Why do the iPhone's earphones suck so much?

[SDAVE]

It's also amazing to me how many people who claim to care so much about audio quality yet they purchased a portable MP3 player.

You know that you can use Apple Lossless codec right?

I'm an audiophile and the iPhone is good, but not perfect. There are better quality MP3 players out there, but at the moment all my songs are encoded at VBR 256kb MP3 (I don't like AAC) and the quality is pretty good. If you want the best possible, use Lossless or uncompressed (kind of defeats the purpose of having a portable player though, songs are too large).

 

[hellomoto4]

Because Apple are crap at making earphones.

 

[knowmonger]

You shouldn't expect much from thirty dollar headphones. I refuse to use them. Here is the pile I found sitting in my desk drawer.

I disagree. My Nokia XpressMusic Stock Headphone worth just $3!!(Proof) performs soooooooooooo much much better.

Apple is ripping us off. I bought my iPod due to the hype. I wonder how this thing even get popular. Hell, even my cassette player delivers better quality.

I ain't kiddin. I need to know. Using the included headphone, its utter crap. If not for the hype, I'd hv thrown it away. Why the hell did iPod get this popular?

 

[The Final Cut]

I used to think they sounded good. Then I tried a the Skull Candy inked buds for $20, I was blown away. There are much better choices at half the cost of the iPhone headset. One other horrible thing about the iPod headset line is that they break randomly, with half working for 10 years and some lasting 10 days. An exaggeration of course, but seriously the tracks records are very inconstant. I have yet to try the premium apple headphones but I doubt there worth 4 times the price of the skull candys. A lot of people only use them as they want to look hip.

 

[greygray]

Because Apple are crap at making earphones.

Not when they build iPods and they can create a relatively good in-ear premium earphone at a different price. The stock ones are just for budget and therefore, poorer quality.

 

[androiphone]

using cr@p earphones will damage your hearing yet no one cares and carry on using stock earphones anyway here's a link (and the US has also expressed concern of earphone volume) too http://www.trustedreviews.com/mp3/n...0--of-MP3-Player-Owners-RISK-HEARING-LOSS-/p1

 

[gloss]

Never had quality issues with the iPhone/iPod headphones - run them through the wash before, but they work fine. They don't sound very good, of course, but I found they're useful when walking around campus if you want some ambient noise bleeding through so you don't get hit by a truck.

 

[gloss]

[zap]

 

[ozzyman500]

They always used to fall out of my ears. That's why I've paid a little extra and got some nice Sennheiser CX400's. I love those things.

 

[OneMike]

Bundling quality earphones with the iphone/ipod would add significantly to the cost--especially considering that probably 70% of people never bother replacing the cheap Apple headphones during the entire life of their device. It's amazing to me that people will spend hundreds on a fancy iphone/ipod and listen to their music on what are essentially the lowest quality headphones out there. I got a pair of Sennhesier headphones for my iphone and the sound quality is so much better. Even $40 Sony headphones are a huge improvement.

I don't think price is the question here. It's simply that the iPhone/iPod headphones are a piece of junk. That can't be disputed. The same piece of junk headphones that come with the device are the ones sold in the store.

Before getting my bluetooth headset I had a bose pair. However, even the $15 skullcandy set I had at a point sounded way better then the apple brand ones. In-ear as well.

 

[Fajowski]

I agree

The earbuds that come with the iPhone/Pod/Pad are crappy for a few reasons. They don't stay in your ear, and they hurt your ear if they are in for a while. Also, they don't create a suction in your ear, so the sound quality sucks. This also makes it so you can easily hear other noises around you which is annoying.

 

[Givmeabrek]

I have a pile of those things and have never once tried them. They look way to uncomfortable. How are they supposed to stay in your ears??

 

[kaizenmx]

They don't stay on your ears. They fall off. Don't even think about walking or jogging while wearing that piece of ***** default apple earphones.

 

[Tophersky]

i have the $40 sony headphones and they r better than the apple ones, but i just purchased the super.fi 5's by ultimate ears and i must say, they're awesome. depending on how much you're willing to spend you might wanna look at reviews for the v-modas, shures, or super.fi 4.

I have the super.fi 5's as well and I have to say they sound VERY good. I never even took the clear plastic off my iPhone ear buds, they're still in the box in fact.

