Earphones

so whats the boardie wisdom on earphones these days (I know, I know, there is another thread somewhere but I can't find it)

I just burned through a pair of these in a little over a year

What are the new Bose earphones like? any other suggestions?

i stand behind my sennheiser px-100s… great sound, lightweight, on the ear… (don't like in ear or around the ear phones for extended listening)

I tried a bunch of earbuds (Shure, Etymotic, Sony) and could never get a good fit or they crapped out if they got more than two drops of sweat in them. If I'm running, I use these Nike sport headphones. They are cheap, durable, don't fall out, and don't cut out all the outside noise (like cars) which I consider to be an advantage. The sound is fine, considering they are used with an iPod.

At home, I have the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 and am quite happy with them.

Sony MDR-7506. Many audio engineers swear by them, not at them. May be the last good thing Sony has left.

Sony MDR-7506. Many audio engineers swear by them, not at them. May be the last good thing Sony has left.

I still use a pair from 1993 and it wasn't until 2001 when one of the sides crapped out while DJing. Since I only listen in one ear anyway, I still use them to DJ. :)

MindCage
Mindless Faith
Deep6 Productions

Ditto on the px-100's. For the price can't be beat.

Ooh! Good thread. I've been looking into getting a new pair of headphones.
What's a good sounding pair that would be ok with an Ipod? From what I've gathered, most decent cup-style headphones require an amplifier in order to be used with an Ipod. Are there any earbud headphones that would sound almost as good?

i love my shure iem's i've had mine for a good 2 years now. if they crapped out i'd probably get the 4c's

I use my px-100s with a Creative Zen with no problem… Given the fact that they are white should be a cue as to what they are marketed for :)

Shure has a 2 year warranty. I'd get a new pair for nothing.

I don't like the Sennheisers. They caused pain in my ears. But your mileage may vary. I wouldn't bother with noise cancellation unless you're using them for air travel (or some other scenario with lots of background drone noise). And for air travel, Bose is expensive but totally worth it.

I've got wierd ear canals and never get a good seal with all those in ear types. I wish I could. Good thing though….I'd probably wind up with $500 worth of in-ear 'phones….just what I need.

If you want a good cheap pair of ear-bud type, try the Sennheiser mx-400 or mx-500. Less than $20, I think and miles better than the buds that come with the ipod.

And if you don't mind looking like a WWII radio operator, get some Grado SR-60's or SR-80's. Best sounding phones under $100 bucks by far. I love 'em. But they are a bit clunky, so i almost always use my PX-100's. They fold up nicely too so can fit in a coat pocket or wherever.

I am very happy with my Shure E2C's. Good even sound and very fairly priced.

But I want to share a story regarding my broken Creative Nomad Zen Xtra mp3 player. The headphone jack lost it's solder connection to the headphones. This causes the sound in the left ear to short out.

At the suggestion of my dad who is a physician, I sent him my player. He took apart the device and utilizing a Colposcope, he determined that the broken solder point was under the display screen. He took a soldering gun and used a Grinding Stone to thin it out so it could reach under the display and fuse the soldering points together. Total cost: $10 including shipping. For those that know this older line of mp3 player, it was worth the hassle to fix the headphone jack.

thanks to all for the suggestions but most of all thanks to smackie for pointing out the (doh!) obvious that I can just send em back to Shure to get em repaired/replaced!

I would never spend that much on headphones, so when I saw the price I figured at that price they must have a lifetime warranty. Fortunately for you, the warranty is long enough to get yours replaced.

And if you don't mind looking like a WWII radio operator, get some Grado SR-60's or SR-80's. Best sounding phones under $100 bucks by far.

all hail grado. their cans are simply the best. they're open-ear so not meant for noisy places, but otherwise can't be beat. they're consistently reviewed in audiophile magazines as being unequaled.

Are the Grados ok with an Ipod?

Yeah they'll work fine with an ipod, though some might say the 80's need their own amp to realize their full potential…

You'll be happy with the 60's if you can handle the bulk.