EarPods..! - Its what apple calls its next gen Earbuds.. Fancy anyone? - Page 21

How can you people say they are great? They're still pretty bad.

 

Corrected that for you .......

 

Genuinely curious as to if you have actually tried these - for how long, and under which circumstances?

 

My cans and set-up are in my sig.  I was curious about the iPods when they first came out - so I bought a pair to see if the hype was justified.  They are definitely a lot better than the previous buds..  A country mile better!

 

What got me though was that they were still uncomfortable.

 

So I tried a simple pair of foam covers.  It's quite a difference.

 

1. They are much more comfortable
2. They actually create a semi-seal, which alters the sound (and IMO improves it)

 

The beauty of these things is that they cost USD 30.00 (or free with any of the new ipod/iphones), they actually have bass - it's warm and a little loose, but it has the ability to thump, and they still retain a nice mid-range and some sparkle in the upper registers.  They also have soundstage.

 

Do they foot it with any of my cans, or my IEMs ....... of course not (they're 30 bucks), but credit where credit is due - they are nice sounding - and I use them (often) when it's impractical to use full sized cans, and if isolation is undesirable.  These are good - and I congratulate Apple for actually coming up with a free bud that doesn't sound like garbage.

 

I actually would recommend these.

 

 

 

I got an iphone about a month ago, and was ready to flip the accompanying 'pods on ebay without even bothering to listen to them. I figured they'd be so bad, it wasn't worth giving them even a 5 minute demo. 

 

Having said that, they just looked so darn cool in their case I just had to to audition them. I'm glad I did. They're keepers for sure. Initially, I thought they were good, but that my portapro's were clearly better. Now, after a bit more listening, I'm not so sure. 

 

I am astonished by how tight and controlled the bass is on the 'pods. Instead of the relatively bloated and warbly bass of the portapro's (they're not that bad, I'm just exaggerating to give a clear sense of the portapro's relative tendencies), the 'pods have an extremely tight and controlled bass response. Listening to the bass guitar on "Dim all the lights" is simply awesome. 

 

Treble response seems pretty solid, esp. if modded with some foamies, but these 'pods can have very pronounced sibilance, which is not subtle at all. 

 

As far as the foam mod, I have not been able to fit them neatly over the 'pods as shown in the photos above. I basically stretched each foam cover over each pod in a far from esthetically pleasing manner, then cut out a couple of gaping holes for each foamie. The end result is pretty darn ugly, so if anyone has any tips on achieving the pretty and neat fit shown in previous photos, I'd be most appreciative. :)

 

With the foamies, the 'pods fit is just a touch more snug; the foamies take up just enough space to keep the 'pods from falling out, or from giving the sensation that they're about to fall out.

 

Just as importantly, the foamies really open up the treble response. The treble sounds rolled off without foamies, so that the midrange is much more pronounced. I prefer the 'pods with the mod, but SQ is acceptable even without the covers. 

 

Anyway, these are a fantastic value. You should look elsewhere however, if you're looking for great isolation; the 'pods aren't designed to isolate you from noise. 

 

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Note: I recently auditioned the klipsch s4i's which were on sale recently. They sound horrible. Tinny, cheap sounding IEM's. I burned them in for 24+ hours, and that made not the slightest bit of difference in sound quality. 

 

I suppose IEM's just can't offer the sound quality of standard headphones with much larger drivers. I'm just surprised that the klipsch's sounded so awful, given their rave reviews. 

 

Apple's 'pods offer far better sound quality at a far lower price point. 

Edited by newphones - 3/13/13 at 9:56pm

The secret is not to cut holes for the ports.  The foam isn't too dense - so the holes aren't really needed.

 

How does this affect sound quality, if at all?

 

Why don't you just try it - stretch the foamies over the pods, and see for yourself.  Much better than me trying to describe it. 

 

Thanks for the helpful response. I love it when people take the time to write that they're NOT going to answer your question. Keep up the good work buddy!

 

 

Wow - some sense of entitlement huh?

 

Lets look at what I did .....

 

See post #302 - I described how I applied the foamies to get better sound - also gave a really brief idea of what I thought the improvements were.  Also took the time to post photos.

 

You described how you fit your own foams - then cut holes in them - then mentioned that you wanted to get a better (neater fit) similar to mine.

 

I suggested not to cut holes in them (pretty simple)

 

You asked how that affects sound - I suggested to actually try it.  EG - get a set of foamies and slip them on.  I already described what i thought it did to the sound in #302.

 

Would you like me to tell you how much you might enjoy them as well ..... 

 

Seriously dude - just get a set of foamies, slip them on, and try it for yourself.

LOL, right on man. :)

 

I suppose I'm not a master artisan, but I managed to fit some foam covers over the earpods. The earpods fit significantly better and sound great!

 

They sound nearly as good as my trusty porta-pros and the price was certainly right: free along with my iphone 5. :) I'm glad I jumped on board the iphone train at this time: I got a honkin' good deal on the phone at walmart, and the earpods just seem like a luxurious gift on top of that. 

 

The only issue of note with the earpods now is a weird sibilance or smearing in the high end. Not nearly enough to detract from my overall enjoyment of these 'pods however, which strike me as a fine piece of engineering considering they're literally giving them away.

Impressive indeed.

 

Quick question: how do the earpods sound after extended burn in? Say a couple hundred hours?

I can't really understand why people say that the bass is good. In my opinion the bass is bloated and the decay is too long. The bass takes over the presentation. That is for Head-fi use. I think that for the big crowd, not looking for any kind of fidelity, they're the perfect phone. I think that Apple could've easily made them a bit more bass shy, balanced and with better treble response. (Just writing from memory now, don't ask me about specifics.) They just didn't want to because the big crowd wants tactile oomph bass, some sparkle and to hear vocals sound full. Not everyone likes canalphones so they stuck to their bud design. (And a quite interesting one.) They delivered what most people want from them. Personally I'm not a big fan of buds, nor of bloated bass (or boomy). The tactile part of the bass is a nice touch (no pun intended) but it sounds like the bass is locked away in a little box and it's the box you hear. If you mainly use canalphones, if you have a device capable of using the remote/mic these might have a place in your lineup. There are always times where buds are more appealing than canals. These are about on par with the last gen of Bose buds. Which I say is a bit similar. Enough with the rant. Crowdpleasing ftw!