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Which Ear Buds?

T

topslop1

2[H]4U
Joined
Apr 15, 2002
Messages
3,185
Looking for some earbuds that are very high quality. Would love to spend ~$100 on them, can do up to ~$150. I saw a review of Yuri PK1's online and the reviewer said that they were amazing. Leaning towards these as of now but I have only read a couple of reviews. What should I be looking at?
 
I had a look at the Yuin's you mentioned... I would buy IEMs for that kind of money but apparently what you've picked out is pretty good, although the consensus seems to be that they require an amp to reach their full potential so if you don't already have one you may want to figure that into your budget.
 
PK1 is a solid choice, although I would also go for an IEM at that price point.
 
I had Shure E2C's prior and I was never really impressed with them. I was also not a large fan of the squeeze inside the ear fit.

Are IEM's of a higher or better quality naturally than an ear bud? Also, I will be using these unamplified with an Iphone and or Ipod. I use a pair of Sennheiser Hd580's with an amplifier at home and I love them. I realize that ear buds unamp'd will not be of the same quality of my sennhesier's ampd but if something comes close I'd def spring for it.
 
Don't mean to hijack the thread but I have also been looking for ear buds. I'll definitely be watching this thread. I do not like IEMs, all the ones I have tried feel unnatural and it's a big disgusting to be honest. Yea, you can q-tip the outer ear canal gently but IEMs get all waxed out regardless. Sound is good though.

On the other hand, while I like ear buds, I haven't found one with enough oomph and they tend to slip out of my ear, especially if I am jogging.
 
Term-X said:
On the other hand, while I like ear buds, I haven't found one with enough oomph and they tend to slip out of my ear, especially if I am jogging.
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Yes! IEM will fly out of your ears if you are running.. no doubt about that.
 
The oomph is really dependent on your ear shape, you might have to try a few different iem's before you know which works for you. But for any iem, make sure you get a proper seal in your ear so no air can get in or out.
 
On the other hand, while I like ear buds, I haven't found one with enough oomph and they tend to slip out of my ear, especially if I am jogging.
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Yes! IEM will fly out of your ears if you are running.. no doubt about that.
Click to expand...

Check out the Sennheiser CX 680s. Those things stayed solidly in my ears while running, ect. Here's my review of them.
 
Does anyone have any experience with the Bose in ear headphones?
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I wouldn't buy them. First off, they're not even a true IEM as they only go very slightly into your ear canal and thus don't fit very securely. Secondly, I didn't care for the sound at all. It sounded like a $40 ear bud, not a $90 IEM. If you're going to spend that kind of money, the previously mentioned PK-1 and PK-2 are much better values.
 
Pk2's on the way. Hopefully these give some better sound than my previous Shure E2C's.

I will give some feedback when I get them.. should be about a week for shipping.
 
I've been using HiFiMan RE-0's for a while. They're a solid choice.
The first impression on them is that they lack bass, but the general consensus is that after you get used to them, you find out that they do have bass and they are simply more balanced. I agree.
I went to them after using Maximo iM-590's which are a very bass heavy IEM. Which is probably one of the reasons why I had that similar first impression that the RE-0's lack bass.

Long story shot, I can't recommend them enough, but they take sometime for most to get used to.

Edit: Head-Direct is still selling the RE-0 for cheap. They were $179, then $129, now they're at $79. It's a pretty big steal if you're into neutral headphones.
http://www.head-direct.com/product_detail.php?p=38
 
I purchased the V-MODA vibe duo headset from Apple's website. About 6 months or use they started acting up and the right earbud doesnt work.
 
I know, I know, but For $35 Sony mdr-xb20 and comply foams, they can't be beat?? Prove me wrong? i would love to hear a better $35 option1
 
topslop1 said:
Are IEM's of a higher or better quality naturally than an ear bud?
Click to expand...
Yes. Yuin has some of the only actual "Buds" that are actually considered decent. Buds have a disadvantage because they're tiny and don't make up for it by making a seal with your ear canal. It's just an inferior form factor compared to IEMs, the only advantage of it being that IEMs are uncomfortable to some people. (Usually can be fixed with foam tips)

topslop1 said:
Yes! IEM will fly out of your ears if you are running.. no doubt about that.
Click to expand...
No, BUDS will fly out of your ears if you are running; IEMs actually tend to stay in unless you have a pretty poor fit. If you wear your IEMS with the wires over-the-ear, then they won't fall out ever until you take them out. (Especially the ones with memory wire near the ends)

acer1642 said:
I know, I know, but For $35 Sony mdr-xb20 and comply foams, they can't be beat?? Prove me wrong? i would love to hear a better $35 option1
Click to expand...

