Headphone/earbud recommendations

I'm looking for some high quality earbud headphones to pair with my X201 for mobile use. I'm currently using the set that came with my Palm Pre over a year ago. This presents two problems. First, the headphones are passable when hooked into my mobile device (Pre or Pixi) but sound is quite weak from my X201's headphone jack. I'm currently using a pair of Harmon/Kardon speakers that were destined for the trash bin at work to boost my audio and make my headphones usable. The second problem is that these things are impressively uncomfortable. I'm in front of my laptop for 8 hours a day, soon to increase to more than 12 as my commute expands to include 4 hours daily on public transit.

I'd settle for merely adding some comfort and sound quality - I can tolerate not being able to get volume when away from an amplifier, if need be. However, my personal preference would be a set of in ear headphones, with some kind of amplifier built in, that deliver great sound and a bit more bass and mid-range response than my current generic headset. External sound suppression would be a major plus as well.

I've been looking at the Sennheiser CXC 700 but the price is up there. They seem to offer just about everything I could possibly want, aside from amplification, which I might not need if sound bleed is eliminated by the noise canceling functions. The problem is, I don't know anyone who has had any experience with these headphones, and I haven't found anyplace nearby where I can get hands on time with them before buying. If anyone has any suggestions, or experience with the CXC 700, or any of Sennheiser's earbuds, I'd love to hear your opinions.

 

Sennheiser make extremely good headphones, but I've just looked up the RRP of those, and for not much extra money you're starting to look at custom moulds, which is a FAR better solution in terms of comfort, isolation, sound quality than the awful marketing-led rubbish that is active noise cancelling.

 

Earbuds? Yuck... or are you using the wrong name for IEMs? (In Ear Monitors)

Have a look at the review here - in general, the more you pay the better they get (within reason)
Multi-IEM Review - 150 IEMs compared (JVC HA-FX700, FAD FI-BA-SS, 1964-T added 02/27) - Head-Fi.org Community

I know someone here once complained about custom molds -> I personally would possibly also find an issue with incompressible stuff in my ears - I just cannot wear earbuds, my ears start to hurt pretty immediately, but IEMs that sit padded in the ear canal are fine.

Depends on the wearer is my guess.

 

Here are some other ear buds from Astro, their expensive but I guess it depends what your looking for. They work with both phones and laptop/computers.

Astro Gaming | Professional Gaming Equipment | A*STAR Ear Buds

 

I must thank you for saving me from my own ignorance - I have definitely been looking for the wrong thing, and getting nowhere with my search. That link is PRECISELY what I've been looking for as a buying guide. I've already added a few models to my local window shopping list

I have considered custom molds, but I've heard some rather mixed opinions on them in the past. I might split the difference and try both for awhile, but we'll see what my budget allows.

Not a whole lot of positivity on active noise canceling - is it really that much of a gimmick? The talk through and adjustable noise canceling levels was tempting for work, where I occasionally need to hear a phone ringing or a co-worker hollering over my music, but if it's as much of a fad as implied, I'll skip it and invest the money exploring sound quality/comfort options.

 

I've got custom moulds. I absolutely hate wearing things inside my ears, so I actually got the moulds made for earplugs first, because otherwise my hatred of things in my ear canals overrides my desire to protect my hearing at the numerous loud live gigs I attend.

Once I'd had the moulds made, it then made sense to get some IEMs (I use ACS T2, which are mid-range as far as this sort of pro gear goes, but not cheap as compared to consumer headphones). I honestly can't tell they're in my ears, and can wear them for hours at a time without being annoyed - and from someone who's loathed earbuds/in-ear headphones for his whole life, that's high praise indeed.

Active noise cancelling has always annoyed me with horrible phasey artefacts whenever I've tried it out. Fine until you move your head a fraction of a millimetre. I'd much rather a bit of external noise bleeding in, my brain finds that much easier to filter out than horrible swooshy noises.

 

Noise cancelling - hmm, I don't think I'd necessarily recommend it, but depending on where you come from it might not be bad.
Before I got my Sennheiser IE8 I used Sony EX85 (tinny in comparison...) - with my MP3 player upgrade to an X1060 I got active noise cancelling: It does actually work quite well on an aircraft, and even against voices - less predictable sounds aren't cancelled as well but still cancelled quite significantly.

The issue I see here though, is the fact that any IEMs with noise cancelling with generally be a lower model and start with a lower sound quality than higher models.
If you have only ever worn cheap earbuds (the really cheap stuff) then IEMs with active noise cancelling (done digitally) shoulnd't be a downgrade for you, but if you ever get anything a bit higher end they will sound worlds apart.

 

Hmmm. Are we talking about in the context of you trying to power through some high levels of ambient noise with the volume? Because the X201 drives my JH13 and SE530 (current product: 535) to hearing-damage-causing levels, no problem.

 

I don't like noise cancelling. It seems amazing at first if you're coming from cheap buds/cans, but you can do without it if you have mid/higher end IEMs/cans. I've only had the JVC Marshmallows and CX300-II, but feel that I get more out of my ATH-SJ3 (superaural).

 

I really like my Zaggbudz from zagg.com.
Very well built and they sound amazing!

 

How many times did you get impressions made? And are your Custom Fitted IEM's all acrylic casing? I've got some Westone ES3X and they have the heat sensitive flexible tips and they're more comfortable than all acrylic.

I had to get my impressions done twice as the first time the fit wasn't as good as I wanted it. Most custom IEM places allow you to do refits a few times in the first 30-90 days.

 

This puts my mind at ease - I think I can point the finger at my headphones for sound quality issues, then.

As a starting point, I just ordered a Sennheiser CX300-II. If nothing else, they'll be a good starter point to see if IEMs will provide what I need, and they'll be cheap enough to tote on trips without constantly worrying about losing them. If I like the style, an IE 6 or IE 7 might be in my future.

 

I got impressions made once, when I had the earplugs made. When I ordered the IEMs they just used the same moulds, didn't have to have them redone (you can get IEMs that plug straight into the actual earplug moulds and replace the attenuation filters, but they don't sound as nice). Got offered free refits but never saw the need for them.

& acrylic?! They're made of silicone...

 

Yeah, real customs are made of acrylic. And how long did you wait on the impressions to when you had the IEM tips made? They claim that every 4 years you should have your impressions re-done, as your ears change some over time.

And yes your correct, the real custom IEM's the acrylic ones with the drivers built into the mold sound better than fitting custom tips onto universal IEM's.

 

Actually you can get silicone 'real' customs too. It's just that most have moved to acrylic as it doesn't degenerate / need remoulding as often. Some still do offer it as an alternate for 'comfort' options for people who know what they're getting into.