Best Earbud (not in-the-ear)?

[jacobp]

i am looking to replace the earbud phones that came with my 3G iPod. I want to stay with the earbud design and not the in-the-ear canal design. What is the prevailing wisdom on the best earbud to get. Thanks.

[zachary80]

The Sennheiser mx400's are supposed to sound great for about $15 (check newegg.com and amazon.com). The mx500 is pretty much the same, with the addition of a volume control.

[dmt1]

Sony E888's are well thought of, although I personally haven't tried them.

The MX 400's are great, especially for the money. I don't like them simply because they are uncomfortable for me--but if you don't have any problems with comfort with the Apple buds, you shouldn't have any problem with the Senn's, and for the money, the Senn's are a great bargain.

[Podunk]

Philips HE215

Target. $9.99

Better than my Senn 500 and just about anything else in my list.
(see below)

Note: 215/245 are same phones. 245 adds inline volume adjuster.

[kauffee]

I like the Sony e888 sound. It's similar in signature to the stock buds, but the sound quality is much better overall. Of course, it has the same cord design as the EX71, which I hate.

Audio Technica makes three different sets of earbuds, ranging from $50 to $150. I don't think I've seen any reviews of them, but AT stuff is usually pretty good.

[Spoonman]

One thing to make note of with the 888's is they are on the large side of earbuds, for people with smaller ears they may not be too comfy. I had E888's for 2 weeks, and had to send them back, as they simply did not fit my ears, and after 15mins (yes, it only took that long) they made my ears extremely red and sore...I can't comment on sound, as they were so uncomfortable that it made any sort of critical listening impossible.

[jacobp]

Thanks to everyone for the great advice.

[Jackonicko]

If you're lucky enough to have big enough ears, the E888s are unbeatable as earbuds (not in the ear canal) go.