In-Ear Headphones/Headsets

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rowlandhills
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In-Ear Headphones/Headsets

Post by rowlandhills »

I know that there's a separate thread on headphones, which has a number of recommendations from AKG, Grado etc. but there only seems to be one recommendation for in-ear headphones (the Skullcandy Jib).

I need a pair of in-ear phones (with microphone) to use as a headset for my iphone and which also give me music while travelling to/from work etc. I've been using a pair of Etymotic HF2 for the last couple of years, which have been great but the cables have now worn through in two places due to being curled up and chucked in my pocket multiple times a day!

I also like the fact that the Etymotic's have replaceable wax filters and replaceable sleeves (to fit ears). You can even get custom moulded sleeves to fit your ears perfectly, albeit for an extra £100 or so.

Any recommendations?

Happy to spend up to £150 or so.
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Re: In-Ear Headphones/Headsets

Post by Charlie1 »

rowlandhills wrote:...there only seems to be one recommendation for in-ear headphones (the Skullcandy Jib).
I bought these too and they suit me just fine. They don't offer the same quantity of bass as my other normal (AKG k24p) headphones, but perhaps that's normal. They are not quite a musical either, but still good.
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Post by rowlandhills »

Thanks Charlie. Only trouble is that those don't have a microphone for handsfree phone use.
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Post by Charlie1 »

Sorry Rowland - gross case of skim-reading there.
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Post by ThomasOK »

Unfortunately, I don't have good news for you. I have listened to a few in-ear models from Grado and Paradigm Shift and so far the only one I really like is the least expensive Paradigm Shift E1 and those are the only model without the microphone. However, if you don't need the mic capability, the good news is they are pretty inexpensive in the US at $49.99, they have three sets of different size in-ear tips and they are musically pretty close to Grado SR60i. Certainly a big step up from any of the earbuds packaged in with iPhones and iPods.
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Post by Ozzzy189 »

Have you tried any klipsch in ear buds? I bought a pair reduced from 30 to 15 pounds, and they were very good.
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Post by Cloudberry »

Klipsch image x10i - Just Do It
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Post by fredrik »

Cloudberry wrote:Klipsch image x10i - Just Do It
They seem to be available for 1ksek atm. Are they good value?
Are they near sony mdr 484 like I used 1989?
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Post by Cloudberry »

I have two pairs of Klipsch image x10i, the first pair without microphone. I paid about 175 eur (1.700 sek). Should they brake, I would get a new pair on the very minute! To me they are beyond any comparison, extremely light and comfortable, good looking and present music in a great way, just fiddle with size of the ear-buds. It took me a few months to discover I should use them 'bigger than I initally thought'.

The cable could be modernaised to these flat ones that doesnt 'make a mess' as easily!
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Post by fredrik »

Cloudberry wrote:I have two pairs of Klipsch image x10i, the first pair without microphone. I paid about 175 eur (1.700 sek). Should they brake, I would get a new pair on the very minute! To me they are beyond any comparison, extremely light and comfortable, good looking and present music in a great way, just fiddle with size of the ear-buds. It took me a few months to discover I should use them 'bigger than I initally thought'.

The cable could be modernaised to these flat ones that doesnt 'make a mess' as easily!
Bought a pair and the sound quality was gratifying. Thanks for the recommendation! I did not extensively compare but to me the X10i sounds the best I've heard in modern times.

EDIT: After extensive listening I am happy with the sound performance. A slight issue is that the medium sized earplugs are slightly small and the large ones are slightly large for my ears. Have yet to try the double isolating ones, they might be a good compromise.
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Post by doze84 »

Etymotic ER4P/S
Paradigm Shift E1

From the posts above, i've come to the conclution that these two are the only recommendations apart from Scullcandy Jib.. (and yuin)
I'm thinking of giving the PAradigm shift E1 a try, since they are close to sr60..

Any coments, any new findings?
I've given my Jibs a couple of hundred hours now, and they are good musically but doesn't like being playd much above half volume on iPhone, and arent satisfying when it comes to resolution.
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Post by clasch66 »

+1 for Klipsch!
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Post by doze84 »

clasch66 wrote:+1 for Klipsch!
Has anyone compared them to any of the other headphones?
quite expensive though..
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Post by clasch66 »

I have the Klipsch Image s4i since 2011 which were about 60 euros. They are Great for the Price. Only compared them to the ones I had before, which were Creative phones, don't remember the model.

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Post by doze84 »

Sorry about the posts above i kind of missed out on how much the klipsch vere recommended..

The recomendations we have so far are:

-Klipsch Image x10i (very good, but expensive. Now discontinued and replaced with x11i, but could still be found at apple store for 380$)

-Klipsch Image s4i (seems to have quality issues, and does probably not sound as good as x10)

-Paradigm Shift E1 (Close to Grado 60, and cheap aswell)

-Etymotic HF2


Thomas OK: How is the sound, not the music, in the Paradigm SHIFT E1, much better than the Jibs?
I will probably order a pair this month..

Would be really fun to get a comparison between Image x10i/x11i and Grado sr60 or the jibs, or Akg k420, or any other reference headphone we have.. Is that something that you could manage to come up with Cloudberry?

I Kind of feel it's a bit risky going for the x10i since these, things tend to get lost or broken in one or another way. But if I knew they were even more musical than the rest I would think of taking the chance.
Last edited by doze84 on 2014-09-16 14:31, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by doze84 »

Paradig Shift E1 is ordered from the states, It was more worth ordering in plural :)
So if anyone in scandinavia is interested just pm me. 350kr/pair.
Excited to try em out!
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Post by Robert Lake »

I have bought a pair of AKG K318 (from Amazon UK, they are also on Amazon US at an even lower price). They are not in-ear, more of the regular type of earphones. Diameter is 15mm. They match my Sansa Clip Zip well.

The sound is very similar to the well-known AKG 420, without the heavy bass of course. They fit my ears better and sounds better than the AKG K319, which I lost recently. To put it short - for the price they are great.
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