[davidwsica]

I'm looking to pick up some headphones for my wife for xmas for her ipod. She has been complaining about how loud it is in the gym when she's trying to use her iPod. I was originally looking for some noise cancelling headphones like the Sennheiser PXC 250 or the Sony MDR-NC11. Now, I'm also looking at the ER-6 phones. I was hoping to get some opinions here and where might be the best place to buy them given xmas return considerations and of course price.

Thanks much!
David

 

[jpelg]

You are definitely in the 5G or 10G, 2nd-gen, refurbished territory. I'm not sure what places selling refurbs offer liberal return policies though.

 

[davidwsica]

Actually, if I understand your reply, my wife already has the latest (3G?) 10GB iPod. I'm just looking for some headphones.

Thanks,
David

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

I'm just looking for some headphones.

Duh! (slaps forehead and feels stupid & dyslexic after re-reading original post

)

In that case, any of the Ety's are better 'phones than the others you mention. Headroom & Todd (two of our sponsors) both sell Ety's and offer excellent service and return policies.

 

[twilightrevenant]

e2c from shure, ex tip mod.

 

[Oddball]

^ I second this. I have the 2nd gen iPod and the Shure e2 and the combo works pretty well together.

 

[Trance-Fusion]

hey guys, i also have a 3rd gen 10gb iPod n i'm recieving sr80's and a cmoy around christmas, but i'm hoping to get some speakers too... i'm thinking of buying the JBL Creature's, i'd like to know if there are any other good speakers around the same price, and if the creatures are good or not... price shouldnt go over 150 if possible.. thanks.

oh and i think the ety's would be a good buy.

p.s. sorry for going off topic

 

[davidwsica]

Thanks for your input so far.

Regarding the e2c:

1) what is "ex tip mod" refer to?

2) exactly how do the e2c and er-6 compare (especially regarding considerations below)?

What I'm concerned about is isolation from outside noise and comfort. I'm sure the quality will be better than what she's using now (stock iPod headphones). Other opinions based on these considerations?

Thanks again,
David

 

[CrawlingEye]

I've only heard things, so this isn't first hand experience or anything.
I've heard that the E2C's are far more comfortable than the Ety's. I assume that those discussing this were discussing the ER4 series and not the ER6, which I gather are more comfortable.

I'm not so sure how they stack up but many have said that the E2C's are good for joggers, so I'd imagine at the gym they'd certainly be suitable. I haven't read enough to know how well they isolate though... I believe it to be fairly well.

I hope this helps...

 

[Oddball]

Search for the EX71 mod, there's actually two versions of it and they're both fairly recent. It's taking a Sony EX71 tip and putting it on a Shure E2, supposedly leading to better sound and making it easier to remove. As far as isolation, the Shures isolate pretty well but not as much as to block out something like a conversation. It's enough to hear the music clearly though. Remember that it's good not to have too much isolation, especially when exercising. If this is for the gym, I think E2 is better because supposedly the Etys are less durable. Soundwise--it's a matter of preference. The Shures are good for mids but not as much for treble and bass. But they are much better than the stock buds.

I don't own the ER-6, but this is all from what I've heard.

 

[ASDFer]

Here's my problem with always suggesting e2c+ex71 mod. How does one obtain the sleeves from an ex71 if one does not already own said headphones? Buying e2c+ex71 can get rather pricy. It seems to me the e2c would be a good choice alone if the sound is right for the purchaser.

Also, please be careful with "what I've heard" type reviews. There is a lot of good information here, but what tends to happen is one person's opinion gets taken as and exaggerated fact farther down the line.

For instance : person a) etys may look kind of weak.
b) etys look weak
c) etys are weaker

And down the line, no one has backed up the statement with anything besides an anecdote.

Oh yeah, maybe I should help out with the original question. I've found that passive noise cancellation (canalphones) do an excellent job in my extremely noisy work place. Active noise cancelling headphones generally work best with a constant noise IMO, so they might not offer much more isolation than typical closed cans in the gym (personally, I wouldn't want things covering my ears while working out anyway.) I guess the problem with canalphones would be with running - every footfall will probably seem very loud. Both TTVJ and HeadRoom offer generous return policies.

 

[CrawlingEye]

Quote:

Originally posted by ASDFer Also, please be careful with "what I've heard" type reviews. There is a lot of good information here, but what tends to happen is one person's opinion gets taken as and exaggerated fact farther down the line. For instance : person a) etys may look kind of weak. b) etys look weak c) etys are weaker And down the line, no one has backed up the statement with anything besides an anecdote.

This is why I stated "I've only heard things, so this isn't first hand experience or anything."

I've recently been researching the e2c's, er6's and a whole truckload of other portable-driven headphones, which is why I've responded with my findings.

If you think my statements are exaggerations, I can cite where I've heard each of these things.

 

[Oddball]

Quote:

Originally posted by ASDFer Here's my problem with always suggesting e2c+ex71 mod. How does one obtain the sleeves from an ex71 if one does not already own said headphones? Buying e2c+ex71 can get rather pricy. It seems to me the e2c would be a good choice alone if the sound is right for the purchaser.

http://servicesales.sel.sony.com/web/index.jsp

Large tip = $8.95
Medium tip = $5.65
Small tip = $5.65

I'm pretty sure that you can just buy the tips somewhere else too. The Shures are nice by themselves and even with the tip are still less expensive than the etys.

I don't post much, but I respond to topics that I don't think are active/and or are by newbies. I'm technically still one even though I've been lurker for awhile. I know what it feels like to not have any replies and just wanted to help by repeating the general consensus of what I've heard. But I understand entirely what you're saying about people not hearing the phones they're talking about.

 

[ASDFer]

Hey oddball, thanks for the info regarding the tips. That is good stuff IMO!

I live in a pretty sheltered area for electronics, so I haven't even seen the EX71 in stores...

As far as exaggeration goes, I wasn't referring to you CrawlingEye. I think your approach was very balanced in fact.

 

[SpoonMan]

Quote:

Originally posted by Trance-Fusion hey guys, i also have a 3rd gen 10gb iPod n i'm recieving sr80's and a cmoy around christmas, but i'm hoping to get some speakers too... i'm thinking of buying the JBL Creature's, i'd like to know if there are any other good speakers around the same price, and if the creatures are good or not... price shouldnt go over 150 if possible.. thanks. oh and i think the ety's would be a good buy. p.s. sorry for going off topic

Though JBL has many good speaker offerings...their creautre line is not one of them...they sound pretty crappy...for a 2.1 speaker solution, maybe you could look around and see what prices you can get on a set of Klipsch pm2.1's...they're one of the best sounding 2.1 systems around for their price....Failing that, monsoon pm14's are also very good (but monsoon isn't in the MM biz anymore, so they may be hard to find)