Good Earbuds for iPod Video (In-Ear Monitors)

I've been looking at lots of review sites for quality earbuds and have pretty much narrowed it down to the following two. I've already ruled out Shure's because even though they have pretty good quality, most of them are overpriced for the quality they offer. Ety Er6i's might also be in consideration. Anyone know the difference between Ety ER6i[=http//www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ER6i-Isolator-Earphones/dp/B0002ZW5W4/sr=1-1/qid=1160710220/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-6098012-6167105?ie=UTF8&s=electronics]Ety ER6i and Ety ER6[=http//www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ER-6C-Stereo-Earphones/dp/B0007WY56G/sr=1-4/qid=1160710220/ref=sr_1_4/104-6098012-6167105?ie=UTF8&s=electronics]Ety ER6? Thanks in advance.

Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro[=http//www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Ears-Pro-Earphones-Black/dp/B0009Q4PHO/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_b/104-6098012-6167105?ie=UTF8]Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro

Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 3 Studio[=http//www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000B610D4/ref=pd_cp_e_title/104-6098012-6167105?ie=UTF8]Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 3 Studio

I picked up a pair of ER6i (advice of Admin) and I'm more than happy with them. The ER6i are have a little nicer response time... Check here for more details.

http//www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i-ts.aspx

I just thought I'd post this to stop someone from making a mistake (as I know you said you ruled out Shures)... I bought a pair of E2Cs by Shure and have had them for a few months now. The sound quality is great and not to be cocky, but I have a rather good ear and am extremely finicky about audio quality... matter of fact, until I owned these earbuds, I encoded all of my mp3s at 192kbps and always thought anymore or less was trash. Well now I gotta encode them higher to take full advantage of their capability. As you've probably read, you WILL hear sounds you never noticed before, but they are very minor... I can't remember the song, but I actually discovered a VOICE playing VERY softly... not just a sound, but A VOICE I NEVER noticed! There is, however, an issue with the lack of bass, but it doesn't really bother me because I listen "metal," and heavy stuff where the high are more important than the bass... Jesus Christ, I babble... anyway, to the flaw. The wire is so goddamned thick that just recently I noticed a crack in the wire's insulation around the portion that wraps around the ear. At first I thought I mus have snagged the wire at work and didn't notice the tear... well, I did some googling and sure enough, it is a problem most encounter with the "E" series Shures. Only a few days after finding this information, the wire began to split on the other side. But there is a bright side - Shure offers a TWO YEAR warranty and this defect is covered, which means I will be getting a brand spanking new pair. Needless to say, I will be selling these sealed and ironically enough, was planning to buy the Etymotics mentioned above. So, DON'T BUY Shure's E series earbuds.

i've actually tried the e2c's already and didn't like the way they looked. I also found taht the e2c through the e4c lacked the bass to give the music I listen to the warmth in addition to the clarity that comes with the super.fi 5's. Don't get me wrong, Shure's e4c is a wonderful product with very good high's but I just found the bass a little lacking. I think a lot of perceivable audio improvement is just due to the fact that they isolate enough outside noise to let you notice subtle stuff that might otherwise get drowned out. I'm going from a pair of Sony IEM's (ex71 or something like that) and just wanted something more durable. Super.fi 5 Pro's have removable cables and their customer service is outstanding from what I've heard online. Thanks for the help though! +kma

Wait!!!!!! As I mentioned, I too am in the market for another pair of "high definition" earbuds and just sent my E2Cs in for replacement when I found THESE - http//www.xtrememac.com/audio/earphones_recorders/fs1.php . I am undoubtedly getting them. They're $150 at the site, but I found a guy on eBay selling them for $45 brand new (but only in black) with 100% positive feedback! Be sure to read the description... but I'll sum it up anyway. ExtremeMac paired up with Future Sonic to create these headphones... Future Sonic makes "in-ear audio monitors professional musicians use live on stage"... that's enough for me. Knowing this company caters to professional musicians (which means they couldn't possibly bull shit), I would feel completely satisfied with such a purchase... and if bass is an issue, I read some CNet reviews (they did very well, by the way), and the bass is supposedly top notch... Anyway, good luck with your headphones if these don't interest you.

GOD DAMN! I [i8823011094]just[/i8823011094] read the description for the earbuds you mentioned above and... well, I think you got me beat... I think I may even buy a pair... damn you!

[quote87f124573d="mistertomlinson"]GOD DAMN! I [i87f124573d]just[/i87f124573d] read the description for the earbuds you mentioned above and... well, I think you got me beat... I think I may even buy a pair... damn you![/quote87f124573d]

I think this might lead to be buying CD's again so I can get really high quality music to take advantage of the earbuds. Kinda sad since I'm two dollars short in Amazon. Only have 169.10 and the buds cost 171.90. $10 Koss Plugs to $170 Super.Fi's FTW!

I am really strapped for cash so I need a pair of headphones that cost less than $50. They need to be in-ear and they need to have decent sound quality (I know for $50 I won't get much but it's quite important to me) and they need to stay in my ears well enough for me to go running with them.

