Earphone/bud recommendation

[Mrteatime]

Hi, I'm looking for some high quality earpieces to use with my 60gb ipod. I have some specific requirements - firstly, I live in the UK if that makes a difference. Anyway, here goes:

They have to be very durable. I use them in the gym so I'm bouncing up and down, cycling, running about, etc... I want them to stay on or in my ears. I don't want the wires to be flimsy or easily breakable either.

As good sound quality as possible.

In-ear headphones seem to be the best bet... I sometimes use them whilst cycling with a cycle helmet, so something that latches over the top of my head isn't practical as the helmet wouldn't fit then.

Any recommendations? I'm prepared to pay for some high quality ones if they exist.

Thanks.

[feh1325]

iems are very bad for gym use
you will hear your heart pumping, feet hitting the ground, and noises such as that

also, cycling with iem's isn't very safe either, you can't hear oncoming traffic or honking

i recommend either a clip on or streetstyle headphone

koss ksc 75 or sportapros
both contain the same, legendary 60 ohm driver and the even more impressive koss lifetime warranty

[HumanBlur]

Yeah, have to agree with the points feh made. A little more info would be good though. What type of person are you? You a basshead or ,like me, an audiophile. Second, how much are you wanting to spend. BUt as general suggestions i think iem for gym is fine since you can concentrate and blcok other people out, if that's what you want. But cycling is risky.
The MDR EX71 are very good at staying in your ears but i find them very murky but have strong, but again murky bass. I would recomend going for v moda bass frews ahead of them but haven't tried these phones myself so that's not from personal expereince but rather i've read a lot of reviews and comments. I've heard great things about the HJE70's of which i should be getting soon. BUt again it's all up to your price range.

[Mrteatime]

I like a wide variety of music so the importance of bass varies - I just want the best sound quality generally. As for price - if the item is worth the money, I can pay for it, really. It's whether the money is well spent that is important in this decision.

And I don't mind not having earbuds as I'm just not sure what options are out there - the ones that go around the side of my head, like the ones Feh recommended - do they stay in place well when faced with jogging etc? The last pair I tried like that kept slipping down the back of my neck.

[HumanBlur]

Well, then you are more like me, you want sound as it should sound. Basically for that i would recomend the HJE70 due to the reviews it has had. I should be able to review these bad boys next week sometime, well the intial pre-burning in. THese are about 50 pounds.
But clip on ones are the best for running, cycling etc. The sony e888 i have heard are extremely good oem types. And actually the sony ex81 are a type of clip on with much better rounded sound than the ex71. But from what i have heard the HJE70 are amazing. If you want, wait for my review which should be next week.

[Mrteatime]

Thanks for the replies, my other question is one of health - I remember hearing that earphones that rest in your ear (don't know the technical term .. earbuds?) are more likely to damage your hearing than any other type of headphone, if i keep them at reasonable volume level is there any truth to this? As I don't want to find myself going deaf!

Thanks

[feh1325]

in an ideal world in which people would be consistant with their volumes, iem's would be better for your hearing than cans, buds, or anything

since they isolate, you hear your music, and only your music. without outside world sounds, you can play your music at very low volumes but still receive details.

but, since iem's don't leak out your music, you can play your music as loud as you want and nobody around you would know the difference

thats where responsibility and maturity kicks in


and about the running thing
i put on my old sony ex51...a standard fitting semi iem or oem
all the noise came from the cable hitting where it entered the bud, a noise called microphonics


edit

so i just put on my koss ksc75 and ran and hopped in place
they do stay on my ears due to the fact that i bent the clip part to fit my ear snuggly
thats why i like the ksc75;
besides its incredible price, the 60 ohm driver that can be modded to give you the grado sound signature, and the "no-questions asked, just send us the headphones and 6 dollars and we'll ship you brand new heapdhones for as long as you live" warranty...
but its bendable clip, with soft plastic covering a wire

if clip ons aren't your thing, then try the sportapros, which have the same driver and warranty, but instead of a clip, the driver is mounted on a headband which can be converted to go behind your neck