Apple In-Ear Headphones With Remote and Mic
The little white earphones that Apple sells with the iPod have come in for a fair bit of stick over the years, so the new Apple In-Ear Headphones are an attempt to provide a higher-quality alternative. But while the richer audio quality and sound-isolating features are certainly a big improvement on the bog-standard iPod earphones, they’re not exceptional for a set of headphones in this price range. In fact, the stand-out features are the built-in microphone and remote control that are specifically designed for use with an iPhone. So while the In-Ear Headphones will make a good companion for your iPod Touch or iPhone we wouldn’t recommend them as a set of general-purpose ‘phones for non-Apple music players or mobile ‘phones.
Reg Rating 75%
Suggested Price £54 Find the best online price here
More Info Apple's In Ear Headphones page
V-Moda Vibe
The V-Moda website may be unspeakably pretentious, with its waffle about "high-end lifestyle" and "audio art', but its Vibe earphones sound pretty good nonetheless. They're like little metallic earplugs that fit neatly into your ears, and are heavy enough to stay put without falling out every five minutes. They don’t do a particularly good job at blocking out background noise, but the sound they produce is very clean and clear, even at high volumes. There’s a little carrying bag included with the earphones and you get three sizes of earpieces in both black and white, so you’ve got a good set of spares if you need them.
Reg Rating 75%
Suggested Price £55 Find the best online price here
More Info V-Moda's Vibe page
Next page: Genius HP-02 Live
COMMENTS
+1 for koss plugs
Cheap as chips, and don't sound bad, but the falling out is a bit of a pain. Also I am prone to wax buildup and these end up looking moderately unpleasant. I also like the CX200s (as my phone has a 2.5mm jack). Am buying some CX300s right this second to try 'em out. £14 seems like you can't go too far wrong.
But no one has followed up on someone's point above about rustling noise from cords. On my CX200s, if they rub against my zip, it's very loud.
Another one to check out
What about Koss Plugs?
My review would be: Less than £15 and incredible bass and they come with a lifetime warranty. You need to work out how to insert them properly. As soon as you do, you get the booming bass and you understand why they're good.
Negative: They fall out quite easily.
A few times I've sent them off to the UK distributor (Hama), included three or four quid, and I've got a shiny new pair back in the post. Sweet!
Anyone that spends over £50 for a pair of earphones is either very very rich, or very very idiotic.
And on a related note, very few people care how good Shure SE310s are, £170 is not affordable for a sodding pair of earphones!
Really worth spending more than £50? CX300 suit me!
Most people listen to ropey compressed MP3s through less than perfect systems like iPods and cheaper kit, so most people would be hard pushed to notice anything good after about the £50 mark. I listen to a lot of MP3 metal, a lot of old live bootleg stuff so I tend to stick to CX300s, the music source quality is dodgy at it's best anyway! Unless you are lucky enough to carry your CDs or own a very, very good FLAC player, don't bother!
CX300s are dirt cheap and reasonable quality, have scoot around eBay or Amazon new/used section, usually get a new pair for about a tenner plus postage.
Verbatim headphones
On your recommendation I bought the Verbatim headphones a couple of days ago - but seriously guys, they are just dreadful!
No treble and much too much bass, almost to the point of being muffled. For the first time ever I had to use the equalizer on my machine in order to get decent sound. Did any of you try these headphones with classical music?
@ James Halliday and anybody on the fence
"I killed my Shures (2 and 4s) on a regular basis by damaging the cable"
Surely you're joking!
I've had Shure e2's for about 2 years now, same pair and they're still pumping away nicely!
I'm very surprised by your comment that the cord breaks because they use such a thick quality cord that i am confident I could strangle someone with them and not have to worry about breakage.
For any of you still on the fence and looking for a pair of in-ear canal-phones, Shures are the way to go.
They were making canal-phones for musicians and live music engineers before anyone knew what a "noise-isolating headphone" was. They are Personal "Studio Monitors" and were made for Musicians!
a) For hearing the subtleties of the music at a very LOUD live concert
b) For hearing instructions and communications at a very LOUD live concert
c) For protecting their most valuable asset (their ears) at a ........
d) For hearing the adjusted levels of your bandmates' riffs while standing next to a very LOUD acoustic drumset which can almost deafen you even without amplification.
So before most of these other manufacturers even existed, Shure was making professional studio audio equipment including the noise-isolating headphones.
I use the Shure e2 which i bought 2 years ago for $100 USD.
But if price is no limitation, there are the E5's which have TWO drivers in each ear-bud and you can go to an ear-doctor to get a mold made of your ear-canal and a silicone plug will be made unique to your ears!!! imagine having a 2-way speaker in your ear.......
oh if I only had the $$$$
