WTF, is there any point in buying decent earbuds?

[superccs]

If you are spending $100 on earbuds, you better be getting a 6 pack of em. They break- all of them. As long as they are sound isolating, they will sound pretty good to great. Whicked Buds, Creative EP-630s and the like can be had for $5-9 each.

 

[0roo0roo]

ep-630 are cheap for a reason, they sound like crap.

 

[Born2bwire]

I've got a pair of Shure E3C's that I must have had for at least 6 years now. I've jogged with them, hiked and use them practically daily at the office. Haven't had any problems with them but I have found that the Etymotic silicone tips are much cheaper replacements than the Shure brand silicone tips.

 

[theflyingpig]

Firstly, you need to have a good source for your earbuds, and the *only* sources good enough for my ears are Apple products. Secondly, you have to pair up your earbuds with your Apple product. I recommend UE or Shure, as they each have the style, function, and simplicity necessary to compliment an iDevice. Everyone knows this.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Firstly, you need to have a good source for your earbuds, and the *only* sources good enough for my ears are Apple products. Secondly, you have to pair up your earbuds with your Apple product. I recommend UE or Shure, as they each have the style, function, and simplicity necessary to compliment an iDevice. Everyone knows this.

Psh, Bose, Monster Beats, or B&W or nothing.

Actually, those are chumps compared to these:
http://final-audio-design.com/earphone01.html

Or maybe these: http://www.headphone.com/headphones/ultrasone-edition-8-palladium.php

 

[xSauronx]

my favorite buds so far have been a pair of JVC's from Walmart. $20, sounds was pretty decent and I didn't get pissed when I shut them in my car door.

I'm still using the stock ones that came with my Vibrant for now. We'll see how long these ones last.

ahhh the jvc marshmallows...ive had a pair for a couple of years, they have decent enough sound quality and they were cheap and work great

 

[Triumph]

I've got a pair of Shure E3C's that I must have had for at least 6 years now. I've jogged with them, hiked and use them practically daily at the office. Haven't had any problems with them but I have found that the Etymotic silicone tips are much cheaper replacements than the Shure brand silicone tips.

I've had two different pairs of Shures, E2C's and something else now, I can't remember the model. The tips do not fit each other within their own brand!

 

[dabuddha]

Im gonna say it's user error and not the product I've been using a pair of skullcandy ear buds for the last 3-4 years and the still work flawlessly (knock on wood). Use em everyday on my 4.5 hour commute and I don't put them in the case when I'm done with them, just shove em in my backpack.

 

[Numenorean]

I think I have around a $30 pair of Sennheisers....they have been working for at least 6 years now.

Maybe you just don't know what you're doing.

 

[KeithTalent]

Yep, very simple concept.

thread cord under shirt
i find the cord snags while walking probably shorten the life.

I think I have around a $30 pair of Sennheisers....they have been working for at least 6 years now.

Maybe you just don't know what you're doing.

Ok, so I'm mentally retarded I guess because it's not freaking rocket science.

I buy earbuds that I can run with comfortably and that will not fall out, those are the most important things; sound quality is secondary and most of the cheaper ones just always fly out of my ears. Since I am using them for running and the gym, there is going to be a bit of pulling and I'm not sure how it is possible to stop it. It's not like I'm yanking on the damn things, I am careful with them, but using them probably 8 hours a day it's going to happen at least a little. Not sure what else I can do.

KT

 

[thescreensavers]

I have Sennheiser CX300have had them for like 2 years now.

 

[surfsatwerk]

I picked up a pair of Etymotic ER4 like five or six years ago for around $180. Use them 8 hours a day 5 days a week and they're still going strong.

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er4.aspx

 

[darkxshade]

My first pair of earbuds was the Shure e2c's[for $70] which lasted less than a year because the plastic on the cord would crack in the dead of winter. They had a 2 year warranty so I sent them in and got a new pair within a week which is still operational but only because I stopped using them. I stopped using them because I got a pair of:

Shure SE530's for $220 when Bing CB first rolled out and handed out 35% for ebay purchases. They also lasted less than a year as the rubber molding on the earpiece would just wear off leaving the wires dangling and eventually stopped working. I held onto them because ebay = no warranty FML. I sent them in anyway this year as a hail mary and they fixed it for me anyway. So despite their quality, Shure does have pretty good customer service/warranty. BTW, likely due to the fact that shure earbuds have date of manufacture in them so they knew I bought it less than 2 years ago which is prob why they fixed it.

