Best Earbud Headphones

[Tubes4Life]

My brother is getting an iPod video for Christmas and he wants good-sounding earbuds for it. What are the best-sounding earbuds?

 

[Audioholics]

Etymotic earphones are likely the best if you want accuracy.

 

[Hi Ho]

How about the Shure isolating earbuds?

 

[agarwalro]

Etymotic earphones are likely the best of you want accuracy.

I will have to agree. The Etymotic ER-6i I use have been the best investment I could have ever made in personal audio. Combined with my iRiver CD palyer it makes for the best reference listening room ever

I also have to say that they have exceptional noise isolation. This is a great feature if you are going to ride the public transportation as a part of your daily commute or if you are a frequent flyer. Believe me when I say that you can have people screaming their lungs out right next to you, and you will only hear the music from these beauties.

Edit: Updated after MBauer's comments. I will have to agree that it takes some time getting used to having something shoved deep into your ear, but once you pass the first week, the fidelity from them is stunning.

I compared the noise reduction to Bose ones (demoed Bose at the showroom), the Etymotic win by a stretch. IMHO, the Bose ones are over rated.

 

[MBauer]

Two logical choices

Etymotic or Shure, I have the Shure's and really like them. However they are not for everyone, they are in ear and require a tight fit, some do not like them or cannot wear them.

Does he travel? I use my Shures and my Bose Noise Canceling headphones as I do a lot of air travel. The sound from my Shure's is far superior but I lean towards the Bose for the noise canceling effects. The sound is at best OK but they do give you a restful flight. Heavier and more cumbersome than either the Etymotic or SHures

 

[mpompey]

I have the Shure E2c's and I love them! They come with different size ear attachments so you can tailor the fit a bit. But they sound is excellent. I work in an a company with cubicles and hearing all the peope talking is distracting. I pop these bad boys on and the ambient disappears. Sometimes I put them in my ears, and don't even turn on my IPOD. They are that good.

I would seriously do a commerical for Shure, for free even, I like their headphones that much!

 

[Tubes4Life]

Thanks for all the advice, but I shouldve mentioned that I have a budget of $50 and he preferrs conventional earbuds.

 

[Hi Ho]

I have THIS pair of Sennheiser earbuds that sound decent. They don't have the greatest bass but equalization (bass boost) helps a lot.

 

[thoward4444]

Sony MDR-EX81LP

I have been using the Sony MDR-EX81LP earbuds almost every day at the gym. They stay put when running and sound excellent for the price. I agree that Shure makes the best ear buds, but with an msrp of $50 (you can get them on Amazon for around $30) i would take the Sonys. If you are listening to music from an iPod the music is already using lossy compression, so i don't see the point in spending the money on the Shure buds.

 

[WmAx]

If you are listening to music from an iPod the music is already using lossy compression, so i don't see the point in spending the money on the Shure buds.

If one uses the proper encoder and encoding mode(s), lossy compression will sound identical to the source audio on the overwhelming majority of samples.

-Chris

 

[nm2285]

check out the sharp md-33. i've heard great things. they're only available from www.audiocubes.com, however, Creative released a set relabled (dont remember the model number).

 

[thoward4444]

If one uses the proper encoder and encoding mode(s), lossy compression will sound identical to the source audio on the overwhelming majority of samples.

-Chris

Chris,

You are right in that lossy compression has come a long way, but I beleive most songs in iTunes are encoded at 128kbps ACC. I use my Audiovox SMT5600 Smartphone to listen to music and there is a noticable difference in quality from 128 - 196kbps. However, I will concede that my Smartphone is using WMA compression, so it is not exactly an apples to apples comparison. I guess I am being nitpicky and i agree that most users won't notice the difference, but we are Audioholics - not the average user!

 

[mustang_steve]

I'm a big fan of Shure buds....I have both the E2C and the E3C. The E2C has better bass, but is less sensitive and is a bit more troublesome for maintenance (tips are more expensive, and those wax screens are annoying!). The E3C has less bass response, but is far more sensitive and far more accurate. My only gripe on the E3C is the iPod white...but that's just aesthetics.

Overall, I consider the E3C the better value...the E2C, while being good, was just not the audio epiphany I was expecting compared to the Sony EX-71. For some reason, I think the $150 mark seems to be the magic number for both headphones and canalphones both.

