Comments on: Earbud Showdown

By: Wayne

Wayne — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:10:35 +0000

@Bill: I never tried a foam product. I saw the UE custom products but as you state they seem to be aimed at professionals. I’m just someone that wanted to have comfort. Also there was a HUGE difference in price. The UE custom product was over $600 or $700 (I forget now) while I paid around $150.

Still loving my custom product.

By: Billy Halsey

Billy Halsey — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 02:31:24 +0000

@Chris — I suppose it’s worth a shot. They’re technically disposable, so if you use them to the point they’re ready to throw away then why not try it? In fact, I just might try it with my UE Super.fi 5’s. My only issue with them is that the rubberized tips can be a little hard at times. So here’s to testing it!

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 01:53:06 +0000

@Billy Halsey
Hey Bill, about the foam buds. I have a pair of ER-6i’s but I’ve not tried the foam buds for them yet. About the drawback of the foam buds gathering wax: I use plain old foam ear plugs for sleeping/flying and when I don’t have a fresh pair at hand, I have found that its easy to clean them by running very hot water over them for 5 minutes. After washing I give them a squeeze with a towel and then let them dry overnight. Do you think that the Etymōtic foam buds could be cleaned this way also?

By: Billy Halsey

Billy Halsey — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 22:36:45 +0000

@Wayne — I’ve never tried a custom product, but I know that the foam buds that came with my old Etymōtic ER-6 definitely were more comforable and leaked less than the rubber tips. The drawback to them is that they’re only good for a few uses (depending on how much wax you produce) before having to be replaced. My UE Super.fi 5 Pro also have foam buds available, but I haven’t tried them. I do know that UE make custom-fit products for musicians and other music professionals.

By: Wayne

Wayne — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:10:32 +0000

There are some comments that make reference to comfort. Has anyone ever tried a custom fit product? I recently purchased a pair of “earpleezers” from Earsound Customs. After having a mold of my ear taken I received them in 10 days. With this product you do have to use your existing iPod earbuds but the comfort is perfect and you can turn the volume way down. I will tell you that the sound does change a bit so I had to change the equalizer setting. After changing the equalizer the sound is great.

By: Billy Halsey

Billy Halsey — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 01:38:17 +0000

Following up on #14, when I switched to the Super.fi 5 Pro, I actually was able to turn the volume limiter down — had to turn the volume limiter down on my iPod despite having the volume at maximum with all previous buds and over-the-ear phones. I’ve been seeing some hearing loss and the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro are allowing me to listen to my music in very high quality without causing excessively more damage. The’re available for $100 off at Amazon (where I bought them) and worth every penny.

By: Billy Halsey

Billy Halsey — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 01:34:40 +0000

You so beat me to this one, Josh! And let me tell you — I have had some experiences with in-the-ear buds. From Sony Fontopia to Etymotic Research ER-6, then the V-Moda Vibe, and now, finally with 100 percent satisfaction: the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro.

By: steve

steve — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:05:07 +0000

i am going to have to agree wtih charles, canal phones and exercise don’t mix. Although I also think they help with noise damage because i can keep the volume really low with my Er-6i’s around half of what i need it at for regular earbuds.

By: Marc Orchant

Marc Orchant — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:54:58 +0000

I have to agree with #14 RC’s mention of the Ultimate Ears buds. I have the super.fi Pro 5 model and they’re astonishingly good and far more comfortable than the Etymotic (also a lot easier to keep clean - the Etys collect a lot of… well, gunk). The have great separation, imaging and bass response and, as a number of other comments have noted, the noise isolation these buds provide means you can listen at much lower volumes.

Not cheap but in the high end a definite contender.

By: Charles

Charles — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 06:22:31 +0000

I have the Etymotic ER-6i too and I love the sound quality, HOWEVER I strenuously discourage people from using them while exercising. I used them while walking for exercise, and I noticed that these headphones totally seal the ear canal, which made my ears pop with every footstep. After a few days, I noticed my ears were ringing. I assert that vigorous exercise while wearing in-canal earphones will cause cumulative hearing damage. And that’s a shame because they sound so good.
Also, these sorts of in-canal headphones are sold as “isolator” headphones, they block almost all external sounds. So I would discourage people from using these phones while exercising outdoors, the isolation from external sounds could be a safety hazard, you might not hear that car or truck until it runs you over.

By: weisen

weisen — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 05:11:20 +0000

@Blair,

Actually, I think that my ER6’s probably prevent hearing loss. I find that since they isolate the outside noise (e.g. loud trains, etc.), I can listen to my iPod at a much lower volume than I used to with the stock headphones.
Instead of listening to subway noise+loud music trying to drown it out, I can listen to music at a comfortable volume and block most of the subway noise. I suspect that the impact on my hearing is positive.

