What earbuds for ipod?

[Pl8er 5,000+ posts]

ah a topic worth posting in.
Ok, here are my thoughts:

Shure (i've had the E2's and the E4's for the past 3 years). They are very durable headphones, almost nothing will hurt or damage them, so if your clumsy, then they are good for you. They are EXTREMELY accurate as far as single driver headphones are, but they aren't exactly "club type" speakers, meaning your not going to get the good thump.

Vmoda: very club like. They aren't as accurate as my E4's but the Vibe Duo's I have are much more bassy and club like, meaning emphasis on low end. They aren't crazy or anything, Don't expect insane levels of bass, but they are very nice speakers that are just fun to listen to you. With the shures, its like you are listening for accurate reproduction. with the duo's, your listening for fun.

Sony: Very bassy. They are a little more shrill and it seems like they are recessed in midrange, so they don't exactly have the best reproduction qualities like shure...They are extremely bassy so if you interested in lots of bass you should go for the 51 or 71 type.

Apple: I hate their headphones. My friend used to have the in-ear style that look like the white sony 51's, and they sound like shit. Horribly shrill and almost no bass reproduction.

Hope that helps.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/clap.gif.178cba2c538c68e720c727fcb024b19c.gif

Yes, well said. Shure is the way to go in my opinion. UE are VERY good too, but for an ipod, i would go with Shure. I used the E2C for about a year and a half every day going from work to the gym then at the gym (when on my bike) and they finally gave out from me bending them in the cold. I then upgraded to a newer pair that replaced the E2C.

BE WARNED. They are very regularly copied on eBay. If the price is really good, its most likely NOT a real pair. But my favorite headphones.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Ok, FIRST visit these two sites...

http://www.head-fi.org/

Like caraudio.com, but for headphones. Browse first, then ask question if need be. They also have a classifieds.

http://www.headphone.com/

Great site for reviews on all types of headphones.

I would recommnd IEM's for portability, isolation, and any resemblance in actual bass. You MUST make sure you get a proper seal with them in order to benefit from the bass output.

I personally like anything made by Etymotic Research, and have heard good things about UE's (Ultimate Ears), and JAYS. I like Ety's because they are VERY accurate, one of the best SQ IEM's...

http://www.etymotic.com/Default.aspx

They are designed and engineering by Audio Engineers and Audiologists. Come with a variety of tips, and replacement filters.

Watch their information video in the bottom left of the home page.

Even if you don't get Ety's, but plan on getting IEM's watch their TUTORIAL on how to attain a proper seal.

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/epinsertvideo.aspx

Look into the er6 Series...Or Etymotic was the designer/buildhouse for the Altec Lansing iM series... I personally own the Altec iM716 and LOVE them. They have an inline volume control which is questionable at whether I like at times, if you want a straight up set without the inline volume control check out the iM616.

Amazon is a good place to check prices.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=im616&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=2519457557&ref=pd_sl_16aerkoxwf_b

nG

 

[Eugenics 5,000+ posts]

Is this a joke?Are people actually arguing over which 7mm speakers give the most bass?

IMHO I would stick with the factory iPod ear buds. As much as people keep saying they get more bass with EarCandy or Shure (I've tried both) I think they are wrong. As far as I could tell there was not any lower frequencies but there was more sound pressure in my ear canal. That is due to rubber tips that seal inside your ear. If you sealed the iPod earbuds you would have the same effect.

Nobody mentions the downfall of these rubber tips:

They completely block off the outside world. You are clueless as to what is happening around you while you ride, jog, walk, etc. The constant pressure from the rubber tips would physically hurt my ears after a half hour or so as well. To me there wasn't more bass, just more boom. I could never find an eq setting on the iPod to tone down the "over boosting" of the bass.

Save yourself 100 bucks and stick with the factory earbuds...they are earbuds playing MP3's for God's sake...hardly audiophile territory.

i sure as hell dont know where the bass comments are coming from. i would describe the output as just enough. if you want a lot of bass, you will be dissapointed.

