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.

Have you tried these? Do they work well on airplanes? Any comparisons to E2C's?

They don't claim to be noise-canceling. I think most of the ear-bud types claim to be noise-isolating, not noise-canceling. I've never used E2Cs so I can't compare them.

And my E3's block out more background noise than the Bose QCII's. Their sound isolation is across the whole audio spectrum and not just the continuous low frequencies that the active noise cancellation headphones attack.

Also note the only difference between the E3 and E3C is that the E3 is grey and the E3C is white. I prefer the grey - probably because it matches my hair colour the best :eek: .

Shure E2c
 

Love the Shure E2c's. I am not a fan of anything in my ear, and was hesitant to buy a pair of ear bud style headphones. i am now a believer. Every other pair I have ever owned hurt my ears. The Bose headsets are just too bulky for my taste.

Not noise cancelling, but noise isolating. The amount of isolation you'll get depends on the choice of tips you use. The foam tips will do the best at around -30dB. Rubber tips (clear or gray) wil be around -25dB.

For comparison, the QC2s and other noise-cancelling headphones are around -15-20dB...

Personally, I love my e3's.

I am right now working in a computer network lab. There are 17 racks of computer gear running, as well as the airconditioning needed to keep it operating. The noise in here is much worse than on an aircraft. So out come the E3's and my Dell Axim X50v and out goes the noise while I listen to my choice of music.

Of course lots of the PC's in this lab are folding for the FlyerTalk team!

I recently got a pair of Etymotic ER6i from Beach Audio (an Amazon third party vendor) for $100 which is a bit more than the target price. Im stunned at the sound quality.

Flew a roundtrip to London and am in Japan now after wearing them on the JFK-NRT flight. I wear the Etymotics in my ears and the Bose QC2s over them with the cord out on the QC2s but the noise reduction turned on. It is wonderfully isolated. Someone suggested I get a splitter and amplifier and power up both sets of speakers. I may try that if I have time to get to Electric City before my flight after I leave Kyoto. If not Im going to London next week and can try then.

Mesage is though dont just use the in-ear phones on those short flights (although they are more compact and nicer for that). Use them with the QC2s on longer flights as well.

That doesn't say a lot for the Ety's. Think I'll stick with my E3's (and maybe move up to a set of E4's!!).... as someone else mentioned, they're less bulky than the QC2s, a lot better than the QC2s at reducing noise, and as good or better audio quality.

D.

I don't think it says anything about the Ety's. Using both methods will increase isolation no matter what you are using. I occaisionally have wrapped my pair of PlaneQuiet's around both Ety's and E3c's.

My wife's job gives me access to a wide variety of hearing protection including 31NRR muffs and 33NRR foam plugs - about the best you will find, and I still wear both of them for motorized lawn care duties (effective 36 NRR) - it doesn't say anything about their quality.

I have stopped carrying the PlaneQuiets - the extra couple of dB are not worth the bulk and weight of carrying them. I have moved to the E3c's for sound quality, but I don't think they are any different from the Ety's from an isolation standpoint.

Wow, Ive been partially quoted out of context on Flyertalk! I feel like an important liberal politician. ;) But I digress....

The part of my post you didnt quote was:

"I recently got a pair of Etymotic ER6i from Beach Audio (an Amazon third party vendor) for $100 which is a bit more than the target price. Im stunned at the sound quality."

As CPRich says the Bose adds to the isolation but the Etys are great by themselves. I was just telling a previous poster than if they had the QC2s already and got a good pair of in the ear headphones to not just use the latter on short flights. Rather they should use the in ear headsets on all flights and put the Bose on top of them if they carry them as well on long flights.

I just got my e2cs and I love them! The sound quality is great. I couldn't hear my roommate furiously banging on my door either today. I'll get to test them flyin on Tuesday when I take my next run but for now they're working out great.

Sounds like a nightclub when I crank them up. I think the bass is perfectly adequate for my needs. Not overbearing.. that was a complaint that came up most on cnet.com for example.

