Are Apple's In-Ear Headphones True Canal Phones?

[lord of volume]

well considering that they have been selling consistantly since they introduced them over a year ago, I think apple would have stopped making them by now if they were as weird as you say they are. If it makes you feel better then your right since you used them a whole 2 days!

 

[diredesire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lord of volume well considering that they have been selling consistantly since they introduced them over a year ago, I think apple would have stopped making them by now if they were as weird as you say they are. If it makes you feel better then your right since you used them a whole 2 days!

Not to nitpick, but apple stuff doesn't have to be necessarily 'better' to sell... why do you think people still use the stock earbuds? They're a status symbol, not much more.

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lord of volume well considering that they have been selling consistantly since they introduced them over a year ago, I think apple would have stopped making them by now if they were as weird as you say they are. If it makes you feel better then your right since you used them a whole 2 days!

now you are just being silly.

 

[sethk]

"everyone likes to bash the hell out of the apple in ears, but honestly i think its cause the people that bash them are not getting them to seal correctly."

Absolutely untrue. First of all, put aside issues of comfort and shape of the tips. If you don't have a proper seal, these earphones sound completely, unacceptably horrible. Worse than the $2 pack-ins on a off-brand $20 walkman horrible. Tin-can with a string horrible.
Once you get the seal, they sound better, but they are still worse than any of the ety or shure line that I have heard. Granted there is some aspect of peference to this, and the apple would be the least expensive headphone in that comparison, but the sound quality is poor. In my opinion, they sound no better than the Senn MX series sound-alikes that came with the iPod. In some ways better in some ways worse (especially the all important mids.)
Now getting back to the tips, they are not that good and are quite uncomfortable for me.
I did not like the Sony EX-71 either, but it comes with a ton of tips and it's easier to find a better fit with them. Sound quality wise, the Sony's have similar problems but there are important differences in the bass and treble region. The mids sounded similarly muddy and smeared to me.
I still own these Apple headphones so I put them on right now before writing this (I've had them for over 6 months now.) In this price range, the Koss 35s (still available?) and the 75s sound better, albeit in a different form factor. If you really want ear-buds or in-ears then the Sennheiser MX500s are a lot cheaper online and sound better in many ways. The Sony E888s are worlds better and cost a bit more online. The Ety and Shure line would be better still at a higher cost premium. If you don't need earbuds (you did get a pair with the iPod didn't you?) buy full size headphones for a second pair, in the ~$100 and under price range there are few earbud sized 'phones (I'd say none) that compare with the Grado SR-60/SR-80, the Sennheiser 555s, or a whole host of other headphones.

 

[NeoteriX]

Yes.

 

[lord of volume]

Again Subjective is today's word. its what works for the user, just because you think they might suck or think they are a status symbol doesn't mean that they are crappy. What white headphones, then look at ety or shure, they sure have jumped on the bandwagon. Learn to think for yourself. Most of headfi is so biased. One guy says senn mx500 are the best and then everyone takes it for gold. I fell into that and ended up wasting a bunch of money on headphones that were overpriced and overhyped. By the way i think the mx500 are crap, but does that make them that, no! its my experience. Best way to find out is to try them out for yourself and if sony or senn or some no name brand work then thats what you should use.
one of the reasons I THINK headfi has been ruined, is stupid posts by bashers that limit someones insight to a possible purchase that might actually make them happy. Its sad that this place has come to that. It loses credibility when so many people make ignorant posts about something they have very little experience with or think they have the definitive word on. I mean look at how many suckers use microsoft windows?

 

[newguy]

Thanks for all the helpful replies to my original post. A couple of years ago I bought a pair of Etys that cost over $300 and never could get them in properly so I returned them and gave up on canal phones.

Saturday I bought the Apple in-ear and get them in easily with the smallest plugs.

I like the sound and wonder if I could get better sound from Shure or Ety and if I can get them in.

To me it looks like Shure would be easier to fit because they come with different sized plugs and don't seem to go as far into the canal.

I guess I'm asking if anyone can give me a sense of the probability I'd be able to wear Shure or Etys given the fact than I can insert and like the Apple In-Ear.

 

[sonance]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lord of volume one of the reasons I THINK headfi has been ruined, is stupid posts by bashers that limit someones insight to a possible purchase that might actually make them happy. Its sad that this place has come to that. It loses credibility when so many people make ignorant posts about something they have very little experience with or think they have the definitive word on. I mean look at how many suckers use microsoft windows?

