The Best In-Ear Headphones and Why?

So, I'm looking for new in-ear headphones and I don't know where to start. One with a recording input for gaming would be nice, too.

 

Whats your price range? And what do you mean by a recording input? I don't know what your talking about. Please elaborate.

 

I believe hes talking about a mic, which would be kinda strange on a pair of IEM's. There may indeed be some specialized gaming IEMs that either have the mic built in to the earpiece itself(jawbone sound), or has a hang down built into the cord, but I havent heard of any.

 

The only in-ear gaming headphones w/ a mic I know of are from steelseries.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826249012

 

Frankly, if you're gaming, I'd recommend a circumaural h/phone with mic. For one, because of comfort;
for two, sound quality, because they're very good at soundstage and stereo direction (like the direction of the footstep of an enemy);
and third, protection, when you play games sounds are generally louder, having in-ear canalphones will destroy your eardrums more quickly if it outputs loud noises all the time.

 

For Gaming checkout Razer Piranha..they have a mic too..

U shouldnt buy In-ears for Gaming as they lack soundstage due to which u wont know from where the enemy is approaching

 

Well, I never specifically said it was for gaming. I said having a mic would be nice but I'm really just looking for good in-ear headphones. I'm not serious about my FPS's. I actually compete seriously in the fighting game scene. I just have big asian hair AND glasses, so I prefer in-ear headphones. My current ones are the ones that came with the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio Notebook Express Card. I kind of like the style, as it is in-ear with a mic, but the sound quality is pretty bad.

Also, I say "and Why?" in the thread because different headphones cater to different purposes. Feel free to put down what you think is the best for whatever reason. I'm just trying to compile a list of good headphones for me to select from. Having good reasons will assist in my decision.

 

I don't find this statement true at all. With IEM's you'll block out other noises so you don't have to turn it up louder, just because the speaker is closer to your ear drum doesn't mean it has higher decibels or is it more damaging. It all comes down to making sure you don't play it to loud, no matter the headphones.

 

yup...IEM's have great passive noise cancellation so u dont have to crank up the volume...

its the headphones like PX100 which make u crank up volume...but i would prefer to get my ear damaged by PX100 than hear crap in isolation

 

nono, the in-ear won't sound like crap; it will just sound loud already with all the noise isolation.

As the guy said about sound stage, that's the only difference one will see. And that comes out of a personal preference if you want that or not. Most people won't want it for music. But for gaming people will want it.

But in the end, finding IEMs with a mic is the problem. You can always get a seperate clip-on microphone <--I use that.
It'll clip onto your shirt to be held in place. (or tied/cliped on your IEMs' wires).

 

Whoa. I'm diggin' that clip-on actually. What's your take on it? From the looks of it, it will allow me to use quality in-ear headphones and not worry about having a mic. So, what do you think of it and how did you get your would be my next question for you.

 

Check out this site, it's the NBR of earphones/headphones/etc:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/

 

haha ya..and i am a member there too..

Head-fi is great but be sure to mention your budget or they ll recommend u top end Shure which ll cost u around $500.

 

Thanks dudes, I'll check it out.

 

UE-10'S (Ultimate Ears) they are the best in ear monitors hands down. They have an excellent sound stage which is perfect for music and gaming. Custom molded for your ears. Full bass, crisp mids and highs. However I find that they are very revealing so better make sure your source is up to par.

 

You can't say that the UE10's are the best hands down when the UE11's are there. You might like them the best(their sound signature) but that doesn't make them the best.

 

I"m against customs to begin with, I like the UE-10pro, mass produced model; since you can always sell it away if you want.
Flip-side mod, if you got the ears, helps with fitting them. Also, I'm using Comply foam tops for a good seal.

 

i have a pair of low end skull candy buds and they are actually great. they were only 10 bucks and are the best headphones i have ever used.

skull candy makes some overpriced but still good ones. check on ebay or outlet sites, i'm sure you can get some for cheap.

 

i have a pair of etymotic research er-4p's.

a little pricey and u need to get used to them in your ears, but once you try them, u'll never go back.

in-flight noise = drowned (really amazing)
in-subway noise = drowned (awesome for commuters)

all you hear is the music...for an in-ear earphone that doesn't use noise-canceling garbage circuits, it's the best bang for the buck. i've had ppl stand right next to me, speaking to me and i didn't know they were even there.