Best deal in budget IEMs right now is @ Woot until the end of today:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1525255

For more expensive ones, other good deals are these:
Klipsch Custom-3 - Great deal because they are being discontinued; they are going for massively below their msrp of $400 right now.

UE TripleFi.10.Pros (non vi) - Another one that has seen a sharp decline in street price recently. They used to go for $350-400, and can now be had for around $200-250 ever since an amazing amazon deal came around that put a bunch on the market at extremely low prices. There is someone in the FS/FT section selling a pair.
Make no mistake though, these are $400 headphones and they are steadily going back up in price. (couple months ago you could get them for less than $200)


Also, read this:
Multi-IEM Review Round-up
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Hifiman (formally Head Direct) RE0's are the best sub 100$ earbuds you are going to find, hands-down. Get a Fiio E5 amp with them if you really need that extra boost in sound and bass.
 
FYI, EarphoneSolutions.com is having a site wide 15% off sale right now (coupon 'GRAD') plus another 7% off with Bing CashBack. I just got a pair of Audeo PFE 112s for ~$110 shipped. The coupon is good until 6/15.

Also worth noting in the higher price ranges are Westone UM2s for ~$210 after everything.
 
You can find them on amazon. I ordered my pair on friday and shortly after they were out of stock. I should have them in a couple of days
 
Any ideas for earbuds? I think for me, personally, there are too many issues with IEMs. I need to be aware of surroundings (jogging beside streets), don't like the cable feedback/breathing feedback associated with IEMs. And wax, regardless of how you clean is a bit disgusting. But earbuds with an around the ear hook while having good quality sound would be sufficient for my listening and speed walk/jogging I think.
 
Term-X said:
Any ideas for earbuds? I think for me, personally, there are too many issues with IEMs. I need to be aware of surroundings (jogging beside streets), don't like the cable feedback/breathing feedback associated with IEMs. And wax, regardless of how you clean is a bit disgusting. But earbuds with an around the ear hook while having good quality sound would be sufficient for my listening and speed walk/jogging I think.
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Hate to break it to you but there is no such thing as an earbud with decent sound quality.
 
123Lanoix said:
You can find them on amazon. I ordered my pair on friday and shortly after they were out of stock. I should have them in a couple of days
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Please let me know the name and model of them, i cannot find them anywhere, for $5 its worth a try since they did get great reviews
 
123Lanoix said:
GET THIS ! http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10823&cs_id=1082303&p_id=6343&seq=1&format=2

I'm not joking these $5 earbuds rival $100 or $400 pair !!!

don't believe me read the customer review.
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Just.... no.

The reviewers may be happy that they actually got something that sounded decent for $5, but don't kid yourself into thinking they're close at all to a $400 or even $100 pair of IEMs. Most of the people in those reviews are probably upgrading from ipod buds, one of the worst sounding headphones in existence, and probably don't know what "decent" sounds like.

They may be great, even amazing, for $5 headphones, but that's still a long way off from being comparable to real IEMs. I wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to be comparable to lets say, $15-25 IEMs. It's happened before where some random extreme-budget manufacturer accidentally got something right and actually released a semi decent product.
 
Kett said:
Just.... no.

The reviewers may be happy that they actually got something that sounded decent for $5, but don't kid yourself into thinking they're close at all to a $400 or even $100 pair of IEMs. Most of the people in those reviews are probably upgrading from ipod buds, one of the worst sounding headphones in existence, and probably don't know what "decent" sounds like.

They may be great, even amazing, for $5 headphones, but that's still a long way off from being comparable to real IEMs. I wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to be comparable to lets say, $15-25 IEMs. It's happened before where some random extreme-budget manufacturer accidentally got something right and actually released a semi decent product.
Click to expand...


i will have these either tommrow or wednesday to give a review on them.

