Johnny Cache

I replaced a pair of Sony over-the-ear phones with the Philips SBC HN060 in ear and I've been happy with them.

They're very comfortable. I'm barely aware of them when I'm wearing them. My longest fights are ~five hours and I've not had any issue.

Cord has a neck strap so the unit won't get pulled out of your ears. It is a bit long and can get tangled with my MP3's neck strap.

Best news . . . ~$30.

Having written all that . . . I'm not an audiophile. I listen to music to relax and help pass the time. Point is that I'm not qualified to comment on their sound quality other than to say, "they're good enough."

FlyingToFly

I sold my Shure SE530 because I found the bulky wiring unwieldy and uncomfortable.

I eventually settled on the Westone 3, which I found to be infinitely more comfortable. I much prefer the sound of the Westone 3, too.

bdjohns1

I prefer the substantial wires. Plus, the short cord allows connecting an in-line mic so I can use them with my phone.

That's one reason I ditched the Sony earbuds with their dinky cords.

raz91

Has anyone tried the Etymotic hf-2s with an iphone? I'm looking at replacing my current ArsTechnica noise-cancelling phones with something a bit smaller with a built-in microphone for my iPhone and wondering if anyone had any feedback.

With the ArsTechnica I'm able to listen to music etc. on a lower volume than I would otherwise. Is this the case as well with a passive noise reduction setup, too?

bdjohns1

You should be able to listen at a lower volume, since the passive noise reduction blocks competing outside sounds. There's no good way to measure it short of a sound meter inside a dummy's head (because different headphones require different power input levels to produce the same audio output level), but I usually run my iPhone's volume around 20% on the plane, and slightly lower off in a quiet environment with my Shures.

thegeneral

"I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Etymotic In-Ear Earphones. They are basically ear plugs with speakers in them."

Some people haven't taken to buying things on the internet just yet. Many of the people you read posting here talk about how they have bought things in store. Etymotic's don't show up in brick and mortar stores generally. That's why so few people use them.

Their insertion in ear is a little harder than Shure, but they block more sound one in correctly. I suspect that, along with Shure's being easier to find, are why you don't hear about them more.

I've used Etymotic, Shure and Bose headphones and tried a few others. I greatly prefer the Etys. The Shures are easier to use if you have to pull them in and out of your ears a lot, but don't block as much sound. Bose over the ear sets only block some noise, but let things like screaming babies come through just fine.

hunter99991

Hi guys,

I just wanted to let you know that I purchased a set of the Shure SCL4 ear buds from ebay after seeing them suggested here. I love them, they are so much better than everything I have been using. I'll never go back to cheap earphones again. MSRP is $299, but I found the discontinued whites ones for $120 including shipping. My wife wants them now though.

Brent

Back-N-Black

I've read all the posts but don't believe this was mentioned. In reference to the Etymotic ER-6i , it requires them to be placed deeply in the ear canal. Somebody mentioned that they are not easy to take in and out repeatedly so my questions are,

when flying, is it possible to hear announcements and stuff?
Do you just pause the music?
How well do they work without an audio source?

I have Bose QC2's now and they are quite bulky, since I mainly read on flights I will put them on, with no audio, to block out the sounds and turn the power off for announcements. I expect I will be doing much the same with some in ear set I get but need to know if I can hear announcements without removing the ear phones.

daw617

I have the Etymotic ER-4S. If music is playing, I can't really understand the announcements. If the music is paused, I can usually understand the announcements (though they are definitely muted). But I feel like 99% of announcements are pointless, if you are used to flying. I occasionally pause the music to hear the announcement but usually just ignore the announcement.

You mean, with no music playing? Meh. I'd just get earplugs, for that.

anabolism

I've had good results with an in-ear noise-canceling set; in my case, the Audio Technica ATH-ANC3BK QuietPoint In-Ear Headphones. I replaced the stock ear tips with a replacement set from Comply, for better fit and comfort. They have a "pause" button that turns off the noise cancelation and pauses the audio device (in my case, an iPod) for temporary conversations where you don't want to remove them from your ears, although they're easy enough to remove and reinsert that I tend to do that.

Although, for sleeping, I generally switch to a pair of NR33-rated earplugs, inserted fully into the ear canal, and the airline's Bose headset over them, plugged into my iPod playing ocean waves.

