[00hkelly]

Hi, I'm looking to replace my apple in ear headphones as they have broken twice now and i cant be bothered with the hassle of sending them back all the time, so i will keep them as a backup and buy some new ones. Bearing in mind i am on a student buget and not a mega audiophile, i just like a nice sound without a lot of background noise in it, i was hoping you could help me select a new set of buds.

I am looking at around the £20-30 mark which i guess is about $35-55.
I was looking at the sony ex71 (or whatever there called exztxwz71 or something) but i have heard many mixed reviews about them. I was really just looking for some input from people who actually know what they are talking about.

Many thanks in advance,
Hugo

 

[LaBreaHead]

The Sony 71's and the less expensive 51's are fun-sounding, non-audiophile, "everyday" 'phones (I have two sets of nicer IEMs, but I do listen to the Sony's regularly). I've given them as gifts to iPod and Rio owners, and they preferred them over the bundled earbuds. So they would be a "fun" addition to your listening -- which is what it should be all about.

Note that many people complain about the coating on the wires "shredding" off. It hasn't happened to mine. I've seen it on a co-worker's Sony's, though, and it wasn't pretty. I'd recommend not throwing the earphones (any brand of earphones) into a book bag, handbag, pocket, etc. without putting them in some kind of bag, pouch, case or whatever. I often use just a resealable food storage bag -- I think the plastic bag protects the cords from any abrasive contact -- and I know an Englishwoman who uses a velvet drawstring bag

.

I don't know the prices where you are, but consider the Creative version of the Sharp earphones, and the new Sennheiser canal phones, as well. They should be better-sounding than the Sony's (at least from a Head-Fi perspective), and they'll cost a bit more -- and with luck they'll hold up better. But the Sony's are a fine place to start for your purposes.

 

[Ypoknons]

I have no actual experience, but the Sony EX-81 are said to be far better than the EX-71. The Sharp MD-33 also have great acclaim.

 

[GSTom1]

Creative Labs offer a good alternative to the Sony MDR-EX71SL for around the same price (~$30). They're called the EP-630 and are basically rebranded Sharp MD-33s.

Creative Labs EP-630

For the record, I've had two pairs of Sony MDR-EX71SLs. The first pair lasted a year of regular use before the right channel died. The second pair's rubber casing shreaded on the left headphone wire after only 3 months of moderate use. Pissed me off!

 

[JMBrown]

Those creatives are said to be very similar to the Sennheiser CX 300, which I own. So I recommend that you pic up the creatives for that price

 

[riker1384]

I just bought a pair of EX81s. I haven't tried the others in this thread, but these sound much better to me than the tinny Panasonic HJE-50. The highs are a little crude compared to my Sennheiser HD-497, which is to be expected for the price I guess. They give decent isolation. Ths sound is colored and not that great for classical music. The bass is decent but not the tremendous bass people say the 71 has.

I'm not sure I don't prefer earbuds in some respects. They have no bass or isolation but they seem more open and rich-sounding in some ways.

They seem a bit inefficient. I find myself turning my Ipod almost halfway up.

 

[LedZeppelin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMBrown Those creatives are said to be very similar to the Sennheiser CX 300, which I own. So I recommend that you pic up the creatives for that price

amazon sells creative EP 630 about 25-26$ with free shipping in US.

 

[blazer78]

i didn't really like the treble on the ep-630. It feels as if its been veiled, compared to my ksc75, it has more bass, although less detail, worse treble.

So now i find myself wasting more money and grabbing myself a cm7ti or ath-ew9 =D

 

[00hkelly]

thanks for all of the feedback it has been really useful

now i just have to choose. lol.
Many thanks for everybody's help
Hugo

 

[00hkelly]

thanks for everyones help. i got the creatives, and they are great for what i want!! many thanks for all,
Hugo

 

[GSTom1]

Let us know how the Creative EP-630's sound. I'm thinking of getting a pair to compliment the Etymotic ER-6i i just bough. Did you buy them online or at a store?

 

[00hkelly]

they sound really great, wonderful full sound.
i would reccommend them. i bought them from www.amazon.co.uk.
Thanks
Hugo

 

[Frip]

GST, I'll let you know when my 630s arrive. I'll give you a nice little rundown. I have a lot of experience with these kind of economy models.

Frip