GOOD ear buds

[audiosweet]

looking for a decent pair of isolating ear buds...i've used a pair from Shure...sounded great but the wires always crack and expose wire after about 4 months...what do people use that are decent and will hold up?

[linus]

Shure's breaking after 4 months? I've had E2s for over two years and have had NO problems with them. YMMV though.

Sennheiser makes some canal phones that are pretty good for about $30.

[mrufino1]

What's your budget?
http://www.livewiresforyou.com/
$250 but they look like they are really good and are custom fit, which will be way more comfortable than any "generic fit" isolating phones.

I have the sennheiser's mentioned, they are OK.

[playonbrother]

i just picked up the etymotic 6i isolators last month. i'm really digging them. here's a link....

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i.aspx

later,

al

[Lukey]

I see these all over the price range... that's about as ridiculously low as I've ever seen:

http://www.antonline.com/p_IP-P3SSW0003 ... WAodXUNa9Q

I've used a few different models of Westones, as well as E2s, E3s (owned a pair for a long time), and E5's. I would really compare these to the 5's as far as the general sense of everything goes. the sound is great, and while they're a bit bulkier than the Westones or Shures in the body (not the part that's stuck in your ear), for the comfort/sound combination, they're really solid.

from far away, it does look like you've stuffed your ears with cotton. That's kind of a downer. But other than that, I'm generally a fan.

[rwc]

Agreed on the Shure.

I had 3 sets of e3cs. I had one set where a channel would start fucking up/you'd hear the lack of black wire(no center, just left and right). I sent it back for warranty and got 2 new ones back instead of one. They were 3 weeks late in shipping the new ones out out so when they asked me if I'd check if they sent 2 by mistake, I politely hung up and kept both.

Both since have broke. The plastic earpiece completely came off one set after the wires/plug had become completely unusable, and the others, the wires and became useless and required new wires + new 1/8" plug.

I hate these headphones. Especially the wiring. You cut the red and white up, and instead of finding copper there's.. hair? wtf? It's some sort of weird threading, but it makes it so much easier to make cold solder joints this way. It's ridiculously crappy wire, equal to the nonsense I find in $7 sets of buds I find in best buy.

Not to mention the high end on these is gone. They isolate very well, and this is the only reason I still use them. I can't listen to music in NY without sick isolation.. it's 85-105 dB all the time outside depending on construction and subway noise. Even without music on I keep them on so I can stay sane. The treble is lacking bigtime though. And listening to music

I am trying etymotic up next. The er6 seems promising. But the wiring seems even cheaper than the wiring on the shure.

[segaface]

Shure's breaking after 4 months? I've had E2s for over two years and have had NO problems with them. YMMV though.

Yeah. I've had my e2c's for about 6 months now with no issues (knock on wood). I always put them away in that little "donut" case, though.

Andy

[bannerj]

I've got four pairs of E3, only had one of the ear pieces on one pair go bad in three years.

[comfortstarr]

I just bought these: http://www.antonline.com/p_Audio-Techni ... 289093.htm

Total brand-loyalty purchase (I lurve me 3035).

I'll report back whence they arrive.

[kayagum]

I personally use the Sony earbuds, whatever the $40 version is.

The real deal is to use the Shure ear foam: http://shure.com/PersonalAudio/Products ... /index.htm

[wrenhunter]

I paid $100 for these two years ago:

http://www.headphone.com/products/headp ... -white.php

and they sound great. Current price is a steal.

[Phiz]

I paid $100 for these two years ago:

superfi-3

and they sound great. Current price is a steal.

I've had them for a while too. They sound great, while you have a good seal. Unfortunately I can't seem to keep a good seal on them for longer than 15 minutes. I was also hoping for a bit more isolation than these have. I have been using the single silicon tips. Perhaps they are better with the foam ones. The double silicone tips don't fit my ears right.

[aitikin]

i just picked up the etymotic 6i isolators last month. i'm really digging them. here's a link....

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i.aspx

later,

al

I have to say, I love my ER-6s (no real difference from ER-6 and ER-6is, except the color). I bought a pair about a year and a half ago. A little while ago I started noticing that the sound in the left was rather weak. I looked through the stuff I got with it and there were a pair of replacement filters. A year and a half and they sound just like new. They isolate well, I can usually keep my iPod at around 50-60% volume versus the regular 80% I have to use for the noisy area I live in or the campus.

[sfsonarboy]

+1 for etymotic 6i's. Buy.com did a special on 'em last year for like $85. Aside from everyday use, they've brought the joy back to air travel (blociing out the overall cabin din and of course the screaming 2 year olds

i just picked up the etymotic 6i isolators last month. i'm really digging them. here's a link....

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i.aspx

al

[wrenhunter]

I've had them for a while too. They sound great, while you have a good seal. Unfortunately I can't seem to keep a good seal on them for longer than 15 minutes.

I have this problem, too. But they still sound "good" without a perfect seal, so I can live with it.

Mine came with different size tips, but I've been too lazy to try the others.