Topic: Best earbud/small headphones? (Read 12391 times)

Koremora · « **on:** 11 Mar 2009, 13:23 »

My iPod headphones decided to get ripped to shit and fall apart on me last week. Any recommendations for new travel-size headphones/buds?

A Shoggoth on the Roof · « **Reply #1 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 13:28 »

the cheapest pair. Like, for serious. If you're looking for something small like that to take around everywhere, they will break eventually, no point in spending a shitload of money. In general though, I'd get an in-ear pair. I dunno, that's just preference for me, really. I'm not sure if I'm just imagining they're better because they seem sort of like earplugs, or if they actually are better.

scarred · « **Reply #2 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 13:45 »

I have a pair of nice Sony buds, great sound quality, like 10 bucks. I wouldn't spend more than that on earbuds.

pulpfiction21 · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 13:50 »

I got a pair of headphones once for $1 at some retailer (can't remember which one). They fucking suck. Spend more then that.

A Shoggoth on the Roof · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 13:54 »

well yea, I guess cheapest pair is a bit misleading. my point was, 10$ ~ish is about what i'd pay for headphones,of course, it's hard to find ones for much less than that at places like best buy. At least, the one near me. I think the idea is don't buy them at a dollar store, and don't spend 80$ for the pretty looking ones with all the fancy 'features' advertised on the box.

pwhodges · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 15:26 »

We just had this thread - here; but it looks like this might be the cheap version.

Sox · « **Reply #6 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 15:50 »

Guys, same as with headphones, you get what you pay for and good earbuds last longer than shitty earbuds. I think people who say "all earbuds are shitty, so buy the cheapest" are just being kinda ignorant. Earbuds do have advantages and there are some surprisingly good buds out there.
Back when I would buy cheap phillips/sony/apple earbuds, they would break every month or two. First time I bought a £30 set of sennheiser earbuds, they sounded significantly better, looked significantly nicer, and have lasted well over a year. The superior quality earbuds allowed me to use less than a quarter of my mp3 players max volume, whereas with other buds I would crank it all the way up to hear it in noise polluted environments. Turning the volume down probably saves some power too, as well as your hearing.
My sister went through three sets of skull candy earbuds in less than two months. I think they're a terrible brand and that people are only paying to wear a skull in their ears. Don't buy Skull candy headphones.
Try the ?20-?30 range. You can get good earbuds for that price, and anybody who says otherwise is probably either an elitist jerk or has never bothered to try a good pair.

Remember to treat your earbuds with a decent amount of care. It still amazes me when people who wrap their buds really tightly around their mp3 players with knots in them complain that they stop working.

Radical AC · « **Reply #7 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 15:55 »

Skull Candy makes some awesome ear buds. My friend has a pair and with them in and not on I can't hear anything else. The sound quality is great. I prefer over the ear headphones, but their buds are decent and they have a wide price range depending on what you are looking for.

eddie · « **Reply #8 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 15:57 »

Quote from: scarred on 11 Mar 2009, 13:45

I have a pair of nice Sony buds, great sound quality, like 10 bucks. I wouldn't spend more than that on earbuds.

I agree with this statement

A Shoggoth on the Roof · « **Reply #9 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 16:21 »

I'm not saying all earbuds are shitty, I'm just saying I don't really see the need for the nicer ones. The one nice pair I've had lasted about as long as the rest of mine (well, a little longer, but still, maybe 7 or 8 months at the most). Really the problem is it seems like none of them can survive over a year when they're in my pants pocket for the majority of most days. I dunno, I don't wind them around my ipod, and I never leave them plugged into it when it's in my pants, so I can't think of any other reason they'd keep breaking. (I lied) Theory: my pockets are not big enough. I mean seriously, I don't wear tight pants, but it takes me way too long to pull my phone out of them because I can't fit my hand in my tight-ass pockets.

The other thing is I've got a nice pair of headphones, I just don't carry them around. So I see my earbuds as sort of secondary to them.

Koremora · « **Reply #10 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 16:23 »

Skull Candy eh? I'll check that out. Thanks

pwhodges · « **Reply #11 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 17:35 »

OK, my Etymotic ER-4Ps were seriously expensive, but they are of studio monitor quality (which matters to me), pretty tough, and really secure and comfortable in the ear. They also have a 2-year warranty which is backed up by excellent service. (I have tried their cheaper ER-6s, but found them uncomfortable, and they have a thin cable that tangles.) They stay on my player all the time; the player is on my belt, and the phones cable comes up inside my shirt and is held by a clip (supplied) at the neck - if I am not using them, they just dangle neatly, or I popthem inside my jumper to keep them out of the way.

