Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic

Headzfi

New Head-Fier
Pros: Great Treble detail and Clarity with a hint of softness. ok midrange. Dry, punchy and detailed bass
Cons: Midrange a little thin and harsh . build could be better.
This is my first review here on the site. so im no professional. will try my best :)





In 2012 Apple released Earpods to replace the old Earbuds. they had great design, but didtn sound great. took around 5 years for apple developing the new Earpods. was the waiting worth ? Yes. the eapods comes in an nice little white box with an transparent plastic lid. the chord with jack twickled around the box.


So, how does the Earpods sound overall ? great ! theres an very good clarity and detail to the treble. while too having softness to the sound. midrange could be better though. its clear, yes. but a little thin and harsh which make vocals lose fullness and body. bass is great. punchy and dry. with fine detail then for example, hearing the artists plucking low end strings

this was my review :)

Redcarmoose

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Free
Cons: Not The Last Word In Detail
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Some folks just love to hate Apple products, for a list of good reasons at times. Apple goes the extra mile to make much of what they sell proprietary. Try and use an after-market cord and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. The Apple Company holds their own idea of what they feel the audio market is into. Many at Head-Fi embraced the original IPod as it really offered a standard of audio quality and playback UI in it's day. In recent years many on the forums have noted a truly non-audiophile stance choosing not to play FLAC and offer basically the same sound quality they always have as other manufactures embraced HD audio and continued to improve with portable audio playback on a multitude of levels. So it seems these EarPods offer us a slight improvement in sound over passed offerings, even if they are strictly not an audiophile product on most levels.

And again with the Apple EarPods we have a strange invention which borders on one of a kind. Actually they are one of a kind. Due to the uniqueness some folks like them and some don't. Still being that they end up being the best headphones folks own, you see them being used everywhere. For your general public they end up being good enough for most uses.

I'm guessing these difference in Head-Fi opinions come from getting a fit or not. I personally found a huge difference in sound upon adding foam covers enabling a good tight fit. With the fit came the bass that some folks describe as lacking. It's maybe a design that is just not going to fit every ear. The other issue is keeping them in place, also depending entirely on ear characteristics. Apple goes to describe how they did hundreds and hundreds of ear shape studies finally coming up with a form factor which is not exactly and ear-bud and not an IEM. Interestingly they have been out for awhile and still no one else has even come close to making something like them. It makes you wonder why there is nothing else in the market even coming close to emulating how they seem to work.

The Sound:
They are mid-centric and have a nice sound-stage, though don't have a very detailed lower mid or bass response. What bass there is has a nice placement and seems fast and blended well.
Compared to many IEMs there is just an overall lack in detail. If you also factor in they used to be priced around USD $29.00 which just adds to the less than stellar reputation they have earned at Head-Fi. Still I have used them for a long, long time and found they do have a place in the world.



Good Stuff:
They actually deliver a nice sound-stage for what they are, offering a very middle of the road personality.
Some people just don't like the feeling of IEMs.
Being semi-open they give audio clues to stuff going on around you, making them safe out and about on the street.
They really do all the genres well, being a jack of all trades.
Due to their design, they only fit one way, getting the right Ear-Pod into the correct ear.



The Bad Stuff:
They don't fit everyone's ears. The fact that the fit is crucial to getting the Apple EarPods to sound correct.
They actually bug some folks on the way they fit.
Lack of fit increases the treble and midrange character.
White can show wear.
Even with the best fit and source the bass only goes so low and disappears into nothing. This sub bass has a slight distorted and overly warm undefined character.

In Conclusion:
Most of us who have Apple products have not purchased them with the intention of using the included Apple EarPods. In that regard they are viewed as a free extra, which are mostly given away as gifts. They actually seem to sound better after 50 hours of burn in. Finding foam covers or purchasing aftermarket rubber covers allows a tight fit enabling the Apple EarPods to stay in place and increases the bass response and sound stage. They would not maybe be a product to go and buy for listening purposes, as the market today offers a plethora of better bargain portable listening devices for $20 or less.
 
EarPods now sell for $14.99.

Still getting the fit right and spending time adjusting to the sound signature can result in the Apple EarPods being a nice extra set of headphones, which are built well, last a long time and do a wide range of genres. They are really not as bad as some make them out to be.
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audiotechn0
audiotechn0
They are some really good headphones. They come with the apple premium though. 

