looking for earphones

STi Nut

STi Nut

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hey,

i am in the market for a very good set of earphones. i have a set of sennhisers HD-215's but i also want a pair of earphones that i can use when i am out. they need to be stylish, sound good and be comfortable.

thanks
 
Hi, I went through a major search last year for top earphones, this was my findings.
To get a great sound from such a small speaker requires different materials. Titainium is the most common for an expensive speaker in earphones combined with a neodyium magnet (rare earth) for control in freq response. That said when shopping around find out what materials are being used in the headphones.

some manufactures have compromised different materials at a cost of making them light. Unless your to be farely physical avoid this feature as it will cost sound quality. Be sure it has ofc (oxygen free cable) this does suprisingly make a big difference at the end of the day for sound quality..

My suggestions Sony FONTOPIA HEADPHONES MDRE888LP or Panasonic RP-HV377BLU
 
drewzor said:
My suggestions Sony FONTOPIA HEADPHONES MDRE888LP
Click to expand...

Drewzor got it spot on as far as I know. And I have the Sony Fontopia Earphones model MDR-EX71 (they're in-ear 'phones). I think they're great sound quality while not being too pricey (I paid ?25 for them around 2 1/2 years ago). I've not tried any of the Sennheisers but that's just because I'm worried I'd end up buying them! Frankly, as I only use them outside, the Sonys are great as you can't hear the subtle differences between earphones when out and about - sure these earphones have passive sound dampening but they don't drown out anything and as such I'm not sure it's worth spending a fortune on a minor difference in sound quality if the earphones are used outside. My solution in the end was those earphones for outside and I have some decent headphones for in the house.

However, I do have to say these are the best in-ear earphones I've ever used, they're comfortable, don't fall out and sound really good in my opinion.

Just my 2p.

(Oh yeah - and they come with a small carrying pouch too!)
 
I have been looking at Sennheisers as i know people that can get them for a good price, but i just want the best sounding and something that will last longer then 2 days :)
 
Sennheisers are ok if you can get them cheap i guess, though there spec is average. for the same money you could get much better frequency response from many other brands. If you experience of earphones has been 2 days I'd recommend something a little more robust maybe.

style like jamiroquai headphones that cover the ears + larger speaker gives great sound. Usually they have a fatter cable that is less likely to crap out if pulled on because the wire wraps round in the speaker cavity and only comes out one side..
I think they are the collapsible sony but you can get good alternatives in Optimus and other brands ....but the sony is style'n

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I went through all of this around november last year, its absolute anguish. I wanted the same thing, looks good, sounds amazing and lasted a long time. I ended up buying the Bose Quietcomfort 2's. They are absolutely amazing, noise cancelling (and my god it works, you wont notice it a great deal when no music is playing but once it is you wont hear jack going on around you (sometimes a little disconcerting btw), they fold flat into a carry case (which can fit an iPod in it too), they have an array of different jacks and an extension cable too, the sound quality is unbelievable......but......they are quite pricey at $299 so its your call, but i would suggest them. Just whatever you do dont know them against anything, I made that mistake when i fell asleep on a bus....hasn't sounded quite the same on one side since, so possibly a little fragile.
 
Ultimate Ears UE-3 Studio, they're great, esp. if you have bigger ear canals than most, but if you don't, Etymotic ER-6 (i think, the ones that are around $150) have great sound. That is if you're looking for earphones and not headphones.
 
monkeymax said:
drewzor said:
My suggestions Sony FONTOPIA HEADPHONES MDRE888LP
Click to expand...

Drewzor got it spot on as far as I know. And I have the Sony Fontopia Earphones model MDR-EX71 (they're in-ear 'phones). I think they're great sound quality while not being too pricey (I paid ?25 for them around 2 1/2 years ago).
Click to expand...

