ANOTHER earbud question...
 

At the risk of being flamed, I'm going to ask for a recommendation for "ear bud" type of earphone for my IPOD (yes, I did a search and read everything that came back, but nothing helped much).

Here's the situation: I have a set of Bose NC2s that I love and adore for long flights (you would have to pry them from my cold, dead hands to get them away from me), however for short (i.e. US) flights, they are to big to carry with me all the time, so I am looking for a resonable type of earbuds to use for these short haul flights. Here's my criteria:

-earbud type (duh)
-noise canceling, or reasonably blocking
-work well with IPOD
-Less than $75.00

Anybody have any recommendations?

Thanks!

At that budget: The Shure EC2's.

Very good at noise isolation, take a little getting used to, but have awesome sound quality.

I second the Shure recommdation.

Stretching a bit, the Shure E3c and Etymotics ER-6 are a bit more - $100-ish if you hunt a bit.

I recently bought myself Shure E2C headphones from www.computers4sure.com for $65.95 + tax and free s/h.

You can get a 3% rebate buying through www.ebates.com and then a $5 mail in rebate from www.pricegrabber.com for writing a review of the product. The above price was cheaper than I could find them on eBay. The headphones MRSP at $99.99.

I got them today and have used them a bit and like them so far. I'm used to wearing earplugs to sleep on planes and other places occasionally so wearing them does not bother me. My friend recently bought Shure EC3 headphones and so it will be interesting to see the differences between the two. We'll see if I'll be trading up after the comparison.

How comfortable are the e2cs? One of things I hate about earbuds is that they tend to fall out of my ears. Do E2Cs tend to "stay there" ?

I was going to suggest the Sony NC-11 to the OP but I think it's beyond the stated budget. But one thing I sure like about the Sony is that it stays there.

The E2C headphones are definitely snug if you put them in your ear properly. They come with two different types of plugs, foam and firmer rubber/plastic, with three sizes of each. I found the foam a bit easier to insert but will stick with the clear rubber ones for traveling. Foam plugs can get dirty pretty quickly and you can't really clean them off well while on the go.

Comfortable is up to each person, but I find them fine. I think the key is whether or not you can wear earplugs of any sort and find them comfortable, awake or sleeping. If you don't mind earplugs then you won't mind these. If you do, buy over the ear headphones.

I'm looking at E2C's or E3C's for my iPod but am concerned about the volume. Sometimes I accidentally crank up the volume when the iPod is not locked. I'm worried about this causing significant hearing damage if I get the in-ear phones that are completely isolated. Any suggestions?

Thanks all. I guess I'll look into the Shure headphones. fer shure... :)

You may want to get an inline Level Attenuator from Shure, take a look at their accessories page. Whether you use in ear or headphone monitors, you need to be extra careful with the volume levels you expose your ears to, especially over prolonged periods of time. I wish Boeing and Airbus would do a better job in balancing the levels of their PA systems so that your ears don't get blasted out when announcements are made, especially on the headphone circuits. The technology is available, it just needs to be applied better.

As to the question of comfort, it is certainly and indvidual thing. I just bought the E2C's. I find the sound to be quite good and the comfort fine. I forget they are in after a bit. Am busy ratitionalizing the purchase of the E5C's. It'll take me another week or two! Good sound is transporting and listening to something really fine is as good as a two hour nap! (See, I'm working on it!)

If yo buy directly from Shure's web site, there is a 30 day no questions asked return policy. Should be enough time to see if you like 'em.~

Best wishes,

Teacher49

I use the foam inserts because I feel they make a tighter seal in my ear and block out more sound.

If people are interested in replacement foam covers, I've found those DVD rental booths in airports [In-Motion Pictures] sell 10-piece bags for $9.99. Their prices aren't extra competitive, but you aren't being gouged either. With tax in ATL, the total is $10.69. Plus you avoid paying cost-recouping shipping fees with such a small item. I haven't been able to find too many places that are cheaper when you only want 10 and not 100 or even 1000 of them. ;)

For these E2C's, how's the noise cancelling effects of them? Are they really worth the $70 or so I would be paying for them? I'm looking for a good set of earbuds to travel with as well and stumbled on this thread but I don't have $379 to spend on a nicer set.

Thanks.

For about $10 you can get the Griffin EarJams that snap onto the earbuds that come with the iPod.
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/earjams/

My e2C's cancel noise so well that I sold my Bose QCII's.