Headphones for Iphone
Discussion
Ok, i'm no expert hence I need some help.
I use the ipod on the iphone quite a lot. I've thought for some time that he headphones were poor. Anyway I tried some others today and they were leagues ahead.
So am thinking of buying some new ones.
What would people suggest?
I've looked at V-moda's and the Bose one's so far.
I would like to stick to in-ear ones.
I use the ipod on the iphone quite a lot. I've thought for some time that he headphones were poor. Anyway I tried some others today and they were leagues ahead.
So am thinking of buying some new ones.
What would people suggest?
I've looked at V-moda's and the Bose one's so far.
I would like to stick to in-ear ones.
Edited by CatherineJ on Friday 12th February 15:25
Sennheiser CX300s are good value. Used to be about £60 now you can get them for about £15.
http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/880...
http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/880...
Edited by Luke. on Friday 12th February 15:25
Not all of the 'headset' type headphones / microphone / volume control / multifunction button work perfectly with the iPhone.
Actually, Apple's own in-ear headphones, which obviously work as expected with the iPhone, are pretty decent for sound IMO. I'm no audiophile but I love music and listen a LOT of the time, and can definitely distinguish between different types of earphone. They all colour the sound to some degree, and in some respects there is no 'best' recommendation because it very much depends on how you prefer your sound to be coloured (more bass, transient response speed, midrange clarity, etc.) and what sort of music you listen to.
The Apple in-ear units have two driver units in them IIRC and a crossover so lower frequencies are handled by a different speaker to the higher frequencies. Ultimate Ears do a set with twin drivers too but they're very expensive - Apple's are good value and sound pretty good to me.
Etymotic do a lovely in-ear phone, it's incredibly transparent and you'll hear things in the music you haven't heard before, but they're very 'monitor' in their response and if you want lots of bass they're not ideal. Also I've read too many reports of poor build quality regarding the headset version (hf2 IIRC) and the microphone unit is clunky. I had a top-end set of Etymotics and they sounded incredible, but didn't have the microphone / button. Too many people reported early failure of the headset version so I didn't buy it.
I'm currently using an Ultimate Ears set which are pretty good (though they were expensive at the time, from an Apple store) - build quality is good, sound is very good - not as transparent as the Etymotics but usefully more bass, and the button / microphone work as expected with the iPhone. The only downside is that the silicone rubber earpieces can easily slip off the driver units (there's only a small flange on the speaker to hold the earpiece on) and end up stuck in your ear canal. I've had to pop over to the IT department and get a techie with needle-nose pliers extract an Ultimate Ears rubber earpiece from my ear a few times now
This is a fundamental design issue and the only solution is to superglue the earpiece to the driver. However these earphones have lasted me a long time (around 2 years) which is good going - normally in-ear phones tend to fail with broken wires / loose connections before a year of daily use IME.
If Etymotic made a set with superior build quality (like their ER-4p expensive set) then I'd have them, but the hf2 headset has too many poor reports for me. Does anyone here have them, or have Etymotic revised the design yet? Really, their driver units are excellent, it's just a shame that they didn't use thicker, more reliable wire, and a light but strong microphone / button
I also have a set of Atomic Floyd 'HiDef Drum' earphones. These are milled from solid steel and the cabling is fabric-woven. Whilst they do what they say on the tin (bulletproof build quality, plenty of bass), the fact that they're solid chunks of metal makes them uncomfortable and heavy in the ear for long periods of time. Also, due to their design, there's a fair amount of sound leakage which can be a problem in some applications (train commutes, for example, where you want to listen to music at a decent volume without annoying the other passengers close to you). The Apple in-ear phones have an external vent and leak sound at high volumes, too - though they're not annoying to other people at low / medium volume. Sealed units like Etymotic / Ultimate Ears / Sennheiser, seated properly in your ears, are better for this as they don't leak sound. They do however block out all other ambient sounds usually, which can be a bit dangerous if you ought to be aware of what's going on around you... walking through London with heavy traffic can be dodgy if you can't hear oncoming bikes / cars etc. I wouldn't want to drive or ride with well-isolated in-ear phones.