The Audio Technica replaced a Comply NR-10 in-ear noise blocking (not canceling) set that has an attenuator for adjusting the volume of the source (I find that some airline's built-in sound system is too loud when using noise-canceling or noise-blocking ear buds or headset.)

dsgtc0408

I'm also using a pair of Audio-Technica ATH ANC3's and think they're great. What I like is that they're tiny, I forget they're in my ears, the AAA battery lasts for 50 hours and zipped up in the pouch they take up practically no room and weigh nearly nothing at all. And they shut up the noise from the crying baby on a long TPAC flight from SFO to HKG. And if you look on eBay, you should be able to get a pair for less than $100.

The only think I don't like about them is that the cord length from the plug to the battery holder is a bit short (there is an extension cord to deal with this though).

mongatu

Well, another vote for Shure here. Shure is a pro audio company (originally) and their earphones were designed as in ear monitors for pro musicians. I've been using them for years. Started with a fairly low end model (E3's I think) which, once properly fitted and inserted, provided great sound and isolation. After they were out of warranty by a few months (2 year warranty), the cable became broken internally. I'm pretty rough on these items. I use them daily while working out and with my computer. Anyway, Shure was very cool and replaced them with a new set at no charge despite being out of warranty by a few months.

After another two or three years, that pair eventually failed, (they just don't seem to last more than 2 years or so if one uses them every day as I do). This time, I decided to go for their top of the line, the Shure SE530PTH. Got them online from an authorized dealer I found through pricegrabber for about $330.

The sound difference was unbelievably amazing to me. I had thought the E3's were good, but these were just so much better in every way. Huge difference. The bass is incredibly detailed and natural sounding without being overbearing or boomy. The separation, clarity, sense of spaciousness, everything . . . unfortunately I lack the audiophile vocabulary to describe how awesome these really are (to me). Of course, proper fit and insertion are critical. Without that they won't sound good at all.

So the Shure 530's were worth every penny for me, especially since due to my living circumstances, I can't really have a proper audio system set up, so the Shure's really are my main "speakers" which certainly justified the cost for me.

The only bad thing is now that I'm used to the 530's, anything less, including the E3s, no longer sounds very good to me.

After a few months of daily use, the protective boot around the cable at one of the 530 earpieces came loose. Shure immediately replaced them with a new set under warranty. They did request a copy of my purchase invoice, so a good idea to scan that so you have it handy when needed, because these things just tend to develop wear and tear issues over time, especially if used frequently.

For my last purchase, I used a credit card that is supposed to provide an extra year of warranty coverage. It will be interesting to see if that really works as I suspect I'll probably be needing to put it to the test.

Even though these earphones don't last forever, especially the way I use them, they have become an essential piece of equipment for me that I really wouldn't want to be without.

Oh, I should mention that there are some newer foam sleeves available, although I suppose they've been around for a few years already. Anyway, the old ones were yellow. The newer foam sleeves are made from a black foam that has a different composition/texture from the yellow ones. They are washable and seem to be much longer lasting than the yellow sleeves.

tsg20

I've had some Westone UM1s for years, which I got to replace a pair of Etymotics that I lost. I still love them, although I essentially only wear them on planes now, as that's the only time I have to work in a loud environment these days. There's no doubt that in terms of sound quality for the $ in-ear headphones aren't as good as open back ones, but that's irrelevant for wearing on planes.

The only problem I occasionally have is that if I'm using the rubber tips and don't remove them before the descent starts, I can get ear pressure issues. This happened last weekend and my ear hurt for a few hours after landing. Usually no problem, though.

tfar

How would you rate the noise canceling on these. If you just insert the Shure without playing music, do they reduce noise as much as those Howard Leigh ear plugs which are rated at -30db? Any chance you could try that out for the sake of the FT community? Cheaper than trying out a set of Shure 530s.

Till

anabolism

The Audio Technica ATH-ANC3BKs are noise-cancelling, while the Shure SE530PTHs are noise-blocking. I'd be very interested in knowing the relative ability to block noise with these.

I'd also be very curious about the relative fit, comfort, and ease of insertion/removal. (As noted above, I use the Comply replacement tips with the Audio Technica ATH-ANC3BKs.)