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Best Headphones for $100

Aperture

Aperture

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 19, 2006
1,876
0
PA
Hi Guys, I'm thinking about buying a nice pair of in-ear headphones and am looking for some advice.

I've never owned a pair of earbuds better than the iPod ones so I am not too sure what to look for. I'm looking to spend about $100.

I've already looked at the V-Moda Vibe Duo 45, fyi.

Thanks
 
In-ear or ear canal? As for in-ear i can't say, as i have no experience, but i am confident that the apple ones are probably crap for the money. such is the way of these things.

for in-ear canal phones, etymotics and shure are where it's at. i have a pair of shure e4c's and a pair of etymotics er6. in my opinion, the sure sound a little better, but the etymotics are drastically more comfortable for ears. the problem is, everyone has different ears and different sized sleeves just don't cut it.

that being said, both sound great and it depends on the music you're listening to. i would might go as far as a generalisation and say the shures are better for electronic music and the etymotics are better for more instrumental music. and really it comes down to bass and the muddying of detail...

oh, also, the shure are better for running, a bit sturdier. if that's at all important for you.

Xilmwa said:
Have you tried looking at those on the Apple website?
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipod/ipod_accessories/headphones?mco=MTIzMDA
Click to expand...
 
I guess I'm looking for ear canal. However, the only ear canal ones I have tried were the old(er) Apple ones and they fit terribly. Since I couldn't get them to seal, the audio sounded absolutely horrible.

I listen to podcasts and more instrumental type music, I suppose. I plan to wear them a lot so comfort is definitely important. Should I check out Bose stuff while I'm at it?

Thanks for all the help so far, by the way.
 
Aperture said:
Should I check out Bose stuff while I'm at it?
Click to expand...

Only if you enjoy overpaying for shoddy merchandise. Bose audio products are uniformly terrible in my experience. I've never had a good thing to say about any of their products.

I recommend Sennheiser. Fantastic sound equipment.
 
Demosthenes X said:
Only if you enjoy overpaying for shoddy merchandise. Bose audio products are uniformly terrible in my experience. I've never had a good thing to say about any of their products.

I recommend Sennheiser. Fantastic sound equipment.
Click to expand...

Actually, I have the Bose in-ear headphones, and can tell you from experience that they are actually better than the Shure's and the Sennheiser's at the same price (Yes I have tried all of them.) The design of the Bose ones for me are also a lot better, they fit my ear a lot more comfortably than the others.
 
In your price range, I'm a fan of Ultimate Ears' Super-fi.3

You can usually score then on sale for around $80
 
The bose ones are not really canal-phones.

They are more like the regular style on-ear earbuds but sort of funnel the sound more into your ear. They feel almost loose at first but are actually quite comfortable, just different fit as they don't need to be jammed into your ears as much.

As for the sound, they sound pretty good but I'm not sure I would pay more than $60 for them.

The shure ones tend to come with a better 'fit-kit' than most earphones, but I have yet to try them (although I will likely buy some if apple's new earphones flop).
 
Is there any difference between the Shure SE110 and the Shure e4c? I'm looking at both.
 
Buy the Westone Labs UM-1's. I have these and they are very impressive. They have sent my Grado SR-100's back to my hi-fi system. You can get 'em from Radtech (under $100 w/ coupon).
 
danielhayter said:
I would again recommend Etymotic er6i in-ear canal headphones - the sound is second to none for the price.
Click to expand...

I can't agree more. I think they are much better sounding and have a better isolation than any shure at that price range. Don't buy Bose or V-Moda. My first pick would be Etymotic, next would be Ultimate Ears(I think my next set of headphones are going to be the tripple.fi 10s.)
 
I'm now looking at the Shure SE210 because I found them at a really good price. I'm all for the best sound quality but the Etymonics look a little cheap to me. Do the Shure SE210 change anything (in regards to Shure vs Etymonics)?

