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Looking for best sound isolation under $50

post #1 of 7
2/14/12 at 4:48pm
Thread Starter 
So I have a pair of cheap Coby's headphones and they are starting to not be consistent and sound isolation is nearly non existent. I can spend around $50 and that probably has to be msrp as I can't order online because my card doesn't have much money on it. I would like to ride the bus without hearing the engine and hearing my music instead.

That's not to say I would totally sacrifice sound quality for sound isolation. I listen to mostly death metal, punk, grindcore, metal and rap. Any help is appreciated!
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post #2 of 7
2/14/12 at 4:52pm

Etymotics are $60 and I don't think you want earbuds so that aside...

 

That being said, check out Joker's threads (rankings are at the bottom): http://www.head-fi.org/t/433318/shootout-98-portable-headphones-reviewed-sony-mdr-pq2-and-philips-oneill-sho9560-added-01-02-12. As far as what he says, Urbanears/Coloud (which I guess are good with your mainstream tastes) but I think there's better sounding stuff. Um... possibly Audio-Technica M40's. If you need noise cancelling, I guess there's Able Planet or JVC or something although I highly recommend avoiding Active Noise Cancelling.

 

Wait, my bad. Earbuds or headphones? D:

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post #3 of 7
2/14/12 at 4:56pm
Thread Starter 
Earbuds. Sorry, but I am new to this. I don't want cans or anything like that. I was looking at various MEE products, but most seemed to be average in the isolation department.
Edited by VegasLakers - 2/14/12 at 5:01pm
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post #4 of 7
2/14/12 at 5:05pm

Oh okay. Well anything with tri-flanges probably isolate pretty good; but I think Soundmagic's have pretty good isolation.

 

I'm not really that sure what to recommend otherwise but I know you DON'T want half in-ears (ie Brainwavz Beta, Phiaton's)

 

As for MEE's I had a pair of M9's and I can say that they offer reasonable isolation.

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post #5 of 7
2/14/12 at 7:56pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, I will look into the soundmagic and the M9. While the Etymotic are $60, maybe I could fit it into the budget. They sound good, but hard to find.
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post #6 of 7
2/19/12 at 12:29pm
Thread Starter 
So I did some more research and apparently the Etymotic are horrible on bass, but the Meelectronics a151 provide sound isolation and enough bass. They're both basically the same price so if the Etymotic Earbuds are that bad then would the a151 be a better earbud?
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post #7 of 7
2/19/12 at 1:01pm

The Philips 3580 has very strong isolation and should be readily available at most local stores for around $15 (assuming you're in the US).  Sound quality is also excellent.

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