[hrv888]

Hi

I am looking for a new earphones for my iphone. I currently have a Bose Tri-port earphones now but it doesn't have a mic and control buttons on it. I want to ask you guys here for your expertise. Are all in ears make me feel like i am deaf? How long does it take to get used to the deaf feeling? what brands are good? usually i listen to house, r&b, and some ballads like celine dion songs so that i can appreciate the earphones. what specifics do i need to look for in earphones? whats hz? db? impendance? or any other terminology.. thanks i am in vancouver btw.. anybody knows where to purchase these high end earphones or at least where i could try it out? any opinion will be highly appreciated. thanks

 

[Pinnipeds]

Hi,
What do you mean by "deaf feeling"?

Most everyone here oppose Bose, so steer clear of them, they're not the best quality.

What's your price range?

 

[hrv888]

i tried wearing a shure earphone before (cant remember which model) and i can hear myself when i swallow and seems like there is pressure inside my ears?? it makes me feel uneasy.. and when i knock my head the sound echoes.. something like that. hope i make sense. lol i am looking at below $500. i want my earphones to be worth it and last a long time. i am going to use it for daily commute so if i could hear a few background noise would be good to because it would be safer to hear what is happening around me. thanks

 

[ljokerl]

The phenomenon you're referring to is microphonics, aka cord contact noise. It is when the sound of your breathing/footstep/movement echoes up the cord and into you ears. It can be mediated by clipping the cord in place with a shirt clip and/or wearing the earphone cord over your ears.

So, to clarify, you want an in-ear earphone with limited isolation and an iphone mic/remote for under $500?

I think the most expensive earphone with a mic is the UE Triple.Fi 10vi (~$350) but they isolate quite a bit. The Klipsch S4i isolate a little less and are comparatively cheap but still sound pretty good.

 

[archimeaties]

Check out Westone phones, they are pretty popular here. Also, Audio Technica has some good ones...

EDIT: oh yeah, forgot about mic... no idea if these have that (and judging by joker's post, they don't)...

 

[hrv888]

what is impedance, frequency?? do i need to know this when choosing a good earphones? and at what range would i need to look at if all my mp3 are between bitrate of 128 to 320? will it sound distorted in a high end iem?

 

[mark2410]

IE8

 

[Gbjerke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif IE8

IE8

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hrv888 /img/forum/go_quote.gif what is impedance, frequency?? do i need to know this when choosing a good earphones? and at what range would i need to look at if all my mp3 are between bitrate of 128 to 320? will it sound distorted in a high end iem?

Impedance and sensitivity together should tell you approximately how difficult a particular headphone is to drive, i.e. how much it will benefit from amplification, etc. The vast majority of in-ears is driven fine by an mp3 player, so this is rarely a concern. Frequency response means next to nothing in terms of how something actually sounds. 128 kbps mp3s won't necessarily sound worse to you on a high-end earphone than a low-end one but the lossy encoding will be much more evident.