Earphone Advice

[Streetvision]

I've been wanting to upgrade to a good set of earphones for a while. but there are so many different types im not sure what i should be looking for. and hoping you guys can point me in the right direction, or offer some advice.

The standard apple earphones hurt after a while, when i first put them in their comfortable but after about 15-20 minutes they really start to irritate and hurt a little bit, if you look on the earbud it's self you can see a tiny ring of rubber, that's where it hurts. the simple answer would be to get some foam covers for it, but i was thinking it was time to get a decent pair of earphones. now because of where i go with them, i would prefer them not to be white for obvious reasons.

Im not to sure if i like the inner-ear type headphones just because shoving something that deep into your ear probally isn't good for your ears. but i've never tried them, so im open to giving them a go. i've also seen them bose in ear ones, and one review said they don't sit that far into the ear. my budget is around 200 max. can anyone give me suggestions?

[Code Monkey]

First off, Bose are reported to be very comfortable, but waaay overpriced for their sound quality.

The next thing I would do is "splurge" for a $5 package of earbud foamies from Radioshack and see if that improves your experience with the iBuds at all. Since good sound from earbuds require the addition of foamies to provide more seal, you might as well find out first if you can consider earbuds or if you're going to have to learn to deal with in-ears. Once you know if you'll be able to wear earbuds comfortably or not, get back to us :)

[Streetvision]

I found my old 4th generation box and used 2 foam tips from there, it's much better, didn't really hurt or get uncomfortable at all.

[Code Monkey]

Well, at the uber cheapo end, you have the JVC HAF130 gumys that are less than $10 at Wal-Mart and the Philips SHE2360 for about $12. Both of these are well regarded to provide much better SQ than their price suggests. I have and use my JVCs a lot in spite of having a lot of technically better gear, they're much better than the stock iBuds to my ears and the equivalent of the Yuin PK2, a $70 head-fi.org favorite.

Sennheiser has a wide range of well performing earbuds in the $20-$50 range.

Sony's new MDR EX85 & EX90 series are supposed to be very good for about $40 & $65 respectively.

Sony's MDR E888 for around $80 is also well regarded IF it fits your ears (has an unusual teardrop shape) and has a sound signature very close to Audio Technica's.

I feel Audio Technica's CM7XX and EC7XX series are the cream of earbuds, but they're not cheap. The EC7s are still available (I used these for a couple of years and I have yet to find their equal in a earbud) for $100 @ amazon, otherwise, the CM700 and EC700 are the only ones you can usually find for about $180.

I've owned the JVC HA F130, Yuin PK2, Sony MDR E888, and the Audio Technica EC7s (as well as a bunch of cheaper Sony, Philips, and Panasonic earbuds over the years). Personally, if money is no object, I'd go for the Audio Technicas, if money is an object, try the JVCs first and see if you like them. You can do a lot worse for a lot more money than what they deliver for $10.

[tortygu]

Westone UM-2 have superb comfort level and isolation. Dual amature drivers with fantastic vocal reproduction. Give it a try you'll love it.

[hyroboarder]

Im not to sure if i like the inner-ear type headphones just because shoving something that deep into your ear probally isn't good for your ears. but i've never tried them, so im open to giving them a go.

A lot of people seem to think this, but IEM's actually save your ears because the isolation allows you to listen at much much lower volumes. Plus they really don't hit anything important in there, they just have to make a seal around that first tube you can reach with your finger.

[djsanderson]

Has anybody out there used SkullCandy earbuds? They are kinda pricey but are they worth it? I've only heard from people that have never used them about how good they are and I'd like the facts.

[truckson]

I feel Audio Technica's CM7XX and EC7XX series are the cream of earbuds, but they're not cheap. .

These phones are worth the money, highly recommend.

[Code Monkey]

These phones are worth the money, highly recommend.The problem I had with these, and why I don't have any AT earbuds anymore, is that although they are earbuds, they're not engineered to survive in earbud usage scenarios. The cord without the extension is way too short for anything other than a shuffle clipped to the top part of your shirt, with the extension, it's way too long unless you play for the NBA (and probably still too long). As a result, no matter how careful you are, you are going to have cord snags above and beyond what any well designed cord will manage.

The first set died when the cord was simply cut in half after it worked its way into a folding part of a stroller. It had narrowly missed death several months earlier when it managed to get itself in the handle assembly of my trashcan but only got kinked instead of outright killed. I coughed up the dough and replaced them.

The second set died because I tried to minimise cord snags with one of those cord managers. The constant tension from the cord manager because it was so heavy due to all the cord on it shorted the left eardriver at the cable-driver interface. AT charged me $15 or $20 in addition to my postage to send it there to repair it under warranty. They used even thinner cabling than it started with, made me wait the better part of a month, and the left ear, now without the weight of the cable manager, still failed again in less than three months.

What I realised then was what you've got are earbuds that are essentially only useful when stationary - they're not designed for the rigors of using them on the go, and since that's pretty much the whole point of earbuds in my mind, I wasn't willing to spring for a 3rd set no matter how good the sound. They're otherwise built well and had I not bothered with the cable manager I suspect the second set would have lasted much longer than the 9+3 months I got out of it, but the cord issues are too big of a liability for the cost for me. If you aren't someone who uses your $100+ earphones on the go because you're a more practical person than I, you won't go wrong with them, but it's not a sacrifice I was willing to make.