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Thread: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

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    Question Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    Can anyone recommend a good pair of In-ear Earphones for under £40?

    Here are a few pairs I have come across online....

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/RHA-MA-350-A...747887&sr=1-16

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/SoundMAGIC-E...6747955&sr=1-1

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...&s=electronics

    Any good? I’ve read a lot of reviews about the sound magic E10s saying they sound amazing but fall apart after a month or two?

    I have been using a pair of Panasonic In-ear Earphones for the last 4-5 years but the cable has finally broken. The sound quality was always really clear with impressive bass.

    Thanks for any advice/suggestions.

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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    I'm interested in views on this, too. I've long favoured Shure and Etymotic, but they aren't under £40, and I need a set of " knocking around" earbuds, in addition to the serious listening ones.

    For full headphones, I like the sound of Sennheiser (and my Stax) so what about Sennheiser earbuds?

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    Keep it sexy Zhaoman's Avatar
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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    Out of that list I only own the Sennheisser CX300ii so I'll talk about them. They have a bright sound, and quite a bit of kick in the upper midrange and very (read: very very!) satisfying bass. The best thing is they are very forgiving and almost anything sounds good on them, even crappy recordings and bad equaliser settings. For example you can push the bass to the max on an equaliser and it will still sound half decent.

    They're not as detailed as some more expensive stuff, like the B&W P3 I have (which are a good 5 or 6 times the price), but I honestly think the CX300ii is more enjoyable to listen to. The bass is not as detailed and subtle but it's very punchy and that suits me fine. Not that it's anything against their detail or clarity, music sounds very detailed and you can easily follow most instruments in a recording. Against the Sony EX300SL there is no comparison, the CX300ii is many times better in every department and those were at least double the price.

    I wouldn't consider myself much of an audiophile or anything, but I have various bits and bobs like Sennheisser CX300ii and Sony EX300SL; AKG K451, B&W P3, Creative T20, Logitech Z5000, Tannoy Mercury m1 and other much crappier speakers. Out of all of the more expensive equipment I still think the CX300ii is my favourite to listen to, it's just so happy and vibrant with plenty of punchy bass and just does everything right! I'd love to have a listen to the Soundmagic ones but right now I couldn't be happier with my CX300ii and I got them years ago. An absolute bargain in my opinion!

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    Nefarious Networker Dareos's Avatar
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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    I have these

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_...av%2Caps%2C230

    read a couple of reviews before i bought (maybe a couple hundred) on different sites. These consistently scored highly and some folks rate them better than quite a few £100+

    i know i like them, but my *ear* isnt exactly great. Some folks have a real passion for acoustics and have developed this sense, we may even have a couple of audiophiles on Hexus....maybe...
    We're only here for the Banter - The Luvvies - Chewin' The Fat

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    Quote Originally Posted by this_is_gav View Post
    How do you change the height of them?

    I've just had a quick fiddle with the knob at the front :\

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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    I'm waiting for a set of meelectronics m9p's which are cheap at ~£15 but get reasonable reviews over on the (what may sometimes be "audiophile" ) head-fi.org forums.

    http://www.meelec.com/MEElectronics_...ne-m9p-mee.htm

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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    I have had 3 or 4 pairs of the Sennheiser and a pair of the soud magic.

    Overall i would rate the sound magic over the Sennheiser as the build quality is better, the Sennheiser always developed the same fault which was the right ear used to go very quiet and I prefer the audio quality. the sound magic ear phones have a nice punchy bass with nice clean middle and high.

    I use the sound magic in the gym and they get abused, they get sweaty etc.. and Ive had no problems. The people complaining on Amazon must have been unlucky.
    Last edited by mcmiller; 24-04-2013 at 09:36 PM.

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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    Thanks for the posts people.....

    I think I'm going to give the sound magic E10s a go and see what they sound like. Am I right in saying they have better sound isolation than the Sennheiser CX300ii?

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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    +1 for the sound magic, good bass, vocals and treble, I bought them a few years back as they were voted best by what hifi, and even this year they are still voted #1 for the price
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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    Soundmagic or RHA's, build quality on the Sennheiser CX300ii is not as good and they're overpriced. I own the RHA's but the version with the inline mic and I'm very impressed with the sound quality and build for price.

    Actually I've owned quite a few sets over the last few years:

    Sure E2c - Great but cable has a break after many years use. I'd re-cable if I could somewhere to do it a reasonable price.
    Sennheiser CX300i - poor build quality, so-so sound, right earbud gone quiet
    Denon AH-C260R - similar to the Sennheisers and suffered same fault but cheap.
    Denon AH-C560R - Great sound quality, but awful cable quality, sleeving became very brittle and stiff; eventually broke in a number of places. Earbud still work and I'd re-cable if I could somewhere to do it a reasonable price.
    Logitech Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 - Fantastic sound, massive earbuds so you look like a Cyber-man and can be uncomfortable for some people. Good build quality even though plastic, expensive.
    Etymotic HF5 - Expensive, great treble, ok mids, no bass. Expensive and poor build quality, left earbud casing broke after a few months. Etymotic didn't want to know and blamed user wear & tear. Will not touch this company again.
    RHA M450i - Great build quality, good sound but not very/overly bassy, excellent value for money. Wear these for at least 4 hours a day for over 6 months. Would buy again.
    Monoprice 8320 - For the money, £4.99 these are the best value earbuds bar none. Sound is very good for the price, build quality is ok but for the money they are disposable! Looks are not good but what do you expect! Buy the black ones if you can find them as the chrome look really cheap and nasty.
    Last edited by jimborae; 25-04-2013 at 10:12 AM.

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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    Soundmagic are pretty awesome, I can't remember the exact model but it was at the £40 price range!

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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    awesome magic thanks

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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    I've used the CX300ii on and off for the last few years and always end up going back to them for my out and about headphones.

    They quite often show up on 7dayshop and the like for £20.

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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    CX300II are nice but I'm now on my second pair of Sony MDR-EX50 just because I've got a habit of losing them, don't wanna pay too much and these were the best sound/price wise from Tesco

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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    I have a Sony MDR-XB90EX/B Extra Bass with best sound and price.

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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    i have the soundmagic and the sennheiser and i prefer the soundmagics.

    both are good, but i prefer them the same length and the sennhesieerereres have that silly once round the nexk and caught in your zip length on one earbud.

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    Re: Best In-Ear Earphones for under £40?

    Sony has affordable ones, do not like in ear earphone. I avoid using them even if i own them.

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