I have a collection of headphones and iems that is probably unhealthy, but we are not here to talk about that. Instead, I came into work and realized I’ve been using the same KZ-zs10 pros for a few years of zoom (has a mic on the wire), music, and whatever else at work with no complaint.
Given all the other options out there, or that I own, it surprises me that such a humble iem has performed so well. Which brings me to my question: what is your old reliable? Your everyday workhorse? What headphone or iem do you reach for over and over again?
I have a love/hate relationship with my Bowers and Wilkins PX9s. They sound wonderful and they do an excellent job of cancelling noise. I tested against the Sony 1000X when I bought them and found the PX9s to have a more extensive soundstage and a rich, if somewhat bass-heavy tone. But these are my 2nd pair. I returned the 1st pair for the same reason you see in the picture. They’re so poorly designed that with regular use, the arms just break. Same thing happened to this pair, but they’re well past warranty so a bundle of Gorilla tape is holding them in place. Because of the way the arms curve backwards, one cannot lie down with these as the pads just start to flip open from the front. And speaking of pads, the oval shape makes it a GIANT pain in the ass for anyone with a somewhat larger ear, like myself. With all that said, they’re the ones I have so they’re the ones I use. I slap on my Grado SR325X when I get home, but open ear headphones just don’t work well out in the world, obviously. For better or worse, this is what I have for now.