Any recommendations? I had the senhessier (however the hell you spell it) mx300s and a few others but they always pop out of my ears... I love the type that stick into your ear canal but they tend to be expensive... Any good, affordable earbuds that don't sound too tinny? I'm looking to spend much less than $30 on them... I also had these Koss ones that were a good deal and stuck into my ears pretty well but they sounded like crap... Thanks!
Good, cheap earbuds?
- Thread starter slackerinabox
- Start date
sennheiser makes some good, cheap earbuds....can't remember the exact model numbers but I'm sure others will know....
If you have the cash the best buds on the market are made by shure and etymotics.
If you have the cash the best buds on the market are made by shure and etymotics.
I know it's more than you want to spend, but the stuff in the price range you specified is (generally) garbage.
There aren't many <$30 cans that sound good, much less ear canals.
The EX51's can be found for around $30, so they aren't stretching your budget by that much.
The Sennheiser model referred to above is the MX500, they're $18 on Amazon. For $18 they're probably fine, but I wouldn't trust anything that comes with an inline volume control. WTF was Sennheiser thinking?
Viper GTS
from the sennheiser site:
MX300 MSRP $7.95
Entry-level model
Optimized for rock and pop
Bass-driven sound
MX400 MSRP $12.95
Excellent sound, full bass
With convenient windup-case
MX500 MSRP $17.95
Cool metallic blue
Superior sound reproduction
Volume control built into the cable
With convenient windup-case
MX300 MSRP $7.95
Entry-level model
Optimized for rock and pop
Bass-driven sound
MX400 MSRP $12.95
Excellent sound, full bass
With convenient windup-case
MX500 MSRP $17.95
Cool metallic blue
Superior sound reproduction
Volume control built into the cable
With convenient windup-case
I have the MX300 and MX500, I like them fine, the MX300 came with my Nitrus, but I preferred the volume control on the headphones.
The MX400s are the MX500s without the volume control. Best cheap earbud's I've found. I'd definitely recommend them.
I actually liked the sound of the old Koss clipons better, but they felt heavy and were uncomfortable to wear. Plus they don't block out the outside noise at all, so you have to turn the volume way up.
The sony buds in your price range are so-so, and the aiwa's i've tried were crap. I've heard good things about the buds ViperGTS mentioned, but if they are out of your price range I'd definitely go for the MX400s.
I actually liked the sound of the old Koss clipons better, but they felt heavy and were uncomfortable to wear. Plus they don't block out the outside noise at all, so you have to turn the volume way up.
The sony buds in your price range are so-so, and the aiwa's i've tried were crap. I've heard good things about the buds ViperGTS mentioned, but if they are out of your price range I'd definitely go for the MX400s.
I have a pair of MX500s. However, they're over 3years old and pretty beaten up. I borrowed them from a friend when my Sony earbuds broke and never returned them.. 
I think the sound quality faded over the years, but when I first tried a blind test of my Sonys (~$40) and the MX500s (~$20) I think the MX500s were slightly better. This was before my Sonys broke due to a connection problem on one of its earbuds. Sony seems to have a problem with that. It's happened a couple of times before.
Recently I tried a pair of Sony behind the ears earbuds, they were crisper than the MX500s. It could be due to the MX500's age and use, and maybe too much earwax in them..
I think the sound quality faded over the years, but when I first tried a blind test of my Sonys (~$40) and the MX500s (~$20) I think the MX500s were slightly better. This was before my Sonys broke due to a connection problem on one of its earbuds. Sony seems to have a problem with that. It's happened a couple of times before.
Recently I tried a pair of Sony behind the ears earbuds, they were crisper than the MX500s. It could be due to the MX500's age and use, and maybe too much earwax in them..
Ive got some Sennheisers. They sound better than stock computer speakers for sure, full of bassLoved em when I shared an office now I just use speakers. Of course I dont remember the model and its not on them. They were about $20 iirc. If you wnat me to find out what model they are just let me know.
The funniest thing about the MX300 and MX500, I can blast that thing in my dorm room, and my roommate who's across the other side of the room can hear it perfectly fine.
He thinks i'm insane when I blast it. The output that the earbuds can handle without much distortion is really amazing.
He thinks i'm insane when I blast it. The output that the earbuds can handle without much distortion is really amazing.