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

Those ETy look pretty badass

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Those ETy look pretty badass

Yessir. My iM716 even have a switch for HD or BASS mode. HD = high definition, meaning true accurate SQ sound. Switch to BASS for a little added bass response.

nG

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

hmm i might try them out to compare them to the Vibes.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Some other IEM's may have more output, or boosted areas... but after much research I chose Ety's for accuracy... they even claim on their site "Highest frequency response accuracy of all in-the-ear earphones, by a significant margin." Which I believe because of their objective testing facilities.

To me, they did have a "burn-in" period... I can't imagine using shitty earbuds ever again...

nG

 

[mcsoul 10+ year member]

I just purchased these Sennheiser's:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826159415

They sound so good I can't believe it. I would never buy "buds".

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

I just purchased these Sennheiser's:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826159415

They sound so good I can't believe it. I would never buy "buds".

So, they're open? AKA, everyone around you can hear everything you're listening to?

nG

 

[mcsoul 10+ year member]

So, they're open? AKA, everyone around you can hear everything you're listening to?
nG

That's true, you can get closed, but they are heavier. I'm really happy

with these, the bass is really good for such a small set.

Ear buds are uncomfortable and don't sound as good to me and they actually

tend to fall out of my right ear.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

That's true, you can get closed, but they are heavier. I'm really happywith these, the bass is really good for such a small set.

Ear buds are uncomfortable and don't sound as good to me and they actually

tend to fall out of my right ear.

That's why you don't get BUDS... lol. I don't like them either...

IEM's are where it's at for portability and isolation. You hear so much more sound... no outside/ambient noise.

nG

 

[audiobahnuser18 5,000+ posts]

Thanks for all the help guys I really appericate all the information/opinions. Here's what I've leveled out so far.

The shures: really really nice but wayyyy over my budget

The bose in ear bud ones: actually listened to em at target I was very dissapointed with them nowhere near close to bose actual speakers like quality wise.

Jvc marshmellows: turns out friend of mine I work with had em I listed 2 em today there OK for the price , not all that great though.

V-moda buds: saw em on ebay for $20 free shipping there in my budget and I just keep hearing good about them.

V-moda vibes: little bit more expensive but might save up 4 em and get em. I saw mega's but was wondering how much they were don't see em on ebay like that at all?.

Sonys buds: HATE EM

Skull candys: decent for the price but don't last for some reason one of the ears tend to actually go out and not work anymore. Cheap design maybe idk.

Any more info you'd like to add , opinions etc....lmk guys this is just what I've come up with some far

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

hey MikeyB lmk how u like those man. especially with the bass response in em

Will do //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

$100 at the time. They are much cheaper now I think around $60-$70. They are the Vmoda Vibe. Not the Vmoda Bass freq(dont buy that)
btw the difference between the vmoda vibe and the vibe duo is a microphone for the iphone.

noise isolating is downfall? WOW //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif what were they thinking.

yes it is true they are in ear giving a seal to give more bass, but the vmodas arent boomy in bad way like the oem ipod headphones are, but i agree they give a little more bass then most people have the taste for. The oem ipod headphones dont extend as low as the Vmodas, due to people would blow them fast.. There are foam tips you can buy to replace those rubber tips if you dont like the way they sit in your ear. It was uncomfortable at first for me to use the rubber tips to, but i got use to them. My ears never started to hurt though.

the Shures dont extend as low, they were geared towards old people they have a steep slope around 80hz iirc (atleast the around the $100 range shures)

Just wondering, but why dont you recommend them Mega? Since I just bought some Im curious to know.

Im not out to spend a bunch of money on some ear buds, but I figured I could use some different ones rather than the stupid i-pod ones that start hurting my ears. Just looking for something cheap and comfortable really.

 

[B_Campbell 10+ year member]

I have some shure e110, they are good, but the bass is not quite as loud as it was on my skullcandy buds I got for $20, they sound a hell of alot better and cancel out alot more noise though.

 

[eggyhustles 10+ year member]

when i have to take the train i use the denon ah-c551k with the comply foam tips..both came out to about 70 bucks and i hear they're the best iems in that price range

edit..if you guys aren't hearing the bass with the iems you probably don't have them on right..or the tips are too big..