Catacombs · « **Reply #12 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 18:42 »

I agree with Paul, Etymotic makes great buds. I own a pair of their sound isolating, in-ear ER-6i's. They have a great sound and keep outside noise out while keeping your music in. They have a clip which is useful to keep track of the wire and a little pouch to take care of them while you're not using them. However, the cable is thinner than I would like, but not so thin that I expect them to break quickly. They go for $150 US according to their website but i found mine on amazon.com for $68 US.

orangepeas · « **Reply #13 on:** 11 Mar 2009, 19:16 »

Sony is awesome and they are relatively inexpensive. Apple should really stop supplying those cheap sounding,breakable white things with the ipod, they are useless.

valley_parade · « **Reply #14 on:** 12 Mar 2009, 07:05 »

I've gone through maybe four or five pair of Smokin' Buds in the past two years, but I love them.

edwinalink · « **Reply #15 on:** 12 Mar 2009, 07:15 »

i destroy buds regularly, which is good cause it keeps my sony studios nice.

skull candy Ink's are 16 bucks, and mine are hot pink... sound fantastic for the price range. but I've never heard enough of a differance between those and the FMJ's to warrant spending an additional 60 dollars!

iamiam · « **Reply #16 on:** 12 Mar 2009, 15:39 »

What the hell do you guys do with your earbuds that causes them to break every couple months? The ones that came with my ipod lasted for 2 years until I finally lost them. Now I have a pair of cheap skull candy earbuds (they were on sale for $10?) that I got 6 months ago and they are still going strong. It's not like the sound quality is the absolute greatest but when I am just walking around with my ipod I don't really give a shit or notice too much of a difference.

Koremora · « **Reply #17 on:** 12 Mar 2009, 22:00 »

Yeah, I dunno how you guys break earbuds so fast. Hell, I had the shitty iPod ones for 2+ years and they just now broke on me!

I think I'm gonna pick up the Smokin' Buds; they're fairly cheap and from what you guys are saying they have good sound quality and noise cancellation(?).

edwinalink · « **Reply #18 on:** 12 Mar 2009, 23:37 »

i dunno. i had a pair of smoking buds a while ago, and for 14 bucks more than the ink's, i couldnt really tell a differance.

but they are prettier, and they DO have bigger drivers.

and if you can still find some with the plastic case instead of that stupid bag, I'd say go for it.

PS.

ignore most of the negativity on skullcandy though. they're trendy, so of course hating them is too! a lot of the complaints are either total lies or "princess and the pea" stories.

they aint perfect though. and they are a bit overpriced if you dont know where to look.

but i live near the US factory. so i get killer deals!

Sox · « **Reply #19 on:** 13 Mar 2009, 02:24 »

iPod earbuds are great. Not the in-ear ones, the ones that come with iPods out of the box. There's very little range, but they let all sound leak in, are pretty loud, and durable as hell. Great if you want to listen to music AND the world around you.
Things I've learned from this thread:

*Paul knows his stuff, and I'm gonna start asking him for help with my studio assignments.
*iPod earbuds last longer than more expensive, nicer sounding earbuds.
*Skullcandies break a lot and aren't cheap, but you guys inexplicably love them anyway.
*A fair few of you treat your buds like trash and ruin them pretty quickly.
*Etymotic for great quality buds, Sennheiser if you can't afford it.

Sox · « **Reply #20 on:** 13 Mar 2009, 06:53 »

Skullcandy headphones have two things going for them. They're insanely pretty and have a nice dynamic range. Both features, except maybe for the bright colours, are matched and even exceeded by competitor brands that last a LOT longer.
A guy on my course at college had his first skullcandy headphones snapped in two, the morning he bought them because his tutor lifted one ear off his head at a slightly awkward angle. He got a replacement at the store, they died at the jack a just a few months later. He bought the same pair again. This was 3 months ago, I'm waiting for the third pair to break so I might finally convince him that he'd be better off buying a better brand.

I use a pair of Sony MDR-V4 headphones. I don't know how old they are, but my dad says "older than you". They work perfectly. The modern equivalent is about £55. These are not expensive headphones. But they last. When a guys goes through 3 pairs of £130 skullcandies in less than 6 months (two down, one to go) you know you're looking at shitty headphones. I don't hold out much hope for their cheaper earbuds, which from what I have seen are far more likely to get destoyed very quickly.