 

[rockyroad55]

Only thing I like about their earphones is the remote button. The feel of the click along with the volume up/down buttons haven't been matched by the headphones that I can buy.

 

[lovish]

Skull candy headphones are the best for me... any one else using them or anyone having any opinion about them ??

Love is eternal - Albus dumbledore

 

[verwon]

Skull candy headphones are the best for me... any one else using them or anyone having any opinion about them ??

Love is eternal - Albus dumbledore

I have a set, they're okay, but you don't get great music quality with them.

 

[lovish]

I have a set, they're okay, but you don't get great music quality with them.

Actually they are better then synthiser and these two are the best options avalable here in India... also it depends upon the price too... they have. Rabge from 20$ to hundreds of $$ so it depends upon the model of headphones too

Love is eternal - Albus dumbledore

 

[twysta]

Skull candy headphones are the best for me... any one else using them or anyone having any opinion about them ??

Love is eternal - Albus dumbledore

Skullcandy are primarily aimed at people that want funky looking headphones. I have had a pair of INK'D SC's and I wasn't too impressed, but then again - what do I expect for £18?

Since then, I have purchased myself a pair of Urban Ears Plattan headphones for daily use, and some Sennheiser MM30i in ear earphones for when I am exercising / laying in bed. Both have microphones/clickers so that is a bonus.

 

[ecwhite4S]

Wouldnt exactly say Apple earphones are horrible. However compared to other more expensive options, and higher end earphones, I'm sure they seem really bad.

I dont use my iPhone for an mp3 player, however. I have a separate Phillips mp3 player, so I barely plug headphones into it at all.

 

[hexonxonx]

I still use them to this day mainly because the only time I use earphones is at work. No sense getting anything better. I did get some foam pads at RadioShack to put on them so they don't move or fall out of my ears.

 

[-tWv-]

Honestly trying to not be rude, but since I haven't seen widespread reports of this in the forums, is there something you are doing to create the failures?

This has been a widespread problem since the introduction of the iPod/iPhone. Simply put, apple headphones are **** but that's just because they don't want to have the phone cost a lot. Honestly I don't think most people even notice that the headphones are bad because they don't try anything else. I went through about 4 sets in the first year I had an iPod and gave up after that. I moved to skullcandy headphones (they are cheap), then Bose in ear headphones, and I just received a pair of Shure se425's today! Literally anything is better than apples headphones but these Shures are amazing.

I also think that people wear them on purpose to show that they have an apple device (the iconic white cord). This might not happen as much anymore but I remember back when the iPod first came out anyone with white headphones became instantly cool

 

[hexonxonx]

This has been a widespread problem since the introduction of the iPod/iPhone. Simply put, apple headphones are **** but that's just because they don't want to have the phone cost a lot. Honestly I don't think most people even notice that the headphones are bad because they don't try anything else. I also think that people wear them on purpose to show that they have an apple device (the iconic white cord). This might not happen as much anymore but I remember back when iPod first came out anyone with white headphones became instantly cool

Since I bought my first iPod back in 2003, I have always used the supplied earphones and have never had a pair go bad on me.

 

[ecwhite4S]

This has been a widespread problem since the introduction of the iPod/iPhone. Simply put, apple headphones are **** but that's just because they don't want to have the phone cost a lot. Honestly I don't think most people even notice that the headphones are bad because they don't try anything else. I also think that people wear them on purpose to show that they have an apple device (the iconic white cord). This might not happen as much anymore but I remember back when iPod first came out anyone with white headphones became instantly cool

I think some people wear them because people like me, simply don't care and will just use the headphones that come with the device.

People usually like buying those aftermarket ones that come in crazy colors, with crazy names because they look cooler. I dont think people think Apples headphones look "cool" or think that it shows the world that they are using an Apple product.

And believe me, Apples headphones aren't that bad. I've used headphones that are wayyy worse, way more uncomfortable and not as good as far as sound quality goes.

 

[-tWv-]

I think some people wear them because people like me, simply don't care and will just use the headphones that come with the device.

People usually like buying those aftermarket ones that come in crazy colors, with crazy names because they look cooler. I dont think people think Apples headphones look "cool" or think that it shows the world that they are using an Apple product.

And believe me, Apples headphones aren't that bad. I've used headphones that are wayyy worse, way more uncomfortable and not as good as far as sound quality goes.

Are you talking about those headphones they give out on airplanes? Because I do agree those are worse haha