Earbuds for iPod; would appreciate recommendations

[Noema]

I just got my first iPod this week and I was wondering if some of the AT audiophiles could recommend me some earbuds for it, as I can't stand how bad the ones that come packed with it sound.

Thanks in advance.

 

[acegazda]

Creative ep630 are a great buy if you're in the market for a budget pair that sounds like a higher midend pair. They are ~$25. If you have a lot of $$$ to spend, you should get the $180 shure e4c's. Best earbud sound <$200. >$200, get a hifi open air pair.

 

[Running]

the sennheiser ear buds are good, they r cheap too 5- 10 bucks depending on the model you get. mx400 - 500. sony has osme decent ones too which are around 40 dollars and then theres high end like what acegazda said.

 

[acegazda]

seinheiser makes the cx300's which are mid-high end like the creative ep630's but you pay for the seinheiser name, they are $47.

 

[homercles337]

Your chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Your craptastic sound is not just the buds...

 

[hoppa]

ER-6i are great. You should be able to find them for $100 now. I got mine at $130 2 years ago and they are strong as ever.

 

[MDE]

I've got the ~$40 Sony in-ear buds and the sound quality is much better than the Apple buds, but I still haven't found anything that will actually stay in my ears...

 

[hoppa]

Lemme add that the ER-6i phones wedge into your ears and form a seal (thus using your whole inner ear as a bass resonator). They will certainly stay in your ear, and also give over 20 db external noise reduction (due to the seal, not that sound-destroying technology that doesn't work). Basically, you can't hear a damn thing when they are in.

 

[acegazda]

Originally posted by: homercles337
Your chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Your craptastic sound is not just the buds...

the ipod's quality is not the best, you're right, but it is good enough to benefit from a pair of mid range buds... just not hifi.

 

[Ichigo]

Get the Shure E2C. It's a good match with the iPod.

 

[Allio]

Originally posted by: acegazda
Creative ep630 are a great buy if you're in the market for a budget pair that sounds like a higher midend pair. They are ~$25.

Yes yes yes yes yes. They are the perfect upgrade from crappy stock earbuds as they sound amazing, and give you an idea of what canalphones are like before you go and spend $150 on some etymotics. You won't believe how good they sound.

 

[Baked]

Some say the Creative EP630 are better than the Sennheiser CX300. Some say they use the same driver. I'm gonna pickup a pair of EP630 to replace my Sony EX71, and perhaps the CX300 for comparison.

 

[acegazda]

Are you going to do that soon? I'd be interested in your conclusion. Post back when you get them.

 

[Maluno]

I own the shure e2c's, and can testify that they are great buds for the price.

 

[Geomagick]

Originally posted by: hoppa
ER-6i are great. You should be able to find them for $100 now. I got mine at $130 2 years ago and they are strong as ever.

I have the 6i as well and they are superb. You can get additional foam or rubber ear buds in different sizes so it is possible to get a really comfy fit.

 

[Ika]

EP630 for a good balance between earbuds and IEMs. If you REALLY want that iBud form factor, though, the Sennheiser MX400-500 is fine.

 

[falkon72]

How much are you willing to spend?
Do you want earbuds or IEM or something in between?

Earbuds:
$10 Sennheiser MX500 (best earbuds IMO below $80)
$70? Sony MDR-E888 - debateably better than MX500
$150 Audio Technica ATH-CM7 (Ti) - Law of diminishing returns: better but not by much

In-Between
$40? Sony MDR-EX71 - good bass, a little muddled
$40? Sennheiser CX300 - heard good things but never had them myself. I would guess it's better than the sony's.

IEM
$60-80 Shure E2 - more bass, a little muddled, more suited to rock
$80 Etymotic 6i - more suited to acoustic, jazz, classical
$150 Shure E4c- great for rock.
$200 Etymotic 4p - best out of the lower bunch. Crystal clear. Best until the customs came along.
$400 Shure E5 - Just amazing.
~$1000 - Ultimate Ears UE-10 Pro - custom ear molds, the works. Best of the bunch

If you like traditional headphones or over the ear studio monitors, I can give you recommends on that as well.

 

[Mem]

Sennheiser CX300 are awesome,superior to the Creative EP630,as well as better build quality.

 

[Noema]

Thanks for all the replies!

I think I'll go for some mid-range 'buds. I forgot to mention I got this iPod (60GB, 5th Gen) for real cheap ($90), as it was used and the LCD has a small crack on the top left corner. So I wouldn't like to spend more on the buds than on the iPod itself.
I think I'll give the Sehnheiser CX300s a spin, as the price seems nice.

Thanks again!

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: Noema
Thanks for all the replies!

I think I'll go for some mid-range 'buds. I forgot to mention I got this iPod (60GB, 5th Gen) for real cheap ($90), as it was used and the LCD has a small crack on the top left corner. So I wouldn't like to spend more on the buds than on the iPod itself.
I think I'll give the Sehnheiser CX300s a spin, as the price seems nice.

Thanks again!

Get the Creative EP630 instead of the CX300. Same drivers, basically the same sound, at half the price. The only real difference is the type of cord, as I believe the CX300 has a J-style cord while the EP630 has a regular y-split.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: acegazda

Originally posted by: homercles337
Your chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Your craptastic sound is not just the buds...

the ipod's quality is not the best, you're right, but it is good enough to benefit from a pair of mid range buds... just not hifi.

The iPod outputs sound just fine...what problems you hear are bad mp3 rips you downloaded from limewire. If you took a CD, put it in and ran it through itunes using AAC or even better Apple Lossless formats and played that through your ipod you'll be getting superior sound to start. Don't immediately blame the iPod when the music you listen to could be flawed from compression.

 

[Noema]

Originally posted by: cmdrdredd

Originally posted by: acegazda

Originally posted by: homercles337
Your chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Your craptastic sound is not just the buds...

the ipod's quality is not the best, you're right, but it is good enough to benefit from a pair of mid range buds... just not hifi.

The iPod outputs sound just fine...what problems you hear are bad mp3 rips you downloaded from limewire. If you took a CD, put it in and ran it through itunes using AAC or even better Apple Lossless formats and played that through your ipod you'll be getting superior sound to start. Don't immediately blame the iPod when the music you listen to could be flawed from compression.

Well, everything I have on my iPod are lossless rips from my own CDs, so that ought not to be a problem for me .

 

[Mem]

Get the Creative EP630 instead of the CX300. Same drivers, basically the same sound, at half the price. The only real difference is the type of cord, as I believe the CX300 has a J-style cord while the EP630 has a regular y-split.

I disagree,The CX300 can be found at same price,infact I got my pair around same price as E 630 from Amazon UK,sound is amazing.

I believe the drivers are not the same from what I have read,FYI those that actually own both the EP-630 and CX 300 prefer the CX 300 for sound quality, however end of the day it his money and choice.

 

[mshan]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00008...UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance&n=172282

I used these with a 2 GB iPod Nano and they sounded very good as long as you played them at moderately loud sound levels (both these and the stock earbuds really didn't seem to come to life until they were played at fairly loud levels, IMO).

The earbuds themselves are a little bit and they irritated my ears, so I ended up selling everything.

I used to own Sennheiser PX-100 before the iPod and think that they would make an excellent match for the iPod (also available in white, in addition to standard silver and blakc).

Good resource:
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=22