GraydonCreed

New Head-Fier
Pros: Good if you have no other alternative
Cons: Uncomfortable, no bass, screechy treble, and sound leak
if you have no other alternative for whatever reason these are a good option although you can buy wings for those and I highly suggest them
seanwee
seanwee
lol
Vanheim
Vanheim
haha
xza23
xza23
Agree with you , even the she3590 sound better , the earpods suck balls.

AlanChi607

New Head-Fier
Pros: Tonally balanced sound with surprisingly good bass, iDevice remote very good in terms of ergonomics
Cons: No isolation, leading to lack of sub-bass frequencies
The Apple Earpods, whilst not being revolutionary, offer a good fit and surprisingly good sound for its price. The ergonomics of the iDevice remote included on the cable is excellent, with solid tactile feedback. Soundwise, while these Earpods may not offer any isolation whatsoever, is tastefully tuned for balanced sound. The bass is very good, and midrange frequencies are crisp and clear, whilst treble frequencies are rolled off.
 
The Earpods are made of hard, white, ceramic plastic, and while they may not offer a comfortable fit for everyone, fit my ears perfectly without any comfort issues (haha-perhaps my ears are just strange). The hard plastic makes the Earpods feel more durable and able to take a beating. They also come with a hard carrying case that loops the wire around to prevent any tangling issues (I doubt anyone uses the storage case anyway!) but it comes in handy when packing it into your bag.
 
In conclusion, for the price, the Apple Earpods offer solid sound with unique design. Though its competitors may offer better noise isolation, the Earpods are quite decent for their price and I would recommend anyone to try these.
Tom22
Tom22
@AlanChi607 nice concise review! its good depending on the price (if its free, as in it comes along with your ios device, then sure! but for $30 I would say your money is better spent elsewhere

donniefalcone

New Head-Fier
Pros: Clear sound, good bass, comfortable, durable
Cons: Too much treble (for my taste ), terrible isolation
Hi people. I have owned a pair of these earphones for over a year now, and this is what I think about them.
I am a beginner reviewer so please, have some understanding. Also, English is not my native language, I am from Croatia.
 
Build quality:
 
I bought my Apple earbuds exactly one year ago, and they feel/look/sound just the same as on the day that I bought them, even though I used them almost every day for a minimum of half an hour. Even though these earphones are made out of plastic, they feel very sturdy and solid. What amazed me the most about these earphones is the fact that when I accidentaly left them in my pocket, and washed them in the washing mashine ( how stupid of me ), they sounded like nothing happened. I didnt feel a slight difference in sound before and after having washed them.  If you take care of these earphones, you can expect them to work for a couple of years without any problems.
 
 
Sound quality:
 
Before buying these earphones , I read many reviews, and some people said that the sound quality is terrible, some people praised them as best earphones ever, some even said these earphones were mediocre and so on... I decided to buy them, and to be honest , I was a bit surprised. Apple did a very good job when it comes to sound quality. These are not the best earphones by any means, but in my opinion , these are some of the best sounding stock earphones you can get with a mobile phone. I know many of you will disagree with me on this one, but I have had many smartphones, and I have listened to many of the stock earphones you get with those smartphones, and I can tell you, Apple earpods beat them all. Sound is very clear, bass reproduction is good ( a lot better than on the older apple earphones), upper mids and highs are a bit too much for my taste. What I didnt like about these earphones is the fact that they have terrible isolation. Apple should have payed more attention to this.
 
Comfort:
 
These earphones are really well designed, they never fell out of my ears by accident. Even after I tried pulling really hard on the cable and tried to get them out of my ears by force, I was having a hard time doing it. Unlike some other earphones with those rubber tips that youre supposed to push into your ear canal, these always fell out of my ears,and would always slide out , and I'd have to push them back in again...I've had these in my ears for extended periods of time and they werent uncomfortable at all. Sometimes I would even forget I was wearing them, I felt like the music was simply inside of my head and it was not comming out of these earphones.
 
