Best Earbuds?

[cheapherk]

Looking to by quality earbuds. Any suggestions?

 

[Taejin]

Price range?

If you're looking for serious starting-to-approach-audiophile-quality earbuds to audiophile earbuds, I would suggest looking at the line of earbuds these two companies have to offer: Shure and Etymotic.


I currently own a pair of Shure e3c's. They cost me 120, and they are 180 retail.

Btw, if you've caught the bug, sorry to your wallet

 

[PELarson]

Originally posted by: cheapherk
Looking to by quality earbuds. Any suggestions?

Great earbuds.... super price!

 

[BlueWeasel]

Originally posted by: PELarson

Originally posted by: cheapherk
Looking to by quality earbuds. Any suggestions?

Great earbuds.... super price!

I picked up the Sennheiser MX550 earbuds at Circuit City a few weeks ago, and I'm amazed at the difference when compared to the earbuds that came with my MP3 player. While I'm sure they don't sound as well as the $100+ earbuds, they sound great for a $20 set.

 

[EngenZerO]

shure e2c earphones

they have some killer sound... i wish i could have gotten the e3c... but maybe someday...

they come with 6 different types of fitting so you can get a very nice seal in your canal... right now i am using the small silicon tips. once you get a good seal... wow... the bass and sound is phenomenal...

my shures

 

[cheapherk]

Originally posted by: Taejin
I currently own a pair of Shure e3c's. They cost me 120, and they are 180 retail.

Whoa... $180 earbuds. If I could afford them, I'd probably be too afraid to use them. I didn't have a price range until now. I guess my price range would be $30 or<

 

[Taejin]

For 35 dollars, you can get an excellent pair of Sony MDR-EX71SL. (amazon.com)

They're 50 retail, but amazon manages to sell them cheaper.

I owned the Sony's for about a year and a half. They were excellent! I still have my pair, and my sister uses them. I would try to give you a review of what they are like - but if you are a newbie to the earbud/canalphone scene, just take my word for it and try them ^_~.

EDIT: By my previous paragraph, I was relaying my own experience - I never knew earbuds could sound so good! I really had no clue what canalphones are like compared to regular earbuds

 

[TalonOP]

If you change your mind about the $30 price range, I second the Shure E3cs. Great sound isolation and awsome sound production.

 

[EngenZerO]

i just want to mention the reason why i chose the shure e2c was due to bass response.

the shure e3c are known for better highs and mids and a more tighter bass (more accurate).

the shure e2c have a louder bass but suffer in quality of mids and highs (some say muddy).

you can bring the e2c mids and highs out a little more with some equalization. i actually love the sound of my e2c and am waiting paitently for when i can jump on the e5c.

 

[Banana]

Originally posted by: Taejin
For 35 dollars, you can get an excellent pair of Sony MDR-EX71SL. (amazon.com)

They're 50 retail, but amazon manages to sell them cheaper.

I owned the Sony's for about a year and a half. They were excellent! I still have my pair, and my sister uses them. I would try to give you a review of what they are like - but if you are a newbie to the earbud/canalphone scene, just take my word for it and try them ^_~.

:thumbsup:

 

[WobbleWobble]

Originally posted by: Banana

Originally posted by: Taejin
For 35 dollars, you can get an excellent pair of Sony MDR-EX71SL. (amazon.com)

They're 50 retail, but amazon manages to sell them cheaper.

I owned the Sony's for about a year and a half. They were excellent! I still have my pair, and my sister uses them. I would try to give you a review of what they are like - but if you are a newbie to the earbud/canalphone scene, just take my word for it and try them ^_~.

:thumbsup:

:thumbsup:

 

[Bojangles139]

i just picked up a pair of Sony MDR-J11G. i love the fit of them. sound quality is good as i can tell. i dislike buds, and these just sorta stick in your ear and don't touch the ear, the clip supports them. simply put, very very very comfortable for me.

brandon

 

[everman]

Etymotic is supposed to be one of the best.

 

[yhelothar]

Check buy.com.
The Shure e2c can be had for $55 or so.. Stretching your budget a bit, but they're definitely the best earbuds you can get for that price.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: everman
Etymotic is supposed to be one of the best.

I've used Etymotic ER4S exclusively with my portable electronics for 5 years. So far, no problems at all - not one discontinuity. I used to get discontinuity problems with all my portable headphones and periodically had to replace the cords. So far so good with the Ety's. They are pricey but I think they are way worth it. More comfortable than any other portable headphone solution I've ever used by far. Much better isolation (blocks outside sound). Extra good on subways, planes, in the gym - anywhere there's noise. The fidelity is excellent. I'm not saying they're the best bang for the buck because I haven't compared them with their competition, but I did a bunch of research 5 years ago, wanting something that sounded good and was very good at blocking out ambient sound. I sprung for the Etymotics after seeing a bunch of positive posts on an audiophile newsgroup: rec.audio.high-end.

If you get the Etymotics (there's a few models) you can probably get a better deal at www.headroom.com than ordering direct from Etymotic Research. FYI.

 

[ROJAS]

A lot of good information on the Shure earbuds. Thanks alot members. I've been thinking of biting the big one and get top of the line(E5) Shure's.

I just don't know if my old ears would tell the difference from the E3's.

 

[nyarrgh]

I'm still using my old koss "plugs" that I bought for 13$ when I jog. When I'm on a plane I used to use the Sony NC-11 (canal type earbud too) which I have since upgraded to a Bose Quietcomfort II (not an earbud)

 

[csrx]

Shure E4c or Sony EX71's.
I'd pass on the shure e3c and e2c.

 

[EngenZerO]

Originally posted by: csrx
Shure E4c or Sony EX71's.
I'd pass on the shure e3c and e2c.

e4c aren't even out yet. LOL...

 

[Spike]

I have the Sony MDR-EX51LP, they are like $25 from buy.com and I LOVE them. Not sure what the difference is between these and the MDR-EX71SL, but if you want the EX71SL's they are $34.99 at buy.com.

Again, I don't know the differnce but my EX51LP's have awesome bass for buds, block out about all exterior sound, and are great all around for gaming and MP3's. Now I am no audiphile, merely someone who enjoys music and games so take what I say with a grain of salt. The only 'problem' I have with them is that they block out ALL noise so I can't wear them at work as I can't hear my phone ring, even when the music volume is as low as it goes.

-spike

 

[Gurck]

Stay away from Sony, learn from others' mistakes, not your own. With your budget I'd suggest the less expensive Sennheisers.

 

[SeTeS]

I'm sure the Shure's are nice, but do yourself a favor and pick up a pair of Koss "The Plug"s. I've been using them for quite a while and they totally kick arse. Bear in mind that they are total isolation earbuds, in that you use them just like you would hearing protection type earplugs... roll them in your fingers to compress the foam, stick them in your ear canal and they will expand and sonically seal you off from hearing nearly anything but what your plugged in to. Great for airplane travel.

I just bought a couple of extras from provantage.com for under 8 bucks a pair.

 

[TheKlopper]

I found two places to get replacement silicone pieces for the Sony MDREX71SL headphones. http://servicesales.sel.sony.com/web/productSearch.do and http://www.partsolver.com/sitemap/sony/mdrex71sl/ .