That same winter, I jumped on a slickdeal for the shure e4c's for $80 having promised myself I wouldn't get shures again. To my surprise they have been the sturdiest pair I've had thus far but I had to also send them in after 6 months because there was a manufacture defect on them[sounds came out hollow as if it was half plugged in]. These are the ones I run with.

I also got UE10 Pros for $100 on the Amazon goldbox deal as well as UEmetrofi 220s for $20. The UE10 earbuds are uncomfortable and bulky as hell and it sounds as if the bass on one side is dead for no reason. Research online indicate it's a cord issue. The Metrofis are still operational which I used to use for running until I got my e4cs replaced.

So yea, I have to agree, expensive headphones are great but their quality is shit.

 

[Lonyo]

My reason for not bothering with expensive earbuds is because most music is horribly produced, and my mp3 players don't output amazing audio quality, so overproduced music + lossy format + not great quality audio device = no point in expensive earphones.
My headphones were more costly, but earbuds I would never spend a huge amount on.

 

[hellotyler]

Probably just bad luck on your end, but I've had nothing but good experiences with Bose speaker products (speakers, earbuds, headphones, ect)... Give them a try if you don't mind dropping a few bucks... Looks like IE2s are about $100.

 

[Lonyo]

Probably just bad luck on your end, but I've had nothing but good experiences with Bose speaker products (speakers, earbuds, headphones, ect)... Give them a try if you don't mind dropping a few bucks... Looks like IE2s are about $100.

Oh no you didn't...

 

[edro]

Get them at Best Buy and get the warranty.
Have them replaced each time they die.

Also, dissect them and find out why they died.

 

[KeithTalent]

I have Sennheiser CX300have had them for like 2 years now.

Yeah, I have a pair of those in my earbud graveyard.

Get them at Best Buy and get the warranty.
Have them replaced each time they die.

Also, dissect them and find out why they died.

I think I will start doing this. I was talking to a Futureshop (same as Best Buy up here) guy about extended warranties and he said the only time he bothers getting them is on TV and earbuds/headphones because they always die before their time.

KT

 

[darkxshade]

Probably just bad luck on your end, but I've had nothing but good experiences with Bose speaker products (speakers, earbuds, headphones, ect)... Give them a try if you don't mind dropping a few bucks... Looks like IE2s are about $100.

The thread is about decent earbuds, not expensive ones... please sit over there.

 

[meltdown75]

my jvc marshmallows lasted 2 years. they were 20 bucks. actually they still work fine but the foam peices wore out.
i have some little panasonic ones with rubber earpeices instead of foam and they are lasting forever.

i think you might suck @ earbuds dude. just sayin

 

[darkxshade]

Speaking of which, does it piss anyone else off to no end how expensive foam earpiece replacements are? It's just freakin foam FFS.

 

[ivan2]

your earbuds broke at the cord you say? get one with detachable cord that can be replaced. stuff like all of the customes and some higher end UE like the triple fi.

 

[KeithTalent]

my jvc marshmallows lasted 2 years. they were 20 bucks. actually they still work fine but the foam peices wore out.
i have some little panasonic ones with rubber earpeices instead of foam and they are lasting forever.

i think you might suck @ earbuds dude. just sayin

But you are talking about cheapo ones, so maybe that is what I'm supposed to do rather than spending greater than $100 on the damn things.

your earbuds broke at the cord you say? get one with detachable cord that can be replaced. stuff like all of the customes and some higher end UE like the triple fi.

Weird, I have no idea how that would work. :hmm:

KT

 

[darkxshade]

Weird, I have no idea how that would work. KT

http://the-gadgeteer.com/assets/ultimateears-5pro-6.jpg

Example of detachable cord... It's good stuff since most times that's where the connection is severed.

 

[KeithTalent]

http://the-gadgeteer.com/assets/ultimateears-5pro-6.jpg

Example of detachable cord... It's good stuff since most times that's where the connection is severed.

Damn, that's pretty cool. I've never seen those around here, but I'll have to take a look for it. Thanks.

KT