Decent IEMs good for sleeping with

[Jimbob54]

Yes. I actually own the Shure AONIC 50, ANC BT headphones with great sound quality, even in passive mode. I can recommend. But, clearly not for the purpose in this topic.

I'm tempted by the SE535, EUR 219 is a pretty good price, with the BT adapter and a wired cable both thrown in. And I think/hope it may still work well for sleeping sideways on a pillow. But I must say that the rather big dip past 10 kHz I've seen in FR measurements bothers me a little bit, with many (subjective) reviews complaining about a lack of treble. It does seem like Shure would let me return them if I don't like them.

I'm also intrigued by the Q-Jays. They seem really well built, and tiny indeed, especially for a dual driver design. They may work well for my needs. Tonally they're said to be fairly neutral, which I like, but is anyone aware of any objective measurements of them?
Anyhow, I can still get them new, but with them being discontinued it may not be the best idea, especially for the still relatively high price.

The Westone UM10 indeed looks like a good option too, as a successor to the UM1. I'm wondering if it's not exactly the same as the UM1, with a 50% higher price.

I got a pair of the 535 from amazon warehouse. I have a sneaky feeling they might be a bit broken. If not, they are terrible. Should probably have sent back. Be interested in your thoughts if you get some.

 

[markb]

I just realized another important requirement for use of IEMs in bed: the ability to tell left and right earpiece apart, in the dark.

 

[julian_hughes]

When innerfidelity.com still existed Tyll Hertsens reviewed the Q-Jays: https://www.stereophile.com/content/great-motorcycling-headphones-jays-q-jays-and-etymotic-er6i
The measurements and graphs seem to have disappeared but I have a copy of all innerfidelity's measurements and I'mm attaching a pdf of the q-jays. They look excellent! You can also find a report at https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/user-report.php?id=1841#gsc.tab=0

 

[MaxBuck]

I just realized another important requirement for use of IEMs in bed: the ability to tell left and right earpiece apart, in the dark.

Why would you care?

 

[Gyosa1]

The qjays are indeed very tiny.

that stereophile review linked above is for the first gen qjays - not gen 2….

what does it matter if they’re discontinued ?
the jays website has plenty of replacement cables available for the low discounted price of 5 bucks I think ….buy a dozen , at that price !

i use the Comply ear tips , and they are readily available via Comply’s website.
if the silicone ear tips are more to your liking , they are also plentiful in the jays website and are also very inexpensive.

so , being “obsolete“ or discontinued is not really an issue in my opinion ….

if they sound good , what difference does it really make given the availability of parts ?


the cables are the only thing I can imagine that will ever need to be replaced - having owned them for 5 years or so - I’ve never had to replace the cables.

they do indeed Sound fabulous, especially given their small size .

each one is curved different from the other for proper ear fit , so it’s easy to tell the difference in the dark.

I have found , given the ergonomics and sound quality, they are fairly priced at 225 bucks - they were a tad over 400 bucks when introduced.
just checked eBay and only 2 left … I’d bet they’ll be impossible to find at that price in the future.

i WAS able to find my other 2 pairs at a substantial discount a few years back , but that may prove difficult now if they are indeed out of production.


read a few reviews and I think you’ll find they are exactly what you’re looking for , if wired is what you like - personally , wired is the only thing I like as wireless sound quality sucks in comparison !

bk

 

[julian_hughes]

what does it matter if they’re discontinued ?

It matters considerably if you want to buy them. For example here in UK I cannot find even one new pair for sale online. Not one.

 

[Gyosa1]

Can you not get them on eBay ?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/283935506556?epid=1582933496&hash=item421be0007c:g:dhYAAOSw6EJfGgrK

new , sealed , in box .
From jays , I suspect…. or maybe not … I dunno .
but NIB never the less .

bk

 

[markb]

The qjays are indeed very tiny.
what does it matter if they’re discontinued ?
the jays website has plenty of replacement cables available for the low discounted price of 5 bucks I think ….buy a dozen , at that price !

i use the Comply ear tips , and they are readily available via Comply’s website.
if the silicone ear tips are more to your liking , they are also plentiful in the jays website and are also very inexpensive.

so , being “obsolete“ or discontinued is not really an issue in my opinion ….

if they sound good , what difference does it really make given the availability of parts ?

Yes, the cables are still available for cheap indeed. Bigger problem seems to be the filters; I don't see Jays offering them, and reportedly they clog easily, needing replacement often.

the cables are the only thing I can imagine that will ever need to be replaced - having owned them for 5 years or so - I’ve never had to replace the cables.
they do indeed Sound fabulous, especially given their small size .

each one is curved different from the other for proper ear fit , so it’s easy to tell the difference in the dark.