I'm going to leave some of the more inflammatory comments here aside, because you do make some valid points. Yes, I would say, take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt. If you came here, read 1 post that said that X brand headphones are great and you go out and buy them and are dissapointed, then you haven't done your research.
You can't judge people's opinions by the number of posts they've made either. There are several long standing users with tons of posts, whose opinions in general don't align with my own. Not because they are 'wrong' but they prefer certain aspects of sound reproduction that are different than my own, but I know enough now to sort these things out. I still enjoy reading their posts or guessing how they'll react to new products or opinions. I now own enough high end equipment and have spent enough time with the headphones that I have to form opinions on comparisons.
Bottom line is that sound is very subjective. And this is after only a few months on this forum. At this point I'm still doing far more reading and learning than posting.
This does not, however, mean that every post that disses a pair of headphones is stupid, or that discussing the relative merits of headphones is useless and stupid. If someone says "I hate the AKG K501. It is bad and stupid. Discuss." then I'd agree with you. If you notice many posts go on in great detail about what they like and don't like about headphones.
There is not a single pair of headphones that does not get bashed here at one point or another, except maybe some very esoteric headphones that few have heard. If you read one negative comment and decide not to hear or buy those phones, then you will never buy any phones, if you do enough reading here. For every model, there are detractors and supporters. Hence the "team xxx" in many sigs.
If you think that this has "ruined" head-fi, and it invalidates every post here, then maybe this forum is, indeed useless for you.
I love head-fi the way it is, warts and all. Hell, I even love the posts that bash the headphones I spent hard earned money on, *as long as they make some valid points* and aren't personally offensive or inflammatory in their remarks. When I read short angry posts, that provide no real information, it doesn't make me hate this forum, I usually just ignore it and move on. I own so many 'phones now, that even I would write posts pointing out the problems with some (all?) of these headphones in at least one aspect of their fit / sound / comfort / compatibility / use in different environments. This is not so that other people can be less informed about their purchase, or disappointed in them, but for the opposite reason. Knowledge is power. If you know as many of the possible issues with your purchase in advance, there's less chance you'll be surprised when you make your purchase.
There are no headphones that are perfect in every situation.

 

[lord of volume]

I agree, I'm not saying headfi is headed to hell. But sometimes people tend to come off as there opinion is the only way to go. I come here to find out about new stuff and old stuff. Granted this has put me in the "man i need to buy that and give it a shot" For example I bought grado 225 thinking that they would be everything i wanted my sr 80s to be. Well even amped with a gilmore lite, i found little difference. then i scored some sr 325 and i was like woah! now here is a big difference, and even though head fi bashed the 325 it still sounded better to me than a 225. I guess i am just glad that i like to figure out things on my own. I got rid of my 325s in favor of the ms2i. But now i have an itch for a closed phone. So on now towards beyers even though they get bashed to. Frankly i am just thankful that headfi exists so that i can read about new phones. I just get a upset when people that spend very little time with a product post a reply like they have had enough time with it to make a comment. Spend a month with a product and then say something about it. Hear it for a week at least. how can you say anything about a product if you havent' had it long enough to formulate a decent opinion. It takes time to get fit, sound and setup correct. And not all headphone setsups work together the best way. I honestly don't even plug into my headamp gilmore lite because i honestly don't feel it makes that much of an incredible difference, yet i keep it cause i don't feel as 3 months is long enough yet for me to toss it and call it useless. Maybe some senns or beyer will make me want to keep it. But until then its just tweak tweak tweak, until i get tired and break down and spend some serious bucks on a good audio system that consists of speakers instead of headphones.

 

[Damage]

Claustrophobic, unrefined (in fit and form), and average sounding at best (and that's with the Sony EX's tips, don't get me started with the pack in tips...). If you can get them to stay in your ears for any length of time. Even with the large buds I had trouble having them stay put. It works better if you use the sony tips. But more power to you if you actually were able to use those sets as is. I didn't have much luck with these (aka, YMMV).

But then again, the EX81s, which seemingly have disposed the EX7 and 5 series, can be had for $10 more than the Apple In-ears, so I wonder if these are worth of any value.

This wouldn't be the first item from Apple where form was more of importance than function...

 

[newguy]

Hey guys -- anybody interested in responding to my questions? Or is the sparring too much fun?

 

[ndrake]

Quote:

Originally Posted by newguy Hey guys -- anybody interested in responding to my questions? Or is the sparring too much fun?

short answer (to your original question): yes.

You'll definitely get better sound with either the ety or shure. That is absolutely consensus around here, and honestly if the $100+ headphones didn't offer any sonic gain over their cheap competitors the companies producing them wouldn't be in business long. My shure e3cs sounded worlds better than my md33s, and while I haven't tried the apple in ears I would be shocked if they were better than (or even the equal of) the md33s.

As for fit, shure has more options. I haven't tried the etys, but consensus seems to be that shure's are slightly more comfortable because the etys sit deeper. Personally I found the shures incredibly uncomfortable, though. I also don't like the "wrap the cord around your ear" thing shure does.

Splurge on etys or shures if you want to get more isolation and a better sound. I wouldn't, because I find that I can't appreciate any level of sonic perfection when my ears are uncomfortable. that's just me.

 

[Acidice]

Quote:

You'll definitely get better sound with either the ety or shure. That is absolutely consensus around here, and honestly if the $100+ headphones didn't offer any sonic gain over their cheap competitors the companies producing them wouldn't be in business long.

Not entirely true. Can anyone say BOSE?

v--Insert BOSE flames here.

 

[ndrake]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acidice Not entirely true. Can anyone say BOSE? v--Insert BOSE flames here.

good point. But bose makes much more than just headphones (as does shure I guess), so their headphones could be losing them lots of money while the company still maintains ridiculous profits. Also they market to different people; bose gears their products to the upper class suburbanites while shure/ety make their products specifically for those in the music industry (and audiophiles as well).

 

[newguy]

Thanks guys. I spoke with Todd the Vinyl Junkie and ordered a pair of Shure E4c. Todd said he thinks they are the best sounding headphones Shure has ever made -- much better than E3 and better than E5.

I'm not sure I will be able to insert them properly or if they will be comfortable but I want to try and Todd said I have 30 days to return them if I don't like them.

Todd doesn't now have them but expects them next week. I'll post again after I try them.