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In-Ear Headphones. What works?

F

Forever Changed

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 10, 2007
13
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I am looking to buy In-Ear phones to be used for a variety of different things. I would like to stay under $300 if possible. What works, is affordable and where can you get them? Also what DOESNT work, so I can avoid them.

I know apple sells the Shure E2,E3,E4 but I have heard a lot of negative things about them.
 
Forever Changed said:
I know apple sells the Shure E2,E3,E4 but I have heard a lot of negative things about them.
Click to expand...

What?

I got E2Cs and HATED them for the first day. They were uncomfortable for the next two. Now they feel brilliantly comfortable, and I strongly recommend them...
 
I struggled a while with this question. After much research, gauging what my back account would allow me I went with the Westone UM1's. They are a single-driver in ear monitor which run about $120. The next step up, the dual-driver UM2's are also within your price range (as they were with me). However, I went with the UM1's to save some money.

It was a great decision for me because I am able to now put that money towards a pair of custom fit earbuds which specifically fit the UM1's

I would buy the UM1's from Earphone Solutions:

http://www.earphonesolutions.com/weinea.html

And then check on the UM56's (the custom earbuds):

http://www.westone.com/music/universal.html#um56



Good luck!
 
gdprof27 said:
I struggled a while with this question. After much research, gauging what my back account would allow me I went with the Westone UM1's. They are a single-driver in ear monitor which run about $120. The next step up, the dual-driver UM2's are also within your price range (as they were with me). However, I went with the UM1's to save some money.

It was a great decision for me because I am able to now put that money towards a pair of custom fit earbuds which specifically fit the UM1's

I would buy the UM1's from Earphone Solutions:

http://www.earphonesolutions.com/weinea.html

And then check on the UM56's (the custom earbuds):

http://www.westone.com/music/universal.html#um56



Good luck!
Click to expand...


I was looking into the custom thing,
Which is pretty nifty.
How much was it to get the molds and everything?
 
Forever Changed said:
I was looking into the custom thing,
Which is pretty nifty.
How much was it to get the molds and everything?
Click to expand...


It really depends on where you go. The Westone website has an Audiologist database. You might be able to find one there.

One audiologist friend of mine (who lives too far away for a free mold) suggested that I check the local colleges to see if they have an School of Audiology because they are always looking for guinea pigs for the students to practice on!

...that was the long answer.


The short one is, "'bout a hundred bucks."
 
Duff-Man says...I have both Shure E2 and E3 and both have extremely good sound, and like others have said, I found them a bit uncomfortable the first day or two but now they feel just fine and isolate the sound very well.

If you are looking for something perhaps just a bit less expensive check out the V-Moda Vibe earphones too - they are not a good as the Shure ones but for the money (they can be had pretty cheaply on eBay) they're quite good.

As with anything sound-related there is always going to be a certain amount of subjective opinion as our ears are all different and what we 'like' is not the same.......oh yeah!
 
I've been using Shure in-ear monitors for years (E2's for a long time, just graduated to E3's.) Can't say enough good about them sound- or comfort-wise but I exclusively use the foam earpieces. I can say that the foam earpieces on the E3 are much softer and more comfortable than those for the E2 - if you're worried about comfort, the E3 would be my choice.

I paid about $115 for my E3g's (the black model) from a "marketplace" seller on Amazon. Worth every penny.
 
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