Headphones and earbuds are supposed to last for years. Even decades. They're often not that expensive. If you accept earbuds or headphones with a high rate of failure that break easily, and continue to purchase them for any sum of money each time they do, then you are not sensible. That is all I have to say on that matter.

pwhodges · « **Reply #21 on:** 13 Mar 2009, 07:13 »

That said, the cables of any phones can rather easily get heavily strained at the ends, and even good ones may get a break in the wire after a lot of flexing. Decent phones (Beyer, the more upmarket Sennheisers, Etymotic EM4, and presumably some other makes) can have the cable replaced at a fraction of the price of a new unit.

IronOxide · « **Reply #22 on:** 13 Mar 2009, 07:27 »

Yeah, I don't think I've ever lost a pair of headphones to anything other than wire damage. The thing that was most disappointing was that my cheap Sennheisers despite having a length of cable that could hardly be described as much other than 'copious', leaving me to believe I could cut out a couple inches from the wire and resoldering it in, the wires are glued in and secured inside of the can, making them all but immovable.

Which phones would you recommend with removable cables for that kind of wear? (if you have any experience with them)

pwhodges · « **Reply #23 on:** 13 Mar 2009, 07:44 »

There are so many models now, that I have no idea which have replaceable cables. Even the Sennheiser site doesn't say*, as far as I can looking at phones I know have them. But I guess none of the cheap ones, as having a plug and socket is a perceptible manufacturing expense

* Not consistently; but some have "weight without cable" in the technical data, or "detachable cable" in the features - e.g. the HD-485 for ~$70

Catacombs · « **Reply #24 on:** 14 Mar 2009, 05:36 »

At certain times, I don't mind using the iPod buds. They provide music and at the same time I am able to hear what's going around me, so they work for walking to class or hanging with friends. If I'm going to be at a loud place but want to concentrate on my music, like a train or walking thru the city, I'll wear my in-ear buds. It's amazing how much I have to turn up the volume on my iPod Touch when I have the iPod buds in (and the iPod buds always like to fall out of my left ear for reasons unknown).

I like to think I take excellent care of my things, but I have had the same thing happen to three different pairs of the iPod earbuds. After several months of use (or in the case of the last pair, four) one of the buds just come apart. I doubt it's something I'm doing but the buds seem to detach in pieces, with the part with the wire connected to it in one hand and the part with the silver on it in the other hand, and the insides of the little speaker in between. It kind of pisses me off (now that I think of it, I should have brought them back to the Apple Store to see if they would replace them, since every instance has been under a year, but oh well).

look out! Ninjas! · « **Reply #25 on:** 14 Mar 2009, 19:42 »

Koss KSC75's.
They're an over-the-ear thing that clip on. Brilliant sound quality, miles ahead of what you get with the ipod ones.
And about $25.

the Goat · « **Reply #26 on:** 26 Mar 2009, 23:25 »

I went to Target and picked up a pair for $10. I don't remember what kind they are, but they're made by Phillips and they're pretty great for a $10 set of ear buds. Good bass response and decent articulation across the spectrum. The only problem is that they're not especially comfortable, but, then again, neither is any other pair of ear buds.

jeph · « **Reply #27 on:** 26 Mar 2009, 23:59 »

If you've got a couple hundo the fancy Shure in-ears are really nice.

Honestly though I'd sooner spend $30 on iPod in-ears and drop the remaining $170 on a good pair of Sennheiser cans.

Trollstormur · « **Reply #28 on:** 27 Mar 2009, 10:29 »

Quote from: jeph on 26 Mar 2009, 23:59

If you've got a couple hundo the fancy Shure in-ears are really nice.

Honestly though I'd sooner spend $30 on iPod in-ears and drop the remaining $170 on a chick with a good pair of Sennheiser cans.

ifyp

Koremora · « **Reply #29 on:** 27 Mar 2009, 12:39 »

I went ahead and spent the 25~ dollars on Skullcandies. They are definately far better sound quality across the board than the iPod buds, and they're pretty comfortable too. Haven't had any problems so far. Definitely a good pair of cheap earbuds.

