Budget earbuds for running?

T

Trev

Audioholic
Hey fellas,

Spring's finally here, and I don't know about you, but I need to be getting in shape. Can't exactly run with the cans on, so it'd be time to look at ear buds, ideally that have the ear contour wrap around.

Figuring a budget of about $50-60. Of course that flex's if there's an excellent deal or bump in sound at a different range.

Was looking as some Shure in-ear phones with detachable cables, also Westone, but not thinking I want to budget $300 for in-ear. Any advice would be much appreciated! So far all the Sennheiser in-ears for sport have gotten pretty weak ratings on amazon.
 
G

Grador

Audioholic Field Marshall
I use my etymotics for running. On the plus side, they stay put, sound good, and if you're used to canal phones are very comfortable. On the minus, unless they're in just right they have absolutely no bass, and block out way more sound than I want them to on the streets. I would easily say the minus category outweighs the plus, but frankly I've never found another pair of in ear that would stick around like these.

Overall for running I prefer behind the head over-ear phones, but they've really gone out of style.
 
W

woensl.itis

Audioholic
Same thing grador said with the Polk ultrafit 3000's. You should be able to pick them up for between 60-80.

The Sennheisers with the ear band are good too. More punchy bass. Not an in-ear-canal headphone, though. Very little customization and poorer build quality than the polks, except at the point the earbud connects to the earband. That's as good or better than the polks. However, the polks have this playdo-like ear band that molds and stuff. pretty cool.

The sennheisers sound good, but do not have the "airy" or "open" sound I usually associate with sennheiser. The polks, on the other hand, do. But again, with very little attention paid to how you have them in your ear, you are going to get much punchier bass.

Comes down to what you really wanna do with them. If it's just for running, I say go with senn, BUT if you're going to the gym, too, get the polks. They are noise isolating.

I also read a review on the polk 2000's. They are the behind the head, on the ear type. They got really good reviews. I think the price on those is more like 50-60.

I also know that motorola has a pair of behind the head, on the ear blue tooth ones that seem to be popular. Doubt they sound that good though. But you're gonna be panting and sweating, anyway.

Hope this helps!
 
T

Trev

Audioholic
If you mean the Motorola Rockr bT ones... terribly bad for signal loss in my experience. Had to take those ones back. I know exactly what you mean about the bass and isolation Grador; quite the difficult thing to find balance for eh. At least though that describes the etymotic very well. They were another brand I'd been looking at.

The Polks look like they would do the job. Will chill on it overnight and see if any other recommendations come through before dropping the coin. Thank you both in the meantime. Very excellent feedback!
 
T

Trev

Audioholic
In the end, I read everywhere I could and had come across recommendations for MEE's A161P, also Fischer Silver Bullets for soundstage, among many others... and I felt that no matter how it's sliced... spending less than $300-600 on IEMs... i was shooting myself in the foot. So I opted for the best possible return.

MEElectronics Sport-Fi S6 Noise Isolating Memory Wire In-Ear Sports Headphones

Ordered these at $36 after shipping and taxes. Gives me the opportunity to see what MEE's made of at their lower range and with their customer service, gives enough accessories that if the earphones stop working, it's not a total loss, and I keep that other batch of cash pocketed for speeding tickets, surprise sex from the government, or a coin drop on an over ear upgrade.
 
Matt34

Matt34

Moderator
Is the cable on these long enough to connect to a player on your waistband?
 
W

woensl.itis

Audioholic
I find those LG headphones quite annoying. I think you made the right purchase.
 
H

highsounder

Audiophyte
I agree that the Motorola Rockr is a good choice for Gym visits where their is not a lot of shock. Etymotics are good for running and hold well enough to compensate for the background noise block out.
 
Haoleb

Haoleb

Audioholic Field Marshall
I would wholeheartedly recommend the Etymotic HF5's as I have used a few different phones over the years and these little in ear ety's have held up amazingly well for me and sound very decent. One downside for your application however is they offer pretty significant noise isolation. When you have them in and music playing you pretty much do not hear a damn thing. You have to rely on your sight and not your hearing. You would be pretty hard pressed to jog them out of your ears.. they stay put and can be worn for hours at a time. (My experience) I use them at work around loud power tools... On the airplane..etc They seem cheap but like I said have been quite durable for me. I have torn them out of my ears by the cord catching on something... put them through the wash (once)....pulled my ipod out of my pocked by the cord tons of times.... etc.. still going strong!
 
the machine

the machine

Audioholic
I have the Sennheiser CX 680. The sound is good for an ear bud. It comes with different size attachments to fit your ear. The only thing that stinks is when they wiggle from a snug fit in the ear you lose the bass. The bass when the buds are in properly however, is very good. Good quality at a great price. As far as my problems with the wiggling, it may just be the size fins and buds I have on them. Others have tried mine and they were shocked at the sound quality (obv coming from junk ipod type buds). I would recommend
 

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