[osoucy]

Hi everyone.

I am looking to buy a pair of really portable earphone with good sound quality and whithout noise cancelling.

I am seriously considering the Bang & Olufsen A8. I read good reviews about the sound quality and they are truely portable and stylish.

I currently own a pair of etymotic ER6i. I wanted to know how good the a8 sound quality is compared to the sound quality of my ER6i.

I will run them with an iPod and I'm mostly listenin to rock/metal and blues/jazz.

Anyone can help?

 

[firefox360]

If you do search for the A8's, you'll find that it's not the most popular headphone around. Your ER6i's will beat them to hell in terms of sound quality. But you must admit, they do look pretty damn good. Also, with any Olufson product your paying 80% style and 20% functionality. Better to just stick with the ER6's

 

[ilikemonkeys]

This is funny. My first post on Head-Fi years ago was asking the same question.

I'm still here and Ety's are most definately the way to go.

I will suggest that you buy a used pair of ER4's for the same price as a new pair of ER6's. You'll enjoy them more. i sure do.

BILL

 

[rx7_fan]

A8 sounds like $20 headphones. I listened to them before and was very dissapointed.

 

[stewtheking]

I own the A8, and i really like how it sounds, especially when amped through my Cmoy, however they never get any use these days because my E2c's provide me with isolation, so i can hear my "night train" and not "noisy broken underground train".

If you're happy paying for the looks, then i say pay for them, they do look SWEET!

Stew

 

[osoucy]

Thank you for your advices, but the point here is that I DON't want any noise isolation. For that purpose, my etys are perfect.

I need a pair of headphone that I will be able to use and still be able to fully ear what is going on around. I know that I will never be able to get sound quality as good as a in ear canal earphone, but I want something not too far from that.

I am look for:
- Great portability
- Good Sound
- No noise isolation
- Great style

That is why I thought that B&O A8 should be appropriate. If you have anything else to suggest, go for it.

Note that I am not an audophile, but I do appreciate good sound.

Thank you for your advices.

 

[catscratch]

First off, the Koss KSC-75 clip-ons are jus $20 and provide good sound. They're not a bad place to start. Then, you can take a look at various Audio-Technica earbuds, preferably the ATH-CM7; you can order them from www.audiocubes.com . They're stylish and the sound is pretty good. Then there is the Sony MDR-E888 earbud, which also has very good sound.

The best sounding non-isolating portable that you can get is the Stax SR-001. That is a serious portable system, as near audiophile-quality as you can get without going into custom-molded canalphones, but since it is an electrostatic headphone, it will require you to carry the amplifier around at all times, which fortunately is included in the system. If you want the best possible non-isolating portable sound, this is it. These will compete nicely against full-size headphones, while most canalphones won't - IMO.

 

[osoucy]

thanks Catscratch

I am not really interested in buying cheap earbud.
I currently own sony MDR-G72 (40$) which proved to be a good purchase. I've been using them for almost 5 years and they are still working pretty good. The sound is acceptable and the fit is comfortable.

Nonetheless, now I am looking for a better sounding solution (100$-150$) solution. I am a bit tired of the "street style" and I want something more discrete. Still, I need to be able to hear the phone rigning or to be able to talk to other people without removing the earphone.

The B&O seemed to answered all these needs. But I will consider the audio-technica.

Do you know how they compare to each other? And how to they compare to ER6i?

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by osoucy thanks Catscratch I am not really interested in buying cheap earbud. I currently own sony MDR-G72 (40$) which proved to be a good purchase. I've been using them for almost 5 years and they are still working pretty good. The sound is acceptable and the fit is comfortable. Nonetheless, now I am looking for a better sounding solution (100$-150$) solution. I am a bit tired of the "street style" and I want something more discrete. Still, I need to be able to hear the phone rigning or to be able to talk to other people without removing the earphone. The B&O seemed to answered all these needs. But I will consider the audio-technica. Do you know how they compare to each other? And how to they compare to ER6i?

I have the Grado SR125 and the Ety 6i. They are both great cans. I tend to use the Grado more just so I can answer the phone. But on Sunday morning when the wife is asleep there is nothing like a freshly breweed cup of coffe (expresso?) and listening to Miles Kind of Blue.

 

[Jmmmmm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by osoucy ... The B&O seemed to answered all these needs. But I will consider the audio-technica. Do you know how they compare to each other? And how to they compare to ER6i?

I have the er6i's and listened to the a8's briefly. I didn't get a good audition of the a8's, but enough to get a general idea. I think that the er6i's have much better sound quality, and are much more detailed. However, the a8's didn't sound all that bad. I was listening to them out of an ipod->portaphile v2. I think if you want pretty good sound quality and good style and comfort, the a8's are worth looking at. They aren't worth $160, but there isn't really a whole lot out there that's a good non-isolating earbud.

If you want better sound quality and a fun sounding earphone, get the ksc35/ksc75. They sounded better than the a8, to me. The only drawback I see of them is that they lead, and I guess they're not quite as stylish as the a8 (though I don't think the ksc35's look bad). Don't avoid them just because they're cheap, they sound a whole lot more expensive.

If you really want the a8's, then I suggest you get the AT ec7's instead. Elephas did a comparison between the two and said the ec7's were better. I haven't heard the ec7's, though, so I can't give my opinion on that.

It sounds like you just want validation to get the a8's, though, so if you really want them, just go for it.

If you don't mind spending the money, they are fine.