Best "ear bud" headphones?

Andybtsn · 23 Jun 2006 at 23:15

While my quest for a decent MP3 player continues (currently considering the Creative Zen Vision:M, Iaudio XL5 and Istation I2)

With any of these players I will no doubt have to upgrade the headphones, what are my best options for under £50?

I liek crisp sound but also with the option I can have heavy-ish bass too, asking too much?

I listen to metal music mainly.

Thanks

squiffy · 23 Jun 2006 at 23:20

Shure E2

Andybtsn · 23 Jun 2006 at 23:22

Funnely enough I have just been looking at them.

SHURE Acoustic headphones E2c translucid

"Why settle for standard earbuds when you can step up to the rich, full range sound found in Shure E2c Earphones? Their sound isolating sleeves block 2 to 7 times more noise than Noise Canceling headphones with no hiss added and no batteries required, so you’ll hear every detail, no matter where you are. "

Just a bit cautious of what there like for bass?

J1234 · 24 Jun 2006 at 00:30

I bought some Shure E2c's not long ago and I love them, the best value for money imo.

Vegetarian · 24 Jun 2006 at 01:33

Westone UM2 - best portable earphones on the market!

bomber456 · 24 Jun 2006 at 02:35

Vegetarian said:
Westone UM2 - best portable earphones on the market!

yeah maybe, but at £250 they are pretty expensive to say the least!

pinkacidbootson · 24 Jun 2006 at 02:45

Senheiser CX300 are good, plenty of bass

only £35

Only bad thing is that you can hear things like your heartbeat and footsteps when you have them on! But the music almost covers up those noises.

TooNice · 24 Jun 2006 at 03:36

M'well, at under £50, the choices of IEMs are pretty limited. Pretty much between CX300 (et al. EP630) and the E2C.

Decent open phones (from the Koss clip on to the AKG701) really spoiled me though. I still use my UM2 "as needed" (i.e. isolation) basis. Otherwise I am happy to stuff my KSC-75 in my jacket pocket and use them portably.

ray · 24 Jun 2006 at 07:34

Vegetarian said:
Westone UM2 - best portable earphones on the market!

These may be the best iem on the market costing $900:

http://www.ultimateears.com/custom/item__view_item__prod-955.html

PureAppleJuice · 24 Jun 2006 at 11:03

On a similar note, i'm torn between the Shure E4Cs and the Super.Fi 5 Pro's, any suggestions? I'm kinda leaning to wards the Super.Fi ones.

TooNice · 24 Jun 2006 at 13:17

ray said:
These may be the best iem on the market costing $900

Yea, the UM2 are high end universal fit IEMs. Custom fit takes everything (including cost) to another level. But the U10E, despite being the most well known high end custom IEMs also face competition from Westone's ES3, and Sensaphonic ProPhonic-2X. All have their fan base, I doubt any one outclass the others to be honest.

SDK^ · 24 Jun 2006 at 22:03

I've just bought some XtremeMac FS1 in ear headphones to replace my Sony MDR-EX71SL and they are fantastic.

I Use the foam pads and the Bass is awesome, much deeper and prominent than anything else I tested, including Shure E2C's.
RRP on them is around £80 but they can be found for £60 +P&P, available in black or white.

Sparky191 · 24 Jun 2006 at 23:37

FS1's are meant to be very bass heavy, which seems to be popular everywhere these days.

Vegetarian · 24 Jun 2006 at 23:39

The UM2's are £140 ish not £250 - they are much better than the e4c (too much treble and no bass) and a little better than superfi 5pro (they also stick out ears too much - cant wear anything like a beanie while on).