I’m in the market for some of in-ear headphones. For the last couple of years I’ve used the Samsung ones that came with my phone. To me, the sound seems perfectly fine.
So, if I spunk a load of money on some Bose or B & O, will there be a genuinely discernible difference even though I’m listening via a (high end) smart phone? Will I suddenly discover hitherto unheard instrumentation previously denied by my bog standard wax congealed Samsungs?
Thanks in advance
I presume that your earphones on the move? I always think with the background noise of everyday life it’s a bit of a waste to go for really expensive hi-fi quality earphones. Another reason I’m loathe to spend loads of cash on them is that I somehow always end up shutting the cable in car doors, droppping them and stepping on them, or damaging them in some other klutzy way. My go-to pair of cheap but decent earphones are these Mrice E300s, which sound great for the money, and also have a triangular-shaped cord which doesn’t get tangled. You can often pick them up cheap on Amazon – they’re on sale now, in fact, for £16.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01CHDY55S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I asked this a while back https://theafterword.co.uk/have-we-done-in-best-earphones-lately/
I bought the Mrice E300s for everyday and they’re pretty good although there’s a bit of cable noise if you’re on the move. I also got some Bose Quietcomfort 20s at a Bose outlet store in Florida. They’re very good and comfortable. I believe Bose do wireless noise cancelling earphones too now if money’s no object. https://www.bose.co.uk/en_gb/products/headphones/earphones/quietcontrol-30.html#v=qc30_black
I’ve been using a pair of Bose in ear phones for years now and since they added the little plastic thingie which fits the shape of ear they have been great. The sound is good, the wear well and have lasted me 8 years now so good value for the 60 odd quid I paid back then. They have all different sorts now.
If you want to hear better sound, you really need the sort with rubber sealing widgets to keep external noise out. The market leaders are SoundMAGIC E10 (£30) or the Sennheiser CX range.
Mrs F has some Philips SHQ4200 (£25 ish) for the gym, which have the sound-isolating rubber widgets but also have a neckband to prevent the earbuds from falling out and a single, tangle-free, cable. They’re very good for the price.
All these are great for the train/bus (and won’t disturb fellow passengers) but are not suitable if you’re going to be crossing roads in traffic or cycling (where you need to hear your environment).
There are better-sounding and more expensive earbuds around but, as DG says, they’re not that much better and are all equally-easily damaged. I have some which cost over £100 but only come out when I can treat them with kid gloves, the rest of the time I use my Sennheisers.
Do you know much about the Sennheiser IE60s? They’re normally over £100, but a little bird tells me that they will be closer to the fifty quid mark come Black Friday.
I only had a brief go, but they struck me as good but not great – not worth 4x the price of the CX. Momentums were much better.
I’m a Senny CX series guy. I bought some of the RHA ones which were recommended here but I can’t bear the friction noise of the cords – absolutely sets my teeth on edge. It reminds me of the cord driven drill the bastard dentist used who destroyed my teeth when I was a nipper. Also I like the “round the back of your neck” cord design on the CXs. Bang for the buck they are unbeatable, and do a pretty good job of screening out external noise.
Which Sennheiser Momentums do you have/did you listen to, Fentonsteve, the In-Ear G or the In-Ear i ?
The in-ears (nice but not any better than my ancient Sony in-ears) and the on-ears (nice but not any better than my ancient Beyer DT over-ears).
If either broke, I’d have more of an excuse to buy something new, but the buggers won’t die – I think I have zombie headphones.
PS if anybody has £1,400 to spend on cans, the Audeze LCD-X are lovely, I was using some for monitoring at the weekend. Sadly, I don’t have £1400 going spare….
aren’t they the same earphone, but with different microphone set ups for iPhones and Android?
I’m a fan of Soundmagic E10s. The only flaw is the little filters at the end of the tubes seem to come loose quite easily- and I’m onto my second pair already but generally speaking I’m very pleased with them and I think you could spend 10 times that amount and not beat them for sound quality.
Have a look at RockJaw https://rockjawaudio.com/ I’ve had some for about a year now, they offer good audio quality at an affordable price and – should you care about these things – are a British company.
Loath as I am to add to the confusion but as a past 7-15 hour a day wearer of in-ears (I’ve gone full size Sony wireless headphones) the best for sound quality and robustness were the Soundmagic E30 and the Nocs ns500. Both lasted ages and sounded pretty good.
Quite a few years ago I bought a pair of Etymotic Research ER6i in-ear earphones and have had excellent service from them. Really great sound quality and they stay in your ears comfortably with a choice of different foam or rubber tips.
Unfortunately these are no longer made, but their current mc5 earphones ($59.00) look to be good solid replacements for about the same price. The same very high external noise isolation, which is great when commuting etc. as you don’t get external noise spoiling your enjoyment of the music and you don’t annoy other people with your music either. Not recommended for driving/cycling/crossing roads though, as you need to hear what’s going on around you in those circumstances. Little zip-up carrying case, spare tips and filters included.
They are an American company, but there are links to distributors outside of the US from the page.
http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/earphones/mc5.html
If I broke or lost my ER6is I’d get some mc5s to replace them, I think.
I personally have picked up a few pairs of these at Dollarama (equivalent of pound store) for the princely sum of $4!! Ok they may not be the best around but they sound way better than eg iPod/iPhone ones and as I lose a pair on a monthly basis then they are perfect for me.
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.ca%2FPANASONIC-RP-HJE125-K-Ergofit-Earbuds-Black%2Fdp%2FB00UH35NEI&tag=redflagdealsc-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=15121&creative=330641
Thank you one. Thank you all.
Pulled the trigger on Mrice E300’s from tax dodgers at the princely sum of 16.99 .
Thank you for all recommendations.
I bought a pair of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YOVI6UW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
on the recommendation of a reviewer friend of mine. They were the equivalent of 10 of your quids ($13.00 in the US). They’re on Amazon.co.uk for less than 8 quid! They’d still be bloody marvelous at three times the price!
Klippsch. They are penetrative, making them far more satisfying.
My less-than-a-year-old Sennheiser CX somethingorothers have just bitten the dust (well the left ear has, anyway), so I’m taking @drakeygirl‘s advice and have ordered a pair of the Mrice E300s.