Good earbuds< $30?

nefty

I have a Sansa e260, and lately I haven't been entirely satisfied with the sound quality or comfort of the default earphones. I'm by no means an audiophile, so I'm not willing to spend more than $30, unless I'm convinced it's absolutely necessary. I also tend to listen to music in noisy environments, so noise-cancelling would be preferrable, if possible. I listen to a wide variety of music including anything from classical to techno, if that helps.

EggyToast

Unfortunately, "good" earbuds don't exist, to my knowledge, for under $30. Any earbud you find will basically be the same as any other for that price. You might as well shop for comfortability, and I wouldn't bother keeping noise cancellation on your list.

Still, a comfortable pair of buds should plug out a fair amount of external sound.

nefty

Well, in my price range, when I say "good", I really mean "decent" or "better than the default ones I have now". After a little searching, I found what seem to be a nice pair. Judging by your comments, are these too good to be true, then?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16855985001

EggyToast

No, not too good to be true. Just not good to be 'good.' Yes, they'll be better than your current headphones, but here's the rundown on earbuds like that. The "noise control" features of earbuds like that work due to the shape of the "earplug." It, essentially, plugs your ear, thanks to that extra little "rubber bubble." However, thanks to that, it seems like it sounds better than a regular earbud due to the fact that it blocks some outside noise. You hear more "pure" music. However, you won't really hear bass or an even mix, although it's suggested not to play music very loud while wearing earbuds anyway.

Will they work as a cheap replacement to really crappy earbuds? well, yeah, of course. My coworker actually purchased "add on plugs" that are these little clip-on bits for her current iPod earbuds, that do a similar thing -- they plug more into the ear, blocking out outside noises like an earplug would. Thanks to that, the sound is a bit better.

I'm a headphone guy, though -- I make music, I play instruments (well, instrument), and I value a clean flat response from my headphones and speakers. GOOD is really hard to qualify, so if you want decent, then yeah, most any after-market earbud is better than, say, pack-in ear-buds (which would cost under $10 in most stores). If you're simply looking for a replacement, or a slight step up, then you would likely be pleased with those -- especially for $20.

The short of it -- for $20, you would have little reason to be displeased, even if they're not really all that great overall. Probably better than what you've got.

Darth_fluffy

I've been pretty happy with these and they're cheap enough I wouldn't feel bad breaking them.

Raneados

honestly? Go to wal-mart

they sell earbuds for 99c

they won;t last you more than 3 months but they are dirt cheap and are good enough

Darth_fluffy

Raneados wrote:

honestly? Go to wal-mart

they sell earbuds for 99c

they won;t last you more than 3 months but they are dirt cheap and are good enough

Those never got loud enough for me.

Mabase

Just bought the Sennheiser MX-450 In-Ear Headphones, they are cheap, fit, and sound good (although I am not an audiophile), better than the stock ipod headphones .

Gotcha Force

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http://www.amazon.com/Comfortable-Inner-Ear-Stereo-Headphone/dp/B000IS1ZYY/sr=8-1/qid=1169721379/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-2783216-7539267?ie=UTF8&s=electronics