best bang for the buck i think are the sony mdr-ex71's. they have really good noise isolation, come w/ 3 sizes of earpieces for best fit, are extremely comfortable for extended wear. only about $30....
if you want to spend some more cash...
shure e2c's are great. give em some time to break in. really good overall definition. those are about $100. and then they have the whole e-series which top out w/ the e5c's which i've never tried but are $500
sennheiser's long been my favorite for headphones. they have a few earbuds as well. i prefer in-ear canal earbuds and they have the cx300s for $50.
and if you're style-conscious/obsessed. you can get the bang & olufson ones...
+1 for ACFA's comment about the Sony MDR-EX71. For the money, they can't be beat.
Not the most amazing sound I've ever heard, but for $30, noise cancelling so that I can't hear my PM's arguing with one another (with my desk betwixt th two...) and I can hear my thumpin' beats. And WAY more comfortable than crApple's mug-me-white piece of crap set that comes with everything they sell.
I've always like Shure and Sennheiser products at the higher end...My full size headphones for late night movie/music sessions are sennheisers, but who needs to bring along my $300 audiophile equip. to work with me.
i second auguste perret's call on the shure earbuds...they are built for a snug fit and sound fantastic! they're on the pricier side (e2 is like $100 and e3 are around $180), but they are great sounding and excellent for blocking out ambient noise. so good that you may want to be extra careful if you're wearing them while walking out and about...don't want you to accidentally walk into traffic or anything!
i can't justify paying over $100 for earbuds. the quality you get from open-ear headphones is so much superior.
given a choice? i'll take a pair of grado SR80's over any earbud. the timbre is just so much more natural and expressive. and my earbuds are usually hooked up to my ipod anyway which has not so great of a preamp and/or playing compressed files anyway (though i do encode all my own CDs w/ apple lossless)
my girlfriend just bought a pair of sony mdr rc50's and they make me want to punch myself. the mix that comes through them is far different from the source EQ settings and strange. seems that tracks panned heavily are cut out from the mix completely (on some songs you can't even hear vocals).
I'm also in the market for some earbuds and have been sonsidering the Sony's because they seem like a good deal but I keep hearing about how the rubber casing on the wires often begins to disintegrate after a few months. Anyone had this problem? Should I just bag the Sony idea and go with the Sennheiser for the extra bucks?
my first sony headphone wires actually did disintegrate and the connection was lost. i got a newer version..the ex80 (i think), where the headphone actually wraps around the back of your ear. the design of it was to solve the disintegration problem.
but i think a lot of it also has to do with how well your treat your headphones..
guys have great reviews of headphones and usually have a good price as well. I'm eagerly awaiting a pair of Sennheiser 595 that are on back order. They also have all the brands mentioned above as well as reviews. I really like their reviews, they give some of their cheaper products better reviews than their high end stuff and point out the best values.
Seriously, for $10, these really kick ass. They look a little goofy, but with studio theft and flying Olfa blades, $10 headphones are a good deal. And they really do sound decent. I mean, I don't jack the volume too loud and I'm not trying to block out ambient noise completely, so they work really well for me. Check them out. I think Sony makes great cheap earbubs. These may not be good enough for some, but like with car stereos, I can't spend a lot of money on high end audio equipment for environments where it will still sound like crap. You know? When someone 3 desks over is using a Dremel to grind metal, you're not going to hear the subtle nuances of Kerry King's wailing ax any better with $10 earphones or $200 ones. You're just going to hear ZZZZZZJZJZJZJZJZJZHZUZKJZGZJHKJZHKZKZKHJK! i guess unless you crank them and go deaf.
the Shure E2 blocks out a ton of outside noise. I can keep my ipod volume at about half what I used to have it set at and still hear the music loudly. I can use them in the wood shop with some of the less noisy machinery (rather than switching to regular ear plugs)
I try to use my grado SR60 headphones whenever I can, but since they're open-air, it bothers my studiomates. So most of the time I end up using my Shures e4c's in-ears.
Shure's are very expensive but are worth it if you can get a good deal. I got an e4c for half-off through a friend that works at Circuit City(employee discount). It fits ALL ears, because it's basically a pair of those foam earplugs that mold to the contour of your ear canal. And it has amazing quality sound. It blocks out practically all ambient noise and the wide dynamic range allows you to play your music at comfortable levels and still hear all the details. Great for zoning out in studio.
It has its cons though. It's not good for listening on-the-go. Because the device is in pressed against your ear canals, the slightest contact of the wire to any surface, even the brushing against a smooth jacket as you walk, will result in an annoying tremor masking the mushc. You'll even hear the sound of your feet hitting the floor.
Basically it's not for everyone. I highly recommend it for those who are actually concerned with and can discern "high quality acoustics." If you feel fine blasting your boomy bass through your huge DJ headphones, it's not wirth the money.
khmay - the headphones your gf has probably have a bad connection either in the plug or a defective cable. i've had the problem before w/ audio equipment and it was due to a frayed cable. get those replaced.
i've had a pair for about a year- super durable, and great sealing. most important (for me) is that you can disassemble them to replace their cord (i manage to wreck cords/plugs frequently.
Jul 18, 08 1:31 pm ·
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EARPHONES
SO I JUST BUSTED MY EARPHONES...ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR A NEW PAIR? (NOT LOOKING TO GET HEADPHONES)
THANKS
earbuds...
best bang for the buck i think are the sony mdr-ex71's. they have really good noise isolation, come w/ 3 sizes of earpieces for best fit, are extremely comfortable for extended wear. only about $30....
if you want to spend some more cash...
shure e2c's are great. give em some time to break in. really good overall definition. those are about $100. and then they have the whole e-series which top out w/ the e5c's which i've never tried but are $500
sennheiser's long been my favorite for headphones. they have a few earbuds as well. i prefer in-ear canal earbuds and they have the cx300s for $50.
and if you're style-conscious/obsessed. you can get the bang & olufson ones...
