In-Ear Monitor Quest, Parts 1 and 2 (Sony and JVC)

I’m having a heck of a time finding decent in-ear monitors (headphones). My Sony IEMs died two days ago, and I picked up the JVC “Marshmallow” IEMs.  Having owned the JVC and the Sony, all I can say is:  “I’m still looking”.  The earbuds that came with the Zune 120 were not all that good–they lacked bass, and were very uncomfortable to wear.  I have other headphones, but one does not walk around with a Sennheiser over-ear headset (aka “cans”), and the cheap freebie Panasonic headphones sound OK but are too lightweight.  The Sony IEMs looked interesting, so I picked them up.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the packaging promised good bass, and the price was OK if not spectactular…I wanted to try something on the lower end of the scale to see if I liked that style of headphones.  So, what became of the grand experiment?

I discovered that I liked some aspects of the in-ear monitors, but disliked others…still do, in fact.  The Sony IEMs come with a medium sized rubber ear tip attached, and both larger and smaller tips that you can swap onto the IEMs.  The first attempt of mine was not good–the ear tips kept slipping out of my ears.  (More on that in a bit.)  I got a bit frustrated, and tried the larger tips.  They did no better.  I then decided to try the smallest tips, and they actually fit properly, if maybe a hair loose.  I figure that the larger tips were just expanding and forcing their way out of my ears, where the smallest size stayed in the most securely of the bunch.

The sound of the Sony IEMs was not all that great though.  The bass was fantastic, and the midrange was pretty good also.  But the highs were constricted and a bit metallic sounding–not bright or shrill, but a bit wonky.  After a few minutes, I got acclimated to the sound and they were OK, but I figured that more expensive earbuds probably sounded better.  After two months, though, they finally quit on me.  While sitting at my work computer and not doing much of anything, one side started to fizzle out, then quit completely.  Dead.  No amount of jiggling or tugging the cord lightly resulted in any sound.

One  unexpected side effect: I found myself really liking the noise isolation of in-ear monitors.  Enough that I felt I should get another pair as soon as possible.

In the meantime, I’d read that the JVC “Marshmallow” IEMs were pretty good given their price, and indeed, they were about $5 cheaper than the Sony.  Spotting a good sale, I picked up a set in black.  (Powder blue and pink just aren’t my first choice in colors, you know!)  Rather than using rubber ear tips, these are made from what they call a “memory foam” that warms up and conforms to your ear canals.

The JVCs actually sound a bit better than the Sonys.  The highs are more natural.  The bass isn’t quite as powerful, but it’s close, and sounds good.  The cord is sturdier, but unfortunately about a foot too short to use the Zune in my pants pocket.

The drawback here, again, are the ear tips themselves: they just don’t want to stay in!  These only ship with two ear foam tips.  The smaller size seems to be a tiny bit too small, but the others seem too large.   The surface is glossy, and I think that’s most of the problem: I have oily skin, and often get a lot of ear wax, and I can actually hear a “wet” noise as these slip out of my ears.  Despite my wiping both my ear canals and the ear plugs, that only lasts a short while and they slip out again.  And due to the buildup of gook in my ears, I’ve actually blocked the ports of the earbuds a few times where barely any sound comes out.  (And I feared I had killed ’em quicker than the Sony earbuds.)

One option I’m looking at is getting some Comply Foam replacement foam tips for the IEMs.  Looking at a larger image on Amazon, they appear to have a rougher surface, and soften (like the JVCs) in the presence of body heat.  You need to buy them in sets of three but, unfortunately, you have to buy a 3-size set in order to find one that fits, then order a 3- or 5-pack of the size you need once you’ve fitted them.  Still, since the JVC IEMs seem to work well and sound decent, it may be worth it.

Eventually I’d like to try the Etymotic in-ear monitors, but they are normally quite expensive.  There are even some brands that require a mold of your ear canal so a custom-fit earplug can be made.  Sennheiser and Shure also make this type of IEM, and I’m tempted to try one of those in a higher price bracket, as long as they fit properly.