iLounge

1

i just dont get why i should $100 for ear buds, ill deal with the ones that were included with my ipod

Posted by mike on August 2, 2005 at 12:49 PM (PDT)

2

...because the buds included with the iPod are the most uncomfortable for a lot of people, and the sound quality isn’t all that great. If they don’t hurt your ears and the sound quality is good enough for you, then don’t upgrade.

Posted by Eric on August 2, 2005 at 1:17 PM (PDT)

3

Mike; it may have to do also with people’s tastes in music, and the environment. Listeners who have a varied library of music may need to hear more than what lo-end, so-so ear buds can capture.
Also, those of us that live in cities want to screen out urban noise.
You get what you pay for - first class vs economy; they both get you there, but one will get you there more rested.

Posted by Ramón on August 2, 2005 at 1:24 PM (PDT)

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$100 isn’t a lot to spend when you paid $300 for a portable player that is being bottlenecked by cheap freebie earbuds

Posted by david on August 2, 2005 at 1:26 PM (PDT)

5

It’s the eraphones that make and transmit the music into your head, not the iPod itself. High quality earphones = rich, high-quality music. I’ve been using Etymotics ER-6’s, approximately equivalent to these, and theyr’e sweet - head and shoulders above the pack-ins.

But I just picked up the Shure E5c’s and - my god! They are AMAZING!!! Of course at $370 (I got a deal) they better be amazing!) As Ramon said, you get what you pay for. And I, for one, will never go back.

Posted by flaco on August 2, 2005 at 2:20 PM (PDT)

6

UE makes those custom earbuds for 600-1000 a pop.  If they can make something similar and keep it around $100, it should be a good deal.  Would love to see the review.

Posted by Rob on August 2, 2005 at 3:49 PM (PDT)

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Once you listen to your ipod thru $100 ear buds, then you’ll understand.

Posted by Fred on August 2, 2005 at 4:58 PM (PDT)

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The sooner you ditch the crap canal phone that came with your ipod & hear a decent set of headphones or canal phones with a headphone amp through the line out, bypassing the ipods crappy headphone jack & volume control, the sooner you will be very happy listening to a major sound improvement.

Posted by mrsfo1234@yahoo.com on August 2, 2005 at 5:57 PM (PDT)

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Anyone have any idea how good these are?  I’ve been wanting a good set of earbuds, but I need them to have excellent bass response.  A friend of mine has the Shure EC3s, and while they sound excellent for most music, I found them extremely lacking for electronic music with a lot of bass.

Posted by theothermike on August 3, 2005 at 4:52 AM (PDT)

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theothermike - I have the Shures and listen to mostly electronic music and they seem OK to me (nowehere near as good as my beloved Sony MDR7506s, but not too bad).

Are/were they seated/sealed properly? The first time I used the Shures (E2C btw) it was with the rubber gromits and they sounded awful. I swapped to the foam ones and they sounded leagues better.

Normally when people don’t like the sound of these type of headphones it’s cos they have them in wrong.

Of course, I could be teaching you to suck eggs though….

Posted by PugRallye on August 3, 2005 at 8:16 AM (PDT)

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I have the ER6i’s and, like EU or Shure, they are superior in so many ways to Apple or in-ear Sony models [anything $20-70]. I can only imagine what you get for $299+!

To get them in properly:
1. Messy option [for some] is to wet them and they slip in quite easily. Clarification: earphones; ear canal.

2. Dry insertion for the right ear [for example], after you get the bud in a ways, use your left fingers to pull your right ear up and back. The earbud will naturally go in a little more.

With some music playing, you will notice an increase in bass with only the slightest additional depth into your ear canal. There is a point also, where the music doesn’t get better.

No matter how well you install them though, when there isn’t any music playing you can hear the wind [as the units are “ventilated”], and you might also hear the cord rustling against your clothing.

If you have Etymotics, be careful not to push them in too far as they’ll be hard to extract. EU and Shure have an angular stem that prevents this.

Posted by TheInstaller on August 3, 2005 at 10:23 AM (PDT)

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I’ll give the EC3’s another try, maybe with the foam gromits like PugRallye suggested.  Really what I’m looking for is the Sony MDR-7506 sound in an ear-bud format.

(good taste BTW PugRallye:)

Posted by theothermike on August 3, 2005 at 5:57 PM (PDT)

13

It would be interesting to read a review of the $100 UE earphones. Their product line is usually in the $600+ range.
I will pretty much echo the sentiments towards the stock pod cans, marginal. The Ety 4Ps were a quantum leap, far better at realizing the pods potential.

Posted by Dave D on August 3, 2005 at 9:58 PM (PDT)

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I’ve had the Shures and Etymotics and got rid of both after I gave this other brand Westone a go.  Got a dual driver that smokes the Shure E5c and cost almost $200 less.  Got the name from a friend of mine in a band. He uses them for stage use as well.

Posted by p0wderh0und23 on August 5, 2005 at 11:56 AM (PDT)