New earphones required
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Discussion

JULIANHJ

Original Poster:

8,860 posts

285 months

Sunday 13th February 2005
quotequote all
After many years of excellent service my Sony MDR-ED268 in-ear headphones have packed up. Or rather the right one has as the cable seems to have worked loose where the L and R cables join.

Anyone got any recommendations for replacements? I'm looking at these right now. Anyone got them?

>>> Edited by JULIANHJ on Sunday 13th February 22:13

sadako

7,080 posts

261 months

Sunday 13th February 2005
quotequote all
replace the headphone cable?

ThatPhilBrettGuy

11,810 posts

263 months

Sunday 13th February 2005
quotequote all
www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=6247

Once you've had the bass that they generate everything else sounds like a crystal set...

agent006

12,058 posts

287 months

Sunday 13th February 2005
quotequote all
Sennheiser. There is no choice in the matter.

I have a set of these and they are really amazing.

If you <i>must</i> have in ear then these seem to be a good plan.

>> Edited by agent006 on Sunday 13th February 22:50

dern

14,055 posts

302 months

Sunday 13th February 2005
quotequote all
agent006 said:
Sennheiser. There is no choice in the matter.
Seconded. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD580s that I bought about 4 years ago and I use them every day for hours at a time and they are comfortable and sound fantastic.

Mark

rebelstar

1,146 posts

267 months

Sunday 13th February 2005
quotequote all
They're really expensive, but the Shure E3c are excellent:

www.mercury-av.com/sales/x440.html

beanbag

7,346 posts

264 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
rebelstar said:
They're really expensive, but the Shure E3c are excellent:

www.mercury-av.com/sales/x440.html


OVER £300 for in ear phones!? Awesome!!! I want!!

hwassall

280 posts

307 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
rebelstar said:
They're really expensive, but the Shure E3c are excellent:

www.mercury-av.com/sales/x440.html


I have Shure E2Cs and they are excellent and rather cheaper than the E3Cs.

pbirkett

20,148 posts

295 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
ThatPhilBrettGuy said:
www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=6247

Once you've had the bass that they generate everything else sounds like a crystal set...


Koss do make really good portable earphones I have to admit...

marctwo

3,666 posts

283 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
ThatPhilBrettGuy said:
www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=6247

Once you've had the bass that they generate everything else sounds like a crystal set...


I had some of these and the sound is very good (bass included) although they look pretty crappy. The problem I found is that the moulded earplug parts started to break apart after a while.

I also had some Sennheiser mx 500's which were pretty good until I managed to blow one of the drivers.

At the moment I have the Sony MDR-EX71 and like them a lot. The bass and noise isolation is not quite as good as the Koss plugs but pretty close and I think they will probably last longer.

If I could afford/justify the Sure earphones then I'd probably do that but for listening to MP3s at work they are severe overkill.

john_p

7,073 posts

273 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
Agree, I bought a set of in-ear ones and they sound so much better than the conventional kind.

Might take a bit of getting used to but they block out external noise much better and overall sound quality (bass especially) is much improved, especially in noisy environments like aircraft or trains.

thebluemonkey

1,296 posts

263 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
marctwo said:


At the moment I have the Sony MDR-EX71 and like them a lot. The bass and noise isolation is not quite as good as the Koss plugs but pretty close and I think they will probably last longer.


I wouldn't be so sure that they'll last very long at all. I had 1 pair go after 3 weeks, the next after 1 month and then I decided to sod it and go for Etymotics which are the Daddies in the plug world. If you want to go even more over the top then you can get an audiologist to make you up some casts of your inner ear and then they'll be even better, plus then no one can borrow them.

beanbag

7,346 posts

264 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
pbirkett said:

ThatPhilBrettGuy said:
<a href="http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=6247">www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=6247</a>

Once you've had the bass that they generate everything else sounds like a crystal set...



Koss do make really good portable earphones I have to admit...


What a dodgy looking bloke on the packet!!!

bga

8,134 posts

274 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
I've got some Sennheiser MX500 in ear phones which are pretty good for the £15 or so I paid for them.

ge2

298 posts

272 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
thebluemonkey said:

marctwo said:


At the moment I have the Sony MDR-EX71 and like them a lot. The bass and noise isolation is not quite as good as the Koss plugs but pretty close and I think they will probably last longer.



I wouldn't be so sure that they'll last very long at all. I had 1 pair go after 3 weeks, the next after 1 month and then I decided to sod it and go for Etymotics which are the Daddies in the plug world. If you want to go even more over the top then you can get an audiologist to make you up some casts of your inner ear and then they'll be even better, plus then no one can borrow them.


How are the Etymotics and which ones have you got? I've got the Sony MDR-EX71 but am considering the Etymotics ER-6i. £120

jke11y

3,194 posts

260 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
There are some deals to be had on Sennheiser HD25s on ebay - you can pick up the concorde issue ones for about 40quid, (they are normally over 100). Sound

chrishillcoat

168 posts

268 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
jke11y said:
There are some deals to be had on Sennheiser HD25s on ebay - you can pick up the concorde issue ones for about 40quid, (they are normally over 100). Sound


thebluemonkey

1,296 posts

263 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
ge2 said:


How are the Etymotics and which ones have you got? I've got the Sony MDR-EX71 but am considering the Etymotics ER-6i. £120


I've got the ER-6's,if you get them off of ebay though they are a hell of alot cheaper, or atleast mine were. There's a seller in Germany who sells all the good headphone brands on ebay. They sound absolutely fantastic, the only problem is that the DAC on my ipod lets them down as do some of the poor quality mp3's I have. When they're plugged straight into my stereo at home they are mesmerisingly good with loads of detail and a good midrange, which is what I thought the sony plugs were missing. The bass didn't seem as big at first but that was more to do with the Sonys accentuating it and that I hadn't let them run in first. The treble isn't quite as fatiguing on the Etymotics as the Sonys and there is more detail, all of which is lost the minute you step out into the street and get run over by a bus because you couldn't hear anything apart from your heartbeat and the music. By all accounts the ER-6i's are better suited to ipods and the like because they are more sensitive and an accentuated bass which makes up for mp3's and poor quality DACS. Not too sure which I would go for now, the audiophile in me wants to say ER-6s again because they don't mess with the sound but I would probably go for the i's because I use them on the train most of the time.

ge2

298 posts

272 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
Mostly the train for me too. Sounds like the 6i's are the ones to go for. Thanks.

sixspeed

2,062 posts

295 months

Monday 14th February 2005
quotequote all
I have the Sony earbud headphones and agree they're pretty damn good.

Of course, it depends on your budget, but the Shure E2Cs are meant to be a lot better, though I've not tried them. However, at around £60 a pair, they should be!

If you want to get really into your research, head over to www.head-fi.org and have a search/post through their forums


-andy-