ipod headphones

[njh328]

just got my 4G ipod today, and noticed that my headphones are all grey. aren't they supposed to be bright white to match the front of the ipod? even if the cord is grey aren't the actual pieces that go in the ear supposed to have a white casing? they are all a dull grey and im quite depressed

 

[Abstract]

Really? Weird. They should all include the same earphones. Was any part of the box, including the tape of any of the paper pieces ripped when you first opened the box? Were the headphones packaged inside those condom package-esque rip packs? They should have been.

Got a digital camera and a picture of them? Just curious. If the earphones you got are better, then more power to you, but if it matters to you, phone Apple and ask. It would be interesting regardless of whether you wanted them or not.

 

[stevehaslip]

yup^what he said! take a photo of them so people can help more. They might be rare! and worth more!!!! (if you wanted to sell them that is)

 

[Vanilla]

I just double checked mine and the actual earbuds are white but the cabling is a light grey colour.

Weird.

However, in terms of sound quality they are a pile of brown stuff so in my opinion if you really want to enjoy your iPod you should immediately go out and buy a decent pair of portable headphones. It just seems a shame to spend several hundred dollars on a quality player like the iPod and then plug cheap earbuds into it!

I personally went for Shure E2C in-ear headphones. They take a little getting used to and are not particularly cheap but the sound is really awesome. There are of course many others but these are the ones I went for.

Maybe you could eBay your strange and probably rare freebie grey headphones and put the proceeds towards a decent pair of headphones!

Vanilla

 

[jsw]

Very odd. Do you live anywhere near an Apple Store? They might replace them for you - after all, the product was "defective" out of the box.

Or, as others have said, you might end up getting new ones anyway, so no big deal. And, if they don't look quite so iPod-ish, they might attract less attention - i.e., fewer potential thieves.

 

[MacinDoc]

just got my 4G ipod today, and noticed that my headphones are all grey. aren't they supposed to be bright white to match the front of the ipod? even if the cord is grey aren't the actual pieces that go in the ear supposed to have a white casing? they are all a dull grey and im quite depressed

If you return them to Apple, they should replace them as defective, because the appearance of the iPod is part of its appeal. However, Stevehaslip is correct, you could probably sell them to a collector for considerably more than it would cost you to get a new pair of white Apple earphones (or maybe even enough to get a pair of Shure buds ?)

 

[titaniumducky]

I just double checked mine and the actual earbuds are white but the cabling is a light grey colour.

Weird.

However, in terms of sound quality they are a pile of brown stuff so in my opinion if you really want to enjoy your iPod you should immediately go out and buy a decent pair of portable headphones. It just seems a shame to spend several hundred dollars on a quality player like the iPod and then plug cheap earbuds into it!

I personally went for Shure E2C in-ear headphones. They take a little getting used to and are not particularly cheap but the sound is really awesome. There are of course many others but these are the ones I went for.

Maybe you could eBay your strange and probably rare freebie grey headphones and put the proceeds towards a decent pair of headphones!

Vanilla

He's right, they're supposed to be gray and white. The cabling is light gray and the plastic is part grey part white.

 

[michaelrjohnson]

However, in terms of sound quality they are a pile of brown stuff so in my opinion if you really want to enjoy your iPod you should immediately go out and buy a decent pair of portable headphones. It just seems a shame to spend several hundred dollars on a quality player like the iPod and then plug cheap earbuds into it!

I personally went for Shure E2C in-ear headphones. They take a little getting used to and are not particularly cheap but the sound is really awesome. There are of course many others but these are the ones I went for.

The thing is, for 99% of people, the sound quality, bass response, and volume levels that the included iPod headphones produce is more than enough sound "quality". Some of those people buy additional headphones because they don't like the design (i.e. white, don't stay in ears, etc) but not for the sound quality. There *is* however, a large group of people out there who are extremely picky about their audio quality. For those people, you are right, the iPod headphones are not good enough, but realize, that most people just don't care that much.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

The thing is, for 99% of people, the sound quality, bass response, and volume levels that the included iPod headphones produce is more than enough sound "quality". Some of those people buy additional headphones because they don't like the design (i.e. white, don't stay in ears, etc) but not for the sound quality. There *is* however, a large group of people out there who are extremely picky about their audio quality. For those people, you are right, the iPod headphones are not good enough, but realize, that most people just don't care that much.

I'm one of those people that find the iPod headphones perfectly adequate as far as sound quality goes - my only complaint is that they won't stay in my ears.

 

[lasuther]

I personally went for Shure E2C in-ear headphones. They take a little getting used to and are not particularly cheap but the sound is really awesome. There are of course many others but these are the ones I went for.

Vanilla

I agree with Vanilla on needing better sounding headphones. I went with Etymotics and recommend those, especially if you travel on planes a lot. They block out a lot of sound.

lasuther

 

[jxyama]

He's right, they're supposed to be gray and white. The cabling is light gray and the plastic is part grey part white.

like TiDucky said, did anyone think that this headphone is supposed to be the way it is? afterall, this is first iPod where the interface is not entirely white. it's very possible that apple added a subtle touch of coordinating the 4th gen's gray wheel/white body look to the earphone?

let's think a little before crying defective, folks. what's the chance you get a "defective" headphone that looks perfectly made, packaged, etc.? (i assumed perfect packaging because if the box/package was broken into, the orig. post would surely have been different.)

