Best Isolation Earphone under $80 ?

[belgarion 0]

Hi guys,

 

what is the best earphone under $80 that have acceptable isolation as well as sound quality. Its intended for bus/mrt rides. Koss The Plug ? Share your views please, thanks

[kenshinz 0]

Under $80 earphone only have 3

 

Koss the Plug - around $29 at SLS

Sony Ex51 - $52 - Sony V3 SLS

Sony Ex71 - $69 - Sony V3 SLS

 

I'm using Ex51, good isolation and very comfortable for me, bass could be kinda muddy with some music, but on the move I think its very good, at least you can hear music clearly without upping the volume.

Edited December 5, 2003 by kenshinz

[Blues 0]

basically besides the plug, you only have the sony ex71 and ex51 for that price range.

[Q00 0]

i havent heard the plug but the ex71 sounds good except for the exaggerated bass... it does good attention to detal but i only noticed it after countless hours of burning in

[belgarion 0]

anyone wish to sell the ex71 ?

 

how good is the koss the plug , compared with the mx 500 ?

[lekguan 0]

if you can grab hold of a EX70 and mod it, it might beat all of those above mentioned. Resale value will be gone though, because of modding. I heard bluetin now have limited stocks. Don't know where they suddenly got it from. Anyway, grab it if you want. Also, I heard that the EX70 mods might not work on the EX71, so better not try on the EX71.

[Q00 0]

i thought the diff between the 70 and 71 is colour?

[lekguan 0]

nope. EX70 has stopped production for quite a long time. It was an item launched during Sony's 15th walkman anniversary. EX71 replaced EX70. Appearance wise, these 2 look different. Also, the EX71 has a short cable of about 1/2 m and a 1m extension. Due to the connector, the weight of the cable might be a concern if you walk a lot while using these. As for EX70, it is a 1.2m cable with no extensions. Personally, I find this much better than 1.5m in the EX71. 1.0m would be ideal though. However, this might be a concern for PCDP-with-remote-control users as there would be too much slack cable.

 

Soundwise, I heard that they are quite similar, with a little more mids in EX71, but moded, the EX70 will sound better. Much better. As for EX71, the tweaks might not work. Not very good idea to try on it as 1 of the 2 mods are irreversible.

[Q00 0]

i have had both and they are identical. in shape and size. So the mods might work?

[lekguan 0]

Not sure, but its been said that they might not work on EX71. Not worth the risk.

[master 0]

What is the mods?

[Mackie 0]

Well, U can start with the mod to fill up the 3 tiny ports. Do not use permanent glue as yet. Try out with blue tac and listen for the difference. If this mod bodes well for U, use Elmer's multi-purpose glue which is milky white when wet, translucent when dry and easily peeled if not needed. This can be gotten at Popular bookstore.

 

As yet, my own experiment favours sealing 2 of the 3 ports as this gives a good balance between bass quality and quantity. U can experiment by sealing each port at a time. Whatever your preference, it's all system subjective.

[lekguan 0]

The second is the irreversible one, whereby you remove the piece of paper covering the duct to the driver (the greyish paper with a hole in the middle, inside the silicon bud). Use a pencil and poke into the paper's hole, and by a prying action, pry the whole piece of paper out. Use some foam, roll into a tube shape, and put into the duct. Use foam sparingly, do not compress the foam too much, just use enough to cover the duct. You will notice the sharp highs gone, and the mids sort of become more apparent. If you still prefer less highs, stuff more foam.

 

Irreversible as it is, there is no way you are going to regret this.