Earbuds for under $100
Jan 1, 2011 at 7:42 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 12

DeatHaze

Head-Fier
Joined
Apr 9, 2010
Posts
76
Likes
13
Hey guys my brother is looking into getting some high-quality earbuds and is willing to spend up to $100. Currently he has his eye set on a new product by Astro (http://www.astrogaming.com/products/detail/112/ASTAR-Ear-Buds/) but I suggested he wait and see what other options there are out there. Will be used everyday out of his iPod Touch 2nd for listening to mainly hip-hop electro music. Any suggestions or advice, thanks.
 
Jan 2, 2011 at 12:30 PM Post #3 of 12
Haven't heard of it, I don't know about good earbuds at that price that is good for hiphop. Look at the sennheiser MX 880, I read that it has a warm bassy sound but not sure.
 
Jan 2, 2011 at 3:20 PM Post #6 of 12
The Bose IE2s are $99.99 and have quite a bit of bass.  They're actually pretty reminiscent of early Bose products - where the audio quality was the focus, and staying true to the research and build quality were what mattered. 
 
Overview:
 
While there are better headphones you can get for $100, the Bose IE2s are still very nice.  Bose is also very, very well marketed so if your brother wants to impress his friends while still having like a 4.6/5 audio quality experience, these are probably for him. 
 
 
Pros:
 
 
Strong Base
 
Normally crisp highs, can get staticy at times
 
Ridiculously comfortable
 
Stupidly secure
 
Warm sound
 
Full ranged base (for headphones)
 
 
 
Cons:
 
 
Mids can become masked by the base
 
Mids are of meh reproductive quality
 
Because of the StayHear tips' design, a proper seal is difficult to achieve
 
Cord isn't anything special as far as build quality goes.  It's thick enough, and seems pretty strong, but the connection to the jack (3.5mm, fits iPods and everything else, in headphones you only ever need a 2.5mm jack for older phones, as most phones have gone to 3.5mm nowadays) seems to be not the strongest.  It seems almost as if Bose stayed to their modern corperate direction here, and tried to cover it up with the striped  design.
 
 
Information and other stuff to consider:
 
 
*Single dynamic driver
 
*Like all other Bose products, no frequency response data available
 
*I've had these for, roughly two weeks now.  As zune keeps track of your plays I can say from a statistical standpoint that these have been burnt in for at least fifteen hours now (200 plays, 4min song average) at various volume levels.
 
*These headphones will be repulsive initially based on two things (if you go this way they may be :O worthy for the second option)
 
**The StayHear tips are one of the weirdest feeling things I've ever stuck in my ears.  The "wings" that hug the bowl of your ear just feel...odd.  Rest assured, they are very secure, and I've yet to have them come out without me trying to take them out (even when shoveling snow, etc).
 
**For the first, oh, I don't know... seven hours or so, before they're properly burnt in, they will have a massive bass presence, and your brain will almost certainly focus on that aspect of music more.   Now, either I've just gotten used to it, my taste has changed, or their sound changed when they finished burning in, but there is certainly less bass (now it's more of a just-enough-and natural-sounding bass).
 
*My family also has had a $1000 Bose 3 speaker system in our living room since 2004 (it was bought when I was 8, and I'm not sure of the model or any of that) I've heard other  Bose products before, and these sound as if you have a full speaker system in your ears.  They have massive sound for their size. 
 
*They are not noise cancelling, don’t expect them to be. 
 
*They have a ‘lifelike’ sound, in that they are extremely powerful sounding, and definitely have presence.  They can also recreate [the sound of] cymbals clearly (which is a test I often put audio equipment through) which many -$50headphones can’t do (especially the god-awful ones that come with a PMP).    
 
*Many people rage Bose because they’re educated, and know Bose is not the best, even though they advertise that they are.  Bose also uses cheaper internal parts, and shiny “ooh that looks expensive” material on the outside: as such their profit margins are huge.
 
 
Jan 2, 2011 at 4:42 PM Post #7 of 12
Just a quick add to the Bose IE comment. They do not seal at all. They rest in the lower bowl of your ear so you can still hear everything going on around you. This is a positive in some situations and a negative in others. 
 
Jan 2, 2011 at 8:04 PM Post #8 of 12
Alright thanks for the help dudes, but in the end he's gonna order the A*Stars because of their in-line mic "medallion" that he want for skype. Plus the dolby digital benefits of using them with the mixamp that I already own for my A40s will make them suitable for his gaming too.
 
 
Appreciate the suggestions since I too might be getting a more portable alternative to my ATH-PRO700GD's...  THANKS
 
Jan 3, 2011 at 5:38 PM Post #9 of 12
Quote:
Just a quick add to the Bose IE comment. They do not seal at all. They rest in the lower bowl of your ear so you can still hear everything going on around you. This is a positive in some situations and a negative in others. 

 
They seal somewhat, though in an [size=12pt]untraditional[/size] way.  The shallow-insert In-ear portion's silicon tips press gently against your ear canal, which, as far as I know, boosts the base.  They by no means seal in a "regular" way, though. 
 
 
Aug 23, 2012 at 2:05 PM Post #10 of 12
Quote:
Alright thanks for the help dudes, but in the end he's gonna order the A*Stars because of their in-line mic "medallion" that he want for skype. Plus the dolby digital benefits of using them with the mixamp that I already own for my A40s will make them suitable for his gaming too.
 
 
Appreciate the suggestions since I too might be getting a more portable alternative to my ATH-PRO700GD's...  THANKS

the bose have a mic and he wants to use the mic for skype on the computer? Well that dosnt work, only ipod and things like that can use the mic through the headphone jack, not laptops
 
Aug 23, 2012 at 2:49 PM Post #11 of 12
Spend $20 more and get the Rockit Sounds R-50 which sound as good as ones that are twice as much.  If $100 is your limit then the GR06, Creative Aurvana IE3, Hisound Crystal or if you want great bass the Atrio MG7 can be had from atrio.me for $109 shipped with discount code CostProg50%.
 
Aug 23, 2012 at 2:58 PM Post #12 of 12
Shure SE-215 run around one hundred. Decent bass, lush mids, rolled-off highs. Solid build, replaceable cables, very good isolation for noisy environments, 2 year warranty.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top