Headphone recommendations

[JTWise]

I do not profess to be an audiophile by any stretch of the imagination so I am hoping that you guys can give me some input.

I recently purchased a Dell DJ 15gig model and have transferred about 10 gig worth of music encoded as WMA 160kps VBR. They sound really good to my ears, but that is mainly because all the music on my Axim was encoded as WMA 64kps. I have already decided to take advantage of the higher quality by stopping the use of my portable FM transmitter (Soundfeeder) in my car and either go to a wired (to the antennae) FM transmitter or get my stereo AUX input hooked up. I figure that this will be a good investment as I often have long trips in which I will be in the car 12 hours on a weekend.

I am also considering the need for a decent set of headphones as I am currently using the cheap set that came with my DJ. I am looking for something portable and reasonable priced. I am open to either a closed ear or earbud, as long as they can be folded into a reasonable size.

My main concern is quality vs. price. I would like to spend in the $30 - $60 price range but I have no clue about what good models are available in that price range. I may be willing to go a little higher than that on the budget, but I will be using my MP3 player as an in-car jukebox a majority of the time and might only use headphones a few hours a week. I am just afraid of spending too much money on a great set of headphones and then getting the full benefit based upon my equipment and my encoding settings.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Gary Sheynkman]

unless you are willing to lug around SUPER sized headphones...you will need earbuds. There has been a wave of earbuds that sound VERY good.


some suggestions:

Sony MDR-EX71SL: the are in-ear-earbuds and sound very good. My dad got a pair for his cd player (he travels alot and is an audiophile) and I can say that they sound way better than my big sony DJ-type headphones. These go under 50 bucks so they are well in your price range.

I am yet to try these, but the Shure E3c seem to be getting amazing reviews, but they cost a pretty penny at $180. If i liked them....i think it would be worth it...but I cannot reccomend something ive never tried.

Hope this helps

[groan]

if you want full sized, i just boutght these
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=005177

they are very nice and not terribly expensive ($70 CDN).
The whole sennheiser line is spectaccular. I'll never buy another brand again.
sold at Radio Shack for those in Canada.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Mmm, Sennheisers. But they're all kinda big. Something decent and not too big I can think of would be the HD 495s. I personally own the HD270s, and they're great at their price.

[Russell]

My main concern is quality vs. price. I would like to spend in the $30 - $60 price range but I have no clue about what good models are available in that price range. I may be willing to go a little higher than that on the budget, but I will be using my MP3 player as an in-car jukebox a majority of the time and might only use headphones a few hours a week. I am just afraid of spending too much money on a great set of headphones and then getting the full benefit based upon my equipment and my encoding settings.

Any help would be appreciated.

I recommend SkullCandy headphones skullcandy.com (http://www.skullcandy.com). I believe they are like $30

[Suhit Gupta]

I recommend SkullCandy headphones skullcandy.com (http://www.skullcandy.com). I believe they are like $30
Unfortunately SkullCandy doesn't have earbuds in the Universal adapter. :(

Suhit

[Suhit Gupta]

The Sennheisers look very good, I personally own a pair of the Sony noise cancelling MDR-NC20. They are very nice, but I would also like to get a nice set of earbuds, just for the sake of convenience. The ones I am using now are the default ones that came with my IRiver iHP 140. But I am definitely look for a better set of earbuds, since these keep falling out. Though I am a bit afraid of trying in-ear earbuds, feels kinds weird to stick something deep into my ear, i.e. something that is not a cotton bud. From what I have heard, they tend to be uncomfortable at times too. Does anyone know of non in-ear earbuds that are good?

Suhit

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

I myself am using the Sennheiser MX500s. Pretty decent, and cheap too. However the much more expensive Sony MDR-E888s have bigger drivers, so they might stay in your ear better.

[Suhit Gupta]

Are you sure about the MDR-E888s number? I can't seem to find them anywhere. Google has plently of references to it but no one seems to sell it, looks like it is discontinued. Sony's site doesn't have them listed either.

Suhit

[Suhit Gupta]

Oh wait, I just found them at www.audiocubes.com, referred to as the Sony MDR-E888LP. Is this what you meant? Although, at a whopping $66, I think the price is prohibitive :(.

