in ear headphones

looking for a good set of in ear headphones for $100 or less. I want something with good sound but also have to be really tough since i use them at work. I have a zune hd on the way and i'm assuming i'm going to be disappointed with the bundled earphones.

I'm going to suggest what I own: Apple In-ears, although they'll look a little odd. Mine have survived normal wear and tear, but I guess that really depends on what environment you're working in here. I would avoid Bose and Skullcandy, in case you were looking into any of those. A popular manufacturer for good in-ears is sennheiser, but I don't have enough first hand experience with any to recommend you some. I do know that Sennheiser makes the Apple In-Ears though, so you'll probably get a decent product from them if you buy in a similar price range.

(Note: I'm pretty much expecting to be flamed for this, but keep in mind that I do know what I'm talking about with sound and wouldn't recommend something if it didn't actually sound good).

I'm going to suggest what I own: Apple In-ears, although they'll look a little odd. Mine have survived normal wear and tear, but I guess that really depends on what environment you're working in here. I would avoid Bose and Skullcandy, in case you were looking into any of those. A popular manufacturer for good in-ears is sennheiser, but I don't have enough first hand experience with any to recommend you some. I do know that Sennheiser makes the Apple In-Ears though, so you'll probably get a decent product from them if you buy in a similar price range.

(Note: I'm pretty much expecting to be flamed for this, but keep in mind that I do know what I'm talking about with sound and wouldn't recommend something if it didn't actually sound good).

Thebettafish

are you talking about the apple headphones you get with the Ipod? Those are alright but i wouldn't say their 100 bucks worth. TC what kind of music do you listen to? Music with losts of bass, little bass, lots of vocals, etc?.

[QUOTE="Thebettafish"]

I'm going to suggest what I own: Apple In-ears, although they'll look a little odd. Mine have survived normal wear and tear, but I guess that really depends on what environment you're working in here. I would avoid Bose and Skullcandy, in case you were looking into any of those. A popular manufacturer for good in-ears is sennheiser, but I don't have enough first hand experience with any to recommend you some. I do know that Sennheiser makes the Apple In-Ears though, so you'll probably get a decent product from them if you buy in a similar price range.

(Note: I'm pretty much expecting to be flamed for this, but keep in mind that I do know what I'm talking about with sound and wouldn't recommend something if it didn't actually sound good).

ASRCSR

are you talking about the apple headphones you get with the Ipod? Those are alright but i wouldn't say their 100 bucks worth. TC what kind of music do you listen to? Music with losts of bass, little bass, lots of vocals, etc?.

Apple actually has in-ears now. 70 bucks on amazon. They've gotten really good reviews too. Never heard anything but praise for sennheiser also so its safe to go with them, or some klipsch images.

I have not heard of apple in-ear headphones, i am assuming you mean the ones you get when you buy a Ipod. I found those to be average. $70 for headphones you get with the Ipod is a little too much. i think they are charging more for style than actaully sound. Anyways i find sennheiser and Sony to be great headphone companies.

This is a dicey topic, because people listen to different music and beyond that have different ideas on what sounds good. I have owned a nice pair of Sennheisers and I would recommend them (the model escapes me) as well as the Apple-In-Ear and they were a step up from the Sennheisers I had, but the latest pair I bought are the Monster Turbines and I really, really like them. I was pretty sceptical when thinking about buying them, because I've read a ton on the Monster HDMI debates and I was left with a pretty sour feeling on the company, but I read a handful of reviews and the general consensus was that they weren't the typical overpriced Monster hardware.

I've also tried some Shure in ears as well as BOSE and neither ones had the "complete" sound I was looking for, most often the bass was too much, but to be fair I didn't spend much time with them.

I should also append my Monster Turbine recommendation by stating that I paid almost half of what they typically cost and while I feel the full price is justified, my opinion might be slightly clouded since I didn't pay full price. Also, you were mentioning durability and the Turbines are really tough, they have an aluminum body and the cord is a decent strength.

I have not heard of apple in-ear headphones, i am assuming you mean the ones you get when you buy a Ipod. I found those to be average. $70 for headphones you get with the Ipod is a little too much. i think they are charging more for style than actaully sound. Anyways i find sennheiser and Sony to be great headphone companies.

ASRCSR

I am NOT talking about the earphones that come with the iPod, those are trash and do not sound good at all.