I like that the Shures come with the fit kit but if the Etymonics definitely have better sound then I'll go with those.
 
jackiecanev2 said:
In your price range, I'm a fan of Ultimate Ears' Super-fi.3

You can usually score then on sale for around $80
Click to expand...
While they and the Super-Fi.5's sound amazing in the mid and treble range they lack an enormous amount of bass. It's really almost nonexistent.

My favorite site for research is HeadRoom. More specifically, Ear Canal headphones. You really ought to check out Apple's new $79 earphones. The reviews have been very favorable and they have dual drivers (a must for a well rounded sound).
 
QuarterSwede said:
While they and the Super-Fi.5's sound amazing in the mid and treble range they lack an enormous amount of bass. It's really almost nonexistent.

My favorite site for research is HeadRoom. More specifically, Ear Canal headphones. You really ought to check out Apple's new $79 earphones. The reviews have been very favorable and they have dual drivers (a must for a well rounded sound).
Click to expand...

I'm wary to try the Apple ones again. I tried the old ones and hated them. After reading reviews I'm now leaning towards the Etymonics.
 
Aperture said:
I'm wary to try the Apple ones again. I tried the old ones and hated them. After reading reviews I'm now leaning towards the Etymonics.
Click to expand...
No offense but the original Apple earphones are the most pathetic earphones I've ever heard. Comparing them to Apple's new ones is like comparing Dollar store earphones to the Etymonics. From what I read so far, the new Apple dual driver ear phones sound better than a lot of more expensive earphones. I'm just trying to give you the most bang for your buck.
 
If the original Apple ear canal headphones didn't seal for you then you may be like me and unable to wear this kind of earphones. I have tried several different kinds looking for one that worked for me. I can usually get one ear to fit fairly well but then the other ear simply will not seal right. With the more expensive earphones you have the option of having them custom-fitted to your ears by an audiologist, but this can be very expensive. I finally gave up on this kind of earphones and use over the ear headphones.
 
QuarterSwede said:
No offense but the original Apple earphones are the most pathetic earphones I've ever heard. Comparing them to Apple's new ones is like comparing Dollar store earphones to the Etymonics. From what I read so far, the new Apple dual driver ear phones sound better than a lot of more expensive earphones. I'm just trying to give you the most bang for your buck.
Click to expand...

No, please don't think that I just brushed away your suggestion! I'm just saying that I wasn't quite happy with the Apple In-Ear headphones before - I couldn't get a good fit (and as such, the sound was terrible). I'm hoping it was just an issue with the Apple ones and not all in-ear headphones.
 
Aperture said:
No, please don't think that I just brushed away your suggestion! I'm just saying that I wasn't quite happy with the Apple In-Ear headphones before - I couldn't get a good fit (and as such, the sound was terrible). I'm hoping it was just an issue with the Apple ones and not all in-ear headphones.
Click to expand...
The sound was terrible because the drivers are garbage not because you couldn't get a good fit (what do you expect to get from free earphones?). Generally the more expensive earphones with rubber tips fit, feel and sound much better. You're going to be blown away with whatever you choose honestly. Especially if you're only comparing them to the lame standard Apple earphones.
 
QuarterSwede said:
The sound was terrible because the drivers are garbage not because you couldn't get a good fit (what do you expect to get from free earphones?). Generally the more expensive earphones with rubber tips fit, feel and sound much better. You're going to be blown away with whatever you choose honestly. Especially if you're only comparing them to the lame standard Apple earphones.
Click to expand...

No, no... Not the Apple ones that come with the iPod. They used to sell a more expensive model which has now been replaced by the new ones. These ones.
 
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deorg said:
buy used bose on ebay... its the best choice
Click to expand...

or not. read any headphone forum and you will quickly find out that bose in ear headphones are extermely over priced for what you get.
The Er-6i are not cheap by any means. I liked Etymotic because they seem like a smaller company than someone like Shure. They have great customer service and they make a great product.
 
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