I bet they sound like sennehisers or the higher end skullcandies that sell for $50 or so dollars you see in the apple store.
before i ordered these earbuds i chatted with a technical support rep asked him questions about them and if they were for real surprisingly he was actually using them at the moment he was chatting with me. He claimed they "bumped" and that they were very good sounding. I mean you can take this with a grain of salt but still kinda cool their workers use what they sell. Will see later on this week when i post my initials impressions. I have some highend full size headphones i can compare them too.
 
A13X said:
Hate to break it to you but there is no such thing as an earbud with decent sound quality.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm not looking for something to rival my Grado SR225s or anything likethat. I mean, the cheap HTC earbuds that came with my phone are almost "okay" but lack any sort of bass and definitely suffer from the following out of ear while walking/jogging thing.

I guess I might be open to the partial IEM type (the ones that kind of just sit near the opening but not actually go into the canal). But still prefer earbuds.
 
PK2's came in this afternoon. They put my Shure E2C's to shame. There's detail in the highs that is very crisp and clear and there's still enough low end to boom a bit. They're impressive for ear buds and at that $80 price point they're not stupid expensive. I'm driving them out of my Iphone 3GS right now. I want to listen to them through my Denon receiver in a minute and I'll give a little update if I can tell a difference between amp and non amp'd.

So far so good though. I forgot how good good sounding music sounds. Beautiful...
 
Thats awesome. It's always nice when you can immediately tell the difference for the better when you get a new product.

I haven't heard any Shure headphones but i'm always put off by the way people describe their sound. Always sounds like it would be unpleasant to me.
 
Kett said:
I haven't heard any Shure headphones but i'm always put off by the way people describe their sound. Always sounds like it would be unpleasant to me.
Click to expand...

I've had the E3Cs for about 4 years now. They are very lacking in the low end, but the highs are very clear and detailed.
 
123Lanoix said:
i will have these either tommrow or wednesday to give a review on them.

I bet they sound like sennehisers or the higher end skullcandies that sell for $50 or so dollars you see in the apple store.
before i ordered these earbuds i chatted with a technical support rep asked him questions about them and if they were for real surprisingly he was actually using them at the moment he was chatting with me. He claimed they "bumped" and that they were very good sounding. I mean you can take this with a grain of salt but still kinda cool their workers use what they sell. Will see later on this week when i post my initials impressions. I have some highend full size headphones i can compare them too.
Click to expand...

Let us know if it sounds good. I have my doubts but hey i spent only like $12 on my koss ksc75 and I think they sound fantastic for the cost.

I need some iem's right now too, I'm looking to either get the maximo im-590 or waiting for the maximo im-790 which is suppose to have adjustable bass.
 
I decided to get a pair of Westone UM1s. Hopefully I made the right choice. Though, I was wondering, does anyone know where I can get some Phonak ear guides for cheap? audeoworld has pretty cheap pricing but the shipping kills it... $25 for shipping. I get stuff from HK for like <$2 :confused:

I'm in Canada.
 
NoNRG said:
I've had the E3Cs for about 4 years now. They are very lacking in the low end, but the highs are very clear and detailed.
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Mine were something close to the same although the highs were not impressive enough to warrant having no lows. Not to mention after a few years of use (2?) because they come over the top of the ear and then into the ear there was a stress point on the cable where they bend to get into my ear. That black outter coating ended up peeling off and exposing the wires inside which ultimately led to the failure of the ear buds. I did use them a lot, they did withstand to a decent amount of use, but overall mediocre at best and not well re-inforced. For something that's $60+ shipping I expect better.
 
topslop1 said:
That black outter coating ended up peeling off and exposing the wires inside which ultimately led to the failure of the ear buds. I did use them a lot, they did withstand to a decent amount of use, but overall mediocre at best and not well re-inforced.
Click to expand...

Mine lasted for 4 years. They only had one defect, you could hear static anytime the right earphone wire moved.

Just replaced my Shures with Audeo Phonak 112s and they are a pretty good improvement.
 
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