Anyone have any suggestions?

XtremeMac's FS1s. As I mentioned above, there is a guy on eBay selling these for $45 AFTER shipping and he has damned good feedback! They retail for $150... I would DEFINITELY go for those! After you read the description, you're bound to want them... they look pretty snazzy too!

http//www.xtrememac.com/audio/earphones_recorders/fs1.php


... and Aurelius, you mention wanting better quality audio for your buds... I don't know if you knew it (as I just recently found this out myself), if you're using an iPod, you can put WAV audio files on it too! Better quality, but takes up a TON of space! Just an idea.

[quote0695e2cde6="mistertomlinson"]XtremeMac's FS1s. As I mentioned above, there is a guy on eBay selling these for $45 AFTER shipping and he has damned good feedback! They retail for $150... I would DEFINITELY go for those! After you read the description, you're bound to want them... they look pretty snazzy too!

http//www.xtrememac.com/audio/earphones_recorders/fs1.php


... and Aurelius, you mention wanting better quality audio for your buds... I don't know if you knew it (as I just recently found this out myself), if you're using an iPod, you can put WAV audio files on it too! Better quality, but takes up a TON of space! Just an idea.[/quote0695e2cde6]

I'm just ripping stuff into VBR format so it has >192kb which is pretty good quality stuff. Those XtremeMac FS1's look kinda crappy though from what people say on head-fi and such. Seems like the really loose and boomy bass on it is the main complaint. I've been using Koss Plugs for a couple of weeks and they're very good for the price, however, the only thing that makes the sound quality any better than other earbuds is that it's an IEM of sorts. The bass is very very loose and drowns out the highs and mids but I won't expect much for my 10 dollars. I caved it and ordered the super.fi 5 pro's a couple minutes ago. I'll report back when I get them (sadly, my amazon prime trial ran out so no two day shipping cry ) ligiddyli

Great earbuds for the price...[=http//www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-EX71SL-WK-Fontopia-Headphones/dp/B00030CHRQ/sr=1-2/qid=1161323505/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-6098012-6167105?ie=UTF8&s=electronics]Great earbuds for the price... Might be problematic as it has that extra connector and the quality seems suspect as well but as long as you stash em well after your workouts, it should handle fine.

Hello

I didn't want to make a new thread, so I'm bumping up a month old one...

I have a pair of E4Cs and they lasted about 8 months before the right bud went out last week, now have minimal sound at full volume. I bought them new/sealed on eBay, so I can't call SHURE.

I found this thread and clicked on the links to the super.fi 5, 6i Isolator Earphones, and the FS1s. i also googled the sony ex71 and checked those out.

I wanted to see if people could check in to give a quick review of what they ended up purchasing.

-dan

I have Sure E2C's and they work great. However, I hardly use them because I don't listen to ear buds much (my iPod is played in the car 95% of the time). |

No one is currently selling them on eBay for under $75. I have a (different) pair of Sony ones and I don't like the connector at all.

I, too, need a different pair for running.

I want these bad boys

http//www.jbox.com/IMAGE/dq71h

My Super.Fi 5 Pro's (Not the trashy EB ones with too much bass) work great. Very comfortable with pretty good isolation and pretty good sound quality. It really depends on what you like. I always found the e4c's a bit lacking on the lower ranges but with very sweet (maybe a bit shrill) highs. Definately go look around for a plce where you can try em both and find out which one you like. For stuff like rock and such, I love my Super.Fi's but with classical I sometimes wish I went for Shure's but my rock list has thousands of songs and my classical has 200 so lishrugsli

Anyone have experience with the Creative Zen Aurvana's?

Funny you should mention it... I finally decided to go with Etymotics Er-6i. They are about the same as the E2cs I had, in terms of sound and like the E2cs are a little overated in my opinion... But it's still too early. I've only had them for 1 day. I kinda wish I would have tried the FS1s I originally suggested.

W.H.E.W....

I finally got around to calling SHURE - I was putting it off because I bought them on eBay and I didn't really have a warranty and I figured i'd have to pay through the nose in repair/replacement costs...

It turns out that wax had built up in the nozzle that the earbud slips onto blocking it and wiping out the sound.

The guy I spoke with was very cool and talked me through replacing the nozzle (an extra pair came with the headphones) and the headphones work perfectly.

-dan

which one's are best for sports like running? The original ipod earphones have crappy gravity placement or something, and they always seem to fall out when im not standing up....links plz.

another vote for er6is here... i've had them for a long time now and they're great. i had bass issues with both my er6is and my old e2cs for a while but i've found that that improves a lot with some experimentation with placement in your ear and different sizes/types of sleeves/flanges.

Thanks for the tips. I'm also looking for something new. I got e5cs but the chord connecting everything is too bulky and stiff. It doesn't easily run down my back under my shirt while working out. Not to mention that the year piece requires you to loop it around your ear somewhat with the chord.