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So, I tried a pair of the newest style of stock iBuds the other day

post #1 of 18
5/24/11 at 5:41am
Thread Starter 

...and they actually weren't bad at all.  In fact, I was surprised at how (relatively) nice and punchy the bass was.  Definitely not as bass light as I remember them to be.  Of course they were still a bit muddy and harsh, perhaps somewhat boomy relative to nicer IEMs (never tried high-end earbuds before), but they're definitely not as awful as they used to be.  This was out of a current-gen iPod Nano too.  I didn't listen to them for very long, but still, it was impressively good.  Not sure how they compare to the older ones, since I don't really remember them...they broke pretty quickly and I graduated to better in-ears.  But the ones right now definitely aren't worth of all the hate they seem to gather around here.

 

Just to clarify, I'm talking about the new style of iBuds - the ones with the hard plastic jack.

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post #2 of 18
5/25/11 at 8:22am
I definitely agree with this. My girlfriend got an Iphone a while ago and did not want the ibuds. I kept them and use them at the gym. They don't sound that bad at all. I don't remember how the older ones sounded as well, but the new ibuds are the best headphones I have used that come stock with an audio device. Although that isn't saying much.
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post #3 of 18
5/25/11 at 8:44am

There are rumors going around that the newest iBuds are Senn OEMs :) They arent bad, but they are damn painful to wear

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post #4 of 18
5/25/11 at 8:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by KaliKot View Post

There are rumors going around that the newest iBuds are Senn OEMs :) They arent bad, but they are damn painful to wear


Yeah, the stock iBuds are really uncomfortable for me, and especially for my sister who is petite.  She would have bleeding in her ear every now and then from using them for long sessions of music or video from her computer.  I gave her my Audiotechnica ATH-A900's since I don't use them that often now and she's been very happy with not having to stick those buds into her ear. 
 

 

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post #5 of 18
5/25/11 at 8:55am
Thread Starter 

Sennheiser?  Really?  Well, I did see in an apple authorized retailer around here that they had a bunch of HD201s sitting there to demo with iPods...but I'm not sure if that means anything or not.  I thought Fostex OEM'd the ones from before though?  They still look identical except for that plug.  Hm.

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post #6 of 18
5/25/11 at 9:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaBomb77766 View Post

Sennheiser?  Really?  Well, I did see in an apple authorized retailer around here that they had a bunch of HD201s sitting there to demo with iPods...but I'm not sure if that means anything or not.  I thought Fostex OEM'd the ones from before though?  They still look identical except for that plug.  Hm.


Best way is for someone to pry them open to find out :D

 

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post #7 of 18
5/25/11 at 9:52pm

i had a pair that broke but i cannot remember if they had a plastic plug. i do know they came with a 2g ipod touch. they sounded alright to me but they had no bass and were horribly uncomfortable.

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post #8 of 18
5/25/11 at 10:02pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bcasey25raptor View Post

i had a pair that broke but i cannot remember if they had a plastic plug. i do know they came with a 2g ipod touch. they sounded alright to me but they had no bass and were horribly uncomfortable.



The new ones, I think, only come with the iPhone 4/iPod Touch 4 and later models.

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post #9 of 18
5/25/11 at 10:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaBomb77766 View Post





The new ones, I think, only come with the iPhone 4/iPod Touch 4 and later models.


ya the only ipod i will buy is the ipod classic. i need a lot of space for my music.

 

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post #10 of 18
5/26/11 at 12:14am

Dunno dude, i have a Ipod Touch 4g bought in Oct '10. Also have old Ipod classic (1g) buds.

 

Cosmetically they redesigned them, new earbuds are longer, jack housing longer (plastic vs. rubber), but it looks like same type of jack (two line)

 

Same garbage sound though... maybe you demo modded ones lol

 

 

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post #11 of 18
5/26/11 at 12:18am

The reason why they're pretty decent is because they're made by Foster (yes, Fostex). Search it up if you don't believe me.

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post #12 of 18
5/26/11 at 1:17am

Fostex also made the old ones.

 

i suspect that in a blind test where you cant see the white removing the apple fanboy factor, you would not think so highly of them.

 

 

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post #13 of 18
5/26/11 at 3:16am
Thread Starter 

I have no bias towards Apple - I'd always maintained that the Apple earbuds are awful monstrosities that should be put to death (if that's even possible).  I was just surprised that these newer ones didn't sound so offensive to me anymore.  I'm gonna have to see if I can take a listen to a pair some other time to come to any more conclusions...my dad and my sister have pairs of these, but they're currently on the other side of the pacific ocean, so it's gonna have to wait.  Or I could just go back to the store I tried these at, one or another. :P

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post #14 of 18
5/26/11 at 4:57am

I don't consider myself an "apple fanboy". The only apple product I own is an Ipod. The new ibuds do sound pretty good to me as a stock bud for an audio device. I have no complaints for them as a gym only headphone. I'm guessing the people that are being negative against them have not heard them. The new ibuds do not sound as terrible to me as what a lot of people on this site claim.

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post #15 of 18
5/26/11 at 5:08am

Someone here (I think it was Duncan?) said they're modified MX580's. I honestly think they're decent sounding...

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