Looking for a pair of headphones NOW WITH POLL!

[Ika]

Creative's shop

$20 after Creative rebate, but ends July 30th.

Looks like there's tax and shipping though, not sure how much that's gonna be.
EDIT: froogle has some hits, too - mwave is an option.

 

[corkyg]

None of the above.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: corkyg
None of the above.

What would you suggest? I only recommend EP630 because they're the best portability-wise, and are acceptable in public. "Oh look, another earbud."

acegazda - one thing I forgot to mention... if you get the EP630/CX300/canalbuds or IEMs, keep this in mind - along with the portability of the form factor comes isolation. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on where you use the earbuds. If you use them for your daily commute on public transportation, that's a good thing. If you're going to use them at work or something where you interact with people, it's a bad thing. If your situation is the latter, I would recommend open-air headphones, like the PX100 (which are probably the most publicly-acceptable headphones in the budget sector).

 

[corkyg]

I am a staunch member of the "ABEB" Club. (Anything but Earbuds.)

In the context of the poll, your suggestion is good. My comment was that it should have been a poll option.

 

[origami]

do you know anything about the B&O earphones?

 

[corkyg]

B&O? You mean Baltimore & Ohio or Bang & Olufson?

Yeah - these are pretty nice:

B&O

 

[acegazda]

My reasons for picking earbuds:
1. portability
2. I'm able to sleep comfortably with them
3. I listen to mp3's, so I can't utilize the potential of ultra hifi phones like the grado sr120 and up

I took a look at the seinheiser px100's but they didn't fulfill #2 on my list and though they have a wrap around the head version, I have a pair of sony streetstyles like that and they get uncomfortable after 40 mins or so. Another one I looked at was the grado sr60's and they looked comfy and I could sleep with them, just not on my side. However I can't take them running or biking due to their size. I also looked at a pair of audiotechnica c7k earbuds... couldn't find a price though...

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: acegazda
My reasons for picking earbuds:
1. portability
2. I'm able to sleep comfortably with them
3. I listen to mp3's, so I can't utilize the potential of ultra hifi phones like the grado sr120 and up

I took a look at the seinheiser px100's but they didn't fulfill #2 on my list and though they have a wrap around the head version, I have a pair of sony streetstyles like that and they get uncomfortable after 40 mins or so. Another one I looked at was the grado sr60's and they looked comfy and I could sleep with them, just not on my side. However I can't take them running or biking due to their size. I also looked at a pair of audiotechnica c7k earbuds... couldn't find a price though...

PX100s are basically the same as the SR60, except smaller and a little bit cheaper feeling (just because the headband is thinner). This means they go over on top of your head, like a pair of cheapie included-with-your-old-cd-player headphones. If you're a side sleeper they're still not a good idea.

Btw, playing music in your sleep is generally a bad idea, even at low volumes, unless you have a sleep timer or something.

There's no guarantee that you can sleep comfortably on your side with canalbuds, but I can't say I've ever tried.

What quality MP3s do you listen to? Even 128kb/s quality MP3s can still benefit from a good headphone, up to maybe $100. Personally the differences between the budget models are all in sound presentation (i.e. the Grados are more in-your-face and the sennheisers are more laid back).

 

[yosuke188]

Go with Shure E2 if you want IEMs. Good isolation, okay sound quality.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: Aflac

Btw, playing music in your sleep is generally a bad idea, even at low volumes, unless you have a sleep timer or something.

Agree! I recall once when in the hospital, they had small speakers that slipped into one's pillow. You could hear music or whatever when lying on your side, but your other ear was free to provide you with natural auditory warning of things and events - like your alarm clock!

 

[exp]

Originally posted by: AflacHead-Fi is the ultimate in headphone forums.

No doubt. Any questions you have about headphones are definitely best answered there.

 

[acegazda]

Originally posted by: corkyg

Originally posted by: Aflac

Btw, playing music in your sleep is generally a bad idea, even at low volumes, unless you have a sleep timer or something.

Agree! I recall once when in the hospital, they had small speakers that slipped into one's pillow. You could hear music or whatever when lying on your side, but your other ear was free to provide you with natural auditory warning of things and events - like your alarm clock!

aflac, are you saying it's bad for the mp3 player battery or your health?

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: acegazda

Originally posted by: corkyg

Originally posted by: Aflac

Btw, playing music in your sleep is generally a bad idea, even at low volumes, unless you have a sleep timer or something.

Agree! I recall once when in the hospital, they had small speakers that slipped into one's pillow. You could hear music or whatever when lying on your side, but your other ear was free to provide you with natural auditory warning of things and events - like your alarm clock!

aflac, are you saying it's bad for the mp3 player battery or your health?

It's bad for your health. If you have a sleep timer on your mp3 player, though, it shouldn't be a problem, as long as you use it.

This isn't exactly clinical evidence, though - just some word-of-mouth stuff I heard. I'm still not willing to test out the theory

EDIT: oh, also - if you're sleeping with IEMs, it's not always the safest thing because of the isolation... what if your house burns down or an intruder gets into your house? You won't hear a thing!

 

[Waylay00]

I see alot of you referring to earbuds as "in-ear-monitors". Aren't monotors differen't from headphones made for listening to music? I've always thought that monitors specifically had flat EQ's for musicians working in a studio.

 

[Waylay00]

Whoops, double post.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: Waylay00
I see alot of you referring to earbuds as "in-ear-monitors". Aren't monotors differen't from headphones made for listening to music? I've always thought that monitors specifically had flat EQ's for musicians working in a studio.

Earbuds != In-Ear Monitors (IEMs) != canalbuds
Earbuds are the crappy ones that come with iPods and other MP3 players. Canalbuds are the ones that go in your ear, but not very deeply - thus, they do seal your ear canal off, but don't really go far into your ear canal. IEMs, however, go IN your ear canal (maybe 1-2 cm). Thus, they give the best isolation and more direct sound.

In-ear monitors is just a term used for the form factor of these headphones - I believe they were first developed for use by stage musicians, so they could hear what they wanted to (this is reason IEMs have such great isolation). They aren't designed to have flat frequency responses - most of them, however, have their own sound signature, and the more popular ones actually do have a pretty flat response. Furthermore, they're known for being bass-shy.

Woo. I could submit that one to the general audio thread. Maybe I should refine it some more....

 

[LeoDioxide]

Monitors are used for: flat frequency response across the board. What you play is what you hear, period. Headphones are used for: making music sound good. If you play your favorite music CD on a pair of monitors, it isn't going to sound so good.