Penny Arcade Forums› Games and Technology› Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern
As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

Inear bud recommendations ?

ChairmanMeowMeowChairmanMeowMeow Registered User regular
edited August 2011 in Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern
What would you guys suggest for inear buds ? My budget is roughly 300 dollars and my only requirements are comfort and iPhone hands free capability. Thanks ! :)

ChairmanMeowMeow on

Posts

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    These will sex your fucking face off.

  • minor incidentminor incident expert in a dying field njRegistered User regular
    300 bucks, huh?

    Here are my 3 favorite pairs around that price:

    Ultimate Ears Triple.fi's
    Monster Turbine Golds or Coppers (NOT the regular $150-ish turbines)
    Shure SE 4xx

    But the most important question is what sort of music so you listen to? What kind of sound qualities do you want them to have?

    Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    chrishallett83 wrote:
    These will sex your fucking face off.

    I don't know about these in particular, but I've had good luck with Sennheisers in general. I think all their products have a 2-year replacement warranty, which I've had to make use of a few times since I'm fairly rough with my earbuds. Each time I've sent them in they've replaced them without any fuss.

    Twitter
  • WeretacoWeretaco Cubicle Gangster Registered User regular
    Westone UM2 or Westone 2 would also be good options. I personally prefer the fit/comfort of the comply tips that Westone uses. They are super soft on the ear, but maintain a good seal.

    Check out www.earphonesolutions.com for a whack of options.

    Unofficial PA IRC chat: #paforums at irc.slashnet.org
  • WeretacoWeretaco Cubicle Gangster Registered User regular
    Also from there

    http://www.earphonesolutions.com/best-iphone-headsets-under-350.html

    Unofficial PA IRC chat: #paforums at irc.slashnet.org
  • ChairmanMeowMeowChairmanMeowMeow Registered User regular
    minor incident wrote:
    300 bucks, huh?

    Here are my 3 favorite pairs around that price:

    Ultimate Ears Triple.fi's
    Monster Turbine Golds or Coppers (NOT the regular $150-ish turbines)
    Shure SE 4xx

    But the most important question is what sort of music so you listen to? What kind of sound qualities do you want them to have?

    I actually had bought a pair of Beats by Dre studio headphones but they were just garbage, so I have a 300 dollar credit to Amazon. I'm all over the place in regards to music genre's but it's predominantly Daft Punk, classical, hip hop and audio books.

  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Yeah, Monster Beats headphones are apparently overpriced dross.

  • minor incidentminor incident expert in a dying field njRegistered User regular
    ChairmanMeowMeow wrote:
    minor incident wrote:
    300 bucks, huh?

    Here are my 3 favorite pairs around that price:

    Ultimate Ears Triple.fi's
    Monster Turbine Golds or Coppers (NOT the regular $150-ish turbines)
    Shure SE 4xx

    But the most important question is what sort of music so you listen to? What kind of sound qualities do you want them to have?

    I actually had bought a pair of Beats by Dre studio headphones but they were just garbage, so I have a 300 dollar credit to Amazon. I'm all over the place in regards to music genre's but it's predominantly Daft Punk, classical, hip hop and audio books.

    Yes, Monster Beats are shit, but don't let that sour you on the Turbine Gold/Coppers. Those are truly great phones. One of Monsters few products that are worth every penny of their asking price. It sounds like solid, but not over-the-top-goofy bass will be important to you. In that case, the Turbines are a good bet. They're also comfy and easy to wear, unlike the Ultimate Ears. I love those things, but they're made for troll ears. The Turbines are one of the few pairs of very high-end in-ears that can be comfortably worn down, rather than up and around the ears.

    The Shures or Sennheisers are safe bets, too, but the Turbines definitely have a livelier, puncher sound signature that lends itself well to bassy music, but also handles more balance stuff very well. Golds are cheaper than Copper. Get whichever is in your budget on Amazon.

    Oh, but save $15 to invest in some Comply Foam Tips. They're the best upgrade you can make to any pair of earphones short of going with custom molds.

    Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
  • ChairmanMeowMeowChairmanMeowMeow Registered User regular
    minor incident wrote:
    ChairmanMeowMeow wrote:
    minor incident wrote:
    300 bucks, huh?

    Here are my 3 favorite pairs around that price:

    Ultimate Ears Triple.fi's
    Monster Turbine Golds or Coppers (NOT the regular $150-ish turbines)
    Shure SE 4xx

    But the most important question is what sort of music so you listen to? What kind of sound qualities do you want them to have?

    I actually had bought a pair of Beats by Dre studio headphones but they were just garbage, so I have a 300 dollar credit to Amazon. I'm all over the place in regards to music genre's but it's predominantly Daft Punk, classical, hip hop and audio books.

