[TonyTripleA]

I was at work and feeling generous today. It was afterall two days after my wife's birthday... and like all good head-fiers I bought her a nice audio present - an ipod mini in fact!!! So, wonderful me, currently ranked "perfect" as a husband with a bright future.

But, I just couldn't get my wife to try my etymotic ER4Ps. Against all my advise, and try as I did, she actually liked the standard ipod mini buds. Sad am I. How could I face my head-fi collegues... some actually come over to my house and what would become of our reputation should we be "found out". I shudder to think.

So there I sat at my desk today, back at work. No need to worry I thought, some "Broken English" will calm me down and help me forget the shame... My old 3 g ipod was brought out and into my bag I go for the etys. What, no Etymotics!!! Left them at home next to the bed. Oh dear.

Not to be left completely in the cold I pulled out my IPAQ earbuds. Yuk. I think they are called Plantronics or something. Anyhow I'd not ridden my cycle in so my EX71s were also at home - things were desparate. Well, to cut a long story a bit shorter... I soon walked the thirty minutes distance to the Sony shop and put down A$120 for a set of MDR-E888LP buds... what else could I do???

Ahhhh, real music flooded from the ipod. Not bad I thought. Comfy too. Maybe not as comfy as the etymotics and certainly not as comfy as the EX71s but pretty good.

Hmmmm, hear that nice flat frequency response. Sweet. Not as pronounced as the highs of the etys but very listenable. In fact, the bass is better than either the etys (nice but thin) or the EX71s (which are single note and bloated). Wow, swapped from Broken English (forgive me Marianne Faithful, but I'll return don't worry) to American Beauty. These Sonys started to show their stuff... balanced, and well "musical". Perhaps more musical than either the etys or EX71s. What do I mean by musical, well they just sound right for the music. Nice tight bass, very low response for buds but also very clear. Treble a little rolled off at the very high end but nowhere would I call it harsh or problematic. Sweet. And resolution is very acceptable. Not at etymotic standards of course, but streets ahead of the EX71s.

I love those 888s. Sadly, so did my wife. The Ipod mini buds are now packed away in the ipod box. I sit here sadly looking at the 888s and have little to no chance of listening to them for a while... I don't see my wife unplugging for some time.

Why didn't I give her the IPAQ earbuds instead???? Oh well, I'll just have to be satisfied being a hero and fantastic husband. Damn.

TonyAAA

 

[seiko_citizen]

Whoa! You actually bought the earphones in Australia like I did??

. I am sure that the E888s can be bought for a lot less the AUD120... Witha little bit of talking you could easily get that price down to about AUD99... maybe even less

 

[hentai]

i bought it about 60 bucks haha

but its a good earbud anyway

 

[TonyTripleA]

If you want a real laugh I talked down the price from A$139.... the cheapest I have seen in Australia is online for A$105. I know you can order them a lot cheaper overseas but the shipping was a hassle for me.

Great thing is that these earbuds are way better than the A$129 koss portapros I bought last year. In fact, they are so good I think I prefer them for musicality over my beloved etys. They just give a great sound.

My only gripe having used them for a couple of hours is that they start to hurt my left ear a bit. My right ear they fit like a glove, but on the left ear they just irritate after a few hours. This is something that "in ear" canalphones don't do.

But if I was to recommend earbuds as keepers these would be it.

Cheers,

TonyAAA

 

[Superbaldguy]

They'll sound even better after they are burned in.

 

[TonyTripleA]

You know I never even considered burn in. These sounded so good straight out of the box. I'll certainly look for some changes now you've mentioned it - thanks,

TonyAAA

 

[MdRex]

hey tripleA:

I feel ya. I live outside US and still getting crabby price for import phones (paid US$100 for E2c). MDR-7506 is hitting sky high price. But whateheck can we do? The importers always wins.

 

[hentai]

hd650 is selling for US400 in my country

 

[seiko_citizen]

remember that the E888 isnt a very long lasting earphone, it has the tendacy to break down in a short period of time. usually after warranty expires

 

[HiroshimaJoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by seiko_citizen remember that the E888 isnt a very long lasting earphone, it has the tendacy to break down in a short period of time. usually after warranty expires

That's what I read too, very unfortunate since alot of people seem to like their sound signature. Maybe some of the metal Audio-Technica would be the better choise if you need durability aswell as good sound.

 

[oluv]

you made me interested in these...

...BUT unfortunately i've never had luck with earbuds, particularly because i never could get a good fit. most of the ones i tried i had to press them deep inside my ears to get the sound i desired, but shortly after they got loose and the sound changed quite drastically. the most horrible effect is if one of the buds has another fit than the other, so that the sound wanders from one side to the other...

so the only earbuds i could really use well were all types of canalphones, assumed that i got a good seal.

now your "review" sounds really convincing, but i am afraid that i will have the same problems as with most of "normal" earbuds. or are the 888 any different from others?

 

[mr.karmalicious]

iPod mini?

*cries*

 

[seiko_citizen]

When I first got the E888 I thought it was going to be another painful earbud! Boy was I wrong (two years ago

). It was comfortable, and could be used all day. However I still find it painful to use without the foam, and recently I can only use the E888 for like 3-4hrs at a time, after that my ears start to hurt

EDIT: 304hrs to 3-4hrs

 

[hentai]

i always think the e888 is quite underrated due to its usual old high price and compared to mx500 in terms of value.

 

[TonyTripleA]

Yep no doubt the price is steep, especially in Australia, but the sound is to me very good. I do feel the effect of wearing them for 3-4 hours just as you do seiko_citizen but up to that period of time that feel very good.

Yes, the sound is better if you can fit them close in, and walking has sometimes dislodged them and a refit is required for optimum sound. Just a simple push back in. And funny enough its always my left ear and never my right. It could be my asymetric face. But if you are sitting at a desk then I don't think this is a problem.

TonyAAA