 

[stevehaslip]

I'm one of those people that find the iPod headphones perfectly adequate as far as sound quality goes - my only complaint is that they won't stay in my ears.

thats pretty much the reason why I've chucked most of the headphones that have come with portable music players in the past! It bugs the hell out of me when you're listening to your favourite tune and theres the bitchin' solo and out pops your earbud! infuriating!

 

[jsw]

like TiDucky said, did anyone think that this headphone is supposed to be the way it is? afterall, this is first iPod where the interface is not entirely white. it's very possible that apple added a subtle touch of coordinating the 4th gen's gray wheel/white body look to the earphone?

let's think a little before crying defective, folks. what's the chance you get a "defective" headphone that looks perfectly made, packaged, etc.? (i assumed perfect packaging because if the box/package was broken into, the orig. post would surely have been different.)

My 4G earbud cables are white - or else a gray so light as to match the white of the iPod case. I'm looking at them now. Sadly, I'm not looking at the 4G iPod, as I just returned it for repair - it kept spontaneously rebooting, in the middle of playing songs, even after being updated and reloaded (repeadedly) - full charge on the battery, too.

However, since there have been verified reports of different backlight colors on various 'pods, it's not unreasonable ot assume theyre'd be different headphone colors as well.

 

[Vanilla]

I understand the point that some people will find the enclosed freebie buds perfectly adequate and indeed as an equivalent scenario some people find all-in-one hifi systems bought off the shelf in supermarkets perfectly adequate.

However my point was that an iPod is great piece of technology and has the ability to pump out a really, really good sound, but you are only going to realise that sound by having good quality headphones.

If you paid top-dollar for a great Hi-Fi separates system you would naturally take some care in purchasing a set of speakers that would help you realise your investement in sonic quality.

Equally, after investing in what is a premium-priced, top quality MP3/AAC player, to me it seems odd to interface with your serious investment via a set of cheap headphones, largely missing out on what is a great signal being pumped out of the iPod.

The Shure buds go into the outer edge of your ear canal, forming a complete seal that provides two benefits:
1. It shuts out the vast majority of external noise, pumping the sound directly into your ear. This means that you can play your music at a much lower sound level as the iPod is no longer competing with the sounds of people, buses, trains etc. The quality of the mini-marvels is also such that you can invariably hear subtle nuances in the sound that you never heard before.
2. As they pump the sound directly into your ear and form a tight seal it also means that you are not sharing your music with fellow commuters/passengers etc.

There are others as well, as IASUTHER says the ETYMOTICS are also very good apparently but they are a little more expensive than the Shure E2’s

So in summary, of course its fine to use the white buds and if you never put anything else in your ears you’ll be none the wiser and have saved yourself a fair bit of cash.

However just know that the iPod in your hand has the capability of producing an awesome sound but you need a quality interface in the form of a good set of buds to realise it.

Of course you could also hook your iPod up to a good HiFi separates kit, but portability is rather restrictive!

Vanilla

PS: As the cable is black it is also not immediately apparent that I am listening to music via an iPod, which has its advantages when strolling the streets of London….

 

[SolidGun]

Sound quality will all depend on how you encode it, then what you are listening to it out of. I own a set of E2c and according to its designer, it is best designed for compressed music because it can detect lower frequencies. Other line of Shures are designed primarily for uncompressed music.

If the earbuds are already out, this will lower its collectable value.

 

[robotrenegade]

Those in-ear buds from apple suck. They sound like crap but they do fit nice in the ear.

 

[jxyama]

Equally, after investing in what is a premium-priced, top quality MP3/AAC player, to me it seems odd to interface with your serious investment via a set of cheap headphones, largely missing out on what is a great signal being pumped out of the iPod.

makes no business sense. the number of people who won't appreciate and therefore, won't pay for a $50 premium headphone to be added to already premium priced iPods far outnumbers people who do and would pay that extra money. and guess what, those people can just go buy one themselves, like people do now.

"who in the right mind would buy a laptop and use exclusively the trackpad?" that's how i feel. but do i feel that apple should bundle a pro mouse with all the laptops for an added base price? absolutely not.

i also feel that sound quality is overrated for the masses. if the masses really cared about the sound quality, CD players would still be selling fine - afterall, that's uncompressed full fidelity AIFF files. you cannot sell a product by catering it to the small minority of "elite" users, especially when those "elite" users are willing to go on their way to improve as they see fit. (and i'd argue that even if premium $50-100 headphones were included with the iPod, different expert users would still complain that those headphones aren't good enough to their likings.)

however, i will say that iPod headphones are of better quality than ones bundled with $20 CD players or other cheaper mp3 players.

 

[stevehaslip]

Very few people want to admit it but the reason that some people use the white Apple earphones is because it says to everyone "I have an Ipod, I have style"

Or at least it used to! Now loads of people have iPods so they've kinda lost some of the appeal that made them look so unique. Not that they aren't still cool

 

[Vanilla]

JXYAMA: Its strange how the written word can be misinterpretated!

