Bruce B Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Just picked up a couple of IPOD minis for my wife and I for the primary purpose of killing time on our trip to Hawaii next month but will also be used working out. Cant stand earbuds so I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on headphones that arent too cumbersome with good sound quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Are you just an "I can't stand earbuds" person, or have you tried and failed? The reason I ask is that I normally can't stand them either, but I'm getting along just fine with the ones that came with my Mini. Otherwise, I use the Philips "wrap round the back of your head" ones that they make for Nike. Don't fall off when you do exercise, and they've got some weird rubberised plastic, so you don't have sponges to both soak up sweat (and become disgustingly icky) and fall apart on you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce B Posted March 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Are you just an "I can't stand earbuds" person' date=' or have you tried and failed? The reason I ask is that I normally can't stand them either, but I'm getting along just fine with the ones that came with my Mini. Otherwise, I use the Philips "wrap round the back of your head" ones that they make for Nike. Don't fall off when you do exercise, and they've got some weird rubberised plastic, so you don't have sponges to both soak up sweat (and become disgustingly icky) and fall apart on you.[/quote'] I'm a tried and failed one. I just felt like it was alot of work trying to position them and got frustrated. I felt like I needed some KY Jelly for them to fit properly. Also I wasnt that impressed with the sound quality of the buds that came with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 What about inner ear earbuds? I don't like the type of earbuds that ship with the iPod but I found the style which actually fit inside the ear cannal to be quite comfortable (and usually of much higher performance). These models tend to ship with several types of foam or rubber covers so you can customize the fit and comfort for yourself. The very best is probably the Etymotic ER6 but it's expensive. They have a less costly ER4 as well. Shure makes great headphones too. Their $100 E2C sounds better than the Ety ER4 and, IMO, is the best deal around. They have a newer E3 model which I haven't heard yet but supposedly blows the E2 out of the water. Very popular is the Sony EX71SL. These are quite comfortable and inexpensive (~$40). If you get them on ebay you can find white versions to match most iPods. They sound much better than the stock Apple earbuds but, IMO, over do the bass (which, is why I think they're so popular). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnemaEms Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 I felt like I needed some KY Jelly for them to fit properly. Bruce, Lets keep this topic on track. -Dean- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reeldeal Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 LOL @ the KY I bought a pair of 71sl's off Ebay for myself and I loved them. When my girlfriend bought a mini a couple months after me we grabbed her another pair, I think we got them from the for sale section of ipodlounge.com I think Sony released a followup to the 71sl's that had a shorter cord (for some reason the cord on the 71sl's is ridiculously long) and it also apparenlty has less aggressive bass. I agree that the 71sl's are way too aggressive on the bass, however using the EQ option of bass reducer takes care of the problem for me. For my girlfriend she likes the sound best with default EQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberwoo Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Just picked up a couple of IPOD minis for my wife and I for the primary purpose of killing time on our trip to Hawaii next month but will also be used working out. Cant stand earbuds so I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on headphones that arent too cumbersome with good sound quality. Do a google search for "KOSS KSC35". The only portable headphones you'll ever need. These are the perfect alternative to people who are turned off by earbuds like myself. They clip onto your ear and are very comfortable. I like the fact that they dont block out surrouding noise which is a nice safety benefit when your riding your bike around with these on (which I do quite often). The sound quality is great especially for the price (can be found for around $35-$40). When you hear them for the first time you'll swear your listening to headphones that cost 3x as much. These headphones were once discontinued but were brought back by popular demand. Once you try them out you'll know why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain rising Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Shure makes great headphones too. Their $100 E2C sounds better than the Ety ER4 and, IMO, is the best deal around. They have a newer E3 model which I haven't heard yet but supposedly blows the E2 out of the water. I can back up that the E2Cs sound amazing. I'm sure the E3s sound even better, but I have absolutely no complaints about the E2Cs - worth every penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFo Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 This is what I use for my iPod Mini. Okay, I do realize that the headphones are about 5 times the size of the iPod, but they do sound pretty damned good together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberwoo Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 So we have a bunch of replies pimping earbuds (which he clearly dislikes) and one post pimping a big pair of +$300 Senn's (not exactlly a smart choice for a portable solution). At least try out those KOSS KSC35's before you get sold on anything else. You get the benefit of small portable great sounding phones without the ear wax/sweaty buildup (ewww) and outside noise blockage of earbuds. I was dead set on settling for some Shure earbuds until the KOSS phones were recommended to me. Now that I've used them for months almost daily (bike riding, jogging, etc) I could never go back to earbuds. I just cant stand the feeling of having buds in my ear especially when I'm active. A big drawback of in-ear buds is the fact