[pic9809]

i spend on average 10+ hours on planes every wk and am sick of turning my ipod all the way up to hear anything. what earphones do ppl recommend? many thx in advance

 

[EightyEight]

Budget?
E2C or MD33S

 

[John Reeves]

Hi,

Any real canal 'phones from Etmotics or Sure will do the job. Avoid so called noise cancelling headphones, they don't work well and the sound is crap. (i.e. Bose)

You can also get an adaptor to plug your cans into the 'plane jack for movies etc. They only cost a few bucks.

Regards
John

 

[gpalmer]

I absolutley love my Etymotic 4p for travel. It's amazing how much more rested and alert you arrive when you aren't noise fatigued. The noise that these block out makes all the difference!

 

[pic9809]

many thanks for the thoughts. i'm looking to spend 100-200, but am prob willing to stretch to 250 for a really good investment

i will be listening to (mainly) 192kbps mp3 and AAC tracks on my ipod. will these phones be so detailed that i need to re-rip all of my music?

 

[gpalmer]

The Etymotic 4p can be bought from Headroom for $219 plus shipping and handling so they should be within your price range. These are my favorites, when I fly it's usually coast to coast and I find the noise of the engines and passengers really fatigues me without these. I've had 6 hour flights with crying children behind me and I just didn't care!

 

[Jester]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pic9809 many thanks for the thoughts. i'm looking to spend 100-200, but am prob willing to stretch to 250 for a really good investment i will be listening to (mainly) 192kbps mp3 and AAC tracks on my ipod. will these phones be so detailed that i need to re-rip all of my music?

As I have mentioned in another thread, I also travel a ton (via airplane) each week. My main rig is a Ipod with a Headroom Total Airhead amp and a set of either the Ety 4P or my Shure E5c. Both canalphones work great, but considering your budget I would look at the Ety 4P as gpalmer suggested. They are the most bang for the buck.

In fact you might check out Todd the Vinly Junkies web site as he has them on sale. The are usually $240 but he is running a special which will give you an additional 10% off. With that discount it puts you right in the range of your budget ($200).

Regarding re-ripping your music, no at your current bit rate you will be fine. That is the same setting that I rip my music at.

Good luck!

 

[elliot]

I'd agree with previous posters and say "shure or etymotic."

But I think any headphones that have low impedance, closed backs, good isolation and don't leak sound should be fine.

 

[pic9809]

thanks for all the help, much appreciated! i think the shure e5s are outta my price range, but am still at a loss btwn the shure e3s and the ety p4s. i listen mainly to hiphop, R&B, pop, trance, and some vocals. what are ppl's thoughts btwn the 2 given these musical tastes?

many thanks to everybody who has helped and in advance to those who will chime in with more. this has been tremendously helpful for me!

head-fi rocks

 

[zoot2boot]

I dont think either phone has much cop for hiphop, electronica... ive got the E2s and they're pretty light on in terms of bass and the general consensus around here seems to be that the E2s have more bass impact than either the E3s or ER4s.. I think you'll find a pair of hd25s far more satisfying than any of the canal phone offerings in that price range. What they lack in compactness they make up for in robustness. You can also disassemble them and pack them up pretty small if its nessecary.

 

[Takashi]

Given your choice I would say E3.

Before making choices you'd better be warned on one thing. Canal-phones are not for everybody. Some people can't stand discomfort of stuffing them into ears for prolonged time. I spend 10+ hours on trans-pacific flight with my ER-4S+iPod+Supermini very comfortably. It takes some time to get used to, anyways.

If canal-phones are not for you, Bose QC2 would be your chance. It's not that crappy, shuts out noise better than E2, and quite comfortable for almost everybody. It's just too expensive (for the sound) if used at home.

 

[pic9809]

i have heard the shure's offer more bass than the ety's. do ppl agree with this assessment?

zoot2boot: would the hd25s offer any sound isolation? as mentioned, i will be using on a plane a _lot_ and def want sth that will keep me from having to blast my ipod at full volume

 

[Jester]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pic9809 i have heard the shure's offer more bass than the ety's. do ppl agree with this assessment? zoot2boot: would the hd25s offer any sound isolation? as mentioned, i will be using on a plane a _lot_ and def want sth that will keep me from having to blast my ipod at full volume

The Shure E5Cs offer quite a bit of bass, much more than my Etys. With that said, the Etys preform better without an amp than the Shure canalphones do. Something to think about. You might want to consider a CMoy amp in addition to your canalphone purchase. It made quite a bit of difference with my Ipod. Something to consider.

 

[john_jcb]

I use the Etymotics for flying and have for quite some time with great results. On a recent trip I auditioned a pair of E3c's from Todd the Vinyl Junkie. For traveling I think these would be a great choice. I did not have time to do a critical comparison but sound quality on a plane is not equal to a quiet listening room even with all the isolation.

If you decide on the Ety's be aware that there are 3 variants to choose from:

4B - tuned for binaural recordings. Some people like them but they are not recommended for normal recordings.

4P - may be used without an amp or with an axillary converter cable they are equal to 4S

4S - Should be used with an amp for optimum performance. These are what I have as I got them before the 4P-4S converter was available. I have used them straight out of my player when the amp batteries went dead and they were acceptable for plane listening.

 

[bangraman]

The HD25-1 offer excellent isolation, although not as much as using the long foam sleeve on the Etys. zoot2boot is right... the HD25 would be more enjoyable for your mode of listening than the ER-4 or the E3. But in an in-plane environment, you have to think about other things. Long-term pressure on the temples I think is more noticeable than at ground level. Perhaps it's due to thing swelling but I've noticed that a HEADphone of any description is less comfortable on a plane.


The E3c does offer more bass, but the differences in the lows compared to the ER4 are relatively slight, as are the arguments as to whether it is less hi-fi than the ER-4. You get almost the same thing in the broader headphone scheme of things for general entertainment factor, although the E3c is more tractable for portable use.


If isolation is paramount, I'd say go with the ER4 and the long foamies (which do ship with the phones). I've had bad fit experiences with the long foamies though, so I use the silicones... in which case the Shures offer comparable isolation. I use the E5 more or less exclusively for aircraft use, although I usually carry the Etys around with me too.


Failing that, you can go for the E2c, which also features excellent isolation at the right price. Get used to the fit though before you travel.