Best decent earphones for MP3 player

danceMB

danceMB

danceMB

Associate
Joined
24 Jun 2004
Posts
1,995
My current earphones (JVC FX-55) is coming to and end with me as the wire keeps going round in loops and makes it all twisted so I need a new pair.

I do like the comfort of the "in-ear" gel as its the most comfy ones rather than the normal ones that you stick on the ear.

I dont mind paying a decent amount of money for these as I use my MP3 player everyday for more than a few hours so I could justify a high price if the quality is good enough
 
danceMB said:
My current earphones (JVC FX-55) is coming to and end with me as the wire keeps going round in loops and makes it all twisted so I need a new pair.

I do like the comfort of the "in-ear" gel as its the most comfy ones rather than the normal ones that you stick on the ear.

I dont mind paying a decent amount of money for these as I use my MP3 player everyday for more than a few hours so I could justify a high price if the quality is good enough
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When you refer to the gel earphones I assume you're talking about sure e2cs which are very highly reccomended but I think they cost around the £40 mark.
 
The E2c's which are highly rated on this forum (mostly due to word of mouth) are not highly rated on music forums because of poor bass and recessed highs...

Have a look at Sony EX90 (do not confuse with rubbish ex7x and 81), Westone UM1 and UM2's, UE 5pro and Shure e500.
 
There does seem to be quite a few highly rated ones, and using them as regular as I do, I wouldnt mind paying upto around £100 for them, some might think thats far too much, but I dont mind as I got upgraded at work and know they will be very well used everyday.

I thought that all Sony earphones were rubbish these days?
 
Has anyone here actually bought these Shure E500's?

Having a look around, they seem to cost around £350! Surely they cant be worth that kind of money!?
 
I think your best bet is Westone UM2's they sound fantastic - They are dual driver earphones - they have a sub woofer!!! So bass is :D

Even on Head-Fi some people perfer these £140 canals over the Shure as they say it has a more musical sound!

PS the Sony EX90's are certanly not rubbish - mind you to get best from them u have to put clingfilm over 3 vents on main driver (with a pin hole in film). I think with this minor mod they almost as good as shure e4c's
 
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I will need to buy a decent pair of headphones as I am going to have to head over to Argos as my pair of JVC FX55's I bought not that long ago have decided to stop working in one ear, and I cannot be without my music for a single day, as a temporary measure will just buy a cheap pair to get me by, but will now seriously invest in a pair that will last a long time and are top quality in accordance with the price.

How much would I need to spend to secure a decent pair? And where could I buy them from (if thats allowed)??
 
Shure e4c can be had on the 'bay for £116 all in. Mine have arrived at my parents house tonight - so I'll tell you how great they are tommorow. If you can stretch to that price there's only two things you should be looking at - the e4c and the Ety er4's - depending on what type of music you listen to. The e4c's are more comfortable have better base and are more forgiving as to getting a proper seal in your ear whilst the er4's give a more detailed sound, but are lacking in the areas the e4c's do well.

@Veg - ofcause the westone um2's sound good, but where are you getting them for £140 from???? A quick scout around shows them around the £250 mark (even on the bay)... You can get the UM1's for around £100, but there's no way they compete with the e4c's, er4's or even superfi 5's (which are cracking all over the place so don't consider them).

fini
 
the ex90's are one of my favourites. for the money (~£60) they are exceptional. As long as you dont mind them not having the greatest noise cancelling compared to other canal-phones, you cant really fault them for the price. head and shoulders above anything else at that price point.
 
If I was to buy earphones, I wouldnt really fancy doing and modding involving clingfilm etc, as I use them in the gym at least twice a week, so I doubt that would last very long at all.

I am favourable to those Westone UM2's, especially as they are 1 step away from custom fit earbuds. The initial outlay for a pair of good quality earphones is high (around £155 for the UM2's) but if they last long and are good quality, then surely they should be the ones to go for?

Unless there are any earphones that can better them?
 
For the price the UM2s are the best deal - the much more expensive Shure e500's are different not better. UM2s have a more bassy sound thats like being on stage - the e500's are like 5-10 rows back - with a little more on the treble side of things!

Ive had my ex90 for a while and clingfilm has never come off once or even pealed - you cant really see it either! And I go to gym upto 6 times a week!!!

And what are you doing on an Overclocking forum if you dont like moding!!!!
 
I just bought the E2C's off the bay for £43 or so. Was getting sick of trying to find decent sound isolating headphones so I gave in. Microphonics on my Creative EP630's are finally getting on my nerves and I can't handle it anymore.
 
A vote for the e4c's here, they're superb, but they do lack a little in the bass department, I love them myself.
 
So it sounds like the UM2 does get quite a lot of good votes? I do like my bass with my headphones as I have quite a lot of pop songs and pumping music.

These babies will have to last me a good while as I cant afford to spend £150+ on mp3 earphones very often :p
 
Yes the UM2's are great for bass - I once eq'ed the bass up and my eyes wobbled about and UM2s shock around in my ears - and not a hint of distortion!

Make sure u get tri flanges and mod them into bi flanges by cutting top flange off and cutting the stem at base!

Ive never heard the fx55's but the sony ex71s are known to have more bass thant the JVC's my UM2s make my ex71s sound tinny and bassless!
 
Vegetarian said:
For the price the UM2s are the best deal - the much more expensive Shure e500's are different not better. UM2s have a more bassy sound thats like being on stage - the e500's are like 5-10 rows back - with a little more on the treble side of things!

Ive had my ex90 for a while and clingfilm has never come off once or even pealed - you cant really see it either! And I go to gym upto 6 times a week!!!

And what are you doing on an Overclocking forum if you dont like moding!!!!
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Have you actually listened to E500, 5-10 rows back ? I owned E5c, UM2 and E500 is by far the best of the bunch. UM2 is good but definitely not in the same league as E500, E500 is more detailed, the bass is better and fuller, soundstage is definitely better. I was blown away by listening to Angela Gheorghiu's Live from Covent Garden, it felt like I was on first row, which I can never afford :o
 
Big Kev said:
A vote for the e4c's here, they're superb, but they do lack a little in the bass department, I love them myself.
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Mine seem to have settled down now (burnt in for maybe 30 hours total now) and they're sooo good :D - they were a bit bright to start with, but that's just completly gone now.

fini
 
e500's are awesome. I've had a pair for a couple of weeks now, and I found the difference between them and my shure e3c as great as between the standard ipod headphones and shure e3c when I first got them.

I'd like to try and hear some westones at some point, but I didn't fancy buying blind, so as I managed to hear the e500s in london I went with that, rather than risk buying the westones blind.

now I just need a decent headphone amp........
 
Im not sure that my wallet could stretch as far as the E500 to be honest, as they seem to cost around the £300 mark at least, and I can get the UM2's at half of that cost.

How happy will I be to have a pair of UM2's and to use them with my MP3 all the time? Would be nice to finally have a pair of in the ears that fit me perfectly without coming out at a mild tug of the cord, strong winds etc
 
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