    Yes, Monster Beats are shit, but don't let that sour you on the Turbine Gold/Coppers. Those are truly great phones. One of Monsters few products that are worth every penny of their asking price. It sounds like solid, but not over-the-top-goofy bass will be important to you. In that case, the Turbines are a good bet. They're also comfy and easy to wear, unlike the Ultimate Ears. I love those things, but they're made for troll ears. The Turbines are one of the few pairs of very high-end in-ears that can be comfortably worn down, rather than up and around the ears.

    The Shures or Sennheisers are safe bets, too, but the Turbines definitely have a livelier, puncher sound signature that lends itself well to bassy music, but also handles more balance stuff very well. Golds are cheaper than Copper. Get whichever is in your budget on Amazon.

    Oh, but save $15 to invest in some Comply Foam Tips. They're the best upgrade you can make to any pair of earphones short of going with custom molds.

    Hey thanks for the info, but from what I can see on the Monster website, would I have to purchase the iPhone hands free accessory ? Have you had any experience with their iPhone hands free devices ?

  • minor incidentminor incident expert in a dying field njRegistered User regular
    You know, I didn't even notice your inline mic requirement. Yeah, no good high-end phones will have that built in, but Monster and Shure both make decent plug-in ounces you can attach. I've used Shure's and it works as advertised. Nothing to write home about, and not as convenient as a built-in inline mike, but if you need it, it'll do the trick. I'm sure Monster's is about the same.

    On the flip side, if a mic takes a higher priority than the music quality, then the best phones with an inline iPhone mic/controller are (in my opinion) the Etymotic hf3. They're under $200, and don't sound as good, overall, as the turbines, but they're damn good overall, at a good price, and a very nice inline mic.

    Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    minor incident wrote:
    You know, I didn't even notice your inline mic requirement. Yeah, no good high-end phones will have that built in, but Monster and Shure both make decent plug-in ounces you can attach. I've used Shure's and it works as advertised. Nothing to write home about, and not as convenient as a built-in inline mike, but if you need it, it'll do the trick. I'm sure Monster's is about the same.

    On the flip side, if a mic takes a higher priority than the music quality, then the best phones with an inline iPhone mic/controller are (in my opinion) the Etymotic hf3. They're under $200, and don't sound as good, overall, as the turbines, but they're damn good overall, at a good price, and a very nice inline mic.

    Yeah they do. See the set I linked for one example out of dozens.

  • minor incidentminor incident expert in a dying field njRegistered User regular
    Sure, for about $200 more than a non-inline mic equivilant. And it's just another point of failure on a very expensive investment that will, unquestionably, fail due to cable wear eventually.

    Don't get me wrong, I love the fuck out of Senn's headphones, but their IEMs just aren't up to par with the Shures or UEs they're trying to compete with, and their pricing betrays their loose grasp on reality (Seriously, a $600 msrp on those things? Not even Shure is that fruit loops). They're also the only IEMs I've ever tried that were more painful to wear than the Triple.fis.

    Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
  • AzioAzio Registered User regular
    edited August 2011
    I'm afraid to spend more than like 40 dollars on headsets because they always break. Are the fancy ones any tougher?

    Also I've occasionally been able to find headsets on Ebay for significantly less than the retail price, so it might be worth checking there.

    Azio on
  • Donovan PuppyfuckerDonovan Puppyfucker A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered User regular
    Well when I linked them in my first post, they were $290. Price has gone back up now...

  • SpoitSpoit *twitch twitch* Registered User regular
    Azio wrote:
    I'm afraid to spend more than like 40 dollars on headsets because they always break. Are the fancy ones any tougher?

    Also I've occasionally been able to find headsets on Ebay for significantly less than the retail price, so it might be worth checking there.
    I only had shures, but while the cable did wear down eventually, they had excellent warranty service. Replaced my E2's with a brand new pair

    steam_sig.png
  • EtheaEthea Registered User regular
    I have Etymotic MC3 since I wanted to try out an innear headphone and I really like them, but I enjoy very neutral sounding music. The HF3 would sound even better if you like the neutral sound profile of Etymotic.

    If I ever get a chunk of money I will look at westone, shure or UE but I would really want to get a custom fit.

  • dlinfinitidlinfiniti Registered User regular
    Azio wrote:
    I'm afraid to spend more than like 40 dollars on headsets because they always break. Are the fancy ones any tougher?

    Also I've occasionally been able to find headsets on Ebay for significantly less than the retail price, so it might be worth checking there.

    shure ones have beefier cables that i find are very durable

    AAAAA!!! PLAAAYGUUU!!!!
Sign In or Register to comment.
Penny Arcade Forums› Games and Technology› Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern