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Good Buds?

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Megatron

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Does anyone out there have a preference for earbuds. I have some earphones that came with my NW-E405 and they hurt my ears when worn for extended periods of time under my motorcycle helmet. I am awaiting the arrival of my RH910 and I'm sure it will come with the same crappieness. any suggestions would be greatly apreciated.

Peace and Blessings,

Fred

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Earbuds that come with portables are throwaways. They're usually a disservice to the sound coming out of the headphone jack.

If you don't mind spending some serious $$, get the Shure E3 (gray) or E3c (iPod-style white). They're about $130, but check around for sales. These are isolation phones, also known as canal phones: earplugs with speakers in them. They're genuinely musical.

They go way inside your ears, shut out a lot of external sound (like the New York City subway when I wear them) and have various sizes of soft rubber earplug adapters to fit your ears. Because they provide isolation, you won't have to crank them as high, so you might have some hearing left in the next few decades.

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a cheap alternative to that, but certainly ok as a starter pair are the Panasonics RP-JE50 I have linked in my signature... they are also canal phones and do provide much better sound than the stock-buds, but you can find them (in silver, black or blue) on ebay for $25

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How do your sennheiser buds perform compared to the panasonics? I have some mx400s and contrary to the general consensus i think they sound plainly awful.

well, I would simply say, if you do not want to spend a lot on 'buds and you are not really (or or better: 'really not') bass oriented they aren't that bad

their highs are crisper than the stockbuds and the bass can be raised with eq'ing, but they are a bit harsh in my ears and the bass still isn't deep enough

but, compared to the stock-buds, they are a big improvement (IMHO) and I do use them when biking, as the panasonics isolate so much that I risk being hit by some truck from behind without ever knowing what it was that hit me... so indeed richyu, perhaps sound-isolating phones aren't ideal in traffic

and the pana's 'whissle in the wind' (even soft winds create a sharp whissling noise)

so it's a bit like comparing aplles and oranges... the sound of the panas is much better, but they aren't outdoor phones, while the Senn's are bass-less and over crisp but a nice upgrade from the stock-buds for a very low price (450 = $15 and the 350 = $10) so they are my outdoor activity buds

at home I use either the panas or the bigger senns

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Wow thanks everyone!! I have some research to do, but it looks like the Panasonic earbuds might be the right price for my application. I'll update more after I get the earbuds. Also I'll upload pictures of my old school helicopter pilot monitors that I use for DJing. Best headphones ever.

Peace and Blessings,

Fred

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I cannot say enough good things about the Sharp MD33s, "pole-4 canal phones", which only seem available at audiocubes.com, but at any rate, for about $50 (shipping included), they are the most incredible bang-for-the-buck phones I've heard in my LIFE. I even have an extra back-up pair I love them so much... and I use them with MY RH10. Fantastic-sounding... CRISP highs, and BASSY lows! Amazing.

SHARP MD33s (at Audiocubes)

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I love the MX550 by Sennheiser. As has been mentioned, they aren't big on bass (ie. Senn earbuds in general aren't), despite their claims, but they give me the crisp clear sound I'm after on the move...

They're also low on impedence and high on senstivity, so go plenty loud enough. You'll probably need to use decent foam pads (not the supplied ones) to keep them falling out though...

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