All of the ear buds that sound any good cost over $100 with some costing over $400! I'm finding it hard to part with that kind of money! Any recommendations?
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Do I REALLY have to spend $100 for great sounding ear buds?
- Thread starter TapHappy
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Frenchjay
macrumors 68000
What kind of music do you listen to? I mean do you like lots of bass or do you prefer it to be more balanced?
I can recommend a few under 100$ when you tell me what your preferences are 🙂
BurntReality
macrumors 6502
I am a bigg fan of ZaggBuds. With a 50% off coupon you can snag a pair for about 25 dollars. IMO an amazing value for that price.
Yeah, any decent noise cancelling ones are going to cost you about that much. Try searching on eBay. There store margin on headphones is really high, so you can usually find them on eBay for cheaper.
Skull Candy has some around the $50-$60 range but they aren't noise cancelling.
Panasonic also has some around that price range but no noise cancelling. Such as the Panasonic Slimz.
The Monster LADY GAGA ones are about $80. If ur okay with shiny headphones.
Sennheiser has a lot that are under $100 and very good headphones.
The SHURE SE102 and SE115 hit the $100 mark though. Well they are $95 in Canada. They are very good headphones. I did own those at one point. They aren't noise cancelling, but are noise isolating. So they do a good job.
There is a panasonic noise cancelling (88%) in ear headphones which are VERY good and they go for $120 here in Canada. The model number is just fleeting my memory at the moment. I can get back to you on that one!
Skull Candy has some around the $50-$60 range but they aren't noise cancelling.
Panasonic also has some around that price range but no noise cancelling. Such as the Panasonic Slimz.
The Monster LADY GAGA ones are about $80. If ur okay with shiny headphones.
Sennheiser has a lot that are under $100 and very good headphones.
The SHURE SE102 and SE115 hit the $100 mark though. Well they are $95 in Canada. They are very good headphones. I did own those at one point. They aren't noise cancelling, but are noise isolating. So they do a good job.
There is a panasonic noise cancelling (88%) in ear headphones which are VERY good and they go for $120 here in Canada. The model number is just fleeting my memory at the moment. I can get back to you on that one!
h1r0ll3r
macrumors 68040
The noise canceling ones will always be a lot more (unfortunately). If you want some cheap, decent sounding headphones then SkullCandy is pretty good. You can find them just about anywhere. If you have a FYE or Target or TJ Maxx near you, they usually have older models for around $15-$20. The Titans are good but are usually around $50. The FMJ's (Full Metal Jackets) are good sounding however you get a lot of vibrations from the cord when you walk around or run. Cheapest ones are the Ink'd which usually can be found for $10 at some places.
Frenchjay
macrumors 68000
Ok so a mixed bag really. These are great because you can tune the bass with different ports which increases bass response or makes them more balanced.
http://www.unclewilsons.com/shop/step1.php?number=644
These are a little more expensive but will last you a long time and they are well ahead of of any of the big names in the price range. If you look around you will get these for 100-150.
http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_...ormance/RP-HJE900/Overview/4673251/index.html
fishmd
macrumors 68000
I would highly suggest you check out the Ultimate Ears 5vi. You can get them on Amazon for like 60$-70$, which is a ridiculously good price. They retailed for around 160$ I think. They have a wonderful balanced sound and come with several different ear tips, including two sets of the Comply earfoam tips, which for me and many others are the best an most comfortable eartips you can use. If you go over the Headfi.org, there is a long thread about these headphones and how they are a great buy, and that is at retail. I truly think for 70$, you can't beat these.
Here is a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Ears...RZK0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289497876&sr=8-1
🙂
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Frenchjay
macrumors 68000
Yep they are seriously good for the money. They lack bass for my taste in music but still excellent!!
I'm a fan of ZAGG Buds as well. If you wanted to pick one up locally, I'd buy some Skull Candys for sure. I found some for as low as 10 bucks at Marshals, TJ Maxx.
