'"In Ear' Headphones - Advice Sought"

Can anyone recommend a pair of headphones I can use with my iPod ? I've grown used to the 'in ear' style as an approach to nois reduction. I had a pair made by Sony, but somehow I've manage rto strip one of the wires.

Thx

Paul

I have 2 pairs; Sennheiser CX300 which are comfortable and offer good bass weight, and Shure E2c's which offer better noise isolation but are less punchy and can be uncomfortable if used for extended periods.

Two good sets with pro's and con's.

HTH

I have a pair of the new bose in -ear ones. It has good treble and bass and has good volume, especially with noise cancelation.

[HighFlyer]

Was it the Sony Earbud system you had?

I used to use those and i really like them. The Bose ones are a bit of a hybrid between the earbud and the standard in-ear headphones so are larger in size. If you are used to the tiny bud system the Sennheiser CX300 might suit as they have interchanging 'rubber nipple' adapter thingies (you know what i mean!) so they'll fit snugly inside your ears. I find that anything above the bud size makes my ears hurt. Plus, i can easily sleep with the buds inside my ears, so ideal for listening to the iPod whilst onboard [:)] I stuck with Sony Earbud for years as i can get through headphones at an alarming rate and they were only about £30 a pop.

Thanks,
Sarah

[Neil]

We have the CX300's too, they are cheap, small and do a good job at reducing outside noise, oh and the white ones match the ipod too (very important).

Thanks all for the advice thus far...

Originally posted by HighFlyer
Was it the Sony Earbud system you had?

Yes it was - well, still is as long as the stripped wire hangs together! They've served well given the bashing I've given them in trains, planes and buses (the thrill ride that is the Lothian Bus 22 service between The Gyle and Ocean Terminal).

Having the new 160 GB iPod Classic has increased my use of same and earphones. Not only do I not have to make 'x or y?' decisions on what to load anymore (so can mix music, comedy, recorded word and podcasts and hence have something appropriate to almost any mood) but also the battery life is soooo much better than my previous model, which would only give me a couple of hours of continuous use and would be subject the battery drain even when switched off.

Paul

[preiffer]

I have the Bose in-ear headphones (as well as my QC ones) and I have to say, they're the worst pair of headphones I've ever owned.

They come with 3 'sleeves' - none of which fit properly. They constantly fall out, do not block out sufficient noise, and while the sound is good in a quiet room - details are muffled in any 'normal' environment as a result. As pro-bose consumer, I was bitterly disappointed.

I ignored the reviews that were available on the Apple store site for them. Do so at your peril... [n]

If you're interested there's a comparative test in March's Stuff magazine and their hot buy was the Shure SE110's @ £70. I've got a pair of CX300's which came out with a 5 star rating @ £40 (I only paid @ £27 for mine from Amazon). Others in the test with a 5 star rating were Etymotic ER6i custom fit @ £150[:0], Goldring GX200 @£50 and Koss KEB/79 @ £50.

The Bose in ears weren't included in the test and I was thinking of getting a pair on my next trip to the States but I'm not so sure after reading the comments above. Are they really that bad?

Miopyk[8D]

After years with iPods I bought myself an 80 gig Zune over Christmas, largely because of the troublefree sync of tv shows from Vista Media Centre to the Zune (which works like a dream). What surprised me was the in-ear headphones which are described as 'premium' but supplied as standard. They're ok in terms of sound quality - about on a par with the ipod premium ones or maybe a little better. But what really impressed me is that they are the most comfortable earphones I have ever worn: they fit really snugly and stay in when others would be slipping and, although they are not NC, the fit is so snug that you really can't hear outside noise.

You can buy them separately from the Zune machine and, at £15 - 20 on ebay or from US suppliers, I reckon they're really good value.

Best wishes

David

Originally posted by miopyk
The Bose in ears weren't included in the test and I was thinking of getting a pair on my next trip to the States but I'm not so sure after reading the comments above. Are they really that bad?

Miopyk[8D]

I bought a pair simply because the Apple 'buds' are way too painful for me to use.The Bose silicon tips (in 3 sizes)are much kinder on the ears.Whilst you can't really compare them to the QCs I've no major complaints.

Thanks for all the tips.

In the end I went for the CX300's (black, BTW, to go with my iPod colour) and am very pleased with them too. They seem to have quite a powerful bass to them.

I would, at some stage, like to invest in something at the higher end of the market but I'm a habitual mistreater of earphones and to b*gger up an expensive set would make me weep.

Paul

I've got the Bose ones as well- they do the job and are much better than the ones apple provide IMHO.

Sorry to jump in so late - I have some Westone UM1s which I very much like. I used to go through headsphones at quite a rate as well but these have been very reliable so far.

http://www.earphonesolutions.com offer great service and quite good value even after the postage from the US!