Just got a pair of those today and they rule. The bass is incredible and the clarity is gorgeous. After upgrading from the stock iPod earphones, the difference in quality is amazing :shock:
 
I've heard excellent things about the budget Sennheiser PX100 earphones, but I think I'm gonna save up for the even better Grado SR60s (very old - so not very stylish - also, not a patch on the SR325is, but I'm not made of money :p)
 
i've a sony mdr-v700 for over 5 years now. they are by far one of the best sounding headphones i've ever listened to. too bad it is now too broken to be of any use. the swiveling cup mechanism has developed a lot of cracks over the years, and one of the speaker cups has now completely broken off. (trusty speaker wire still hanging on though).

http://img136.imageshack.**/img136/2847/image1218dn.th.jpg

i plan to get the shure e3g or the bose triport as replacement. prices of both are quite steep ($130 & $150 respectively) so this is one buying decision that i've to really think about.

Overheat, I was able to try out a grado sr60, sr125 and a bose triport side by side from a store demo. the difference between the grados and the bose really is like night and day. it'd be a bit blasphemous to describe the sound of a grado as "flat"..but it really does sound flat when compared to the bose triport! the bass on the thing really is punchy while still maintaining clarity all through out the range. the triport is also another thing to consider if you're in the market for an sr125 :thumbsup:
 
Don't get a triport, they dont actually sound that great and they're flimsy as hell. My friend has a pair and they are already broken and most of the demos in the stores are all broken in the same way. One driver is always scratchy, hissy, or just produce no sound and the headband is horrible. Shure e3g for sure, i have a pair of the e3c's and while they don't sound as great as full sized headphones they do isolate EXTREMELY well.
 
Tommy Two Shoes said:
I went through all of this around november last year, its absolute anguish. I wanted the same thing, looks good, sounds amazing and lasted a long time. I ended up buying the Bose Quietcomfort 2's. They are absolutely amazing, noise cancelling (and my god it works, you wont notice it a great deal when no music is playing but once it is you wont hear jack going on around you (sometimes a little disconcerting btw), they fold flat into a carry case (which can fit an iPod in it too), they have an array of different jacks and an extension cable too, the sound quality is unbelievable......but......they are quite pricey at $299 so its your call, but i would suggest them. Just whatever you do dont know them against anything, I made that mistake when i fell asleep on a bus....hasn't sounded quite the same on one side since, so possibly a little fragile.
Click to expand...

Yeah I actually just bought a pair of the Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones (since i'll be doing a bit of travelling in the next couple weeks). They are terrific headphones. I had considered the Triports but they didn't have near the build quality I had wanted for $150. My officemate at work let me to try his QC2s out and I was hooked. The noise cancelling is the best I have ever heard, as it cuts out the outside noise, and doesn't introduce a hiss, like most other noise cancelling sets. They are definitely worth their cost.

If you want something a little cheaper with noise cancelling. I have some Sennheiser PXC250s that have a noise cancelling pack attached to them. They aren't really the best for portable use (because the electronics pack is big) but they do sound good and the hiss isn't as noticeable as it is in other noise cancelling sets. I think they are down to $90 now (they were $150 when I bought them new.
 
I would get the Shure E2c's if you're on a budget or the E4c's with custom fit ear moulds otherwise, the 4's have much better bass.
 
Go open-ear if you can, my ears get too sweaty with the closed-ear design.
 
I've finally read the reviews about the Triport, and you folks are right! Build quality is abysmall for a $150 product. But I suppose they're still okay as long as you use them only indoors.

I've bought a pair of Sony MDR-EX71, and it is true what they all say. They sound incredible! I may not have to buy a Shure e3g that I originally planned on getting. My only beef with 'em is that they're in-canal phones. No amount of proper ear grooming will prevent wax from ending up in the phone's rubber inserts...which is a bit gross.
 
I don't rate the Sony MDR-EX71s at all - they're overpriced for the sonic quality. Perhaps if they were ?15, but not ?35 for sure.
 
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