imo earplugs (if thats what u talk about) sucks. i can hear my heart beat and my breathing and every movement i make in those. pluss that i get incredible tired of them and probably easy to develop tinnitus. stay away.

What do you want to use them for ?

DJing, Producing ?

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My Mixes (20/10/2009)

I personally don't like them. I haven't tried any high quality in-ears but the way they fit is just uncomfortable and that's not something that will change with better sound quality. They are fine for on-the-go listening (and even then, I prefer my Senn PX200) but I imagine that they would be annoying if used for any extended period of time.

For your actual question, I would go with Shure. I haven't heard much about M-Audio's line of in-ears but I have heard great things about Shure. I almost bought some about a year ago, actually, but I decided to buy a pair full size headphones instead (MDR-7506).

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will be using these for music production, sound creation/mix/master if at all possible... i just hate the feel of big bulky reference headphones like the akg's... need that sense of freedom i suppose to work mobily.

any recs on shure models?

searching ebay it seems that the m-audio's don't sell well yet.

I would never trust anything I produce with in-ear headphones to hold up on monitors or regular headphones, regardless of how expensive they are. Chances are whatever's made with them will only sound good with those kinds of headphones.

Try out different models of earphones/headphones and see what is most comfortable for you and what lets you hear your mixes properly.

Don't listen to 'get this or else you can't make music' bullshit.
I have a pair of Sony MDR D333.....they are comfortable, light, stylish, and i can hear the mid-low frequencies crystal clearly.

Just make sure it doesn't have an 'exaggerated' bass response. That's the main thing I would look out for. I'm not sayin get cheap earphones/headphones. Get something decent, but you don't have to blow crazy amount of money.

Monitors would be a good investment, but if you can't afford it for now don't worry about it. They will come in handy when you're perfecting your mixes. But for the time being, headphones can do the job. Just make music!

I use the M-Audio IE-30's (dual driver) for DJ'ing and they are excellent! I think they sound a little clearer and punchier in the low end than my Shure E3's. The low end isn't real heavy, it's just enough... like the perfect level for earphones.

2 things about the actual hardware that is way cool... 1) there is a metal wire right by the ear buds so that when you fold them over your ear, the wire holds that position so that it always feels the same when you put them back on. 2) the ear buds can detach from the earphone cable and the cable is replaceable in the unlikely event that your dog chews it up.

I've had my pair for almost 2 years now and they have treated me very well at all my gigs. Would definitely recommend them if you're considering a pair.