Earbuds

[Mr. Pedantic]

I have a pair of Sennheiser HD202s. They're awesome headphones, but they're obviously not so great when I'm outside, because of the size, and because I can't hear anything because of the noise of cars, buses, etc. Coupled with this, the fact that the earbuds that my iPod came with are failing (finally!), and the fact that I finally found a part-time job and have some money again, I would like to buy a set of replacement earbuds. I'd really like something that provides sound quality about par with the HD202s, and which has some sort of passive noise cancelling. I'm leaning towards the Logitech Ultimate Ears Metro.fi 170, since I can get that for a similar price to what I got the HD202s for, but I'm open to suggestions. Thanks in advance!

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

In order of price, try:

Creative EP-630s
Altec Lansing UHP606 (Rebadged Super.Fi 4)
Etymotics ER6i
Logitech Triple.Fi ($200 @ amazon)

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

All prices are NZD

The Senns I got: ~$50
Metro.fi 170s: $54
Creative EP-630s: $26
Altec Lansing UHP606: Can't find them, the closest was the UHS306, for $105
Etymotics ER6i: Never heard of that brand, can't seem to find it in stores in New Zealand
Logitech Triple.fi: way, way, way too expensive.

How good are the Creative ones? They seem really cheap, if the sound quality is good I'll probably buy those ones instead.

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

Oh I missed the New Zealand part. I'm not sure what's available in your area then. Does Amazon not ship internationally (pardon my american ignorance). The UHP606s are only $30 on amazon. The EP630s sound about on par with the Senn CX300s if you know what those sound like. I'd say they're comparable with the metro.fis...I'd stay away from the metro.fi series because they're overpriced for what they are, but if you have few other chocies in New Zealand, it may not be too bad.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

For comparison, the Sennheiser CX300 IIs cost $76...but I'm kind of torn. While there are a lot of people who say they sound virtually the same, there are also a handful of reviews who say the EP630 sounds terrible in comparison, which makes me kind of wary.

At the moment, I think I'm just getting more and more confused... so many conflicting opinions!

 

[0roo0roo]

cx300 II's are superior to the originals
ep 630 sounds like the first version.
buy from legit retailer..fakes are aplenty

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

But where I can get them, the CX300 IIs are about double the price (the EP630s are now $40...). How superior are they? Is the difference night and day? Or is it quite subtle?

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

Do they charge a restocking fee? If not, get the EP630s, and if they sound bad to you, return them.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Yeah, I think I'll do that. Thanks for the advice!

 

[slackerinabox]

These are outstanding.. Significantly better than the cx300s, a hugely different league
http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-NE-6-e...6355521&sr=8-1

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

I've already ordered the EP630s - the place I ordered them from has by far and away the best price, but doesn't do refunds unless there's something wrong with it. However, I can exchange, but they don't have much of a selection in terms of earbuds:

http://www.xpcomputers.co.nz/browse-headphone-66-1

 

[Chapbass]

Do the HD202's suck that bad at sound isolation? I was thinking about getting a couple for some cheap tracking headphones for a makeshift home recording studio I have, but if sound isolation is that poor, I might look elsewhere.

Thanks

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Yes, they do. They're obviously better than normal earbuds or open headphones, but for a closed set I would have expected somewhat better. They're not too bad, sounds are muted, but its enough to drown out someone talking softly in the room, but not enough to drown out, say, rush hour traffic.