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Earbuds

S

stockcerts

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 29, 2007
1,307
31
Pensacola, FL
This topic could probably go in several forums here, but since I just bought a Touch...here goes!

Until I recently bought my Touch I was using a second generation Nano with the traditional style headphones that sit outside of the ear, they were Sony's and cost about $20-.

Since getting my Touch I've been using the Apple provided earbuds. Last night I tried my old Sony headphones and I think the sound quality is better on the Sony's. Like I mentioned above, the Sony headphones are not high-end, but I think they sound better.

I'm not too knowledgeable about specs when it comes to headphones, but I would be interested to hear what my fellow Touch users think of the quality of the provided earbuds, and what other headphones they might be using in lieu of the buds.
 
Apple's earbuds are fine, but in comparison to practically any other pair of headphones/earbuds you buy anywhere else for say $20 or more, they'll certainly be higher quality in comparison. Ever since the first iPod many people have complained about the low quality of the Apple earbuds, and even up to the new ones that come with all the new iPods, nothing has changed.
 
Any earbud is generally going to suck. The only time you will see any improvement is if you opt for the in-ear phones. These going into your ear canal and produce a much higher quality sound and usually much more bass response if so desired. Headphone.com has some really great reviews and you can search by price level, headphone/earphone style, and other characteristics.
 
OrangeCuse44 said:
Any earbud is generally going to suck. The only time you will see any improvement is if you opt for the in-ear phones. These going into your ear canal and produce a much higher quality sound and usually much more bass response if so desired. Headphone.com has some really great reviews and you can search by price level, headphone/earphone style, and other characteristics.
Click to expand...


Thanks, that's very good to know. I would be interested to hear from more people with their take on headphones and which ones they like and use.
 
If you search the forums, plenty of discussions have evolved about headphones. One thing is for sure, the Apple buds are bad and people will let you know it.
 
I have the Bose Quiet Comfort headphones, which rock. I also have some smaller Apple in-ear headphones for when I don't want to carry the big ones around, and they are actually quite good.

They look like this:

53088.jpg
 
Shure SCL2: Best earphones ever. Formerly called the E2C. I think if you search for e2c instead of SCL2 you can get them for about $50 for some reason. They sound so incredible. I used to have those Bose ones but I have to say, they kind of sucked. Just didn't sound so great. I think bose is kind of a scam...

anyways, you should look into them.
 
For even the most minimally active person, with in-ear buds I have two issues

1) Don't they fall out alot?

2) Don't they crush your inner ear architecture when your tunes are cranked to 11?

Over the ear headsets rule!
 
rascal2u said:
1) Don't they fall out alot?

2) Don't they crush your inner ear architecture when your tunes are cranked to 11?
Click to expand...

1) It might depend on the shape of your ears. Some people complain about the apple in-ear buds falling out when they blink. Mine are able to suspend a nano if I drop it.

2) I suspect one of the reasons I prefer the in-ears (and don't notice their apparently substandard audio quality) is because I spent the decade pre-iPod crushing my inner ear structure with regular headphones.:confused:
 
About the Grados: They sure are amazing, but they are open back headphones, meaning some of the sound reproduced its projected outside the ear-cups annoying people in the vicinity. The best ones for in-home to (ps Lost Eden don't even bother in getting into this again:mad:)

There are several brands you might wanna check: AKG, Koss, Bose, Senheisser, Audio Technica. I will recommend either Bose or Audio Technica.

-Victor
 
I tried upgrading my Apple earbuds by getting a pair of the in ear ones. It came with three different sizes of the little rubber pieces and I couldn't get any of them in my ear. I never could with those so I always preferred the kind like what Apple provides.
 
I use Sony Street-Style, which go behind the ears. They are not super high quality, but they sound better than the Apple earbuds.

Also, the apple earbuds always fall out of my ears. I don't understand how they stay in place for anyone. I guess my earholes are small.
 
I have a pair of se310 and they sound great. Go check out headfi like someone metioned and do some reading over there.

I have only ever dealt with shure myself. My sister has a pair of Etymotic er-6i and they sound nice. There is not as much base from the Etymotic's but the sound is crisp and clear.

Shure
Super.fi
Westone
Etymotic

If your willing to spend a little money you will not regret it. I can hear things in music that i never knew was there.
 
Yeah, after I got my shure e2c's I was able to hear so much more in the music, from hearing each instrument more clearly, to other things like drum pedals squeaking.
 
I have a pair of E2C's and:

They're incredibly good for drumming along with (especially in the environment that I drum in, my garage) but perform best with zero motion, and quiet. They sound marginally better in a silent room than a loud garage, but sound better than Apple's regardless.

It all depends on what you need from your iPod.
 
earbuds: do not suck

apple earbuds are not the best, but for included buds they are among the better ones. that said, i have never used them after getting an ipod other than just to test them. i don't like them.

you could as the person who said they suck mentioned, go for in ears, but the phones that person mentioned are not known for being that good if you are indeed searching for good phones. if you want cheap and above average, go for the shures.

as for earbuds, you could go for a yuin pk1, pk2 or pk3 that vary in expense from pk1 at 129$ usd or a little higher and pk3 about the same as the shures. the pk series are developed by a high-end earbud manufacturer and some have commented that they sound as good as proper headphones that cost near 200$ such as sennheiser's legendary hd580. i doubt they scale that far and they also need an amplifier to really get going, but earbuds do not 'suck'.

i have been using 'in ears' for years now and most sound decent, but basically just because with a good seal, you get bass whereas with a bud, bass is very hard to hear as they not powered by big drivers and leak too much. the in ears i have used are from the lowly creative ep630 and sony ex51 to the high end shure e500, westone um2 and now my all-time favourite, the futuresonics m5. the shures are the most expensive at above 300$ usd and the westones just below that where as the atrio cost 130$ to 200$ depending on dealer and sound wonderful.

all in-ears have a problem except for ety er4s and er4p and maybe the new jays q-jays: hiss. any portable except for maybe md and i have heard the zune, hiss quite a bit. you cannot hear it with power hungry headphones or buds, but with iems and canalphones, it is annoying. right now, i use the atrio as iems and for canalphones, the denon c700. both hiss from my ipods, but the atrio are not as sensitive and hiss only a little from my ipod nano 3g and from the touch just a little more. the denon are very sensitive at 104-106db and 16ohm and will hiss at anything. the westone, um2 etc will hiss even more.

while you can get better small earphones, canalphones and iems, they have their tradeoffs: hiss/sound quality. if you just want decent earbuds, put the muffs on the apple buds and they should sound a bit better as well as help keep your hearing just a bit better.

i also would suggest against taking recommendations like this blindly: if you have the chance, test yourself. you could drop 300$ on a 'great' iem or 150$ on the yuin to find you do not really like them or do not like that you have to use an amp to control the hiss.

the shure e2c mentioned above is a fine 'canalphone' but it is not in anyway near the top of how sound can come from your ipod.
 
I've been using Sensaphonics 2X-S IEMs for a couple of years now (cost about $1100USD when I got them) and recently tried the Apple earbuds for the first time ever.

Wow.

Obviously there are worlds of difference between the two, but the earbuds that come with the Touch are just fine for casual listening. I think they're much worse for your ears (I end up having to turn the music up MUCH louder than I have to with my Sensaphonics because the Apple earbuds let so much ambient noise in) but they're not all that bad, I think. Just my two cents' ... ;)
 
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