The problem is that it's difficult to 'test drive' in-ear phones... for hygiene reasons you generally don't see them on display to try out, and unless you're lucky you normally need to tailor the earbuds to your ears. The difference in sound quality with Etymotics, especially, between properly sealed and fitted, and badly inserted in the ear, is huge. When I bought my first Etymotic set, I was badly disappointed with the sound as they were expensive... until I pushed them farther into my ear and fully sealed the canal, at which point it was like 'wow' and the music suddenly came to life. Ideally you need to try them out, I've been through many different brands at quite a high cost
It's easier to recommend with more information though - what sort of music do you like and how do you prefer your sound coloured?
Actually, Apple's own in-ear headphones, which obviously work as expected with the iPhone, are pretty decent for sound IMO. I'm no audiophile but I love music and listen a LOT of the time, and can definitely distinguish between different types of earphone. They all colour the sound to some degree, and in some respects there is no 'best' recommendation because it very much depends on how you prefer your sound to be coloured (more bass, transient response speed, midrange clarity, etc.) and what sort of music you listen to.
The Apple in-ear units have two driver units in them IIRC and a crossover so lower frequencies are handled by a different speaker to the higher frequencies. Ultimate Ears do a set with twin drivers too but they're very expensive - Apple's are good value and sound pretty good to me.
Etymotic do a lovely in-ear phone, it's incredibly transparent and you'll hear things in the music you haven't heard before, but they're very 'monitor' in their response and if you want lots of bass they're not ideal. Also I've read too many reports of poor build quality regarding the headset version (hf2 IIRC) and the microphone unit is clunky. I had a top-end set of Etymotics and they sounded incredible, but didn't have the microphone / button. Too many people reported early failure of the headset version so I didn't buy it.
I'm currently using an Ultimate Ears set which are pretty good (though they were expensive at the time, from an Apple store) - build quality is good, sound is very good - not as transparent as the Etymotics but usefully more bass, and the button / microphone work as expected with the iPhone. The only downside is that the silicone rubber earpieces can easily slip off the driver units (there's only a small flange on the speaker to hold the earpiece on) and end up stuck in your ear canal. I've had to pop over to the IT department and get a techie with needle-nose pliers extract an Ultimate Ears rubber earpiece from my ear a few times now
This is a fundamental design issue and the only solution is to superglue the earpiece to the driver. However these earphones have lasted me a long time (around 2 years) which is good going - normally in-ear phones tend to fail with broken wires / loose connections before a year of daily use IME.If Etymotic made a set with superior build quality (like their ER-4p expensive set) then I'd have them, but the hf2 headset has too many poor reports for me. Does anyone here have them, or have Etymotic revised the design yet? Really, their driver units are excellent, it's just a shame that they didn't use thicker, more reliable wire, and a light but strong microphone / button
I also have a set of Atomic Floyd 'HiDef Drum' earphones. These are milled from solid steel and the cabling is fabric-woven. Whilst they do what they say on the tin (bulletproof build quality, plenty of bass), the fact that they're solid chunks of metal makes them uncomfortable and heavy in the ear for long periods of time. Also, due to their design, there's a fair amount of sound leakage which can be a problem in some applications (train commutes, for example, where you want to listen to music at a decent volume without annoying the other passengers close to you). The Apple in-ear phones have an external vent and leak sound at high volumes, too - though they're not annoying to other people at low / medium volume. Sealed units like Etymotic / Ultimate Ears / Sennheiser, seated properly in your ears, are better for this as they don't leak sound. They do however block out all other ambient sounds usually, which can be a bit dangerous if you ought to be aware of what's going on around you... walking through London with heavy traffic can be dodgy if you can't hear oncoming bikes / cars etc. I wouldn't want to drive or ride with well-isolated in-ear phones.