Thanks for the info guys.. I'm on the fence about either the mx400 or the sony EX51s.. I actually owned the EX71s back when I had a job - they sounded great (a bit too muddy but fine for earbuds) but I destroyed them when they got tangled up in my bag.. My point is that they served me well but I can't afford to get another set.. BTW my source is an ipod and I do plan on using it on the subway a lot.. My current headphones are Grado SR60s with an airhead amp (only way to get it loud enough for subway use).. The sound is superb but I always get stares on the subway because the damn things are huge and are like speakers -everyone could hear what I'm listening to... So I need something with a decent amount of isolation... I picked up a pair of $10 panasonic buds.. Suprising good sound quality but terrible in noisy environments and they fall out of my ears all the time..
I noticed that the mx400 don't really stick into your ear canal like teh ex51s... Do they still provide good isolation? Also, is there anyway to "retrofit" earbuds with different caps so that they stick into your ears a la the shure ear buds?
Sony's are great they haven't fallen out of my ears. they allow for 3 sizes too comes with 3 rubber nubs that you can take replace to suit your ear size need.
Well, in that case... I used to use my mx400s with the fuzzy cover provided - they fit much better, and seemed to sound better with it on, somehow.
I threw away the useless sony ones I got with my old minidisc for them, and planned to do the same with the ipod buds, but when I bought it, well, I found i quite like them, and I've never gotten around to swapping them.
I wouldn't say theres much to choose from between the senns and the ipod buds - don't spend any money now, get the ipod first and see how you like them.
(and like you, I'd much prefer to use my sr60s all the time, but the stares get to you, and I feel antisocial sharing my tunes.
)Originally posted by: dpm
Well, in that case... I used to use my mx400s with the fuzzy cover provided - they fit much better, and seemed to sound better with it on, somehow.
I threw away the useless sony ones I got with my old minidisc for them, and planned to do the same with the ipod buds, but when I bought it, well, I found i quite like them, and I've never gotten around to swapping them.
I wouldn't say theres much to choose from between the senns and the ipod buds - don't spend any money now, get the ipod first and see how you like them.
(and like you, I'd much prefer to use my sr60s all the time, but the stares get to you, and I feel antisocial sharing my tunes.
I have the ipod earbuds but they're a bit shrill... They're pretty good for freebies but I like smooth sounding music not overly bright or muddy... Is the mx400 better than the stock ipod earbuds or not?
Thanks!
Get the Shure E2's. Extremely good isolation, when I walk around I can't even hear cars passing by.
A bit expensive, but I'm a musician and I use them on stage as well.
http://www.shure.com/psm/earphones/default.asp
A bit expensive, but I'm a musician and I use them on stage as well.
http://www.shure.com/psm/earphones/default.asp
I use EX71's for my ipod on a daily basis and consider it money well spent. I could be wrong, but I think the sony's are the only ones close to your price range that fit inside the ear canal. All the other buds I've bought let a lot of outside noise in since they just sit outside the canal. Of course I've never tried the senn's, and I've only heard great things about their products, so maybe they've overcome that. But I'd say that if you're going to be using your ipod alot, esp. in noisy environments, to go ahead and grab another pair of EX71's, and be more careful with them
and if paying 20-30 more for a pair of headphones is outside your budget, mebbe you should have rethought that ipod purchase, eh?
my $0.02
and if paying 20-30 more for a pair of headphones is outside your budget, mebbe you should have rethought that ipod purchase, eh?
my $0.02
Originally posted by: ChinamanatNCSU
I use EX71's for my ipod on a daily basis and consider it money well spent. I could be wrong, but I think the sony's are the only ones close to your price range that fit inside the ear canal. All the other buds I've bought let a lot of outside noise in since they just sit outside the canal. Of course I've never tried the senn's, and I've only heard great things about their products, so maybe they've overcome that. But I'd say that if you're going to be using your ipod alot, esp. in noisy environments, to go ahead and grab another pair of EX71's, and be more careful with them
and if paying 20-30 more for a pair of headphones is outside your budget, mebbe you should have rethought that ipod purchase, eh?
my $0.02
Hey, I bought the iPod years ago when i had a job and much more money... Thanks for the recommendation but, really, I only can spend less than $30 on these earbuds.. 30 bucks more would be twice my budget.. I guess you guys are not used to sticking to lower budgets
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