best sounding high quality earbuds - what to buy?

[marcnyc]

Most of us can't stand the quality of mp3 files so until now I have never bought an iPod or other mp3 player.
However in the next few weeks, if the rumors are correct, the new iPhone will come out and I decided to buy one and by doing so I will de facto become an iPod owner. Having the player I am sure will make me want to listen to music so I am gonna put uncompressed WAV files on it but I was wondering what kind of earbuds to buy. My headphones of choice are Grado but I don't really want to pack those everywhere I go, considering their cost and bulk factor, so I was wondering if you guys have any recommendation for high quality earbuds...

A while ago somebody let me try their Shure (don't know the model) and they sounded a touch dark but I was extremely impressed with the isolation from outside noise that was offered by the expanding foam surrounding the earbud...

There are a lot of earbuds out there so I am hoping for some guidance.

Thanks

[mrsteaks]

Etymotics. They make some fine in-ears. There are others, too, Shure being one, but I've used ER-4 Etymotics for years and love their sound, isolation, and very small size. I'm very familiar with them. I've used them with everything from an iPod to a Benchmark DAC 1. They are very accurate, get in the way of nothing, and will play very loud (so be careful!). Some may not like the way they fit, but for me it's never been an issue.

Next.....

[Shadow_7]

I just got a pair of Sony earbuds. Don't recall the model, but they spec'd higher than all other headphones and earbuds at best buy for less than $50 anyway. Higher frequency response and lowest OHM resistance. They work but the cord is always getting snagged on something. Most times yanking them out of my ears.

I prefer over the ear headsets, but with todays gear you need the buds to get the audio up to audible levels. I seem to remember 4 OHM headsets as a teenager, most these days seem to be 32 OHM, which just doesn't have enough volume to be of use, especially in noisey environments.

[DaveD]

If I had the money, I'd try a pair of Ultimate Ears triple.fi 10 Pro. Check some of the reviews on Amazon.
Amazon.com: Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 Pro Earphones Gun Metal Blue: Electronics

[Bixby]

I just upgraded to Shure SE530s, from the Shure E4c. Quite happy with them. Have also used them to do a live mix when we couldn't get a separate isolated room.

Lots of reviews on headphone.com.

[boojum]

I'll second the Etymotic ER4's. They are not cheap, but years ago AUDIO reviewed them and said the next better thing for your ears was the Stax lambda Pro 4 at several thouasands more. I have had mine for many years, too. Great in the field for recording because of their isoaltion. Also very accurate sound from them. Some folks do not like the ear fit, and it can give me the freakies for a second or two sometimes, but other than that they cannot be beat. And that is why I use them for critical listening after ~10 years.

[Harvey Gerst]

A friend of mine had the same question and she tried about 30 different pairs of earbuds. I've given her some space on my website to sell the best of what she found:

Gwendy's Earbuds

[Harvey Gerst]

A friend of mine had the same question and she tried about 30 different pairs of earbuds. I've given her some space on my website to sell the best of what she found:

Gwendy's Earbuds

Added note: Sorry Marc, I didn't realize you only wanted expensive earbuds; these would be totally inappropriate; please disregard.

[marcnyc]

potentially it could have been a great article, but your "friend" doesn't even mention a brand and I doubt a $15 earbud sounds as good as a $500 one!
It looks like you or whoever owns that website is just trying to sell some cheap made in china ware and that's certainly not the kind of reply that these forum endorses

[SaxJordan]

I've been very pleased with Etymotic. The isolation is terrific which allows you to listen at much lower levels.

Etymotic Research, Inc. - ER-4 MicroPro Insert Earphones

[Harvey Gerst]

Originally Posted by marcnyc

potentially it could have been a great article, but your "friend" doesn't even mention a brand and I doubt a $15 earbud sounds as good as a $500 one!

She doesn't make that claim, and you didn't mention the price range.. She had the same problem you're concerned about; she got an mp3 player and she hated the earbuds that came with it. She went through about 30 pair (mostly cheap and inexpensive) and found some decent earbuds at a low cost.

Originally Posted by marcnyc

It looks like you or whoever owns that website is just trying to sell some cheap made in china ware and that's certainly not the kind of reply that these forum endorses

Really? For the record, I own that website, and we're a pretty well known studio; certainly Jules knows who we are, as do most of the moderators. I gave her some web space to help her start a small home business.

You asked about some good sounding earbuds, and I suggested you look at these. Yes, they're cheap, and yes, they also sound pretty damn nice. And that's compared to my $250 custom-molded, in-ear monitors.

Maybe you should have asked your question in the "High End" forum.

(Sheesh, you try to help...)

[kittyboy]

I'm a headphone geek.

I love my shure E3Cs. If I came into some cash I might get some E5Cs (about $500), and if I really felt flush I'd get the Ultimates Ear 10s with custom fitted earpieces. That's considered the best of the best AFAIK. About $1000.


Find Your Earphones - Ultimate Ears Earphones Headphones Personal Monitors


Head-Fi.org: Headphones, iPod earphones, portable audio, MP3 players, high-end audio

[ALL*MYTEE]

I have the Ultimate Ears Superfi .5 Pro. I picked them because they were among the lower priced ones to have separate drivers for bass and I love me some bass. The Shure ones with separate drivers were a bit more expensive if I remember correctly.

The fit is great and isolation is extremely good. I started off with squishy earpieces and now use the rubber cones, which seal better. You can listen much more quietly than the stock phones and hear a lot more. I've been pleased with them. Had a problem with the cable a year or so into ownership and I called them and they sent me new cables gratis. (The cables detach for replacement.)

It was either those or spring big for custom molded. There are entire web sites dedicated to hashing out the differences in in-ear phones if you really want to get into it. I talked to a real person in the US on customer service too.

[Toad]

Thanks for the great tip Harvey!!thumbsup

[cppi]

If you are going to use the iphone to hear your music you'll have to buy a 3rd party adapter to connect the buds into. Seems Apple made the phone jack smaller so theirs only fit the phone. I tried to use my "Future Sonics" molds to listen to music I imported and they and any headphones or earbuds would not fit. Googled Belkin and bought the adapter for I think around $7.00USD.

[Francis Vaughan]

A third recommendation for the Etymotics. I use ER-4S on my iPod, and also with a Duet. They are very very good. You will probably want the ER-4P - which are more sensitive and in principle intended for low voltage portable (hence the P) applications. However I have never found my gen 3 iPod lacking into the ER-4S. One day I would like to try a pair of Ultimate Ears, but the barrier to entry is pretty steep.

Funnily enough I have been contemplating the next gen iPhone too. Here in Oz it is rumoured to be being released soon as well.

With the iPod functionality you can rip to Apple's lossless compression, which, depending upon the music, gets between 2 and three times compression. So no need to burden the limited storage with uncompressed music. With the Etymotics the difference between even high bit rate lossy compression and lossless is quite noticable, so it is a good way to go.

Beware however, you cannot under any circumstances jog or ride a bike with the Etymotics. The sound isolation is far too good. On the other hand I cut wood for the winter fire with a petrol driven chain saw, and use the iPod with Etymotics. I get good ear protection and good music in one. I never need to turn the music up.

[Jimbo]

A fourth for the Etymotic ER4 series.

However, I recommend you get the ER4-P along with the P->S adapter for two reasons:
1. You can then use them for audio work as well as iPodding
2. The ER4-P has a new, softer cable which reduces microphonics running up to the ears. When I bought mine two years ago the ER4-S model still used the older, firmer cable.

The ER4 in ears have a really deep soundstage, unlike any standard cans that I've worn.