The Shure E4c earbuds are dope! They're expensive, but worth it, provided you don't throw them around.
i love my sony MDR-V700's
sorry, didnt see your caveat...personally I hate earbuds...they dont fit my ears properly...I am a mutant.
sennheiser
my friend got a pair... ridiculous! although they are a bit more expensive, the sound is amazing
Etymotic's ER-4P.
amazing
+1 for ACFA's comment about the Sony MDR-EX71. For the money, they can't be beat.
Not the most amazing sound I've ever heard, but for $30, noise cancelling so that I can't hear my PM's arguing with one another (with my desk betwixt th two...) and I can hear my thumpin' beats. And WAY more comfortable than crApple's mug-me-white piece of crap set that comes with everything they sell.
I've always like Shure and Sennheiser products at the higher end...My full size headphones for late night movie/music sessions are sennheisers, but who needs to bring along my $300 audiophile equip. to work with me.
I used to love the ones that came with Gameboy. I've got cheap $10 Sony ones now that sound very good for $10.
i second auguste perret's call on the shure earbuds...they are built for a snug fit and sound fantastic! they're on the pricier side (e2 is like $100 and e3 are around $180), but they are great sounding and excellent for blocking out ambient noise. so good that you may want to be extra careful if you're wearing them while walking out and about...don't want you to accidentally walk into traffic or anything!
i can't justify paying over $100 for earbuds. the quality you get from open-ear headphones is so much superior.
given a choice? i'll take a pair of grado SR80's over any earbud. the timbre is just so much more natural and expressive. and my earbuds are usually hooked up to my ipod anyway which has not so great of a preamp and/or playing compressed files anyway (though i do encode all my own CDs w/ apple lossless)
my girlfriend just bought a pair of sony mdr rc50's and they make me want to punch myself. the mix that comes through them is far different from the source EQ settings and strange. seems that tracks panned heavily are cut out from the mix completely (on some songs you can't even hear vocals).
.. sony wont answer my questions
i second the sony mdr-ex71's
good price, good quality
I'm also in the market for some earbuds and have been sonsidering the Sony's because they seem like a good deal but I keep hearing about how the rubber casing on the wires often begins to disintegrate after a few months. Anyone had this problem? Should I just bag the Sony idea and go with the Sennheiser for the extra bucks?
my first sony headphone wires actually did disintegrate and the connection was lost. i got a newer version..the ex80 (i think), where the headphone actually wraps around the back of your ear. the design of it was to solve the disintegration problem.
but i think a lot of it also has to do with how well your treat your headphones..
guys have great reviews of headphones and usually have a good price as well. I'm eagerly awaiting a pair of Sennheiser 595 that are on back order. They also have all the brands mentioned above as well as reviews. I really like their reviews, they give some of their cheaper products better reviews than their high end stuff and point out the best values.
Seriously, for $10, these really kick ass. They look a little goofy, but with studio theft and flying Olfa blades, $10 headphones are a good deal. And they really do sound decent. I mean, I don't jack the volume too loud and I'm not trying to block out ambient noise completely, so they work really well for me. Check them out. I think Sony makes great cheap earbubs. These may not be good enough for some, but like with car stereos, I can't spend a lot of money on high end audio equipment for environments where it will still sound like crap. You know? When someone 3 desks over is using a Dremel to grind metal, you're not going to hear the subtle nuances of Kerry King's wailing ax any better with $10 earphones or $200 ones. You're just going to hear ZZZZZZJZJZJZJZJZJZHZUZKJZGZJHKJZHKZKZKHJK! i guess unless you crank them and go deaf.
the Shure E2 blocks out a ton of outside noise. I can keep my ipod volume at about half what I used to have it set at and still hear the music loudly. I can use them in the wood shop with some of the less noisy machinery (rather than switching to regular ear plugs)
shout it out loud! all these suggestions are awesome!!!
I try to use my grado SR60 headphones whenever I can, but since they're open-air, it bothers my studiomates. So most of the time I end up using my Shures e4c's in-ears.
Shure's are very expensive but are worth it if you can get a good deal. I got an e4c for half-off through a friend that works at Circuit City(employee discount). It fits ALL ears, because it's basically a pair of those foam earplugs that mold to the contour of your ear canal. And it has amazing quality sound. It blocks out practically all ambient noise and the wide dynamic range allows you to play your music at comfortable levels and still hear all the details. Great for zoning out in studio.
It has its cons though. It's not good for listening on-the-go. Because the device is in pressed against your ear canals, the slightest contact of the wire to any surface, even the brushing against a smooth jacket as you walk, will result in an annoying tremor masking the mushc. You'll even hear the sound of your feet hitting the floor.
Basically it's not for everyone. I highly recommend it for those who are actually concerned with and can discern "high quality acoustics." If you feel fine blasting your boomy bass through your huge DJ headphones, it's not wirth the money.
khmay - the headphones your gf has probably have a bad connection either in the plug or a defective cable. i've had the problem before w/ audio equipment and it was due to a frayed cable. get those replaced.
etymotics (sp?) er-6 or er-6i
i've had a pair for about a year- super durable, and great sealing. most important (for me) is that you can disassemble them to replace their cord (i manage to wreck cords/plugs frequently.
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