Conclusion:
 
All in all, these are pretty good earphones for the price. They are made out of good quality plastic, sound quality is good, and they are very comfortable. Good value for the buck.
Tom22
Tom22
nice short review! but i think your point of the isolation can't be helped. isolation can only be improved with a tight seal (using eartips) and most people still use the earpods are people that don't like to shove eartips into their ears and want something that slips in and out easily. 
 
and many of those people want to hear whats going around them as well. If they wanted isolation, even many cheap earphones found in department stores can give more isolation (IEMS i mean) like with silicone eartips
donniefalcone
donniefalcone
Yes you are right. Isolation cant be helped in this case. But isolation doesnt bother me a lot because when I turn the volume up on this earphones, I cant hear anything thats happening around me. I guess my ear shape is perfect for these earphones because they sound perfect. Just like
@Redcarmoose said , user satisfaction is based on each persons ear shape and how well they fit. They fit me perfectly, and sound so. :)
0roo0roo
0roo0roo
They are surprisingly good for stock headphones, was skeptical but for situations where isolation is not necessary, they produce good bass and treble and at least for my ears, there is no pressure.  
its strange to not have silicon plugs, but they are more stable than I would have expected, and for hot summer days, the lack of a seal is a definite advantage.
 
The downside for me is no J cord.

Kon Peki

100+ Head-Fier
Pros: Good, balanced sound. Comfortable. Not isolating. Relatively inexpensive.
Cons: Fall out of the ear easily
I've got 3 pairs of these - two came with iPhones (mic version) and one with an iPod Touch (no mic version).  All sound the same.
 
The EarPods sound much better than I expected they would, and despite owning many more expensive headphones, these have a regular place in my rotation.
 
Sound is natural and nicely balanced - very pleasing signature.
 
For the most part, I use them in the office, where I want to be able to listen to music but also to hear others around me.  My other headphones are either too big and bulky or too isolating.
 
The only downside for me is that they slip out easily, and falling out halfway on one side leads to very imbalanced audio.  This is the flip side of their superb comfort and fit.
Redcarmoose
Redcarmoose
Yes, even stated the Apple Company spent a ton of R and D sudying ear size and shapes, they work best for ears they fit.
Brooko
Brooko
I also love these little things.  Great for when you want something small and portable - but don't want the isolation.  To assist with fit - you can look at adding following:
 - Earskinz (http://earskinz.com/) = rubber / silicon 'shaped' covers
 - Foam covers
I actually use combo of both (foam covers over the earskinz)

Bosstooned

New Head-Fier
Pros: Great sound, don't isolate too much, good soundstage, incredible bass, clean treble, live mids, fair looks and low price
Cons: Not as durable as predecessor, wire gets smudged pretty quickly
Well.. first review here on Head-fi, so don't fire the bullets at me yet folks :wink:

I've been listening to portable gear for over 12 years now and this has given me considerable time to define for myself what I want in a headphone. For my on-the-go setups I've used designs from all over the palette big, small, medium, with - or without - amplification and I've established that what I truly want is something that is light, small, shows a decent amount of frequency table, and DOESN'T isolate. Why no isolation? Well, for me it's a psychological thing, I noticed that wearing my AKG K390 NC in-ear's severed me from my connection to the rest of the world. Yes indeed, I became very introvert and for some reason just felt unheimisch whenever I went out. I started using my Apple earbeans and suddenly realized that I enjoyed that so much more! Now Apple has a HUGE design department and this combined with the fact that the brand was practically synonymous with the word quality always made me think: I get that these earphones are designed with a minimalistic approach but why are they so crap in the sound department?
Well it seems they've been busy developing these all these years. As an audiophile I'm ashamed to admit it but still, going mobile, I've had more fun with these plugged in than all my other headphones (K181, HD 457, PMX60, DT990....) put together. People these phones tackle anything, and not just on the earphone level, but beyond that! They're detailed, but warm; small but noticeable soundstage; they isolate but in the hinging part of a bus I can hear the bass and mids fine. Of course these are not reference class, but they're fun, detailed and I know not of any headphone that can deliver so much for just 30 euro's and comes in such an easy to use, small package! Yes they do only isolate a tat better than the old apple's but that puts them right where I want them.
A small minus is that I just got mine replaced with a new pair due to falling out on the right side. Also, the rubber seals under the phones, above the jack and against the remote deter pretty quickly, even when used with care. Next to this, the wire will take over the color of pretty much anything it touches.

