EarPods - Apples newest entry into IEM

[xx0xx]

Have not had them long enough to wear for long periods of time yet. Will report back on how that goes. It appears as far as comfort is concerned, it improved for a lot of people, but also worsened for quite a few as well. It sounds like instead of increasing the amount of ears these fit into comfortably, they simply shifted to a different set of customers for which they'll feel comfortable.
 
For me, personally, the original earbuds were not just uncomfortable, but actually painful to have in my ears. These are very comfortable and light, at least for short periods of time (all I've tested so far), which I did not expect for having the plastic right on the skin (no foam pads, etc).
 
For the record, my ears are rather easy to please when it comes to SQ, so apologies for my rather enthusiastic first post regarding the SQ, but of all the earbuds I've tried so far (which does not include Yuin or high-priced earbuds), these would be my favorite. IMHO they easily beat any earbuds available in the Sub-$30 range, if not maybe Sub-$50. Certainly there are plenty of IEMs that sound better but I hate IEMs. I have not found a single pair I can wear comfortably for long periods of time. The marshmallows are the only ones I can wear comfortably, and even then I have to stop after about 45 minutes. As far as SQ vs. the IEMs I've tried, I'd say they are better than JVC marshmallows, better than Meelectronics M6/M2/R1, better than Sony MDR-EX36, and par or slightly below Bose IE/IE2 (which sound good to my ears but are overpriced and have a crappy cable). Of course, something like the Shure SE215 puts the EarPods back in their place... but with the EarPods at 1/3 the cost of those, that's tough to justify.
 
Overall, not an audiophile earbud by any means, but pleasant sound, and anything that brings the masses better SQ is good news to me. Glad to see at least a decent earphone finally getting into the hands of millions. Far better than any Skullcandy crap 

 

[mochill]

Gotta burn them in for 300hrs+ to bring out their full potential

 

[KEP1]

A co-worker just got the iPhone 5 so I was excited to give these Pods a try. To my dismay I could not get any seal whatsoever. I know they aren't supposed to seal like an IEM, but the sound was like an IEM with no seal...absolutely no bass and overall very crappy sound. I maneuvered them around in my ears for like 10 minutes straight to no avail. Am I just out of luck with these things?

 

[sunjigglet]

I finally decided to get a pair of Earpods. They sound quite nice! A lot better than the odd Monoprice 8320s in my opinion.

 

 

[mclover]

Bet $30 meelectronics sound better then a pair of glorified earbuds.

 

[Inks]

Based on what? Didn't even mention a specific Meelec model. The earpods are easily the best value-for-the-money earbud and competent against the best IEMs in this price-range. 

 

[xx0xx]

I think they are far more clear/balanced (especially in treble) than most of Meelec's offerings (M6, R1, M2). Meelec's similarly-priced models sound good for the price, but I'd take the EarPods any day over them. I haven't tried the BA earphones from Meelec or the clarity series, so maybe those are different, but the R1 is very muddy, but warm, the M2 is a low-end budget earphone so it's just a little better than your typical walmart pair, and the M6's treble is very crunchy/sibilant and doesn't have much detail. 
 
I prefer both the JVC Marshmallows ($15) and EarPods ($29) to all of Meelec's offerings that are $50ish or below. Extremely satisfied with my purchase.

 

[softrally]

I just grabbed one from future shop and I am impressed by how food they sound. considering the $35 price tag. I will most likely use these as my "stash in pocket" buds.

 

[Dreamnine]

I've spent the last 30 minutes listening to these...
 
They're an improvement on previous Apple buds but nothing special in my opinion.

 

[Mediahound]

I did a video review of these here:
 

 
Verdict? Comfy, great for phone calls, but not enough isolation for music nor 'hi-fi' enough for me. 

 

[Sniper1]

How about for kids ?
My 6 yr old daughter asked for an "ipod" for Xmas... Surely i can buy her any cheap but pink colored mp3 player and she won't notice, but i'm really thinking of getting the newest iPod Nano.
So should i already start shopping for a more decent pair of earphones ( e.g. Etymotic) or will these new apple earbuds be just right for my daughter ?

 

[Mediahound]

Quote:

How about for kids ?
My 6 yr old daughter asked for an "ipod" for Xmas... Surely i can buy her any cheap but pink colored mp3 player and she won't notice, but i'm really thinking of getting the newest iPod Nano.
So should i already start shopping for a more decent pair of earphones ( e.g. Etymotic) or will these new apple earbuds be just right for my daughter ?

I think for a 6 year old kid the Apple ones should be just fine. 

 

[fuzzyash]

Quote:

How about for kids ?
My 6 yr old daughter asked for an "ipod" for Xmas... Surely i can buy her any cheap but pink colored mp3 player and she won't notice, but i'm really thinking of getting the newest iPod Nano.
So should i already start shopping for a more decent pair of earphones ( e.g. Etymotic) or will these new apple earbuds be just right for my daughter ?

why not get her some iem with tips that seal
so she wont get into the habit of cranking up the volume because of a poor seal
 
Quote:

I think for a 6 year old kid the Apple ones should be just fine. 

sweet avatar
i spent 5 minutes scrolling the page up and down and watch it move 

 

[Gizmotoy]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I loved the old Apple Earbuds.  Not because the sound was all that great, because it wasn't, but because I found them extremely comfortable and could wear them for hours on end without noticing.
 
The new EarPods are another story.  My ears are throbbing and begging for their removal after just 15-20 minutes, and to my ears only sound marginally better.  Bass and mids are still awfully lacking, even for a monitor of this type.
 
So I have a question for you guys: is there anyone who found the old earbuds comfortable that could recommend an alternative 3rd party earbud that's similar (and hopefully sounds better)?  "Trying out" these kinds of headphones is practically impossible, I've found.  They just sit in their packages on the shelf.

 

[Danneq]

Quote:

I know I'm in the minority here, but I loved the old Apple Earbuds.  Not because the sound was all that great, because it wasn't, but because I found them extremely comfortable and could wear them for hours on end without noticing.
 
The new EarPods are another story.  My ears are throbbing and begging for their removal after just 15-20 minutes, and to my ears only sound marginally better.  Bass and mids are still awfully lacking, even for a monitor of this type.
 
So I have a question for you guys: is there anyone who found the old earbuds comfortable that could recommend an alternative 3rd party earbud that's similar (and hopefully sounds better)?  "Trying out" these kinds of headphones is practically impossible, I've found.  They just sit in their packages on the shelf.

 
Here are two good earbud threads:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/441400/earbuds-round-up
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/531063/earbud-guide-22-earbuds-compared
 
 
I would recommend Yuin PK3 or PK2. Both are very comfortable and you hardly notice them in your ears. PK3 is sold from around $30 and PK2 from around $55. I prefer the PK2 as it is slightly more neutral sounding than the PK3, but both are good. None of them have microphone or volume control in the cord (if you are looking for that).
Newer Sennheiser earbuds also have a good reputation. You can get the MX580 from around $25. Then there's the MX880 that costs from around $60. The Sennheiser earbuds are bigger than the Yuin ones so they might not be as comfortable for those with smaller ears.