Ear-buds - advise me!

kutsu119

Currently using some Sennheiser CX-300-II which are great and, at around £30 when I got them, cheap as chips.

Got a birthday coming up and I'm thinking of upgrading and splashing some cash. I spend about 2.5 hours a day commuting on trains to work and back, so lots of listening time!

I see What Hi Fi gave there overall award for 2010 to Klipsch Image X10i earbuds - currently £180ish on Amazon at t'mo. Anyone used these? They seem great, but Beyerdynamic-DTX-80 seem to get some great reviews also, and they're a middle-price (about £100) - are the X10 worth the extra?

Help!

RussJK

Ask on avforums, they'll be more likely to have an answer.

kutsu119

RussJK wrote: »

Ask on avforums, they'll be more likely to have an answer.

Not heard of avforums - thanks, looks like a great resource!

birkee

Damned if I would pay that sort of money, to listen to music in a train environment.
How can you concentrate on music quality? Shut your eyes, and sail past your station?
How old are you anyway? We lose our sensitivity to high frequency with age.

£180 for earphones (ridiculous), and
"I caught the cord on the carriage door when getting off the train and ripped the plug off."
"Well I had em when I got off the train"
"A gang of muggers caught me behind the station"
"I was wearing them when I got hit by that car, but they weren't there when I got to hospital.".... £180 ????

KillerWatt

I have the BeyerDynamic DTX 60's, and believe me when I say exactly the same as every review that I read prior to purchase (the sound quality is awesome, and the bass response is phenominal).

Although they are more than sensitive enough to allow you to perceive that your MP3 player is suddenly louder than what it was (they do make a difference over the standard earpieces), I use them in conjunction with a Fiio E5 headphone amplifier and the extra volume makes one hell of a difference.

Initially I thought the reviews about the sound quality (in particular, the bass performance) were wholly innacurate, then I pushed the ear buds home properly and wow - what an impressive performance.

I did consider the DTX 80's at the same time, but gave them a miss as they didn't go down as low in the frequency response stakes as the DTX 60's (I am a bit of a basshead), and they had a slightly lower impedance which would have been disagreeable to my headphone amp.


All in all, I'd highly recommend the BeyerDynamic DTX 60's based on my personal experience.



PS
I got mine from Amazon for £43 delivered

Sublime_2

Thought this thread was going to be about cotton buds.

kutsu119

birkee wrote: »

Damned if I would pay that sort of money, to listen to music in a train environment.
How can you concentrate on music quality? Shut your eyes, and sail past your station?
How old are you anyway? We lose our sensitivity to high frequency with age.

£180 for earphones (ridiculous), and
"I caught the cord on the carriage door when getting off the train and ripped the plug off."
"Well I had em when I got off the train"
"A gang of muggers caught me behind the station"
"I was wearing them when I got hit by that car, but they weren't there when I got to hospital.".... £180 ????

My stations are the last stops on either end of the line (sounds ominous..) so there's no chance of missing my stop!

I'm 27 at the moment, so hopefully I have a few years of decent hearing left. £180 isn't exactly breaking my bank balance, and it would hardly be the end of the world if they got pinched. Besides, the phone they're plugged into is worth more than them, and that's never been nicked yet.

How do you enjoy yourself if you're too frightened to buy nice things? I have a new car, but I don't constantly worry about it being nicked. Hell, my shoes or coat are worth more than the earbuds. Relax!!

kutsu119

KillerWatt wrote: »

I have the BeyerDynamic DTX 60's, and believe me when I say exactly the same as every review that I read prior to purchase (the sound quality is awesome, and the bass response is phenominal).

Although they are more than sensitive enough to allow you to perceive that your MP3 player is suddenly louder than what it was (they do make a difference over the standard earpieces), I use them in conjunction with a Fiio E5 headphone amplifier and the extra volume makes one hell of a difference.

Initially I thought the reviews about the sound quality (in particular, the bass performance) were wholly innacurate, then I pushed the ear buds home properly and wow - what an impressive performance.

I did consider the DTX 80's at the same time, but gave them a miss as they didn't go down as low in the frequency response stakes as the DTX 60's (I am a bit of a basshead), and they had a slightly lower impedance which would have been disagreeable to my headphone amp.


All in all, I'd highly recommend the BeyerDynamic DTX 60's based on my personal experience.



PS
I got mine from Amazon for £43 delivered

Wow that is both a) a damn good post and b) a damn good price for them! Thanks for the information, they sound like a decent upgrade over the Sennheisers. Off to have a look at argos!

psilocybe

I use Etymotic Hf5 http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/hf5.html, they are the noise cancelling ones and come with triple flange earpieces as well as foam insert earpieces and a couple of other types. They cost me £75 but i must say I have never had a better pair and I usually buy Sennheiser earphones etc.

birkee

kutsu119 wrote: »

My stations are the last stops on either end of the line (sounds ominous..) so there's no chance of missing my stop!

I'm 27 at the moment, so hopefully I have a few years of decent hearing left. £180 isn't exactly breaking my bank balance, and it would hardly be the end of the world if they got pinched. Besides, the phone they're plugged into is worth more than them, and that's never been nicked yet.

How do you enjoy yourself if you're too frightened to buy nice things? I have a new car, but I don't constantly worry about it being nicked. Hell, my shoes or coat are worth more than the earbuds. Relax!!

Fair enough!
Think at 27 your high frequency sensitivity is down though.
They put those high frequency generators outside shops, to stop the youngsters hanging around and being a nuisance.

prowla

I have Etymotic ER4-P ear plugs, and they are excellent.