Help Needed: Selecting earbuds/portable headphones

M

mirage.

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Nov 12, 2006
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7
Hey all

I'm in need of some portable headphones or earbuds for when I'm out of the house. However, I am more cared about the sound quality than portability and etc. My budget is limited to about $70-80 so does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks :)



Also...how much of an impact can pocket amps have on sound quality? I haven't really looked at those yet so I"m kind of curious as to how much of a difference they can make.
 
Sen PX100 for about $40, more or less, at NewEgg.com. Not sound blocking, but the best SQ bang for the buck and most comfortable of any portable. I use them when driving so that I can hear other motorists honking and cursing at me:D
 
the shure e4c's can be had under $100 new on ebay because the shure line was expanded a bit ago. i have the apple earbuds, apple eim's, shure e2c's, e3c's and e4c's. the e4c's are by far the best of the bunch and i saw them for $75 at an ebay store. thats a steal at half of what i paid when i got them in JAN for $185.

for me the foam is the most comfortable but they get dirty easy. next is the 3 flange. they get a little sweaty but they don't leave any pressure points in my ears.
 
Koss Portapros (~$40) or Sennheiser PX-100s (~$50). I have a pair of the latter and they fold up into a handy plastic carrying case and sound great for the price and portability. The Portapros sound great but have dated styling.

I'd avoid in-ear monitors. They're great for one situation: where you're sitting in one place and want music without any leakage of sound in or out (e.g., studying at a library). I used a few of the higher end ones for several years and they have some serious problems:

1. total sound blocking is more disorienting than you might think when walking down the street.
2. microphone effect from the cord moving against you makes these lousy for moving around and exercising. Steps taken to control microphone effect don't adequately fix it.
3. they're irritating as hell and so can't be worn for extended periods for the first couple of weeks of regular wear.
4. You really shouldn't be putting things in your ear. It'll compact the ear wax in your ear and can cause ear infections.
5. They sound absolutely awful if you get a bad seal, and it takes a while to figure out how to insert them properly to get a good seal. If you have large or oddly shaped ears, you may have to order special tips at extra cost (~$25 for ety's xlarge foams to several hundred dollars for custom molded ear tips).
 
I would save another $20 and go for the v-moda's their far better than the e2c's i was not very happy with the pair of E2c's i had the bass from these was not good if your looking for good sound quality and can live with poor bass they are ok but if not i wouldnt even consider them.
 
bigforearms said:
Koss Portapros (~$40) or Sennheiser PX-100s (~$50). I have a pair of the latter and they fold up into a handy plastic carrying case and sound great for the price and portability. The Portapros sound great but have dated styling.

I'd avoid in-ear monitors. They're great for one situation: where you're sitting in one place and want music without any leakage of sound in or out (e.g., studying at a library). I used a few of the higher end ones for several years and they have some serious problems:

1. total sound blocking is more disorienting than you might think when walking down the street.
2. microphone effect from the cord moving against you makes these lousy for moving around and exercising. Steps taken to control microphone effect don't adequately fix it.
3. they're irritating as hell and so can't be worn for extended periods for the first couple of weeks of regular wear.
4. You really shouldn't be putting things in your ear. It'll compact the ear wax in your ear and can cause ear infections.
5. They sound absolutely awful if you get a bad seal, and it takes a while to figure out how to insert them properly to get a good seal. If you have large or oddly shaped ears, you may have to order special tips at extra cost (~$25 for ety's xlarge foams to several hundred dollars for custom molded ear tips).
Click to expand...



These are all valid points except for number 2 & 4 (at least for me and i exercise every day and havent had ear problems as i clean my ears on a regular basis :D ) but i wouldn't trade my Shure E5C's for any other noise cancelling phones out there...
 
i also have had no problems with my iem's. i am shooting for the e500's in a month or so (new TV in the works). i clean my ears a few times a day and i listen to music through my e4c's 5 hours a day monday-friday while im at work. getting a good seal takes practice and the microphonics are solved by placing the cord over the top of you ear. if this issues are not to your liking then the koss phones mentioned above or the px-100 will work geat.
 
if your willing to save up some more and get something in the $100 or so area you might go for some Sennhiser HD-280pro or HD-555, sealed back or open back respectively. I just ordered me a set of the HD-555s and am hoping that they feel better on my ears then the HD-457s which hurt the ears (resting on the ear it hurts, not the audio itself) after about 30 min.
 
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