MEELetronics Balanced Armature HD In-Ear Heaphones: With Built-In Mic $60, Without Mic $40 + Free Shipping

Quote from Nate650 : Exactly what I was wondering. Thanks!

Quote from GregoryWE : To be clear, the A151 and A161P differ not just in the presence of the microphone. The A161 is an upgrade over the A151. So, you're not paying $20 for just a microphone. I don't have either so can't tell you whether the A161 is noticeably better than the A151.

Here is the difference from my research according to folks at head-fi.org forums:

"The A161 is a slightly brighter sound compared to the A151. They share a very similar signature though. The A161s are much easier to drive overall, have better treble and bass impact and depth overall. It doesn't have the bass body that the A151s had though. Midrange has more details and clarity than the A151s. Take all this with a grain of salt as this is from memory. The A151s offered more of a warm and sweet sound, The A161 sound really isn't as warm as it seems to be just sweet for me. A little too sweet at times (just like the A151). Overall, I would say that the A161 is technically a lot better than the A151s. I can see why some may prefer the sound of the A151 to the A161 though."

Great & detailed A161P review [ifans.com] & discussion here [head-fi.org]!

For those not familiar with various IEM (in-ear monitors), there is an excellent thread posted by ljokerl [head-fi.org] that compares and reviews 274 different iem and breaks then down in categories. Enjoy your research!

Solid deal in my opinion. So, how do I get $10ff to apply to my A161 order? Would bite in a sec, even though I have other IEM already!

I'm new to headfones ..I use to have thw m31 I believe gd on bass ..what differs from these and senheiservor klipsech?? For a newbie to the headfone world are these gd starters

would the a161p hold up during a work out

Meelectronics makes decent, lower priced headphones. While I have no experience with the headphones listed above, I do have a cheap pair of the Meelectronics M6P that I wear to the gym. The sound is decent for the price, these improve all the short comings of those Plus, with the balanced armiture, I am sure these sound much better. I just don't know how I feel about buying a high priced pair from this company. I do have some nice IEMs and headphones. When I am not concerned about destroying headphones in the gym and want IEMs, I use my ultimate ears triple fi 10s. I also have a pair of Grado for home listening.

Quote from thenuke1 : would the a161p hold up during a work out

I saw this review on Amazon for the 151's so I bet it would be similar for the 161p's:

Quote : ...I really did like them and was happy with my purchase but... As I said I'm a runner and used these earbuds exclusively to run with and after only about 3 weeks the left side failed. These earbuds may be great for the casual user but if you want to use them for active wear you may want to reconsider and find something a bit more rugid.

Link [amazon.com]

I'm going to use them for running and biking anyway. We'll see. It seems like the build quality might not be all the great but hopefully the sound quality is better than my Klipsch S4s, which I'm not impressed with. High quality sound for 60 bucks is a good deal in my book regardless.

The A151's are perfect for allowing me to listen to lectures at 2x speed. The response from armatures is fast enough and clear enough that I can make out all the words and is not muddy. With normal diaphragm headphones and M-audio speakers I was never able hear clear enough at those speeds. They are lacking in bass but are very clear.

I bought a pair of the A151s about 2 years ago...primarily because we share the house with my in-laws (both retired). Best recommendation I can give: They block my mother-in-law's voice perfectly (think Mrs. Wollowitz!)

Quote from ric_hale : I bought a pair of the A151s about 2 years ago...primarily because we share the house with my in-laws (both retired). Best recommendation I can give: They block my mother-in-law's voice perfectly (think Mrs. Wollowitz!)

They're different sounding because the mic'd version is going to assume you're running off a typical smartphone. IEMs, especially BAs, are often used with decent digital audio players or portable amps. In short, they're going to be more efficient and easier to drive. As an example, Etymotic has the ER4P (portable) and the ER4S (stereo).

BAs are not used in the RE-0 or RE-2 if I remember correctly. They may not be as dynamic, but should be more accurate. Generally, to get around the dynamics issue of BAs, higher end IEMs use multiples of them. I think JH Audio has a pair with 8 of them per ear.

Quote from sheltem : How does the A161P compare to the Klipsch s4i/s4a?

You might want to compare it with

http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-Ima...ywords=X10

Free returns. no brainer

found a slickdealer review [youtube.com] he paid $50 from raspukuten aka buy.com

It boggles my mind as to why the lower A151 has braided cable while the A161 comes with those standard cheap plastic ones.

Quote from maxspiderx : It boggles my mind as to why the lower A151 has braided cable while the A161 comes with those standard cheap plastic ones.

Same here...Amen...WTF?!?!

I am new to these armature headphones. How is this compare to Sony XBA-1 (about $35 at ebay) ? XBA-1 is also armature headphones. Thanks.