Good earbuds for Droid

[tah]

I know that everyone posting "in ear" buds do so with the best of intentions.

However, they're not for everyone. I tried them and did not like the feel, the noises I heard whenever the cord was brushed against.....etc.

Also if using them in the gym you'll get a LOT of noise when using the treadmill, elliptical or any machine.

Some have reported hearing their heatbeat and respiration when using the complete isolation, in the canal earbuds.

My ex is an Audiologist. She made me earmolds which basically "screw into" your ear canals and then have a cup where the standard earbuds fit into. They also had a "breathing" holes so they would not completely isolate the canal. Professionals in the hearing arena reccomend against complete isolation. This design is what you see musicians wearing on TV. This has replaced their "feedback" monitors you used to see (the small speakers on the edge of the stage facing the performer).

While the professional earmolds worked well they diminished the sound output of the buds. The professional musicians use custom earbuds with breathing holes and ear "speakers" costing several thousand of dollars per ear.

You need to try a cheap pair of in-the-ear buds to see if you can live with them, not everyone can. I can't.

I think they are really meant solely for relaxing (doing nothing) and listening to music.

I've been through every make and model listed here. Hooked them all up to my ex wifes $20,000 acoustic analyzer and the B&O's came out way ahead.

YMMV........

 

[uplate]

I know you said "not terribly expensive", but if you listen to a lot of music or are looking for a comfortable and great-sounding experience this is probably the best investment you can make! Do NOT buy some cheap crappy iPhone style buds - they will only hurt your ears.

Buy one of the "Shure" types that can take a variety of attachments - the compressible foam pads are the best - they completely block out all ambient noise. Bass and overall sound is amazing, even in the lower-end models...

+1 on the Shure's.I have the triple driver model which cost more than my Ipod. Bass is superior. These work great on the Droid. and they cost more than the Droid

 

[DroidMunkey]

i just use my old ipods.....

 

[The Rigger]

For price, comfort, style, and most importantly SOUND Quality, you can't beat Vmoda.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[DrPooley]

I agree with Harrison on the Skull Candy's. I needed a low cost set of ear buds with good sound and ability to block out noise (while sitting at daughter's indoor swim practices) and these fit the bill. I got them for $20 at Best Buy a few months ago, but saw them in a black friday ad (for Staples or a similar store) for $9.99. You get 3 different sized ear pieces made of soft rubber that work like a stethoscope earpiece. They do a much better job in both sound reproduction and noise blocking than the similar priced JVC units that use a foam ear insert. I would definitely buy these again if I needed another pair and not have to worry about losing or breaking a more expensive set of headphones.

 

[Sleeve]

Motorokr S9-HD if you want to go wireless. $99 full price, deals to be found. No need for the $129/149 version that adds a bluetooth dongle for ipods.

Good all around sound, I use them every day, charge them every three.

 

[tah]

I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned this brand........

Sennheiser

Just the leader in earphones for about the last 30 or so years.

Their $20 buds make the iPod ones sound like hammered dog****.

 

[graff_king]

I have a few sets that I bounce between. I have, as do numerous others here judging by posts, a set of skull candy earbuds (rasta), also have a collapsible set of cans by them. They share a carrying case with a set of premium blackberry buds. I also have dipped into more pricey models, I have bose earbuds(meh), shure e2c from a few years ago, and beats by dre buds. The only others I have are the beats by dre cans and bose triports that I got for free

 

[lauriep]

I liked the Bose but they are not made well and both pairs I have had broken wires within a year of purchase.

 

[graff_king]

Yeah, bose are not the highest quality built ones. I got mine free so it was $ well spent for me.

 

[pwjone1]

I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned this brand........

Sennheiser

Just the leader in earphones for about the last 30 or so years.

Their $20 buds make the iPod ones sound like hammered dog****.

Yes, there are a lot of good earphones out there, but for the money, the Sennheiser MX line is very hard to beat.

Sennheiser USA - best Earphones, MX 660, Basswind system - Private Audio

They have a built in line volume line control which can be handy. One caveat about Sennheisers though, they have good bass and high end, but they tend to be very "accurate", if there are defects in the input music (common enough), you will hear them. These are very good earphones.

 

[TheBobarazzi]

I've been using my recording studio headphones (Sony 7406's) and they sound awesome, all the way to the last notch, before full volume on the Droid... at FULL volume, they crack very slightly, on the bass beat (mainly in the left ear, which is strange).

I've tried another set (Sony MDR-W20G) and I get the same thing.

I've tried another set of Sony's and my Sirius earbuds...all have the same issue.

Anybody else experience this, or is the left channel on my DROID screwed?

They sound perfect (especially the 7406's) right before full volume, but I need to hear them at full volume to be satisfied when I'm "rockin out".

I figured it had something to do with headroom or impedance mis-matches.

ANYONE, have an answer?

I may check out an in-line headphone amp...so I can leave Droid at 1 notch below full and amp on like 2 or 3.

 

[tah]

Has anyone used stereo bluetooth earphones with their droid?

I'd really like to go this route if it works............thanks.

 

[foolie]

With any pricey IEM/earphones, I think the bottleneck will be with the phone.
I use Shure SE530s w/ a dedicated MP3 player, but when I mount it on the Droid, i get ALOT of background noise and hissing.

So I think slightly less sensitive models should fare better with the phone, like somewhere between the 50-150$ range. I hear Sennheisers CX500-550 & Shure E4C/SE310 are pretty bang.

 

[Sex Cells]

I have had shures and liked them quite a bit. Still have a set of e4gs but my phonak pfes are much better sounding and I believe they are the best bang for the buck iems you can get. Headfi.org is a great resource btw.