I believe these are sound-wise the best EARphones I've ever heard and with the remote they are so much more preferable to any kind of rig you can attach to your mobile device and for this price and ease of use everyone should own a pair!
IzzyAxel
IzzyAxel
Just to let you know, Fostex makes all the earbuds that are included with Apple products. 
blueangel2323
blueangel2323
Have you tried the Dirac player app? It uses DSP to correct the EarPods' sound signature to achieve almost perfect perceived neutrality.
Bosstooned
Bosstooned
Oh really? well never heard any of their other products so can't comment on that. I downloaded the Dirac App, will try it next time I'm going out! 

MattiaFalsetti

New Head-Fier
Pros: Comfortable, looks good, remote control and mic, overall good audio quality.
Cons: There's absolutely no audio isolation, the price is a little bit high considering the quality in general.
(Sorry for my english, but i'm writing from Italy)
The earphones are not bad, as i say before, they're comfortable with an actractive look and useful with remote control and mic incorporated, the audio quality is pretty good.
I got them in the packaging of the iPod nano, so I've never bought them separately, i like the audio quality considering the price but for that price range i prefer a pair of AKG or Sennheiser, overall there's absolutely no audio isolation, bad trebles and mids but good basses.
For the same price range, there's many better earphones.

Ptruslow

Head-Fier
Pros: decent bass, present mids, good soundstage
Cons: lack of sub-bass, absolutely no isolation
take what i have to say with a grain of salt. i do not own them, but i merely auditioned them at school.
 i was rather skeptical about them at first, but they are not bad. i see their sound sig as something like the monoprice 8320. they have a decent of bass, without being a fart cannon, although it does not extend very well. the mids are good, especially with acoustic guitars, and the highs were present without being too shrill or sibilant. these are no match for a good iem or can, i would even choose my monoprice 8320 iem's over them, but as ear buds go, they are probably the best earbud i have ever listened to. 
one thing i thought best to leave until the end, the isolation is completely nonexistent. you will hear everything around you. i found that i had to turn the volume up more than i would like to fight against the background noise i was in, so i would not say there a viable option for me as portables if in a public place. i will still revert back to my 8320 or m50
 

sue4

Head-Fier
Pros: Good natural sound quality, no intrusive design
Cons: Poorly fit for some ears
The sound quality is good, overall. It's true improvement over the previous model, as many have claimed. But, there is an ergonomic problem. To find a proper fit position is a rather hard thing for my ears, contrary to many claims. Consequently, the bass sound is attenuated. It's still punchy but the sub-bass is missing. And, while it sounds natural due to balanced high-low, some details are missing (especially from low freq). When I hold the buds to my ears, it is clear that this earphone has lots of bass actually. Maybe the design is intended so that while the bass is plenty, it will not enter our ears entirely due to the loose-position to produce a natural sound. It is quite responsive to headphone amplifier too. When I coupled it to my Graham Slee Voyager, it sounds better and the difference is significant. This is a good thing, I suppose. Now I wonder, will it sound better after several hours burn-in?
Well, the answer is yes, it will. But, the improvement is very subtle. Not every ears will be able to differentiate the burned-in earphone from the new ones. I also realized that the isolation is almost nonexistent. Indeed, I dare to say that there is no isolation at all! I would have given no star on isolation if it was possible. Even the leaky-cauldron iGrado has a little better isolation.
Brooko
Brooko
Sue4 - see if you can get a foam set of covers. It helps with the fit, comfort, and also provides a slightly better seal.
sue4
sue4
@XxDobermanxX sorry, my mistake. Revised, already. Thanx, mate!
@Brooko I have no idea w/ what u said about "foam set of covers". Do u mean like the Comply ones? I have never seen foam like that for EarPod, since the earphone's shape is quite uncommon
Brooko
Brooko

Fox2twenty

Formerly known as iPhone IEM
Pros: Good bass, spacious sound and separation.
Cons: They can still fall out of my ears.
Ear Pods are cool.  They sound much better than the old earbuds, because the old earbuds didn't fit me!  Compared to the Meelec M6 the bass is better and the sound is more coherent.  The bass is a little bit louder, but it is also has better impact, as if it's coming from a larger speaker.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/629335/apple-earpods-appreciation-thread
 
 
Edit:  I am enjoying using the EarPods with foam earbud covers.  Imaging and instrument separation is still far superior to the Meelec M6p.
 
