Earbud Headphone Suggestions

Just wondering if you guys have any recommendations for a pair of decent ear-bud headphones that I can buy online from Canada. Price range around $60 CND.

I've never really had a pair of in-ear headphones that have been both comfortable and had good sound quality. I hope that you guys have some good suggestions.

*edit: Also looking for a pair of 30 CND (non in-ear) earbud headphones for my mom. Her current pair is too big. She's only liked the white apple ones so far, but hasn't had much experience with others.

thanks!

 

Best bet would be to order from the US (pricing in Canada for most headphones is outrageous)

check and ask on www.head-fi.org (an audiophile type forum) and some good deals can be found on www.head-direct.com they sell mostly Chinese branded stuff, and they don't look like anything special, but some of their gear has been given very high praise (on a bang/buck level) on head-fi.

 

For the money, look at IEMs (go into canal) instead of earbuds. They'll have better noise isolation and comfort. What type of things will you be listening to (movies, games, music, etc.)? What type of music do you listen to? What are you looking for in your headphones (noise isolation, comfort, heavy bass, etc.)?

 

I'll just be using it for music. I'm looking for mostly comfort and good sound quality. (A bit of noise cancellation would be nice too for when I'm on the bus, but I wouldn't trade it for comfort)

I don't mind getting in-ear headphones as long as they're comfortable. (seeing a trend?)

thanks guys.

 

For 70$ Canadian you could get the Sennheiser CX-400T MK II from Amazon.com (they should ship to Canada no problem).
I like them and find the sound quality to be pretty good (considering they are in-ear headphones - can't really compare them to my over-ear ones).
However, just like any in-ear headphone they're not for everyone. I have no problems with them and don't find them uncomfortable but you might feel differently.
Or you could check out the CX300.

 

I think those are American prices, and the CX400 doesn't ship to Canada.

That's why I prefer Canadian sites, unless it's significantly cheaper buying from a US site.

I'll check out the CX300's though, although with S&H it comes up to $70, which isn't cheap.

Any other suggestions guys?

 

Yes those are US prices but the exchange rate isn't that bad.
Though I didn't realize the shipping to Canada from Amazon was so high (25$). So yeah, never mind it's not worth it.

 

Check out the Sennheiser PX-100 for your mom.

 

I was looking for a pair on sub $100 in ear style ear buds a while ago. I'm in Canada too by the way.

I went with a pair of Shure SE102 at Longdondrugs.com for $70, I see they are $90 now though. Shure is a good brand, I think...I don't really know, and I'd never seen a pair of Shure headphones for less than $150 so I thought it would be a good deal.



They were my first pair of in ear style buds, I wanted them for running and just walking around. They block out quite a bit of noise but not everything, which is good, similar to a pair of foam ear plugs. Running with them in kind of terrifying cause you loose some awarness of what's behind you, on the plus side this helps me run faster I think . Wearing them while walking downtown I fell a little less terrified, I have to look around lots while crossing streets, and avoid walking on train tracks ofcourse.

Three things I don't like about them are: (1) when I wear a tuque running, the toque seems to pull the right ear bud slightly out of place, but not the left. So for my next pair I might try a different brand; (2) They have 3 different sizes of silicon plugs, the part that goes in your ear canal. I've read that the foam ones offer a much better fit but Shure doesn't make foam plugs for this model or price range; (3) They don't offer enought base for me, but I may have to spent $200-$300 to get the kind of sound I want. I like songs with some heavy base while running. So after using them for a while now I still think they were a good deal, and I definitely like the inside your ear style, but for my next pair I'd be looking to spend more for better sound, and I'd like foam tips too. Not sure if I'd stick with Shure.

Trustedreviews.com has good headphone reviews. But the review of the Shure SE102 didn't emphasize the lack of base enough, and rated them too high in my opinion.

 

IMO the Shure SE102 are NOT worth the price. After using them I'd rank them at a price I wouldn't pay more than say $50CAD for, but would probably still consider the alternatives from Yuen, nuforce etc...

Shure does have a good name, but in Canada their prices are too expensive, and they don't really start sounding their US price range until the 3xx line for IEMs)

 

Grabbed a pair of CX500's from http://focalprice.com/ for like $30. Strange that it was so cheap, but oh well. Worth the risk.

Thanks for the help guys!

 

I had some Razer Moray earbuds that I got off woot for a steal of a price (less than 20 dollars I think). I used the same pair daily and abused the hell out of them until the cord finally wore out. If it hadn't I would have kept using them, and if I could take them apart to fix them with some solder I would, but I can't. I miss those headphones. Anyways the sound quality was pretty amazing for ear buds, I would say comparable to the Shure earbuds at half the price or less. Maybe not AS good, but pretty good. They come with a whole kit with 3 diff size ear inserts and an airplane adapter in the little padded case.

Now I am using some other earbuds (forget the brand), which make me realize how good the razer ones were.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1HvN5rH1IE

 

Those Morays sounds pretty good, though it seems like they're designed for gaming.

You should pick up another pair if you found them so good. They're only like $30 CND here, which means that they're still $15-20 US.

 

Yeah.. I just have so many.. hate to beat a seemingly dead/resolved thread, but yeah, I forgot to mention that I used these with my Zune daily for a long time and the have seen every genre of music. I listen to Electronic, "Country" (okay CCR and Kansas is closer to country rock) R&B, Classical, Classic Rock, Rock, Metal, Rap, Hip Hop, JPop, JRap, JClassic Rock (J = Japanese), Hawaiian folk, Hindi, aw hell, it would take forever to name the genres of music I listen to, but they all sound amazing with the Razer mini cans, and I have the first generation Razer buds, these are spec'd even better than mine.

 

These Razor Morays sound really good too me to. Where would one pick it up for cheap say $20ish or any other alternatives in a similar price range?

 

Looks like Amazon/Tiger Direct has 'em for $25

http://www.amazon.com/Razer-Moray-I...9ZK9BZJQ6&s=electronics&qid=1257310065&sr=1-2

 

Check out the Klipsch Custom 1's, 2's, and 3's.

Whichever one you can afford

 

Looks like shipping is $7 for me through Tiger Direct. Think I'll get the white ones through their ebay store with 8% Bing cash back.

Thanks but just a bit out of my range plus not a big fan of the over and in ear style since I wear glasses.

 

Oh, ok. they sound awesome though.

I have some, and i wear glasses while im on the computer usually. they dont interfere at all.

 

seconded. i own the klipsch custom 2 and i wear a pair of glasses. no interference.

 

Oh well that's awesome. I'll keep the klipsch brand in mind when I feel like I need to spend a little more for quality earphones.

 

Second vote for Sennheiser CX-300. They sound fantastic. I've used just about every earbud imaginable, and they sound the best. The CX-400's might be great, too, but I've been satisfied with their slightly less expensive brethren.

 

SkullCandy Ink'ed

 

Yes, the CX-300's are a nice choice ALmost forgot about them.

But be delicate with them... Build Quality of them arent great.
...Maybe the CX400 or 500's are better in that area.