Earbuds for Dad

[Orayn]

My dad listens to a lot of classical music on his MP3 player, and he's been using low quality earbuds to do so for years. I feel bad for him, in terms of both comfort and quality, so I want to get him a nice new pair of earbuds this year for Christmas. We're looking for something under $50, but more is fine if it'll be a really long-lived pair.

 

[SpasticTeapot]

The Sure E2C's are supposed to be quite good, providing you can stomach the pricetag of 100$. I've seen 'em on sale for as low as 60$, though, and they beat the crap out of anything Sony makes.

If you don't require earbuds (which are more likely to damage your ears), the 50$ iGrados and 40$ Sennheiser PMX-100 are hard to beat. Both are good for jogging and whatnot, and can be modified for better sound by using different earpads. (Audiophiles swear by this usually $5-$10 upgrade.)

However, both have faults. The PMX-100s are now availible primarily in a dorky "street styling".

The grados are just really, really ugly. Then again, pretty much everything Grado makes is somewhat ugly.

EDIT:

If he does'nt need to run around while wearing them, the Grado SR60s are an excellent value at $60-$70, depending on where you get them. They're marvellous for classical and rock - few headphones under 100$ can match them for bass performance.

 

[t5brick]

I like my E2Cs. Got them for about $50, but I doubt they're going for that cheap anywhere retail.

 

[JaYp146]

Sennheiser earbuds are pretty good for classical music. While I have no personal experience, I've read numerous good reviews on Amazon.

I, too, listen to classical music. Onkyo TX-DS595 + Sennheiser HD570s / Paradigm v3 Mini Monitors = bliss.

 

[Orayn]

Thanks for the input. My dad really does find earbuds msot comfortable, so I'd be unlikely to get him anything else. (Though I haven't gone back since I discovered how bad most commercial earbuds sound. Aural/Super-aural forever. )