-Betta

I just use cheap unbranded headphones. They give perfectly acceptable quality, and they're pretty comfortable. I don't recommend you use the headphones you get free with an Apple iPod - I don't find them comfortable, nor do I feel they give good sound quality. The Apple In-Ear ones seem to get a good review though - I've seen them advertised. You might like to check them out.

[QUOTE="ASRCSR"]

I have not heard of apple in-ear headphones, i am assuming you mean the ones you get when you buy a Ipod. I found those to be average. $70 for headphones you get with the Ipod is a little too much. i think they are charging more for style than actaully sound. Anyways i find sennheiser and Sony to be great headphone companies.

Thebettafish

I am NOT talking about the earphones that come with the iPod, those are trash and do not sound good at all.

-Betta

http://www.hdaccessory.com/catalog/reprearphone.jpg

Those are the ones that come with the iPod.

http://www.gadget.pdamu.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/apple-in-ear-headphones-2009.jpg

Those are the new and apparently awesome in-ears

Head-Fi seems to find them acceptable for the price (sift through some of the thoughts on the 45 page long topic):

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/apple-iem-most-underrated-iems-market-418220/

I just bought a pair of BOSE in ear headphones from my local Fred Meyer and am impressed at the quality of sound they provide. Granted, they are $100 but they were worth it imo. I recommend you check em out.

I just bought a pair of BOSE in ear headphones from my local Fred Meyer and am impressed at the quality of sound they provide. Granted, they are $100 but they were worth it imo. I recommend you check em out.

kILLsWITCH913

Bose is a very meh brand. They engineer their headphones and speaker systems to sound better than most, but they're still not that great. As the popular saying goes "No high's? Now lows? Must be Bose!"

-Betta

[QUOTE="kILLsWITCH913"]

I just bought a pair of BOSE in ear headphones from my local Fred Meyer and am impressed at the quality of sound they provide. Granted, they are $100 but they were worth it imo. I recommend you check em out.

Thebettafish

Bose is a very meh brand. They engineer their headphones and speaker systems to sound better than most, but they're still not that great. As the popular saying goes "No high's? Now lows? Must be Bose!"

-Betta

Huh, well I'm not familiar in the high end audio market. Every pair of head phones that I have ever had were either the stock ones that came with that particular device or just cheap ones I bought at a store. Bose seems like a well marketed brand so I went with them. The earphones I bought are far better than any other pair I have owned so I like them for that fact. I would recommend these to anyone looking for a pair of earphones in the $100 range. I didn't see too many competitors at that price range, maybe sony.

i've never used anything else but the apple headphones that ipods come with and 10$ Radio shack ear phones. before i went to college i invested in 30$ Skullkandy in-ear buds. they're fantastic and the sound quality is the best i've ever experienced. highly reccomended from my point of view. i cant imagine anything else sounding better

i've never used anything else but the apple headphones that ipods come with and 10$ Radio shack ear phones. before i went to college i invested in 30$ Skullkandy in-ear buds. they're fantastic and the sound quality is the best i've ever experienced. highly reccomended from my point of view. i cant imagine anything else sounding better

eyebrowless

Skullcandy is worse than Bose.

Bose typically engineers their devices to have really warm sounding mids and clear lows. Their active systems (anything that takes power) tends to use DSP to add a little character to anything played through them. This isn't exactly bad, but it's not a clear reproduction of the sound that audio engineers meant for you to hear, which I think is the biggest thing against them.

But seriously, stay away from skullcandy, they just like adding bass.

-Betta

Creative EP630s - cheap in-ears (you can pick them up on eBay for around $30 - I managed to find a new pair for $9; arrived yesterday) with deep bass and high enough clarity to put you through most music happily. The pair I just managed to break (which was difficult, even if by accident) lasted me well over a year and a half, and while it seems the bass wasn't reproducing as clearly near the end as it was when I first got them, they were definitely worth it.

There's no active noise cancelling, but for that you save a wad.
I strongly recommend them, especially if you can find a pair for about $25 or less.

i've never used anything else but the apple headphones that ipods come with and 10$ Radio shack ear phones. before i went to college i invested in 30$ Skullkandy in-ear buds. they're fantastic and the sound quality is the best i've ever experienced. highly reccomended from my point of view. i cant imagine anything else sounding better

eyebrowless