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stay well clear of skullcandy headphones, damn those things sound like absolute trash. everything sounds so dead flimsy, and even the bass response isn't that great (for cheapo inears made for the consumer market, i expect overwhelming bass (because apparently, that's how the majority of consumers judge the quality of their headphones by 😕)). The highs were underwhelming, the mids were muddled in with the craptastic bass.
Sounds like absolute trash,
whatever you get, just don't get a pair of Skullcandy's. I'd recommend the UE Super.fi 5's. I think you can get em for ~100.
Sounds like absolute trash,
whatever you get, just don't get a pair of Skullcandy's. I'd recommend the UE Super.fi 5's. I think you can get em for ~100.
How about earbuds for a bass lover like me, would prefer if they came with volume controls and a microphone 😀
tadad1
macrumors 6502a
I agree avoid Skullcandy they are junk. The Nuforce have great sound but the build quality is a bit light and they suffer from really nasty diaphragm pop when you insert them.
I picked up a pair of Meelec M6P a couple of weeks back on special for under $30 for using when doing yard work or exercising and they are way better than I thought they would be. I had to experiment with a few different tips before I found a combo that worked for me but they isolate very well, good cable with minimal microphonics, really comfortable to wear even for long periods of use and have amazing bass reproduction without overpowering the mids and highs.
I picked up a pair of Meelec M6P a couple of weeks back on special for under $30 for using when doing yard work or exercising and they are way better than I thought they would be. I had to experiment with a few different tips before I found a combo that worked for me but they isolate very well, good cable with minimal microphonics, really comfortable to wear even for long periods of use and have amazing bass reproduction without overpowering the mids and highs.
Firestar
macrumors 68020
I've had 2 pair of Ink'd and the were fine. I've had a pair of V-Moda Vibes, a pair of Sony MDR (not sure what model), and Sennheiser CX300. My favorite were the Ink'd. But that's just me.
http://www.head-direct.com/product_detail.php?p=71#
RE2 and Fiio E5 Combo
Great headphones right here.
RE2 and Fiio E5 Combo
Great headphones right here.
tadad1
macrumors 6502a
I had made the move to third party earphones before I started buying Apple products and to be honest I have never even opened a pair of Apples stock earbuds.
I can relate to this as for a long time I could not justifying the cost of so called "quality earphones" sticking with the stocks that came with the various Meizu, Sansa, and Cowan players that I had purchased. My first big spend was a pair of Crossroad Mylar Ones which everyone was raving about in the forums. From memory they were a staggering $54 USD which was a huge payout for me hell I had players that had cost me less.
Fortunately they were glorious, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it as I have since invested so many many more hard earned dollars in upgrades that I do not even want to total them all up.
These days you don't have to spend a lot of money to hear noticeable improvements there are some great and even ridiculous bargains to be had if you want to test the water and try some third party earphones.
The Sound Magic PL50 are a great introduction to the clarity of balanced armature drivers.
The Kamen KM92 are one of the most ridiculous "bang for buck" bargains to be had and offer amazing sound for their chicken feed cost.
The Meelec M6\M6P that I mentioned above have quite a following and can be picked up for under $30 on sale now and then are a great investment even at their RRP, I find myself using them over phones that cost me ten times more.
Jays have some amazing quality phones at good price points.
If you prefer earbuds to iem's there are some good options here and here as well as the legendary Yuin range.
Be warned though that once you start venturing away from your stock earbuds there may be no turning back, the Head-Fi catch phrase "Sorry about your wallet" exists for a reason.
labman
macrumors 604
another vote for http://www.meelec.com they have all kinds of sales too on there facebook as well as twitter I actually own just because I got suck good deals. they also have weekly contest. fair prices for retail but of course of you can get it on sale even better. of win a set still better
own
M9
M6P
M11P+
also love the braided wire doesn't tangle great noise isolation.
own
M9
M6P
M11P+
also love the braided wire doesn't tangle great noise isolation.
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