By: RC

RC — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 03:00:07 +0000

Though they are expensive, Ultimate Ear, Shure and Westone are basically the best earbuds money can buy.

I got mine from earphonesolutions.com

Fast and they’ll match any price you find (except eBay)

And regarding “they’ll all cause hearing loss” that’s only if you jack the volume up. The best part about a reeaaaally good set of earbuds — they dampen the surrounding sound so well that I can comfortable listen to them very quietly… sometimes so low if I turn the volume down any more they’ll turn off (and that’s after I have already placed the loudest volume setting at half!)

By: chris

chris — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 02:32:58 +0000

The etymotics are good but you should really try Sure E500s, they really are the last word in sound- it is like having a band playing in the middle of your head. well worth the price.

By: ScottBruin

ScottBruin — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 23:14:43 +0000

The JVC HAFX55 sound better and are cheaper and cmore durable than the Sony MDR-EX– line.

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4091918

Also, if you like the Sennheiser’s in this article you should try the CX300s. If you like those, check out the Creative EP-630s since they’re the same OEM part.

By: Galley

Galley — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 22:15:58 +0000

I’m very happy with my Sony MDR-EX71’s.

By: seth

seth — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 21:49:57 +0000

i’m pretty happy with my vibes; wish i could find foam tip replacements for them for an even better fit. the shure e2c tips don’t fit over the flange on the vibe with out modifying the tips (which would most likely just tear the foam).

as a side note, to those getting vibes, i have rev. 1 and they did need a good breakin period to really get the full life from those tiny drivers.

i also rockboxed my 5.5g ipod and am using flac as the source file and am able to get some pretty intricate eq settings to really make these little guys flourish and sound their best.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 21:38:34 +0000

You can get the Etymotic ER-6i’s converted for iPhone use here:

http://www.ultimatebuds.com

By: steve

steve — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:40:41 +0000

i use ER-6i’s

you can get them on ebay for %100 or less, but why does it matter when you use an ipod? its not like they have good sound quality.

By: IntrepidSilence

IntrepidSilence — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:37:20 +0000

Is it just me or does anyone else find it strange that the Sure line of earbuds was left out of this test. Even stranger to me since Sure is one of the featured brands at Apple stores.

I have used the Sony MDR-EX51 and MDR-EX71 sets which sound very close to each other, the 71s just have a few more features.

I also have a set of Sure E2Cs that normally run about $100 that I bought recently on Amazon for $40. They offer sound isolation and pretty incredible frequency response. They are larger but because of their design, they are very comfortable for long-term use. They make the Sonys sound like toys.

By: May

May — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 20:19:26 +0000

I LOVE my Etymotic’s ER-6i headphones and swear by them…if only they would come up a pair that I could use with my iPhone (ie: with a built-in microphone) then I would likely never part with them. I often switch from the foam and silicone ear pieces and find that the silicone ones stay put better and are more comfortable. My only real complaint with them is that they aren’t the best for running as I tend to hear the thudding of the wires and such. But as far as sound quality and such these are definitely the best headphones…period.

By: Rod

Rod — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:32:24 +0000

I _love_ my vmoda vibe’s. They’re really good for sealing out external noise (not actively noise cancelling, but noise isolating) and particularly wonderful on a plane.

And fantastic at the gym when I don’t want to listen to the conversations or machine noise around me.

By: Gary

Gary — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:04:10 +0000

I’m on my third pair of Sony MDR-EX51 earbuds. They’re great and I use them all the time. (I’m on the third pair because I’ve inadvertently broken the other pairs over the past few years from overuse… and stupidity.)

By: George

George — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:55:55 +0000

I picked up a different pair of Sennheiser earbuds (the CX300 model), and the rubbery cords transfer all sorts of noises to the earphones when it moves/bounces on things (like your shoulders). It’s terrible, and a shame because the Sennheisers are nice sounding. Curious if there’s any line noise with these.

Also hate the asymmetrical cording on the CX300s - how are the CX55s corded?

By: Blair

Blair — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:54:15 +0000

…And they all cause hearing loss.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:44:38 +0000

Nice summary of some of the more recent buds.

Etymotic’s ER-6i are my favorites — 90% of the ER-4’s performance, but around $100, depending where you buy them. And you still get all the little customizing bits and the sound isolation (which I love on planes), they’re just not *quite* as good sounding, but still better than any other bud I’ve listened to.