As for MP3 players and the Shures being overkill...not at all. Just from a noise reduction point of view...the E3C with foam tips can damp out the jet noise from even the worst seat on the plane, and still not need significant volumes to hear your music.

Plus I found great results encoding my own music...192KBps 44.1khz MP3 isn't great, but it's not bad either...however it seems to be far better sounding than 128kbps....at least sounds like cymbals sound reasonable at the higher bitrate.

 

[WmAx]

Plus I found great results encoding my own music...192KBps 44.1khz MP3 isn't great, but it's not bad either...however it seems to be far better sounding than 128kbps....at least sounds like cymbals sound reasonable at the higher bitrate.

Please refer to hydrogenaudio.org for recommended presets to use with Lame MP3 encoder to produce MP3s that will have a high incidence of transparency. With a 192 kbps rate, there is no reason you should be having sound quality problems on the vast majority of music samples unless you are using a poor quality encoding.

-Chris

 

[Tubes4Life]

OK after hearing all the great things about the Shure E3c I think I will get those. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[lbjazz]

I've done a few listening tests with my cd's and mp3s. At 128 and 192 kbps I can hear a difference. However, I encode everything at 320 and I have yet to hear a difference. I suppose if I had a rack of equipment that cost more than my house I might. With my gear there's no difference.

 

[Johnny Canuck]

I have demoed the Shure headphones and i was extremely disappointed. I saw them at a local store and almost crapped as i thought you could only get them on line. My Sony buds, both the 51s and the 81s kill them in the bass. I am thinking of getting the Sony 90's as the Shures have no bass whatsoever and I tried all the rubber pieces.

After reading all the reviews on the Shures here, all i can say was is what a disappointment. Then again, I found the Grados far too bright and went with Sony 7509 and got flamed here for it. Listen first and don't be a sheep and follow what everybody else does. The biggest thing I have learned on this forum.

 

[superstar]

I went a different route, I got something similar to this, you can go to your nearest audiologist clinic and they will be able to do it for a much cheaper price, don't forget to ask or get a noise canceling ear buds as well, they work great on the plane or for sleep and you can usually ask for a discount (military, student, or whatever you can get)

Besides that it is custom fit, it is great for running, you don't feel a thing with them on, another thing that I like about it is that I can listen to the songs at about half the volume, and still be able to listen to the outside noise without sacrificing song clarity.

Forgot to add... the price at the private clinic tend to be at around $75 in NYC.

 

[Johnny Canuck]

I got the Sony 90's..wow is all I can say. Perfect in every way, blow the Shure's completely out of the water. Comfort, cord length, bass, treble, mids...love the Sony headphone sound , which I would describe with the mids lower than the bass and highs..like a curve on the EQ with the mids lowered, which i find very warm.

 

[PPGMD]

I personally like Shures but there are other brands that have different qualities to them. If you like bass heavy music the Vibe I hear is good.

Someone else mentioned the Bose Quiet Comfort headphones, I also prefer those to my Shures on aircraft. Sure they sound muddy and horrible compared to my Shures but they are at least twice as good as my Shures at reducing engine noise on an aircraft. Also they don't seal my ears like the Shures do which causes me issues with the pressure altitude on an aircraft.

My only gripe on the E3C is the iPod white...but that's just aesthetics.

They are available in gray too, thats the color of my pair of E-3Cs.

I've done a few listening tests with my cd's and mp3s. At 128 and 192 kbps I can hear a difference. However, I encode everything at 320 and I have yet to hear a difference. I suppose if I had a rack of equipment that cost more than my house I might. With my gear there's no difference.

I can hear the difference, but just barely and only when I am outputting it out my home theater, but using earbuds I can't tell.

I have demoed the Shure headphones and i was extremely disappointed. I saw them at a local store and almost crapped as i thought you could only get them on line. My Sony buds, both the 51s and the 81s kill them in the bass. I am thinking of getting the Sony 90's as the Shures have no bass whatsoever and I tried all the rubber pieces.

Thats the usual experience with Shures when you first try to put them in yourself. I purchased a pair of E-3Cs and I a similar issue, no matter what tip I used the bass just sucked. So I brought them to CES with me, and complained to Shure. The sales guy showed me the best way to insert them, and it's a make a world of a difference.

You want the seal to be so that if you tap on the earphone lightly you hear the tap rather loud and clear on your eardrum. Similar to the sound your ears make when they pop in an airplane.