The problem is that it's difficult to 'test drive' in-ear phones... for hygiene reasons you generally don't see them on display to try out, and unless you're lucky you normally need to tailor the earbuds to your ears. The difference in sound quality with Etymotics, especially, between properly sealed and fitted, and badly inserted in the ear, is huge. When I bought my first Etymotic set, I was badly disappointed with the sound as they were expensive... until I pushed them farther into my ear and fully sealed the canal, at which point it was like 'wow' and the music suddenly came to life. Ideally you need to try them out, I've been through many different brands at quite a high cost
It's easier to recommend with more information though - what sort of music do you like and how do you prefer your sound coloured?
I have a set of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shure-Se210-Sound-Isolatin...
Shure SE 210 in ear headphones, to be honest I'm not impressed. They are ok, there isn't much bass and make my ears hurt after about 30 mins. They are worryingly good at cancelling noise out too...if that's your thing. They come with about 4 or 5 different shaped buds for the end but I cant seem to get on with any of them
Shure SE 210 in ear headphones, to be honest I'm not impressed. They are ok, there isn't much bass and make my ears hurt after about 30 mins. They are worryingly good at cancelling noise out too...if that's your thing. They come with about 4 or 5 different shaped buds for the end but I cant seem to get on with any of them
fivesixseven8 said:
Any idea on what sort of sound you want? E.g. Balanced and clear or bass heavy?
The V-Moda headphones are quite bass heavy and get poor reports for quality. Something like a Shure model will give you a very balanced clear sound.
Just shows how bad the std headphones are then that I have. The V-Moda headphones are quite bass heavy and get poor reports for quality. Something like a Shure model will give you a very balanced clear sound.
Yes they were quite bass heavy now you say that, but were leagues ahead of the rubbish apple one's I currently have.
Edited by CatherineJ on Friday 12th February 18:44
I've just ordered a pair of these:
http://www.yurbuds.com/howtouse.aspx
I cannot get on with standard ipod earphones, but like the mic and control function you get with them. Hopefully this should make them easier to wear.
http://www.yurbuds.com/howtouse.aspx
I cannot get on with standard ipod earphones, but like the mic and control function you get with them. Hopefully this should make them easier to wear.
Blue Meanie said:
I have the in-ear headphones, as well as a set of bose, and seinhooooser in ear, and around ear set, and I find myself using the apple in ear purely because of the controls, and the fact it has a mic, etc... They really aren't much different from the other supposed 'better' ones.
i am sure better headphones are out there but the standard ones are fine for meI have several pairs of headphones, but these are my favourites (not to be worn when watching a film as bluetooth has a slight lip-sync delay)
Link to Apple store here
Link to Apple store here
If it's simply earphones you are after then these are very good.
http://www.bang-olufsen.com/earphones
If you want earphones for listening to music, with a microphone for taking calls, and a puch button for pausing, skipping tracks, starting voice commands etc then you need these
http://www.bang-olufsen.com/earset3
http://www.bang-olufsen.com/earphones
If you want earphones for listening to music, with a microphone for taking calls, and a puch button for pausing, skipping tracks, starting voice commands etc then you need these
http://www.bang-olufsen.com/earset3
I bought the B&O earphones a couple of years ago before you saw virtually everyone on the train to London wearing them. They fell apart after 6 months or so.
I've got nothing against B&O - hell, I have one of their televisions and a couple of their telephones - but the earphones are overpriced, not up to normal B&O quality, and don't actually sound *that* good, at the end of the day....
I've got nothing against B&O - hell, I have one of their televisions and a couple of their telephones - but the earphones are overpriced, not up to normal B&O quality, and don't actually sound *that* good, at the end of the day....
M-J-B said:
I have several pairs of headphones, but these are my favourites (not to be worn when watching a film as bluetooth has a slight lip-sync delay)
Link to Apple store here
I've been looking at these recently. Does that big bit sit on the back of your neck? Would it rub on a shirt or coat collar? Link to Apple store here
Ben
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