Of course I am NOT suggesting that Apple include a set of professional headphones with the iPod. God, can you even imagine how much that would cost?

No, I am saying that having spent your hard earned dosh on an iPod, which comes with a set of buds that enables you to play with it immediately, straight out of the box, you should consider investing in a good set of buds to really maximise your investment.

Which professional buds - or full-sized cans - you go for is entirely up to the individual (another reason why I agree that Apple are perfectly correct in supplying the iPod with the existing buds) but I personally feel such an investment should at least be considered becuase it does make a significant difference in the iPod experience.

As for proudly displaying white cabling to signify the coolness of owning an iPod as someone wrote, all I can say is that in London that is akin to walking around with a sign around your neck saying "Please mug me". I feel the same way about computer bags actually. Utter madness. Its sad one has to feel that way but there you go, thats city life for you.

Anyway, bottom line I agree that the white (or grey ;-) ) buds that come with the iPod will work fine for the majority of people and if you don't go and check out the alternatives you wont know any difference and will save a lot of cash to boot. I am simply saying that from personal experience there is a HUGE increase in performance to be had by upgrading the phones that I feel is well worth the investment.

Vanilla

 

[titaniumducky]

like TiDucky said, did anyone think that this headphone is supposed to be the way it is? afterall, this is first iPod where the interface is not entirely white. it's very possible that apple added a subtle touch of coordinating the 4th gen's gray wheel/white body look to the earphone?

let's think a little before crying defective, folks. what's the chance you get a "defective" headphone that looks perfectly made, packaged, etc.? (i assumed perfect packaging because if the box/package was broken into, the orig. post would surely have been different.)

Actually, my 3G headphones are grayish.

 

[jxyama]

JXYAMA: Its strange how the written word can be misinterpretated!

Of course I am NOT suggesting that Apple include a set of professional headphones with the iPod. God, can you even imagine how much that would cost?

yeah, sorry if i kinda got carried away.

slow day at work, almost no work. i hate days like this. makes me a very cranky poster.

 

[Vanilla]

yeah, sorry if i kinda got carried away.

slow day at work, almost no work. i hate days like this. makes me a very cranky poster.

Hey no problem, it was nice to have a dialogue. Actually my last post was written after a bottle of rather nice white wine and I'm embarrased to admit I couldn't actually remember posting it....luckily after a frantic read through the post I see I was reasonably polite so no harm done.

I am currently slogging my way through a PR site re-design at work and am bogged down with interminable meetings discussing content issues when what I really want to do is to let rip in Photoshop so if its any consolation you're not alone.....

ciao
vanilla
PS: Almost forgot, so what was the final decision on these pesky Apple buds then? Is grey the new white or what?

 

[lasuther]

Vanilla:

If you want to really maximize your iPod for sound quality, the next purchase to consider is a amplifier. Your iPod is a great source for music. The next important purchase is a good set of headphones. After that, I'm getting a amplifier. Check out the headroom portable amps for the iPod, specifically the TotalAirhead (do a google search). That is a serious piece of audio equipment. I've used them before, and there products are top notch quality and audiowise. They also have iPod cases to hold the iPod and amp.

lasuther

 

[titaniumducky]

Vanilla:

If you want to really maximize your iPod for sound quality, the next purchase to consider is a amplifier. Your iPod is a great source for music. The next important purchase is a good set of headphones. After that, I'm getting a amplifier. Check out the headroom portable amps for the iPod, specifically the TotalAirhead (do a google search). That is a serious piece of audio equipment. I've used them before, and there products are top notch quality and audiowise. They also have iPod cases to hold the iPod and amp.

lasuther

Umm... Isn't the iPod supposed to be portable - as in light and small. Yeah it'll sound better, but what's the point if it's no longer easy to carry around?

 

[Vanilla]

Vanilla:

If you want to really maximize your iPod for sound quality, the next purchase to consider is a amplifier. Your iPod is a great source for music. The next important purchase is a good set of headphones. After that, I'm getting a amplifier. Check out the headroom portable amps for the iPod, specifically the TotalAirhead (do a google search). That is a serious piece of audio equipment. I've used them before, and there products are top notch quality and audiowise. They also have iPod cases to hold the iPod and amp.

lasuther

Yeah I spotted that option when I was researching options for quality portable headphones. It does read well but I personally feel that is one step too far in terms of portability. Having to carry an iPod AND a headphone amp on your person to me reduces the portability factor too much.

I therefore chose the E2C's as I had read - and had confirmed in the hifi shop I bought them in - that these particular beasts can happily be powered from low output sources such as portable players. By way of comparison I was initially looking at ETYMOTICS ER6's but got put off when I read that they worked best when powered through a portable amp....plus of course they were more expensive than the E2C's!

So yes, your quite right a portable headphone amp WILL improve the sound even further, but for me its starting to feel like strapping a hifi separates system to yourself.

Okay thats a little dramatic (!)..lets just say I hear you (sic) but I wanted personally to stick with an iPod/earbuds combo.

cheers
Vanilla