that they close off your ear canal which amplifies your every step/move. To understand what I mean take your pinky fingers and shove them into your ears and start jumping up and down. Anoying isn't it? Now imagine trying to listen to music like that (sucks for jogging/running). Not to mention you wont be able to hear anything around you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 To be fair, I did recommend the Philips/Nike headphones. But the Philips website is worse than useless, so I can't give you a link. edit - so don't use the Philips website. I mean these Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberwoo Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Ya my apologies iainl. Didn't catch your recommendation for those. I can't find any reviews for those anywhere on the net though. I've never heard of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Oh, don't expect the quality of Jeff's Sennheisers. But I find them comfortable (surely the most important thing, as long as the sound is ok), and they're pretty reasonably priced. The plastic is bendy enough that you're unlikely to break them, either. The only bad thing I'd say, though, is that they're no good for the iRiver H120, as that thing's remote has the headphone socket designed sufficiently weirdly that the plastic moulding on the jack gets in the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Monkey Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 The only bad thing I'd say' date=' though, is that they're no good for the iRiver H120, as that thing's remote has the headphone socket designed sufficiently weirdly that the plastic moulding on the jack gets in the way.[/quote'] My H-120 came with a bunch of stuff including a 1-inch long adapter for L-shaped headphone plugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain rising Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 My H-120 came with a bunch of stuff including a 1-inch long adapter for L-shaped headphone plugs. Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainl Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Ahh, handy. My friend didn't have one of those. It isn't an L-shaped connector, by the way, just a very long straight one and slightly wider than average. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 I use the Sennheiser PX 100, which is collapsible and easy to tote around, but best of all it sounds incredible. The detail from highs to lows is amazing, and it sounds like it should cost much more than it does. It's also handy for using with the Nintendo DS and my portable DVD player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshiajay Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 I was dead set on settling for some Shure earbuds until the KOSS phones were recommended to me. Cyberwoo, How do the Koss headphones do on airplanes? I was thinking about getting noise cancelling ones but I don't really feel like dropping $100+ on them. The stock Ipod headphones kinda suck if you are near the engine. Ajay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlot Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 LOL @ the KY I bought a pair of 71sl's off Ebay for myself and I loved them. When my girlfriend bought a mini a couple months after me we grabbed her another pair' date=' I think we got them from the for sale section of ipodlounge.com I think Sony released a followup to the 71sl's that had a shorter cord (for some reason the cord on the 71sl's is ridiculously long) and it also apparenlty has less aggressive bass. I agree that the 71sl's are way too aggressive on the bass, however using the EQ option of bass reducer takes care of the problem for me. For my girlfriend she likes the sound best with default EQ.[/quote'] I have the 51's which are identicle to the 71's except for the finish and a few other minor details. Sound great and stay in the ear for the most part during excersise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce B Posted March 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 Okay so I ended up going cheap because we are watching our pennies for our Hawaii trip so I ordered the Koss KTXPRO1 off of Amazon. They got stellar reviews. I'll let you know what I think when I get them. I figure for the price if they suck its not like its a big investment, but in the reviews people rave about them. Thanks for everyones input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce B Posted March 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 I cancelled my other order and focused on the Koss KSC35's but cant seem to find them anywhere. They have been discontinued on Amazon. So we have a bunch of replies pimping earbuds (which he clearly dislikes) and one post pimping a big pair of +$300 Senn's (not exactlly a smart choice for a portable solution). At least try out those KOSS KSC35's before you get sold on anything else. You get the benefit of small portable great sounding phones without the ear wax/sweaty buildup (ewww) and outside noise blockage of earbuds. I was dead set on settling for some Shure earbuds until the KOSS phones were recommended to me. Now that I've used them for months almost daily (bike riding, jogging, etc) I could never go back to earbuds. I just cant stand the feeling of having buds in my ear especially when I'm active. A big drawback of in-ear buds is the fact that they close off your ear canal which amplifies your every step/move. To understand what I mean take your pinky fingers and shove them into your ears and start jumping up and down. Anoying isn't it? Now imagine trying to listen to music like that (sucks for jogging/running). Not to mention you wont be able to hear anything around you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted March 4, 2005 Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 I cancelled my other order and focused on the Koss KSC35's but cant seem to find them anywhere. They have been discontinued on Amazon. You can order them directly from koss.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce B Posted March 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2005 You can order them directly from koss.com. Done deal. Thank you. Hopefully I wont get a notice that they have been discontinued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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