Ear Bud Recommendations

[LowTech]

So the need for a decent set of ear buds has become apparent to me.  The cheap set that came with my smart phone were woefully inadequate and ended up in the trash.  As I was surfing for a new set I was astounded at the price variance out there and the thought of paying anything over $50 makes me shutter a little. 

 

My needs are for a decent set that I can use while on the road, one or two weeks of the month.  They will be used sparsely with the phone/MP3 player and mostly while plugged into my laptop while working on emails or reading a book so there’ll be no “high-end audiophile” kind of requirement but I would like something versatile enough to be able to listen to jazz at moderate levels but still be able to pack some punch when the rock and roll bug bites.  I would, however, like something better than what comes with a Samsung Galaxy S phone.

 

The question then is can anyone recommend a decent set of ear buds for under $50 clams that might fill the bill?

[mikinho]

Thinksound ts01

For the price I think it is very hard to find comparable sound and that was at their original $75 price.

http://www.amazon.com/Thinksound-Definition-Passive-Isolating-Headphone/dp/B002VKFUSY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1307661915&sr=8-2&tag=missin-20

There are only 3 left at that price though.  If you do purchase, make sure to use our Amazon search 🙂

[frijones]

Highly recommend etymotic mc5s

If you are looking for cheaper than that, I like the MEElectronics M6 and M9 earphones.  For the money, they are hard to beat.

M6

M9

[mikinho]

[quote=frijones]

Highly recommend etymotic mc5s

[/quote]

I have a pair of those as well.  Sound quality wise they are very similar to the Thinksound, the mc5s even wins out slightly for accuracy but I none of the eartips were comfortable for me during extended usage.

[autoboy]

I can’t wear closed earbuds.  here’s a nice review of 12 open buds. I’ve been looking for some myself so please let me know what you decide.

The 9wave NW Studio seems to be the winner in your price range, but you may find others that you will prefer.  Still, there is a good discussion in that thread.

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/531063/earbud-guide-12-earbuds-compared

[swoon]

[quote=frijones]

If you are looking for cheaper than that, I like the MEElectronics M6 and M9 earphones.  For the money, they are hard to beat.

M6

M9

[/quote]

I have the M9 earphones. My only complaints with them are 1) the sound is a bit bass-heavy and 2) cord noise or noise from movement in the ear buds is a minor annoyance.

The first M9 set I purchased failed within a month, but the company did stand behind the product and sent me a new pair with an improved connector design.

[umdivx]

I’ve got a pair of the Sure SE210’s http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SE210-Sound-Isolating-Earphone/dp/B0013JT3XC

not exactly in your price range but man on man are they great. High quality, great sound, and they come with a number of different sizes in the package so you can adjust them to your ears.

think about it this way, would you spend $50 on a pair of speakers for your home theater? I sure as hell wouldn’t. Audio quality to me is just as important as video. I spent over half my home theater budget (which was quite a bit) just on my speakers alone. So that should give you an idea of what my tastes are like.

-Josh

[LowTech]

Josh,

I certainly appreciate the logic behind quality audio/video gear, however, I’m a little skeptical about the overall experience that I will get out of MP3s or streaming audio from a smart phone or a laptop.  Were my source components and music of a higher standard then I’d have no problem dishing out the necessary clams to complete the deal with good speakers but I’m dealing with relatively low end audio from the Samsung phone and Acer laptop.  That’s why I set the $50 limit.  

Autoboy,

I have a hard time keeping those open type buds in my ears for some reason.  Maybe I just don’t understand how to insert them, dunno?  The only issue that I have with closed ear buds (and it’s not like I’ve dealt with a lot of these things, BTW) is that I need to equalize my ears occasionally if I’m wearing them for extended periods.  It’s kind of like scuba diving in a way.  So when weighing the issues as I’ve experienced them I’m leaning heavily towards the type of bud that you jamb into your ear canal until it’s right next to your brain.  At least they tend to stay put in my experience. 

After surfing around a little the ThinkSounds that Michael initially suggested look to be the buds of choice.  Plus I’ve been needing to buy one of those jalapeno pepper corers and Amazon has those as well so I can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.  Also I will certainly use the link to Amazon which is so conveniently provided for our use.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[frijones]

If you aren’t looking for a closed design and aren’t worried about the look, why not get a set of supra-aural headphone instead of earbuds?  You’ll probably get a better bang for your buck in sound quality and you won’t have to worry about the tips being uncomfortable in (or falling out of) your ears.

Just for a frame of reference, I use 5 different sets of headphone/earphones on a regular basis, depending on where I am.

Work: JVC RX700 -> HUGE but comfortable for hours, closed for sound deadning

Work2: Koss KSC75 -> Use for quiet days at the office.  Brighter sound.

Home: Sennheiser HD238 -> Hooked into my HTPC for TV viewing after the rest of the family is asleep.

Home 2: etymotic HF5 -> Yard work and study time listening.

Out: MEElctronics M9p -> Decent sound and has a mic for making calls.

 

All of these except the HF5s can be purchased for <$40 and each has it’s own sound and useful listening enviroment.

[LowTech]

Hey I just wanted to check in and thank everyone for their suggestions.  In the end I went with the Thinksound ts01.

Since I had bundled that order with another item there was a delay in getting them shipped.  In the interim I purchased one of those $10 or $12 sets from Wal Mart (yeah yeah I know but this is how we learn, right?) because I would be traveling again before the ts01s got here and wanted something to use while I was away.  Those darn things weren’t any better than the garbage that came with my phone and are just barely a step up from those ear buds that Continental Airlines gives you (I tried them too once) to watch DirecTV while on board their planes.

Anyways a little voice in the back of my head was telling me that something that little really can’t be all that good based on my latest experience so my expectations for the ts01s was starting to drop as overall they are sort of middle of the road cost-wise.

The Thinksound ear buds finally arrive one day and I plug them into my phone.  I crank up Jazz Radio and I am stunned what I hear coming from a phone and those new ear buds.  I had no idea that that quality of sound could be produced from a cell phone and a set of ear buds.  I then jammed the ear buds into my laptop to see how music from that source sounds – I was pleasantly surprised once again.   Now granted I’m not talking quality equal to high end content listened through a good receiver and headphones but compared to what I had before it was like going from AM to FM. 

Thanks to all who lent their 2 cents, I really appreciate it.

[mikinho]

Thanks for the follow up!  I’m always a bit weary when recommending audio equipment as perceived sound quality is very subjective and everyone’s taste will vary.

[Author]

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