iPod Pro ipod earbuds, worth it?

[lofight]

My ipod earbuds -the ones you get with the ipods- are on the side of not working.. Although I find they are well enough in quiet places, they are terrible if you're in a noisy place. So, I consider buying the ipod pro earbuds, the ones that sell for 39 €. But my question is, are they worth it? And does it filter ambient noise good?

 

[prostuff1]

My ipod earbuds -the ones you get with the ipods- are on the side of not working.. Although I find they are well enough in quiet places, they are terrible if you're in a noisy place. So, I consider buying the ipod pro earbuds, the ones that sell for 39 €. But my question is, are they worth it? And does it filter ambient noise good?

If i did the conversion right that is about 60 USD. For that you can probably find better noise isolating headphones.

I use a pair of shure se310's and they are great (but considerably more then 60 USD)

For around the 60 mark i would look at something like the Super.fi 3's. They will be much better then the apple headphones of the same price.

If you really want to do some research and burn a hole in your pocket head over to head-fi and do some reading.

 

[WinterMute]

Etymotic ER6p.

Expensive, but you'll never need another set of in-ear monitors again.

 

[lofight]

For around the 60 mark i would look at something like the Super.fi 3's. They will be much better then the apple headphones of the same price.

If you really want to do some research and burn a hole in your pocket head over to head-fi and do some reading.

Buy they're ugly..

And I don't want to spend more than that..

Etymotic ER6p.

Expensive, but you'll never need another set of in-ear monitors again.

It's the most i'm willing to spend.

 

[prostuff1]

Etymotic ER6p.

Expensive, but you'll never need another set of in-ear monitors again.

These are very good IEM. They tend to not have as much base but the highs and mids sound very good. There is just not a lot of thump to the music. They also have a very thin cable so just be careful with them. My sister had a pair of these and accidentally snagged them and broke them.

I like the shure's cause the cabling is thick and sturdy.

 

[WinterMute]

These are very good IEM. They tend to not have as much base but the highs and mids sound very good. There is just not a lot of thump to the music. They also have a very thin cable so just be careful with them. My sister had a pair of these and accidentally snagged them and broke them.

I like the shure's cause the cabling is thick and sturdy.

It depends what kind of tracks you listen to, there's plenty of bass for most musical styles, but probably not enough for urban or hip-hop, I don't listen to that kind of music, Led Zep sound pretty damn good through them.

Whilst the twisted pair looks thin, it's actually very tough, mine go across london 3 or 4 days a week, train and tube, and they've lasted well over a year with no problems so far, I used to break Apple's earbuds every 3 months or so.

The isolation is around 75db with the foam inserts, easily good enough for the tube.

 

[Sesshi]

I'd suggest the Sennheiser CX series in-ear phones, the 300 to 500. Somewhat decent isolation, more or less decent all-round sound, good warranty.

http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/products_headphones_classicline_cxseries

Look in the usual places - Amazon, etc for deals on them.

Never was a fan of the ER-6i nor the ER-4 series. It gives a tin can patina to music in the way that Etymotic falsely terms 'neutral' sound for all of their phones. I like the Comply tips that ships with the 6i's though - comfortable and highly isolating. Fortunately you can buy versions of those to fit (properly) Shure phones now as well.

 

[WinterMute]

I'd suggest the Sennheiser CX series in-ear phones, the 300 to 500. Somewhat decent isolation, more or less decent all-round sound, good warranty.

http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/products_headphones_classicline_cxseries

Look in the usual places - Amazon, etc for deals on them.

Never was a fan of the ER-6i nor the ER-4 series. It gives a tin can patina to music in the way that Etymotic falsely terms 'neutral' sound for all of their phones. I like the Comply tips that ships with them though - comfortable and highly isolating. Fortunately you can buy versions of those to fit (properly) Shure phones now as well.

My bad, I have the ER4p's! Yeah the 6's weren't as good sonically, and the 4's are much more expensive.

Those Senny's are pretty good mind.

 

[Sesshi]

The 6i isn't a million miles from the 4P.

I never quite understood why some studio types and audiophiles swear by these, especially as one listen from an experienced pair of ears should be enough to peg that a single balanced-armature driver definitely is not capable of reproducing the entire musical frequency range without some pretty noticeable sonic compromises.

You could press me into using an ER-4P/S/6i and I wouldn't complain for casual use - I've logged a decent number of plane miles on both - but personally I think the $500 Shure SE530 is the start point of a more or less fully musically-capable balanced-armature phone that's also tractable and universally well fitting. As a result of that I think armature phones offer incredibly bad sonic bang for the buck compared to a good pair of travel-friendly headphones, unless that is if you want or need the serious levels of isolation that balanced-armature phones from the ER-6i up provides.

The Sennheisers use regular old dynamic micro-drivers and I think offers decent sonic bang for the buck overall along with decent isolation. Pretty expensive from Thomann (BE) though... Perhaps you can find a better deal elsewhere. And apparently you should beware of knockoffs on Ebay.
http://www.thomann.de/be/sennheiser_in_ear_headphones.html

 

[WinterMute]

I found the 4's to be much better than the 6's, particularly the 4p's which suited the impedance of the iPod.

I completely agree with you generally, although i find electrostatic headphones more musical, I have Stax at home. However the ER4's were specifically for use on the London Underground, and that is a very noisy place indeed, they offer better ambient noise isolation figures than almost anything else, and they don;t cost the earth over here (min were £129 I think).

I hear what you say about the Senny's on airplanes, but the ambient noise is much lower unless your crashing!

 

[alphaod]

No they are not; they are just regular iPod headphones with changable ear pieces.

For the same price get yourself some Shure in-ears.

 

[txhockey9404]

I have had the Bose In-Ear Headphones for almost 2 years, and while they do not keep sound out, they do sound pretty good for the non-audiophile. I have had 5 pairs under warranty. I broke 4 and I just wanted a new pair on another and have had no hassle at all. They just exchange them on the spot for a new pair at any Bose store, as long as you purchase them at a Bose store. I am not saying they break easily, just that I am very hard on my headphones. They are used about twice daily, and two out of the three breakages were caused by my brother throwing my iPod while they were plugged in (plug almost snapped off). The best part is that they only cost $99, so I essentially have only paid $20 per pair. (That is in US dollars) I don't know if that is what you want or at your price point, I am just making a suggestion.

While they may not be the best headphones by a long shot, they are affordable, and I have had very good experiences with Bose Customer Service (the best I have ever dealt with)

 

[lofight]

No they are not; they are just regular iPod headphones with changable ear pieces.

For the same price get yourself some Shure in-ears.

I'll take a look at thoose..

 

[slu]

I just bought the Apple iPod In-Ear Headphones and they are much better than the stock ear buds. They are louder and keep out ambient noise much better. I can't comment on the other phones suggested, but I wanted to point out that I am happy with my purchase and I got them for only $35.