If you can find a place that will let you try on both the Etys and the Shures, that may be the best way to determine which one you prefer. The various Eymotic models (in particular the ER-6 and ER-6i) have slightly different fits, which in turn vary from the Shure earphones.

The sound produced between all of the earphones have different "signatures" and come down to individual preference (especially between the E3(c) and the ER-6/ER-6i). Bring your own music player with you as the amplifier in your device will have its own characteristics which may not be displayed with the in-store players.

Either way, if you can get used to the fit of the earphones, they're far superior to the Bose QC(2) in terms of sound quality and reliability. I would recommend getting an in-line volume control and an airline jack adaptor if you plan on using them with the IFE systems.

How often does one need to replace the foam tips on the e3's?

I just did a bit of research on these Griffin EarJams and the reviews are not so good. Definitely not a competitor to the E2Cs. iPodLounge gives it a B- in their review but the comments from other users give it a pretty solid thumbs down. Here's the link to the review and comments:

http://ipodlounge.com/index.php/revi...rjams-updated/

I recently purchased the shure e2c's and absolutely love them. No one has mentioned the handy carrying case, very small and compact, keeps everything together (including treo adapter jack) untangled. Shure by the way has an excellent website shure.com.

If you want to ignore the budget, I just bought a set of UE10 Pro's from UltimateEars.com They have the best sound isolation I've ever heard, as well as the best sound quality. Though they break the bank on price at over 900 bucks.

Scott

While their pricing (at least to me) is somewhat higher than other places, headphones.com offers a tremendous satisfaction and return policy.

From their site: ( http://www.headphones.com )


and no, I don't work for them. :p

Another recommendation for the e2C's. They work perfectly with the ipod, don't fall out of your ears, and sound great. For extra, extra isolation I put in the Shure's, plug them into the audio source, then wear the Bose, switched on sans audio cord, over them. On a noisy ERJ flight this combo can give you near-total isolation from the jet/wind noise.

Depends on how waxy your ears are. If you've got relatively wax-free ears, you could get a week of daily listening out of them. If you're like me, they're good for a roundtrip flight.

So, I stick to the gray silicone rubber tips and wash them frequently.

Excellent advice, I use a little alcohol on the reuseable gray tips. I do agree that a better seal can be acheived with the foam tips and I have seen them advertised in bulk quantities, but they are for single use.

I don't want to gross anyone out, but I work in a manufacturing facility where hearing protection is mandatory. We have had instances of ear infections when people have reused plugs without cleaning them. :eek:

After reading the recent earphone posts I decided to get the Shure E3c. My only question for those who have it is it recommended to use when working out, or do you buy a cheaper earphone that wraps around your ears? They sound like they're great for riding the bus/subway, relaxing at an airport, or writing a paper in a loud dorm, but are they perfect (meaning can they handle the jostling from jogging)?

Actually IME they stay in much better than regular earbuds when exercising, assuming you have them fitted properly in your ears. My only reservation would be using them when jogging on public streets, since the noise isolation is so good you might not hear traffic. At a gym or track they'd be perfect.

I have had the ety er6 for about 4yrs . I have loved them after learning how to seal them properly. Initially I was apprehensive about wearing IEM's but they are so comfortable and deliver great sound i can't possibly use anything else. They get better with each use and I cannot survive on a flight without them. Recently I noticed that I may have a short in the wire so I thought about buying the shure e4c. When I realized that I was going to spend $200 to listen to music in a lossy format on a DAP, I began to think twice.
Instead I bought a pair of the ety er6i which are designed for portable music players, particularly the ipod. They are currently on sale for $80 at buy.com and Amazon, which is a really cheap price.
I haven't used them yet but I will after I figure out how to change the white color of the earphones with a dye or sharpie. I don't want anyone thinking that I am listening to an Ipod! You can get mugged in NYC for that.