In Ear Phones For ~ 30?

[polar]

Hello. I have a pair of sony in ear phones from best buy that i bought for $40 USD. I'm not sure what they are, because i'm on winter break still. they are a 40 or 50 something. I want to know a decent pair of semi low budget earbuds for my brother, because i gave him a minidisc player (mznf810ck) when i got my nh1 (which i want to someday replace with the nh900 due to EXPENSIVE, 2 year batteries the nh1 uses.) Any suggestions? My current earbuds used to sound almost fake, but i've had them for a while now, and they sound execlent.

Also, how often does the wire break in earphones? because the wire on my earbuds is realllllyyyy thin. the primary wire splits off into secondary wires of the same size. it is very thin, and it certainly looks fragile.

Help, please?

[Kaotic]

for ~30 and UNDER. I would recommend Senns MX series (in earbuds phones). ie MX400, MX500, MX550.

[Fat Tires]

Supposedly, the MX series earbuds are available from Circuit City.

[polar]

Thanks. I'll check out a circiut city near me.

[Damage]

Sounds like you have a pair of EX71s, let them work themselves a while, they're a good choice.

Likewise, the MDR-EX51s are a cheaper version of EX71s. If you're not too rough with them (just take care of them like you'd normally take care of your sunglasses and such and you'd be fine), they'll last awhile.

As for actual in-ear canal phones, you're only choice sub $30 that ain't a Sony is the Koss The Plugs ($20, $22 @ Radio Shack with additional accessories). Heavy on the bass and not much else, you're advised to mod them up quick and fast if you want the best out of these, but could be worth the money. And they are the only headphones with Lifetime Warranty, and all reports are, Koss is very good with the Customer Service. If your brother is the rough type, get him these.

Earbud wise, you can do much worse than Senn MX550, which are for $25 at your local Circuit City. Do some shopping elsewhere, and you may be able to find other Senn MX, varying from $10 (MX300) to $20 (MX500) and inbetween.

Finally, you still have the option of getting the street style types, the new Sony ones are good for the money, sounding like a $12 for $20 than the usual $5 for $20... Or something to that effect.

[aeriyn]

Good canalphones don't start until you hit the low end of the Shure/Etymotic range, with the exception of the Sharp MD33 (~50USD shipped at Audiocubes or Bluetin) and apparently according to Nismo and Damage, well burned in EX71s.

Not a canalphone but I'd suggest the KSC-35 or KSC-75. They're clip ons but oh my god, you would not believe how amazing I can make my KSC-75s sound. They really love amps, but are great without them too. They're my jogging cans for my iPod.