What headphone/earbuds should I grab?

[tastycaramel]

Currently, I'm deciding on Skullcandy Hesh, Lowrider, Smoking Buds or creative aurvana. Are they worth the money in the long run? I wouldn't want to be replacing headphones every few months.

 

[SiempreTuna]

In my experience, even when you pay quite a lot for earbuds from reputable, high-end companies (Shure in my case), you can still have as many problems as you do with mid-range buds. It's just more frustrating coz of that extra cost

Having said that, the Shures are still the best sounding and most comfortable earbuds I've owned. And Shure were very good about replacing the faulty sets.

I currently have MEElectronics S6. They're lower mid-range but the sound is actually pretty good and they're way more comfortable than average. I've had 'em about 3 months and so far (touchwood) no issues. Which is unusual for me - I appear to be the kiss of death to most earphones.

I paid around S$60 but I'm sure you could get 'em cheaper at Sim Lim Square

 

[breadnatty08]

We had a thread on this a while back. Lots of good suggestions:
http://androidforums.com/music/653602-what-kind-headphones-do-you-use.html
As much as I love music, I use just a pair of the new Apple earbuds. They're cheap (for Apple!), comfy and have decent range. I can never find a pair of in-ear buds that fit my ears.

Also, though pricey, Cnet seemed to love these;
http://reviews.cnet.com/headsets/v-moda-remix-nero/4505-13831_7-33982121.html

 

[tastycaramel]

In my experience, even when you pay quite a lot for earbuds from reputable, high-end companies (Shure in my case), you can still have as many problems as you do with mid-range buds. It's just more frustrating coz of that extra cost

Having said that, the Shures are still the best sounding and most comfortable earbuds I've owned. And Shure were very good about replacing the faulty sets.

I currently have MEElectronics S6. They're lower mid-range but the sound is actually pretty good and they're way more comfortable than average. I've had 'em about 3 months and so far (touchwood) no issues. Which is unusual for me - I appear to be the kiss of death to most earphones.

I paid around S$60 but I'm sure you could get 'em cheaper at Sim Lim Square

Thanks. Are you by chance Singaporean?

 

[SiempreTuna]

No, I lived there for almost 6 years. Great place - absolutely loved my time there.

Did get PR, so I guess I was semi-Singaporean

 

[tastycaramel]

No, I lived there for almost 6 years. Great place - absolutely loved my time there.

Did get PR, so I guess I was semi-Singaporean

Glad you enjoyed your stay

Back to the topic, I have two earbuds. One is sonic gear and the other is the Samsung earbuds (with the rubber fittings). I bought the sonic gear last two months and the sound was meticulous. Unfortunately, one side of the earbuds does not produce any sound and so to say, it spoilt. I didn't really rage over it as I just bought it for $20.

Ironically, my Samsung earbuds spoilt on the same day! And also with the same problem! I don't know why, but every earbuds I used always spoilt this way. My old Sony earphones that cost a painful $100, spoilt after a year

To be honest, I put my earbuds in a hard pouch and then hook it to my belt loop. I thought that could sustain its life, but it is still the same!

 

[tastycaramel]

We had a thread on this a while back. Lots of good suggestions:
http://androidforums.com/music/653602-what-kind-headphones-do-you-use.html
As much as I love music, I use just a pair of the new Apple earbuds. They're cheap (for Apple!), comfy and have decent range. I can never find a pair of in-ear buds that fit my ears.

Also, though pricey, Cnet seemed to love these;
http://reviews.cnet.com/headsets/v-moda-remix-nero/4505-13831_7-33982121.html

I am still currently deciding. Thanks for that link

 

[breadnatty08]

Also, I have these:
Klipsch Image S4 II Review - Watch CNET's Video Review
Sound quality is great. Cables are a little flimsy and ultimately, none of the included buds didn't fit, so I no longer use them.

 

[NYCHitman1]

Also, I have these:
Klipsch Image S4 II Review - Watch CNET's Video Review
Sound quality is great. Cables are a little flimsy and ultimately, none of the included buds didn't fit, so I no longer use them.

I still own a pair of these, but I haven't touched them in ages. As you stated, the sound quality is superb, but wiring is flimsy at best. I've since then upgraded to the Audio-Technica ATH-M50's. Easily the best headphones I have ever owned, hands down.

