out a few paces ahead. Granted if the artist shows up with iPod headphones, all is lost from the start.

I'll agree to David's assessment to the UM1's, even though I still recommend them. They are not 'stellar' compared to say, the triple driver IEM's that I'm used to. It's been my experience that nothing from Ultimate Ears universals sound good to me, and from Westone, the higher end ones only sound good to me. The Westone UM3x's are quite possibly one of the best headphones I've ever had the chance to listen to.

Personally, if I only have $100 dollars, I'm going to save it until I can get in to a higher priced molded set. But, not everyone wants/needs to do something like that, and if you aren't going to use them, it's a complete waste of money. Unless you fly a lot, which in that case, they make the best possible solution to crying babies on an air plane.


It's amazing to see what they're doing with IEM's these days. Ultimate Ears just came out with a set of ears that can be fine tuned to your exact needs and wants. Don't like the way any of their tunings sound? Tell them and they tune it your way. I don't know too much about how they do it, but I think it's a cool concept. But you wont catch me paying $1,999 for them!
 
re: Decent Budget Ear Buds for Under $150?

Michael Smithers said:
About eight years ago I found a used pair of Etymotic ER-4S earphones for about $150. (New they're $300.) They're amazing, and quieter with the disposable foam - not the silicone.

I use them enough that every 2 years I have to send them back for repair and Etymotic replace the drivers (and sometimes the whole cable) for a very reasonable price.

[A few years later I was fortunate to get a back stage tour of U2's Vertigo tour at Madison square garden. In the monitor underworld I noticed two EIM belt packs with ER-4's and labelled "The Edge." I was told for some people the foam doesn't break the seal of the ear canal like many custom molds do when singing. I.e. the ear canal changes shape due to jaw and neck movements.]
Click to expand...

I ended up returning the Westone UM1s, and I picked up a pair of Etymotic Research ER-4S. What a difference! They sound phenomenal out of the box. In general, I don't feel the need to add any EQ, though depending on the material, I may want to add some high end.

Etymotic was great to deal with as well. I ordered these directly from them over the phone. The sales representative was extremely courteous, and put up with me asking a ton of questions. Since there aren't really any specs published for the ER-4B, I mainly was interested in more comparison between that and the ER-4S. Ultimately what it comes down to is that the ER-4S is attenuated about -5dB at 10kHz. Additionally, Etymotic mentioned that I could return these with no-questions-asked™ within 30 days.

Etymotic mentioned that outside of speech / audiology centers, there's very little interest in the ER-4B; it wasn't it to throw together public documentation for that specific version of the product.

I tried the triple flange eartip first, but I found the disposable foam eartips to have a better fit. While these weren't uncomfortable, I liked the feel of the UM1s more. My only real complaint about these is the handling noise. That's the one area where the UM1s were superior. On deck as an engineer, that's not so much of an issue, but it may get a bit annoying for musician who's moving around a lot or someone trying to use these while going for a run.

Outside of that, the ER-4S earphones sound spectacular. For in-ears without much of a budget, I highly recommend shelling out the extra bit of cash for these.

Thanks all!
 
I have the er-4pt myself. I find that I need a LF boost at about 60 hz to match those musicians using multi-driver custom molds. Other than that, they're perfect for mixing ears. I also got custom molds through the etymotic program. Was relatively inexpensive and they've held up well over the past 1.5 years.

Sent from my DROID2 Global 2
 
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