[Shinjuku Boy]

The king of the castle?

 

[lextek]

This should be a given. Ety4's of course.

 

[joelongwood]

Well, if you're talking "buds".....the one's that are circular and rest just at the entrance to your ear canal.....I would say the Sony MDR-E888 which can be had for around $60-$75 is right up there, or the Senn MX-500 for under $20. I have both and like both. If you like midrange and vocals, the E-888s, to my ears, are the ones to beat. But for price/performance ratio, the MX-500s win hands down.
Now, if you're talking anything that goes in your ear, even the ones that go INTO your ear canal, then lextek is correct........Etymotic ER4 series canalphones. All others, even many (most?) full-size headphones pale in comparison. Just my opinion of course.

 

[MooGoesTheCow]

Yeah, easy call. =)

Etymotic ER4S

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by MooGoesTheCow Yeah, easy call. =) Etymotic ER4S

I own a pair of those, too! And once you hear the Etymotic ER-4# series (especially the ER-4S), ALL of the other in-ear 'phones will sound as though they've been "slopdotted" or ******** up.

 

[eric343]

EH-TY! EH-TY! EH-TY!

Just call me a card carrying member of Team Etymotic... (or more accurately, a logo-carrying member) IMHO the 4S beat out the Sennheiser H600 by a smidge...

 

[purk]

Guys,
How about the Sony MDR-E484? It is legend and it bests the 888 just fine as well. However, I also had the Ety 4s...and well..for that price and performance....it's the best of buds/canal phone!!!

Purk

 

[Ken]

ER4S

 

[Vertigo-1]

ER4B

 

[Shinjuku Boy]

Wow...did'nt expect 260$ could be possible for a pair of ear-buds.

But if they are really as good as most of you say, it might be worth it.

I hope they don't break easily. Paying that much for a pair, they have to last a few years.

Btw i intend to use them while jogging, i hope sweat is not a problem.

 

[Shinjuku Boy]

Hmm.

If walking or jogging (as if - exercise, moi?) they probably aren't the most suitable because, for me anyway, the eartips can move a bit within the ear so if you're in constant motion you get a kind of whispery rustling which doesn't exactly do much for the atmosphere of the music. This is less noticeable with louder music and I haven't tried the foam eartips yet to see if they're any better for this but I thought I should mention the point.

 

[Shinjuku Boy]

Bummer.

had read a lot about how annoying the microphonic cord is, but I didn't really think it was a major problem. The issue is that when the Etys' cord rubs against your shirt, you can hear it, kind of like a stethoscope. With the shirt clip, I almost never hear the cord noise unless I'm walking around with them in. ER-4s would not be good for jogging or any other use while you are moving around a lot. But if you are going to be sitting still most of the time, cord noise shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Flasken]

Quote:

Originally posted by Vertigo-1 ER4B

WTH is the deal on those phones?? Everytime you discretely mention them i get the feeling you are planning some sort of undercover conspiracy or whatever...

 

[Cap'n Dan]

For non-canal phones, the Senn MX 400s/500s are incredible. I'd like to try the Etymotics... there's so much talk about them but I've never used them firsthand.

 

[john_jcb]

The Etys are a good choice. For jogging I would go with something cheaper and that provides less isolation. I think it is safer to not loose total contact with the outside world. The ability to hear a car horn or someones yell may be important.