Bass - With the foam earbud covers applied the bass on these is big and bold.  Sound wise, I really like the "breathier" feel of the vented Apple EarPods for bass response.  The seal and punch of the M6p is uncomfortable for me in comparison.  Additionally, the imaging and separation of bass guitars and drums is far superior to the M6 - the bass instruments are properly positioned in the mix.
 
Mids - Midrange is delightfully warm and sweet.  Especially when male vocals and electric guitars come out and play.  The sound is captivating, energetic, and clear.  Guitars sound like they are swimming around my head and I can still hear the strike of the pick on the guitar string.  I am hearing background vocals and effects that I have never heard before in the midrange.  Right now I'm listening to "Majesty by Delirious?" and the acoustic guitars sound simply amazing - I can hear every cord change as the fingers slide across the fretboard.  The background choir is lush and seems to be positioned behind the lead singer near the top of the headstage.  Really wonderful mids.
 
Highs - The treble on the EarPods is slightly recessed when compared to the slight boost in mid-bass and mids.  The treble is still wonderful and non-fatiguing, and even though it is slightly recessed in the mix, the imaging and instrument separation are still present and cymbals still sound like they are next to the drum kit.
 
Soundstage - The soundstage is the best part of the Apple EarPods!  The size is primarily inside the headstage (meaning my skull :)); however, on some recordings sounds can appear to be projecting from just outside my ears and this effect can be quite incredible on ambient techno. The soundstage is aided by the great clarity and separation of instruments and sounds.  Instruments sound like they are precisely placed around the inside of the cranium and stereo effects seem to travel in a wide arc across the front or back of the headstage depending on the song.  I really think this "shaping" of stereo effects is what makes the soundstage seem incredible.
 
Source - The EarPods strengths - mids, separation, clarity; all come out and are much more present when I use my Dell laptop compared to my iPhone.  I guess the laptop must be a more powerful source, so maybe the EarPods would respond well to amping.
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Craigster75
Craigster75
If you are a basshead on a budget looking for an IEM under $100, I would suggest the Velodyne V-Pulse
Dolan Duck
Dolan Duck
Klipsch s4 or A-Jays 4.
Fox2twenty
Fox2twenty
@ Mr. BP, I don't really know. But Extreme Explosives with mic are only $17 or $18 on amazon, so that can't be too hard on the budget, right? All I know from limited experience is EarPods > M6 > Sennheiser Sport (old orange band version) > Moto BT (HD9?)
The ranking is based on perceived clarity and fullness of bass/mids; not form factor. I like memory wire, so for form factor M6 would switch with EarPods.

Arve

New Head-Fier
Pros: Soundstage
Cons: Isolation
Ok, I'm not going to paste my entire review in here  it's over 4000 words, and quite probably the most comprehensive review ever of a product being delivered as a bundled product, so I'm just going to point at my actual review:
 
http://veven.org/reviews/2012/09/apple-earpod-review/
 
If you want a short TL;DR (Which I can understand, given the length):
 
  1. Much better than expected bass - much better than the Nuforce NE-700X, but not quite as good as Senn HD 558 or B&W C6
  2. Average detail reproduction: On-par with the Nuforces, but not as good as the Senns or B&W's
  3. Sound stage that beats just about any headphone, I've heard, ever! 
  4. Look elsewhere if isolation is a requirement
  5. It's popular to hate Apple, and some other reviews reflect that - but these are worth $29, even as a standalone purchase, provided isolation is not an issue.
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milan425
milan425
Great review, read it in one breath. Good to know that Apple finaly made it. If the cable remained the same, well, ther's room for an improvement for next gen :)
kazsud
kazsud
They sound great and I am pleasantly surprised how good they sound. I think they are better than the apple in-ear model and senn 218
Arve
Arve
@milan425: The cable is not exactly the same as before - the old one had two different materials, with different grippiness - the new cable is grippy all over, but less so than the old cable, and perhaps less prone to tangling than the old one. I'm saying perhaps because I'd have to test it over time.
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