[Earbuds]

I promise you that I'm not trolling. This is a serious question, and I apologize if I offend any of you. What's so special about them? I've seen people spend thousands of dollars on headphones and headphone equipment. Is the sound quality really worth it? I mean, I'm perfectly fine with my $5 earbuds. In fact, I find the quality of my $5 earbuds amazing. They're comfortable too. Sure, I have to replace them every so often, but I don't mind spending $5. Now, the question here is... how much better does the sound quality get on some... uh, let's say $200 headphones and a $250 amp? Is it really worth the $445 extra?

Again, I promise you that I'm not trolling. Please don't get mad at me for asking this. I'm just really confused and don't see how the sound quality can be that much better than my earbuds.

 

[Blu.]

Do you really need a car? No. You can walk.
Do you really need a house? No. There's the bus stop.

 

[Earbuds]

That doesn't answer my question at all. ._.

 

[Audio Jester]

Maybe think about this....
What's so special about $50,000+ Car?

 

[EternalEmpire]

I'm pretty confused why you'd come to a headphone forum if you don't care about headphones and would rather just buy $5 ones than some good ones

 

[gevorg]

The easiest way to find out is to try them yourself and compare with earbuds. There is nothing wrong with being satisfied with cheap headphones. Plus, you don't have to spend as much as $445 for a headphone and an amp to find out what kind of improvement you can get from earbuds. A mere $100 or so for unamped headphones might be all that it takes. If you're really curious about advantages of hifi headphones, just give 'em a try!

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Directly associating the cost of headphones and gear with quality (aka "the more $$$, the better they must sound) will never work.

 

[Earbuds]

Not sure, Audio Jester. I'm not really into cars.

EternalEmpire, as I said before, I'm interested and would like to know more about them. Also, there's a pair of headphones that I'd like to buy in the future and I just thought I'd get some opinions and see how great the difference is before I make my purchase.

I apologize if it looked like I was putting down expensive headphones, I'm just very interested.

 

[TrumpOrMonkey]

If you are happy with your $5 earbuds, that's great and your wallet will thank you for it!

A lot of people are a bit fussy on soundquality, me being one of those people, buying used will help the price a little bit. But only upgrade until you are truly happy with what you have. Only problem is, when are we truly happy with what we have?

Many upgrade on impulse and realise they didn't 'need' it and were happy with their older setup. Not all of us can listen to all of these amps/dacs/headphones all in one place and decide for our own.

If you can convince yourself you don't need this stuff, great

 

[choka]

Whether it is worth it or not, is a very personal thing. I used to be fine with whatever earbuds that comes with whatever appliance/player i am buying. And then a few years ago I bought Shure e2c because of all the good reviews I saw. I didn't think they were really much better at the time (I guess it is because before it is burnt in, it doesn't sound any good). But when I switch back to the cheap earbuds later, I noticed the difference, and the difference is big. I hear so much more details on the e2c, I finally realized how most of my music actually should sound like.

Then I started getting full sized cans, and amp, and I realized they do things IEMs can never do: soundstage. That is well worth the money.

I did a few upgrades on IEM as well. Just 2 months or so ago, I dug out my abandoned e2c. Listened to it for a while, and I couldn't even accept that kind of sound quality anymore. With this said, can I go back to $5 earbuds now? NO WAY.

Is the money spent on headphones and amps worth it? To me, it is a yes. I listen to music for long periods every day, at work and at home. Why not treat myself to some better sound? Moreover, if I factor in the utilization of these gear, they are used a lot. Doing the math, these are good investments, e.g., compared to my TV, which is much more expensive (when I bought it) than most of my headphones but I only use it at most an hour a day.

I believe enjoyment is priceless.

 

[mibutenma]

Because you want to hear a drum sound like a drum, a cymbal sound like cymbal,guitar sound like a guitar,etc....
And you like music and want it to sound right.

Cheap earbuds sound terrible its not being an elitist or anything they just do.
Music is unappealing,total turnoff,annoying racket on cheap stuff like things packaged with MP3 players.

You might be surprised how much more enjoyable music is on a decent headphone.

 

[EternalEmpire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earbuds /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not sure, Audio Jester. I'm not really into cars. EternalEmpire, as I said before, I'm interested and would like to know more about them. Also, there's a pair of headphones that I'd like to buy in the future and I just thought I'd get some opinions and see how great the difference is before I make my purchase. I apologize if it looked like I was putting down expensive headphones, I'm just very interested.

You're probably better off listing the model name to be honest, some headphones that are $150+ are ridiculously overpriced while some are well worth the money. Price doesn't always mean quality. Though, I wouldn't jump into a $150 purchase having only ever used $5 earphones before, I'd recommend you buy some cheaper ones (eg. those from the under $70 section of this thead: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/hea...-guide-271258/ ) and then decide if you enjoy the sound enough to buy a more expensive pair.

 

[tvrboy]

No worries mate, you came to the right place to ask such questions. We can't describe the sensation to you any more than I could describe what it feels like to skydive when I've never done it. Find an audio store near you that has demo gear, or go to a head-fi meet, you can find out for yourself.

 

[Blasto_Brandino]

Just wondering, what kind of 'buds are you using, I'd like to try them (I'm not joking , I really would.) I need something that I can kick around at work

 

[Earbuds]

I use Walmart.com: Maxell Stereo Earbuds: Audio