 

[general eclect]

I wear my headphones more than eight hours a day and find with headphones no matter how much I spend the wiring let's me down. I switched to the AKG Quincy Jones model a little over a year ago as the cables are replaceable. They're not cheap at over $200 (in Australia) but the sound quality is excellent. Due to my current lack of finances I can't afford to replace the AKG cables so I'm actually using a pair of Sennheiser in-ear buds I was given and so far they're great though I expect the wiring to give way in the future. As to not being able to get in ear buds to fit properly don't most if not all come with three different sized silicon rubber grommets for different sized ear canals?

 

[tastycaramel]

Thanks for all the replies. Honestly, I really wanted skullcandy. But I read somewhere about how notorious skullcandy are when it comes to poor build quality.

 

[general eclect]

I honestly think you need to go with a brand that has a good reputation for audio products rather than some 'Johnny come lately' like skull candy or (and I'm sure some will disagree) Beats.

 

[tastycaramel]

IMHO, I find beats really ugly and overpriced. Dunno why it seems that it is becoming a trend to own one pair in my school.

Is audio technical good? Heard that their products are a bang for their Buck .

 

[jtc303]

for the money, tough to beat the skull candy titans IMO.

||Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear...

 

[BigCiX]

I love me Klipsch S4A's but the app (both Jays and Klipsch) suck for it.

 

[mikedt]

I'll just leave these here....

 

[NYCHitman1]

Is audio technical good? Heard that their products are a bang for their Buck .

Professional studio headphones - can't go wrong. Not to mention the price point is top notch. Less than half the price of beats, but three times better in quality all-around.

 

[iTzKPanda]

I have a friend who is big into headphones/earphones. I'm not too into them, but I do know the basics. He suggested the Creative Aurvana Live! to me. They're actually quite comfortable. The only bad thing I have to say about them is that they don't isolate noise too well. I have two 2-hour bus rides - one in the morning and in the afternoon with usually loud and obnoxious people. I have to turn the volume up a bit to drown them out, but it's no big deal to me. I like loud music I feel bad for my eardrums though.

 

[ScandaLeX]

I really enjoy my pink beats.

 

[tastycaramel]

How much does the creative aurvana live costs?

 

[iTzKPanda]

I think $70-80 on amazon last time I checked.
I got mine from a guy on craigslist for $50

 

[Speed Daemon]

I'm the happy owner of a couple sets of A-T ATH-M50 cans for playing stuff loud and general purpose use, as well as my AKG 701 phones that are for more critical listening. (Like this.) The thing is that both of them are large, over the ear types that require no small amount of amplifier power to sound good.

For portable use, in-ear models are really the only sensible way to go unless you're trying to make some kind of fashion statement. I've owned all sorts, from $15 Koss earbuds that are a great bargain, to $300 Etymotic reference models that are way too costly and delicate for me to be comfortable taking out of the house no matter how good they sound.

My advice is to audition if at all possible. I know that's going to be hard for earbuds. If you can't, then I'd listen more to what actual audiophiles are saying about the product, not what some mass media computer website says. These are audio products, not computing peripherals.

 

[jtc303]

I'm the happy owner of a couple sets of A-T ATH-M50 cans for playing stuff loud and general purpose use, as well as my AKG 701 phones that are for more critical listening. (Like this.) The thing is that both of them are large, over the ear types that require no small amount of amplifier power to sound good.

For portable use, in-ear models are really the only sensible way to go unless you're trying to make some kind of fashion statement. I've owned all sorts, from $15 Koss earbuds that are a great bargain, to $300 Etymotic reference models that are way too costly and delicate for me to be comfortable taking out of the house no matter how good they sound.

My advice is to audition if at all possible. I know that's going to be hard for earbuds. If you can't, then I'd listen more to what actual audiophiles are saying about the product, not what some mass media computer website says. These are audio products, not computing peripherals.

I have the M50s too...use them when making beats, very good

||Speak of the Devil, and he shall appear...

 

[SueDNim]

I like my Zagg Smartbuds. Innovative design, very comfortable, and for my needs the sound quality is great.

 

[davoid]

I would check out the reviews on this headfi.org roundup. The guys at headfi are audio geeks and are obsessed with sound quality.

Multi-IEM Review - 278 IEMs compared (Astrotec AM-800 & DX-60 Added 03/31/13 p.659)

Particularly look at the VSonic GR99. Really good sound for very little money.

The VSonic buds are very good but cheap, made by a Chinese company. Look at reviews on headfi.org