Headphones for the road warrior

[Bryce_H]

Hey everyone - I am in the market for a new pair of headphones (earbuds) for use when I travel - airports, planes, etc. to listen to DVD's through my laptop and tunes through my Ipod nano. Need something compact (hence no full or over the ear).

I had a pair of Sony noise-cancelling from 6-7 years ago, but am not sure what to get now.

Noise-cancelling or Sound Isolating?

I know Sennheiser and Shure are good brands.

Looking to keep under $150.

Any suggestions? Thanks everyone.

 

[avaserfi]

You might find this an interesting read on in-ear monitors. I recently bought the Sony MDR-EX71SL for $20 and am pretty happy with them, but if I had a larger budget I would have gone with the Shure E2c hands down. You will get great performance from both pairs especially for the price, but the Shure pair definitely wins and is well within your budget.

In case you are curious about the link Linkwitz is a prominent engineer in the field of loudspeaker design.

 

[Bryce_H]

Definately interesting - look like the E2C has been replaced by a new line - SE110, SE210, etc.

After some brief research it looks like Shure might be a better option, performance wise, then Sennheiser??

 

[gus6464]

I've had a pair of Etymotic ER6i for almost 3 years and they are great. I would at those or Shure.

 

[Bryce_H]

anybody have any experience with:
Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro Earphones for iPod (Black) - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/457435-REG/Ultimate_Ears_IF_P5PSB0001_02_Super_Fi_5_Pro_Earphones.html - $189.95 (I know they are slightly higher than my $150)

They have gotten great reviews at several sites and some directly say they are better than the Shure SE310

 

[Geno]

I fly around Alaska for about a week a month, and I've been using Etymotic ER6s and now ER4s for about 4 years now. They're much better at sound isolation than the active headphones, IMHO, but require proper insertion in your ear canals for them to be effective. The sound qualilty is superb, and they're pretty tiny. I see several other manufacturers have come out with comparable 'buds now (Shure, etc) so you might want to read the latest comparative reviews and shop for the best deal.

 

[Bryce_H]

Well, as typical when shopping for electronics, I went outside my price zone. I ended up with a pair od Shure SE420. I got them at Headphone.com (mentioned in an Audioholics review). They are running a promotion so they were only $50 more than the SE310's. They arrive Friday, and I hop on the plane Sunday. We will see how they are.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[mazersteven]

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/in-ear-monitor/

 

[Bryce_H]

MazerSteven - Yep that's where I went. Great site and info. Ordered last night.