I have found , given the ergonomics and sound quality, they are fairly priced at 225 bucks - they were a tad over 400 bucks when introduced.
just checked eBay and only 2 left … I’d bet they’ll be impossible to find at that price in the future.

i WAS able to find my other 2 pairs at a substantial discount a few years back , but that may prove difficult now if they are indeed out of production.


read a few reviews and I think you’ll find they are exactly what you’re looking for , if wired is what you like - personally , wired is the only thing I like as wireless sound quality sucks in comparison !

bk

So it was kind of between the Shures and the Q-Jays for me. Shure the safe choice, the Q-Jays seeming more fun, and particularly suited to my use case here. Also, I could mostly only find very happy users of the Q-Jays (like you as well), which was nice to see. The Shure SE535, not so much, fairly mixed reports by owners. Granted, I'm guessing they sell orders of magnitude more than the Q-Jays.

Two days ago I decided to make a price offer to that E-bay seller of the Q-Jays and it got instantly accepted, so that was that. They should arrive within a few weeks... I will report back, of course.

Thanks all for the suggestions so far!

 

[Gyosa1]

Just curious, how much were you able to get them for ?

jump on the Jays website and grab a few pairs of cables …they’re dirt cheap .

let us know how you like them , and remember , the deeper in your ears they go , the better they sound.

bk

 

[Gyosa1]

i wouldn’t worry about the filters…
I bought a spare set years ago and have yet to use them .

never had a clog , and if so , the manual sez to just unscrew them and soak in warm water , rinse , dry and good to go …

bk

Yes, the cables are still available for cheap indeed. Bigger problem seems to be the filters; I don't see Jays offering them, and reportedly they clog easily, needing replacement often.



.

Thanks all for the suggestions so far!

 

[markb]

The Q-Jays arrived already, and disappeared into my ears, separated only by my wide grin from ear to ear.

For my proper subjective verdict, I’ll have to sleep on it.

 

[Gyosa1]

are you as stunned by their small size as I was ?
pictures don’t do justice…

bk

The Q-Jays arrived already, and disappeared into my ears, separated only by my wide grin from ear to ear.

For my proper subjective verdict, I’ll have to sleep on it.

 

[Berwhale]

The most comfortable earphones (strictly speaking not IEMs) I have found for falling asleep with are Samsung Galaxy Buds Live.

Pros: They fit completely within my outer ear, I can lie on my side without feeling them or affecting the sound very much and they turn themselves off once they fall out of my ears. Price: I ended up paying about £50 for them after some cashback shenanigans with Samsung (I got extra cashback by buying 512GB SD card at the same time).

Cons: A bit light on bass, can be difficult to find in the bedding in the morning!

 

[MaxBuck]

Advanced (Adv) Sleepers

Bought these. Unfortunately the Bluetooth version has inadequate battery life (I get only 5 hours out of mine). Very comfy, though, and adequate sound quality for spoken voice.

 

[Durnik]

Bought these. Unfortunately the Bluetooth version has inadequate battery life (I get only 5 hours out of mine). Very comfy, though, and adequate sound quality for spoken voice.

I'm sorry about that.
In fact, I don't own the sleepers, but the S2000 (discontinued). The sound is decent, with good timbre, mid centered but quite extended, and the monitors quite disappear into my ears when I'm in the bed. Very enjoyable at low volume, too. I was told that the sleepers have a similar sound, but better comfort due to the flexible material used in the shells. Mine was a wired model and I think that the sleepers I was talked about were too, so no idea about the wireless ones, but it's good to have your feedback.
In fact, I just realised that I'm buying them as soon as the battery is improved, because sooner or later the S2000 will have some cable problem, and I use them once or twice per week since a couple of years ago.
By the way, I didn't know that there is a Bluetooth model too. Thanks! It should be the ultimate in comfort, without any bothering cable to care about...

 

[m_g_s_g]

The most comfortable earphones (strictly speaking not IEMs) I have found for falling asleep with are Samsung Galaxy Buds Live.

Pros: They fit completely within my outer ear, I can lie on my side without feeling them or affecting the sound very much and they turn themselves off once they fall out of my ears. Price: I ended up paying about £50 for them after some cashback shenanigans with Samsung (I got extra cashback by buying 512GB SD card at the same time).

Cons: A bit light on bass, can be difficult to find in the bedding in the morning!

Sorry for necroposting. I bought the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live for $49.00 one week ago just to try (expired offer).

I can confirm that they're pretty good for getting asleep. Being earbuds and not IEMs, they have a bean shape that fits inside my ear’s concha and barely protrude from the outer ear. They have worked fine for me for the last week and I’m enjoying getting asleep lying on my side with soft music/nature sounds.