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BEST EARPHONES $351-$400

Best Earphones $351-$400

How we do it:

12 people (4 females and 8 males) among employees, friends and family members, voted, on each price range, for the earphones that sounded and fitted their best. We limited the songs to 7: Cello Concerto in A Minor, Take Five (Dave Brubeck), It's a Beautiful Day (U2), Viva La Vida (Coldplay), Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash), One More Drink (Ludacris) and Iron Man (Black Sabbath). Each person could skip between any of those 7 songs with each earphone model on a given price range group of models. They had to listen to at least one time each song with each model before voting for their favorite model on each price range. Last Updated December 1st, 2009

For a richer playback experience and slightly brighter presentation using your iPod or iPhone, the Westone 3 is the best performer as well as for the most detail in the mids and highs. Now if you are over sensitive to highs and/or prefer a flatter presentation, the UM3X would be a great choice for professional musicians for stage monitoring.

Westone 3 True 3-Way Triple Driver Earphones

The Westone 3 has set the bar pretty high for the competition. This is the FIRST TRUE 3-way triple driver earphones and what Westone did with the sound signature is simply amazing. This is the best universal fit earphones money can buy. They have just been released on November 2008. Comfort and fit are unbeatable. The achieved clarity AND warmth is a first in the industry. If you have $399 to spare, these are unbeatable. Clearly better sound than the UM2 and SE530. It comes with a 2 Year warranty (you need to mail the warranty card in with the Earphone Solutions' proof of purchase). The crossover on these earphones does an incredible job in distributing and controlling the frequency ranges among the 3 different drivers. The SE530 and Triple.fi in contrast have a 2-way configuration with 1 driver of one kind and 2 identical drivers opposed to Westone 3's first 3 driver, 3-way which has a specific driver to handle highs, one for mids and one for lows, each with their individual characteristics. Simply amazing combination of art and technique. The sound is simply on a different league of its own only achieved before by custom in-ear earphones that cost $850 plus.

UM3X In Ear Headphones by Westone earphones

The UM3X was originally designed for professional musicians for stage monitoring but I LOVE mine and I'm not a musician. I use it mostly with my iPhone. The short difference between the UM3X and the Westone 3 is that the Westone 3 is bolder and has a more emphasized high frequency while the UM3X has a more forward mid range and warmer sound. My rule of thumb: if I am listening for less than 2 hours I use my Westone 3 (richer); if I'm listening for more than 2 hours I use my UM3X (less fatiguing).

Models tested:

Shure SE530, SE530-PTH, SE420K, SE310, SE210K, SE115K, SCL2K, SCL3K, SCL4K, SCL5
Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5PRO, 3 STUDIO, 5EB, Triple-Fi 10PRO, Superfi 5, Superfi 4, UE 700, Metrofi 170, Metrofi 220, Metrofi 100, Metrofi 200, Metrofi 150
Westone 1, Westone 2, Westone 3, UM2, UM3X, UM1
Monster Turbine, Turbine Pro Gold, Turbine Pro Copper, Miles Davis, Lady Gaga, Dr. DRE Tour
Bose IE Earphones
Apple In-Ear Headphones
Qsound
Yuin PK2, PK3
iHarmonix Platinum
Lenntek Pro Series, Sonix 3
Maximo iMetal iM590
Etymotic ER4P, ER6i, HF2, HF5
Phiaton PS200
Grado GR8, iGi
Sennheiser CX200, CX300-II, CX400-II, CX380, IE6, IE7, IE8, MX85, PMX80, OMX80, MM 50 IP (MXW1 not tested)
V-Moda Vibe, Vibe II, Vibe Duo
Denon AHC751K, AHC710, AHC360, AHNC600, AHC551K, AHC452K, AHC252K
Skullcandy Titan, INK'D, Smokin' Buds
Audeo Phonak PFE112
AKG IP2
Sleek Audio SA6
Klipsch Image X5, Image X10, Custom 1, Custom 2, Custom 3, Image S4, Image S2
Sony MDR-EX38iP, MDR-EX56LP