Sox · « **Reply #30 on:** 30 Mar 2009, 03:17 »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G60hM1W_mk

Plug in your headphones and watch this video at normal listening volume. At your age Jens, you should be able to hear between...20hz to 18khz? I'm not sure, I think that's pretty good hearing for our age range. I suspect you won't hear frequencies above 15khz because you are deaf as a post from listening to Black Flag at insane volumes. I can't hear above 17khz myself.

el_loco_avs · « **Reply #31 on:** 30 Mar 2009, 09:49 »

I got to 14 on shitty headphones

eddie · « **Reply #32 on:** 30 Mar 2009, 13:22 »

Quote from: Jeans on 12 Mar 2009, 16:18

Typical usage: I wear them like... eight hours per day? depending on the amount of independent work at school, and whether or not I'm at home afterwards. If I have to look presentable I tuck them in my pocket, otherwise I just leave them dangling out my shirt collar.

8 hours a day?! You're gunna do your ear drums some serious damage listening to through headphones that much.

pwhodges · « **Reply #33 on:** 01 Apr 2009, 08:56 »

Headphones/buds are not inherently more dangerous than any other kind of listening. However, particularly with the sound proof ones, where you have no other noises (or bass vibrations on the skin) to act as reference, there is a real possibility that you can misjudge the volume and ramp it up to a dangerously high level. It is good practice to listen at the lowest level that you find satisfying.

Remember people, hearing damage is cumulative and irrecoverable. Be careful - it's the only chance you get.

pwhodges · « **Reply #34 on:** 01 Apr 2009, 09:13 »

Listening at a lower volume is possible, and so safer - this is a real advantage of this kind of earbud; I was only warning of a possibility of going the other way for those who don't think about it. A way of judging the volume could be to play stuff at a decent volume on some speakers and simultaneously play something else using one bud - you can then judge when the volumes in your two ears are similar, and you will know a sensible setting. Of course, if the isolation then enables you to use a lower setting happily, so much the better.

KickThatBathProf · « **Reply #35 on:** 01 Apr 2009, 09:49 »

Quote from: Sox on 30 Mar 2009, 03:17

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G60hM1W_mk

Plug in your headphones and watch this video at normal listening volume. At your age Jens, you should be able to hear between...20hz to 18khz? I'm not sure, I think that's pretty good hearing for our age range. I suspect you won't hear frequencies above 15khz because you are deaf as a post from listening to Black Flag at insane volumes. I can't hear above 17khz myself.

I am sad now. I couldn't hear above 11

pwhodges · « **Reply #36 on:** 01 Apr 2009, 10:40 »

I got very strange results with this (or my ears are worse than I thought!). I have some decent test signals that actually mean something - I'll try to find them and put them up later. And do the tests myself (they take a while).

EDIT:

OK, found it. Here is the web page describing the tests and how to use them. And the following link is to a rip of the CD in Flac format (it's split into directories, so you'll need to think slightly to make a CD if you need to):

Code: [Select]

http://www.mediafire.com/?iinyoedndwi
They also provide a range of online tests.

LittleKey · « **Reply #37 on:** 01 Apr 2009, 22:57 »

Damn, I only got to 13. This annoys me, because I almost always take care not to play my music too loud.

Sox · « **Reply #38 on:** 02 Apr 2009, 02:09 »

I doubt much is happening in your music above 17/18khz anyway, so you're probably not missing out on too much?

KickThatBathProf · « **Reply #39 on:** 02 Apr 2009, 08:54 »

It seems I am the most deaf of anyone around here

Darkbluerabbit · « **Reply #40 on:** 05 Apr 2009, 06:11 »

All I know about hearing is that I can hear that annoying ringing sound when televisions are left on. I used to be able to hear the TV left on downstairs from my upstairs bedroom, but luckily my hearing is going bad now. Also I don't live at my parents anymore, so it doesn't matter.

I can't buy decent headphones because my cat will eventually eat them. Even if I take the best care of them, he's been known to pull them out of my backpack and chew through the cord. He used to do this to all cords, but now it's pretty much limited to headphones. My cat is an evil bastard, but I love him anyways.

I have discovered these. I bought a pair for a few bucks at a TJMaxx, and found what are basically my perfect headphones. They are so comfortable that I sometimes forget that I'm wearing them. I am a bit of a "Princess and the Pea" headphone buyer, but I have really small ear canals. Really, the tiniest earbuds with the tiniest rubber bit still don't fit in my ears. These phones are lovely and just sit gently outside your ear canal. They must be pretty durable too, because I had one pair last over a year before my cat finally got to them.

Harun · « **Reply #41 on:** 05 Apr 2009, 07:53 »

WHAT?

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Best earbud/small headphones? (Read 12391 times)