Suhit

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Ouch, that's robbery. I got mine for US$42. However they were a bit big, and were typical Sony construction (problems after the first year). I got the MX500s as a replacement, and am happy with them. Much cheaper too, at US$16, and comes with a volume control. The only thing is that both left and right wires are the same length, so you can't hang them on your neck.

[ctmagnus]

I would also like to get a nice set of earbuds, just for the sake of convenience... But I am definitely look for a better set of earbuds, since these keep falling out. Though I am a bit afraid of trying in-ear earbuds, feels kinds weird to stick something deep into my ear, i.e. something that is not a cotton bud. From what I have heard, they tend to be uncomfortable at times too. Does anyone know of non in-ear earbuds that are good?

Suhit

I found a set of Koss' The Plug earbuds in the local Radio Shack a few days ago and I find them to be quite appealing. Excellent bass compared to my Sennheiser PX200s. The Plugs do enter into the ear but I find that they sit nicely against my outer ear (ie, not fully inserted) and stay there if I'm not doing anything with a fair bit of up/down motion.

[Suhit Gupta]

I can't tell from the screenshots whether they are truly in-ear, but like you point out, they do look like they would stick in.

Suhit

[Gary Sheynkman]

whatever you do dont get BOSE....

Noise cancellation: rip off..sound ok...but KOSS sounds better



It seems i have omitted a portion

This is regarding the B&O phones

like the ones used by Tom Cruze in that spielberg movie (dont remember the name)
Earphones: great treble.....no bass

[Suhit Gupta]

Interesting, thanks. I have only tried Bose's regular headsets, not earbuds, and those were ok. Thanks for the info, and perhaps saving me money ;-). I will try out the above mentioned suggestions...

Suhit

[ctmagnus]

I can't tell from the screenshots whether they are truly in-ear, but like you point out, they do look like they would stick in.

Suhit

I should have mentioned that I stick them in all the way then pull them out slightly so that they rest against the outer ear. Otherwise I find them to be rather uncomfortable.

[Steven Hughes]

For under $99 I would recommend the Shure E2c:

http://www.shure.com/earphones/eseries_e2c.asp

I have a review of the higher end E5c's here:

http://www.bostonpocketpc.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=153

There is a bit of a difference, but if you are not an audifile you may not notice it, the E2cs would be a good match or the Etymotic Research ER-6 earphones

http://www.etymotic.com/

There is a review of this and its bigger(more expensive brother) here:

http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/etymotic-earphones-review.html

If you can I would definitely test them out and "hear" if they deliver what you are looking for...

[ale_ers]

Commenting on the Sony brand of earbuds...I bought them on a recommendation on pocketpcthought.com (or it might have been brighthand.com), but you can get them at Circuit City for around $45-$50 and at first I hated them. I didn't think they fit well and since they were popping out all the time I didn't like the sound. They came with 3 different "O" rings that fit on them for your ear. It wasn't until I tried the 3rd set (I have small ears so I thought the largest would hurt) that I fell in love with them.

It took me 3 months to finally get them right, but they are great. Very small so you can throw them in your bag, very comfortable (even though you wouldn't think so) and the sound is great since the "o" ring acts as kind of a poor man's noise cancellation.

I just looked at them and they have the # MDR EX70...don't know if that is the same ones you guys are talking about.

[ctmagnus]

I have a set of them, and I like Koss's The Plug headphones better if only because of the better bass.

[Gary Sheynkman]

500 bucks for earphones is 8O but i am a firm believer that $ can buy quality, so i guess its time to start saving up/justifying these babies

[Hyperluminal]

My brother has Senneheiser PXA100s. They cost about $50 (you can, of course, get them cheaper online, though).. they're not earbuds, but they fold upto be pretty small, and you can fit them in your pocket. They also sound very good. :)

[xxpinballxx]

I had the same delimma as to which earbuds to get for quality and price.

I found the MDR EX71SL earbuds are very good for thier price. I paid 50 dollars in BestBuy so I am sure you can find them cheaper online. I just needed them right away and couldn't wait for shipment. (low table and pibull/rot mix...nough said!)

I use them in my archos av420 and my laptop. I find bass exceptional.
They also have seperate earbud pieces to make sure of the fit and to allow the bass to get around the earbud.

I have tried the shur E2c against these and find them to be too close to justify the extra money for the Shur's.

Godd luck finding a good set.