Earbuds - best brands, tips

By Matthew_Thepc
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Experienced

Matthew_Thepc

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OK, thanks for all the help :)

I've narrowed it down to:

Sennheiser:

  • CX-275s - These look like good, all-around earbuds for $70 (or less if I can find them on sale)
  • CX-300 II - I'm not a huge fan of the whole "around the neck" design, but I could put up with it if these have any major advantages
  • IE 4 - I love the straightforward design of these, but the amount of information put into the "Features" section makes it look like these don't have a lot going for them

Nixon:

Klipsh:

  • Image S4i Rugged (blue) - the price is high, but if it means not having to worry about them breaking down I might go for it. Did they give up any sound quality when they made it more rugged?
  • Image S4 Black In-ear - these look like the "middle" (or maybe even flagship, idk?) of the Klipsh line
  • Image S4 II In-ear - these look basically like the S4s, and the price is the same O.O Anyone know what the difference in the two is?

Shure:

  • Shure SE215 - I'm not to sure about the design, and the price is pretty high. Do these offer anything amazing to justify the price? Also, by Kevlar do they mean the bullet-proof kind of Kevlar? or is there another kind? :D pretty cool to have that in a pair of earbuds

AIAIAI:

  • Pipe - these look good, and I like the minimalistic design

Most of my music collection is country, along with a fair amount of rock & pop, since someone was mentioning that up in this price range it makes a difference :)

Do any of these stand out as being better, or are they are basically good? Are there any that I shouldn't get?

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KiHu

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Been using Sennheiser cx300-ii for almost two years now. Never needed to replace them, as they are just perfect in my opinion. Amazing sound quality and really comfortable in the ear. So much, that I sometimes forget that I wear them when the music/podcasts stops.

in the same seat, got the exact same model for about just as long..and loving them.

Don't use them as much nowadays though, using the ones i got with my Lumia 920 (microphone..), but using my sennheiser for other devices, PSP, laptop..Still love the heck out of them..

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Grand Master

Astra.Xtreme

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If you take good care of your stuff, you could probably get away with buying the regular Klipsch S4/S4i instead of the rugged version. For about $40, it's a pretty killer deal.

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Experienced

Matthew_Thepc

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If you take good care of your stuff, you could probably get away with buying the regular Klipsch S4/S4i instead of the rugged version. For about $40, it's a pretty killer deal.

What's the difference between the S4 & the S4 II? They look about the same to me O.O

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Grand Master

Astra.Xtreme

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What's the difference between the S4 & the S4 II? They look about the same to me O.O

It looks like the S4 II has a tangle resistant cord and is supposedly more durable. The downside is that they don't have a version with a remote control on it.

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Grand Master

remixedcat

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Go to the site I showed you the graph on and compare the frequency response curves before you buy and pick whatever one has the curve that applies to you.

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Grand Master

+Mirumir Subscriber¹

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Does anyone have an opinion on Klipsh vs. Sennheiser?

It's like comparing Cadillac vs Mercedes-Benz.

Where do you want your money to go to? Do you want them to stay in your country or fly to Germany? :D

You'll be happy with either one. These are earbuds afterall. By design, they all hit a certain limit of their performance much sooner (relatively to the price) than full sized headphones.

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Experienced

Matthew_Thepc

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It's like comparing Cadillac vs Mercedes-Benz.

Where do you want your money to go to? Do you want them to stay in your country or fly to Germany? :D

You'll be happy with either one. These are earbuds afterall. By design, they all hit a certain limit of their performance much sooner (relatively to the price) than full sized headphones.

ugh, yeah, I think I'm over thinking it (lol), I'll probably end up picking up the CX300 IIs (I think) people said were good.

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Grand Master

goretsky Supervisor

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Hello,

In the past couple of weeks there was a discussion on reddit about choosing IEMs/earphones/earbuds/canalphones/{insert name here} that you might find of interest: How am I supposed to choose a fairly decent (but not expensive) set of earphones when every list of reviews (eg amazon) is an even mix of 1* and 5*?

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

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Community Regular

ingramator

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Guys you can't just say you don't like Monster because they make Beats by Dr Dre and they are too mainstream or some crap. Monster have been in the game for a long long time and know their stuff. Anyways, definitely recommend Sennheiser over any other brand. The best engineers are German.

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Grand Master

+Mirumir Subscriber¹

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Monster have been in the game for a long long time and know their stuff.

Monster has been ripping the customers off with their monster cables line for a long time and now that they've piled up enough cash, they've diversified into other segments having applied the same high-margin-mediocre-quality model.

  • goretsky and remixedcat
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Grand Master

tsupersonic

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I got the S4 recently from Amazon for $40. I am hugely disappointed - it just doesn't deliver in the bass department. I'm glad it was only $40, but I feel the S4's are vastly overrated. It's a complete different experience from my Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 desktop speakers, which actually sound excellent. Sound is subjective, so ymmv - and also depends on what you listen to.

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Grand Master

remixedcat

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Does the S4's have the issue with the left driver unit failing like the UE350's? Mine failed a few days ago.. :(

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