new in-ear headphone advice

[admin_exported]

I've previously had CX300 II's but they have broken so the time has come for a new pair. I was going to go ahead and buy another pair as they are good but i was shocked when the cheapest I can find is £29.99 when I bought them a year ago for £15. I've been looking around and some alternatives are CX400 II's (£39.95), CX500's (£25), soundMAGIC E10's (£34), Jays A-Jays one-four (£16-£39).

One thing I want to get my head round is where all the sennheiser's are relative to each other in performance (I know the 500's are essentially older 400 II's).

Also I really like the look of the jays but how do they compare on performance?

Lastly i've thrown the E10's in there, how do they stack up?

thanks, Louis Tate

 

[Che1]

If you could stretch your budget another £30 or so, I would highly recommend it. I have used a number of earphones in the price bracket you mention over the years, one of which was the Sennheiser CX300 for around a year. It was a good earphone, but the step up in quality - both sound and build - you get by going for something, even if 'entry-level' by Shure or Westone for instance, is really worth it.