[Toom]

lol.....'tis like saying buy a porsche as the ubiquitous and venerable civic just doesn't cut it for 'real driving', comparatively.

i'm sure we'd all agree there is a night and day difference, but for what these are used for (mine are for the gym or as a replacement/transition/backup)
they do just fine.  reminds me of a car reviewer who'd had all the $$$$ cars in his driveway at one point or another per his column, but he once said 
that the civic was simply one of the most 'fun' cars he reviewed, out of all the test cars he'd had over his long career.
and to me that is what these apple iems are: unpretentious and fun, with very decent sound, and thus offering good value.

Yep. Apple did their homework with the pods.

They have a better soundstage than most IEMs in my opinion.

 

[obsidyen]

Earpods aren't really IEMs though. More like a hybrid between IEMs and earbuds.

 

[pfloyd]

That's what makes them even more amazing, that such small moving mass in a non-airtight system can have such taut visceral bass, especially with earbud foams on.

 

[canali]

well got the earskinz from amazon for $10.
(there are 2 versions: one for earbuds and the ones for earpods)
http://earskinz.com/
 
while I can't say right now if they affect the sound at all
(the front nozzle has some wiggle room from the actual device).
 they're a thumbs up, no brainer gizmo as far as having the earpods stay very securely in place.
I put them on, went on my 1/2 walk at lunch and there was no movement at all....they're snug buggers now.
imo $10 bucks is well worth it (prob only cost .50 to make, lol) given no more having to constantly fiddle with my earpods
that never stayed in place.
 
....esp will hopefully come in handy when at the gym and more movement/sweat involved.
...so we'll see.
 
PS...that cute gal in the video first wetting the earbuds and then putting on the silicone sleeves...
yup now it makes sense now.
and heck she's a cutie to watch anyway

 

[Toom]

I dunno, maybe I don't have the discerning goldenears that most head-fiers have, but I really do love the Earpods.  Just so easy to wear and sound so lovely from my phone (not an Apple, ironically).
 
Earlier, I suggested removing the vent grills from the front and side of the pods, to increase clarity. Well, while that might be true, I'm comparing against an unmodded pair and the bass is just much nicer on these. So I'm rowing back on my previous idea and saying the Earpods are great as they are.

Seriously, for portable listening, they just work for me.  I don't want total isolation, so they allow enough environmental awareness in while keeping a really open feeling soundstage and a generous amount of bass to keep things bouncing along. 
 
I've come to the conclusion that neutral / flat is not a good goal to have with ear or headphones, especially when outside.  Too boring and lacking dynamically to do the job. 
 
The Earpods do the job, says me.
 
P.s. I also love my Sennheiser Momentum 2 (over ears) - just horses for courses.

 

[pfloyd]

I dunno, maybe I don't have the discerning goldenears that most head-fiers have, but I really do love the Earpods.  Just so easy to wear and sound so lovely from my phone (not an Apple, ironically).

Earlier, I suggested removing the vent grills from the front and side of the pods, to increase clarity. Well, while that might be true, I'm comparing against an unmodded pair and the bass is just much nicer on these. So I'm rowing back on my previous idea and saying the Earpods are great as they are.


Seriously, for portable listening, they just work for me.  I don't want total isolation, so they allow enough environmental awareness in while keeping a really open feeling soundstage and a generous amount of bass to keep things bouncing along. 

I've come to the conclusion that neutral / flat is not a good goal to have with ear or headphones, especially when outside.  Too boring and lacking dynamically to do the job. 

The Earpods do the job, says me.

P.s. I also love my Sennheiser Momentum 2 (over ears) - just horses for courses.

totally agree,and I have momentum gen1

 

[020Assassin]

And to me that is what these apple ear pods are: unpretentious and fun, with very decent sound for their price point, and thus offering good value.

Wellll, Apple claims their 30$ EarPods rival the sound quality of earphones/earbuds several hundreds of dollars more expensive, and that is a bit pretentious.
Anyway, I've ordered the Degauss Pocket 3-button black for iPhone, which are 35USD + 15USD shipping to the Netherlands. I'll post a review when I've compared them to the EarPods.

 

[Toom]

Wellll, Apple claims their 30$ EarPods rival the sound quality of earphones/earbuds several hundreds of dollars more expensive, and that is a bit pretentious.
Anyway, I've ordered the Degauss Pocket 3-button black for iPhone, which are 35USD + 15USD shipping to the Netherlands. I'll post a review when I've compared them to the EarPods.

Having been down that road, I agree with Apple. Not something I type very often, lol.

 

[canali]

  Wellll, Apple claims their 30$ EarPods rival the sound quality of earphones/earbuds several hundreds of dollars more expensive, and that is a bit pretentious.
Anyway, I've ordered the Degauss Pocket 3-button black for iPhone, which are 35USD + 15USD shipping to the Netherlands. I'll post a review when I've compared them to the EarPods.

 
well considering how overpriced is portable audio, maybe they have a point.
 
also checkout the newly released 1more  e1001 iems.
i've ordere a pair..supposedly kicking well above their price point for $100 according to the reviews
(and yes i know i'm diverting from the thread, so excuse me)
http://www.head-fi.org/t/808683/1more-e1001-triple-driver-in-ear-headphones-review/30#post_12620052

 

[pfloyd]

Having been down that road, I agree with Apple. Not something I type very often, lol.

again I have to agree with toom,I own many higher priced phones that get less use than the pods and I don't feel I am missing much,and I absolutely abhor iTunes platform.l
I got duped into a fake pair once and avoided them but found originals like new at thrift store and was pleasantly surprised.

 

[MRK1]

Do you guys use foams with the earpods like it was a regular earbud? Because I may have strange ears but unless I use foams not only I can't get any kind of decent sound from them but they're also extremely uncomfortable. With the foams they're tolerable and have a quite decent bassy sound. They're nowhere near as good as some of my other earbuds such as the VE Monk and the Sennheiser mx580 and 880 though...

 

[bubsdaddy]

I use Earskinz.

 

[canali]

just got in the monks plus to compare...imo so far they're overhyped (but for the price I get it)
...for now at least I still prefer the more detailed and balanced sound of the earpods.
the bass and mids seem too boosted on the monks plus, at the expense of all those details you get
with the earpods...have tried them quickly both with and without the foam sleeves...still evaluating.

 

[pfloyd]

just got in the monks plus to compare...imo so far they're a bit overhyped (but for the price I get it)
...for now at least I still prefer the more detailed and balanced sound of the earpods.
the bass and mids seem too boosted on the monks plus, at the expense of all those details you get
with the earpods...have tried them quickly both with and without the foam sleeves...still evaluating.

Teak I got monk v1 before EarPods and really don't get all the hype either. Of course they are good for 8 bucks shipped but I got the pods for a quarter and think they are much better especially in bass.

 

[Brooko]

If you prefer the sound of EarPods - you need to try the FiiO EM3 paired with the thin foams from the Monk Plus. You can thank me later