AtariPrime
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2014
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I have been on somewhat of a quest lately. The quest, to find the best possible bass response earbuds that also happens to sound decent at other ranges, fit comfortably, is durable enough to handle the gym, and priced below $100.
This is a topic that has been talked about over and over, however there are some new players in the game that have had little discussion in the forums. It is my hope that a few of us have used these and have something to say.
For the last 3 years I have been using Sennheiser CX 300ii earbuds. Approximately 2 weeks ago one side said fin, no mas, the end...and the quest for their replacement began.
They performed admirably. The sound was nice and clear, they were extremely comfortable, excellent noise canceling, and the bass was good...but not great. And that's why I am in search of something better.
After extensive research I narrowed down the candidates to the following:
HiSound Audio HW2 WooDuo 2
JLab Epic
Sony XB60EX
Velodyne vPulse
Urbanears Kransen
MEE M31
MEE M-Duo
SoundMagic E10
JVC HAFX1X Xtreme Xplosivs
I have read hundreds of reviews of most of these and the one conclusion I have found is that no two reviewers agree. Virtually all have reviews that say things like 'best bass ever' followed by another review that says 'virtually no bass at all'. And so on and so on about the mids, highs, and comfort.
So I gambled and picked the Velodyne vPulse. $80. My review: in simplest terms they suck. Most would agree they aren't comfortable, and have poor noise isolation. But for $80 I expected better bass. There is virtually no sub-bass, the mid-bass has a nice punch but is not any better than my Sennheiser CX300ii, and the highs were piercing in a bad way. For the money, just not worth it...so I sent them back.
My next set I decided a bigger driver should equal better bass. So I got the JLab Epic, they have a 13mm driver. There is only one review on this site of the Epic and only a hand full outside of Amazon. But i kept thinking 13mm driver. The Sony's above have a 13.5mm driver as well but have been discontinued and the price has gone up for what supplies are still out there. My review: a mixed bag. Comfortable but have an odd foam tip instead of silicon. Doesn't make sense to me, and seems to result in poor noise isolation. Tons and tons of sub-bass. Strangely mid-bass and mids in general seem to be lacking. Highs are there and without complaint. As a result probably going to return the Epic, it's just not quit good enough.
The HW2 is on the edge of too expensive.
The reviews for the JVC way too mixed to be confident. At $20 though, might be worth the risk.
The Sony's, discontinued and mixed reviews on this site.
The MEE's, mixed revues though the M31 seems to likely have better bass.
The E10, some say they are great, others say they lack bass entirely. What to believe?
The Urbanears, fairly new, innovative in several ways, but not enough reviews exist to know sound quality and bass.
So...if you know anything about the above or have another recommendation entirely, your thoughts are welcome and appreciated.
Thx,
Atari
This is a topic that has been talked about over and over, however there are some new players in the game that have had little discussion in the forums. It is my hope that a few of us have used these and have something to say.
For the last 3 years I have been using Sennheiser CX 300ii earbuds. Approximately 2 weeks ago one side said fin, no mas, the end...and the quest for their replacement began.
They performed admirably. The sound was nice and clear, they were extremely comfortable, excellent noise canceling, and the bass was good...but not great. And that's why I am in search of something better.
After extensive research I narrowed down the candidates to the following:
HiSound Audio HW2 WooDuo 2
JLab Epic
Sony XB60EX
Velodyne vPulse
Urbanears Kransen
MEE M31
MEE M-Duo
SoundMagic E10
JVC HAFX1X Xtreme Xplosivs
I have read hundreds of reviews of most of these and the one conclusion I have found is that no two reviewers agree. Virtually all have reviews that say things like 'best bass ever' followed by another review that says 'virtually no bass at all'. And so on and so on about the mids, highs, and comfort.
So I gambled and picked the Velodyne vPulse. $80. My review: in simplest terms they suck. Most would agree they aren't comfortable, and have poor noise isolation. But for $80 I expected better bass. There is virtually no sub-bass, the mid-bass has a nice punch but is not any better than my Sennheiser CX300ii, and the highs were piercing in a bad way. For the money, just not worth it...so I sent them back.
My next set I decided a bigger driver should equal better bass. So I got the JLab Epic, they have a 13mm driver. There is only one review on this site of the Epic and only a hand full outside of Amazon. But i kept thinking 13mm driver. The Sony's above have a 13.5mm driver as well but have been discontinued and the price has gone up for what supplies are still out there. My review: a mixed bag. Comfortable but have an odd foam tip instead of silicon. Doesn't make sense to me, and seems to result in poor noise isolation. Tons and tons of sub-bass. Strangely mid-bass and mids in general seem to be lacking. Highs are there and without complaint. As a result probably going to return the Epic, it's just not quit good enough.
The HW2 is on the edge of too expensive.
The reviews for the JVC way too mixed to be confident. At $20 though, might be worth the risk.
The Sony's, discontinued and mixed reviews on this site.
The MEE's, mixed revues though the M31 seems to likely have better bass.
The E10, some say they are great, others say they lack bass entirely. What to believe?
The Urbanears, fairly new, innovative in several ways, but not enough reviews exist to know sound quality and bass.
So...if you know anything about the above or have another recommendation entirely, your thoughts are welcome and appreciated.
Thx,
Atari
