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AKG IP 2 The AKG IP 2 in-ear headphones, bundled into the IVM 4 wireless system, are now available as stand-alones. They’re no-fuss earphones, supplied with three different sleeve sizes (interestingly, this was one of the few where the medium suited me best – for most others, the small was the most comfortable). Isolation is excellent, but this model does suffer from interference from body contact, with the cable noise amplified into the ears. The cable, incidentally, is ron the short end of the length stakes, at 115 cm, and the interface is a right-angle 3.5 mm mini-jack. Rated at 121 dB at 16 Ohm, these earphones were fairly hot, with the volume needing to be pared back to 11 o’clock. Performance-wise, they were well balanced, with good lows, highs and mids, and excellent detail delivered with realism. Well-packaged and shipped with a neat cloth pouch, they are excellent value at $80 – but beware of counterfeits as these earphones are widely knocked-off.
Beyerdynamic DTX 101 iE If there were a ‘bang for buck’ award, the DTX 101 iE would be a strong contender in the under-$100 category. Its red finish is a tell-tale sign that it’s designed for personal stereos rather than professional performance, but the 12 Ohm in-ear headphones pack one hell of a wallop. They’re rated at 102 dB, but I had to turn the level down to around 8 o’clock, and still there was heaps of volume. Most notable was the decent bass reproduction, but the compact 101s also delivered a good amount of mid-range, some crisp treble and excellent separation and detail. I found the reproduction reasonably uncoloured. These guys come with a 1.2 metre cable – about average for the selection – but it does include a re-inforced section where the separate strands meet the main core, a good measure to prevent further separation of the cables. The jack is a consumer-type, right-angled 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack. Sound isolation is good, with three different silicon end tips. In my case, the small was a snug fit and blocked most of the environmental noise. The pads are soft and malleable and more comfortable than many others in the class. The DTX 101 iE also comes in black or silver and ships with a mesh carry bag which seems far too big for its purpose until you try and wrap up the cable. There’s some heavy-grade cable hiding beneath the surface and it doesn’t like to be curled up tight. Overall, this model punches way above its weight and reinforces that you don’t have to spend more than $100 for an easy-to-listen-to, quality product. 24
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