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Quality iPhone Earbuds?

M

MegaMan1311

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 30, 2007
216
0
USA
Hello,

I am looking for suggestions for some quality iPhone earbuds. I have had three different pairs of Apple's iPhone Stereo earbuds and they have all broken.

I know very little about earbuds and I don't particularly care about sound quality. The sound quality of Apple's earbuds is good enough for me.

Basically, here is what I want from them:

  • Durable (or at least more so than Apple's. I'm not real rough on my ear buds, I just don't want them to break easily.)
  • Not in-ear (I'm not a big fan of in-ear earbuds. I know they have better quality, but I don't really care.)
  • Have a Microphone and click-controls (I don't care about noise canceling)
  • Decent sound quality (As long as it is at least the quality of Apple's standard ones)
  • Be under or around $50.

Is that reasonable? If it helps, I have an iPhone 3G now and plan to upgrade to the 3GS sometime soon.

Thanks.
 
ever thought about getting a adapter and use whatever headphones you see fit?

im a hardcore audiophile, cant stand using the buds for anything but a phone call. I want to use my Shure SE530s with my phone, so i plan on getting that adapter some time soon.
 
hmm 6500 threads asking the same question.


get the apple in-ear from ebay for $45
 
jacobgaul said:
hmm 6500 threads asking the same question.


get the apple in-ear from ebay for $45
Click to expand...

hehe he doesnt want the IEM style headphones...

which is why i suggested he just get a adapter and pick whatever headphones he wants.
 
HighLife420, thanks for your help. A quick Google search shows me the Griffin Smart Talk adapter, and it is pretty nice, but the cord is just way too long. I'll definitely look closer into something like that though. It is definitely an option. Thanks.

Jacobgaul, when you say stepping up the price level, by how much are you talking about?
 
for $100 you can get some better quality. i know thats double the price but even still.. what kind of activites are you doing exactly
 
Casual music-listening and talking on the phone. That's why I really don't care too much about quality.

I essentially want a more durable version of Apple's earbuds. I can't stand the Apple ones breaking constantly.
 
well i have the in-ear and i have no issue with them breaking.. how do you manage to break yours?
 
I have the standard iPhone Stereo earbuds, not the in-ear ones.

The rim of the cap that covers each earbud's speaker somehow breaks and does not stay on the earbud, so the cap comes off in my ear whenever I try to pull it out. It is really annoying.

It seems that soon after that, I lose sound in that earbud probably because things get inside the earbud when the cap is off.

I've been trying to figure out how they break... Maybe the conditions are rough in my pocket? :confused: Some Google searching shows that I'm not the only one with this problem, so I'm assuming that it is the poor durability of the earbuds...
 
Shure SE530 is 500 dollars, which is ridiculously expensive for most average iPod listener.
However, it's a good quality canal headphone and always got high score of reviews from various sites and magazines.
I myself a hardcore Sony headphone fan, I must have purchased about 10 pair of high quality headphones from them for the last 10 years.
Currently I'm using Sony MDR-EX 76 for my Touch 2G which is quite good, nice treble and bass and the price is just around 40 dollars.
 
well thats why bc u carry them in your pocket.. i mean wtf? get a flash drive keychain case and store them in there, you should really look into the in-ear ones from ebay they come with a case and sound great.
 
Hilmi Hamidi said:
Shure SE530 is 500 dollars, which is ridiculously expensive for most average iPod listener.
However, it's a good quality canal headphone and always got high score of reviews from various sites and magazines.
I myself a hardcore Sony headphone fan, I must have purchased about 10 pair of high quality headphones from them for the last 10 years.
Currently I'm using Sony MDR-EX 76 for my Touch 2G which is quite good, nice treble and bass and the price is just around 40 dollars.
Click to expand...


i used to love sony, i have a pair of the studio in-ear ones.. they go for like $150 or something but the one side stopped working (not completely just dont sound as loud) and sony left me high and dry over them so i switched.. F sony.

wow.. so i just got bored and cut this little ruber off the inner part of the in-ear.. and this little foam thing came out and was COVERED in wax.. now its funny because there is abosoutly no way i could of cleaned that without cutting this piece of the headphone off. at least apple provides replacement mesh caps with their in-ear.. yep F sony
 
Hilmi Hamidi, unless I'm mistaken, that Sony pair does not have a microphone in them. I'm looking for a pair with a microphone in them for the iPhone. Thanks for the recommendation though!

jacobgaul, I keep them in the same pocket as my phone and nothing else. All of the cases I can find are too bulky to fit in my pocket with my phone and its (fairly thin) case. So I am in a bit of a predicament... Thanks for your help though.
 
No, I haven't seen it before. I imagine that it is pretty slim though...

The problem with the in-ear headphones is that you can't hear anything while they are on. Also, the whole cable noise thing can be annoying. Do you have any issues with that?
 
i have no cable noise.. and i can still hear some stuff around me if i dont push them all the way in, the case is VERY small/slim

unbagging_jt.jpg


bottom left corner is the case the in-ear come in.

the case is same thickness as a iphone itself.
 
HighLife420 said:
ever thought about getting a adapter and use whatever headphones you see fit?

im a hardcore audiophile, cant stand using the buds for anything but a phone call. I want to use my Shure SE530s with my phone, so i plan on getting that adapter some time soon.
Click to expand...

I love my SE530's and have all the adapters including iPhone mic and PTH control. Great earbuds if you can get them on sale!!
 
I've chosen to go with the Apple In-ear earbuds. I've read great reviews about it, and jacobgaul helped with any of the doubts I had about it. I was also looking at the V-Moda Vibe Duo Earbuds, but from what I've read, it is not uncommon for them to break.

It ended up costing me more than what I had planned on, but I figure that if I really don't like them, I can return them and suffer the 10% fee. They'll be here next week! I'm looking forwards to them!

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. They really helped.
 
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MegaMan1311 said:
I've chosen to go with the Apple In-ear earbuds. I've read great reviews about it, and jacobgaul helped with any of the doubts I had about it. I was also looking at the V-Moda Vibe Duo Earbuds, but from what I've read, it is not uncommon for them to break.

It ended up costing me more than what I had planned on, but I figure that if I really don't like them, I can return them and suffer the 10% fee. They'll be here next week! I'm looking forwards to them!

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. They really helped.
Click to expand...

Did u get them for $45? That's how much mine cost me
 
No, I bought directly from Apple.

Apple has a better return policy, warranty, and support. Plus, I can drive down to my local Apple store if I have any issues with them.
 
scirica said:
I love my SE530's and have all the adapters including iPhone mic and PTH control. Great earbuds if you can get them on sale!!
Click to expand...

indeed, for the money its really hard to beat them...unless you go customs (my next step is the JHS-13 Customs)
 
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