Easy listening...
Posted by robram on 27 March 2008 - 11:17am.
I hope someone can help with this...
My iPod earphones have finally given up the ghost and I need to upgrade.
I know I should have chucked the white things in the bin ages ago, so now I have the chance to do so.
The thing is, I know I'll get more out of my listening if I get a better pair of 'ear-cans'.
I could do a search on google, but I thought I'd ask the advice of a group of people who know their music and probably have extensive experience of hearing products.
I can't afford headphones that cost hundreds of quid, but clearly want to spend more than a tenner.
Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks in advance...
UPDATE: Thanks for all your advice. There are some Sennheiser CX300s on the way!
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Sennheiser PX 200s
I've been using them for years. Perfect sound and around the £30 mark too - closed back (to stop the sound leaking out, and the bass in), fold away design and a two year warranty.
You really can't go wrong with these.
I'll second that
Had to buy a pair of ipod friendly headphones for my missus at Christmas and after much trying out, these seemed definitely the best of their type/price bracket.
9For strictly home use, go for Sennheiser HD280s - awesome range without overdoing the bass.)
Sennheiser CX 300
I don't know the Sennies Dave proposes but they're surely good - I find the CX300s are brilliant in terms of screening out external noise, very comfortable and so far after 2 years of constant use I've had no probs at all with them. Incredibly cheap too. I tried a few alternatives before I settled on them - I didn't get on with those ones that poke right into your ear, and I have some bigger Sennheiser closed backed ones which are great but have bugger all sound blocking capabilities so no use on train/tube etc.
Wicked!
Sounds like Sennheiser are the brand to go for!
I'll have a look later for some - cheers all
More Sennheiser
If you do a lot of travel on public transport, and you can afford to spend a few more quid, consider the Sennheiser PXC 250s - the noise-isolating technology they use is amazing - reducing constant exterior noise (like a tube train rattle) to a low hiss. Switching to these from a pair of 30 quid buds was almost as life-changing as getting an iPod in the first place.
If you want in-ear ones that are cheap but good quality
the Sennie M-X-4 models are really good.
Got mine for about a tenner 10 years ago.
For proper listening Sennheiser is also the place to go.
Sony MDR-V700
AKA "the DJ's headphones". Loud and clear, beefy bass, don't fall apart even if ridden over by a Vespa scooter (I road-tested that claim), and they come with a flexy cable and gold jack/minijack, making them perfect for iPod/PC use. Virtually zero leakage in or out (one reason DJs love them) and ridiculously comfortable, with an upholstered minisofa nestling over each ear (the other reason).
Not perhaps your cheapest option (65 quid-ish) but I've used mine every day for the last 8 years, so it works out at about 30p per ear per month, which surely any 50 Quid Man can stretch his budget for.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-MDR-V700DJ-Professional-DJ-Headphones/dp/B0...
I have some of these, too
And the lead is about ten feet long - in my book this is too much cable for the iPod-accompanied walk to work.
The Mother's Pride trick
My solution for that is to loop up the middle curly bit into three and tie it together with one of those little strips of paper-covered wire used to package sliced bread.
I prefer Shure
My Sennheisers were never quite as good as I expected and developed a fault in the right ear quickly (which I found other people also had) - in the end I bought some Shure E2Cs which I absolutely love. I've been spotting things in tracks that I'd never heard before.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shure-E2C-In-Ear-Headphones/dp/B0000CE1UO
They've gone up a tenner since I bought mine, though.
I'll second that
I find the E2Cs excellent - good sound, block out external noise well. Although you do have to be OK with listening to music while feeling like you've got your fingers stuck in your ears. Trust me, you do get used to it.
I have trawled the world for the ultimate pair of earphones
And still continue the search.
I buy earphones the way my wife buys shoes. And she buys a lot of shoes.
I tend to favour the in-ear variety, but can appreciate why some might find them difficult to get on with. I tend to rotate between the Shure e2Cs mentioned above, some Etymotics and some bass-heavy Ultimate Ears (forget the model number).
The Shures give possibly the best price/quality ratio of the three, but you've got to get the fit right with in-ears - if the fit is wrong you might as well stick with Apple's crappy originals.
If you want to see some decent reviews, suggest you go to www.ilounge.com, the best iPod site on the web, which has hundreds of headphones/earphones reviewed - but be aware they do tend to focus on pretty expensive sets.
UPDATE: on ilounge, be sure to click on the 'reviews' tab at the top, not the 'Top Headphones' link halfway down the page - that is a 'pricegrabber' link that does not include the site's own reviews.
Sennhesier PMX70
No more than £30 and excellent if you exercise while listening. Only down side is the almost day-glo green colour which can make you look a bit of a prat, depending on the company that you keep.