Yup. Chevy Cavalier or Audi TT. Same difference.

Any comments of the difference between Etymotics and Shures re Quality and/or comfort?

I have both. The Etys are more neutral but are more power hungry (can't be driven to as high a level for a given power output) and are not as comfortable. I haven't found an eartip for the Ety that I've liked and that includes having custom earmolds made. The Shure's IMO are MUCH more user friendly and comfortable. You can use them as earbuds with the included eartips and they needn't go into the canal to seal well and sound wonderful. The Ety's do not have such an option and require insertion into the canal. They're also MUCH harder to get a good seal with in my experience.

Thanks. By the way, there was an article in the Toronto Star yesterday about the difficulties faced by Tab drinkers in Canada.

Thanks for the all the information everyone. I may go for the Shures over the Bose, because they are small and it sounds like you might be able to sleep with them on.

I had the plug and was okay with it. Unfortunately low initial acquisition cost soon belied inferior build quality. The back of the plug came apart from the section that goes into the ear. I'd say it was 3-6 months after I purchased.

I now have a Sony MDR-EX71. Quality not on par with the High End other brands, but they also don't irritate my ears the way the Shure did. So far they haven't fallen apart either. Ebay they can be had for $40.

Just got these - Amazon has them for $29.

Decent ear buds, but they have so much treble that I use them in my iPod with the equalizer set to Treble Reduce, and there's still more treble than any other buds I've listened to.

The Shures are a bit harder to put in, as they have a goofy upside-down-wrap-around-the-ears design. With the standard tips, comfort is about even, but I use the optional yellow foam tips on the Shures, which seal better, block more external sound, and are more comfortable.

The Shures need to be run in for a while - I let me new pair run over the weekend at a decent volume level - to sound good. After that, they are more extended and detailed in the upper frequencies. My formerly favorite Ety 6's sound a bit muddy in comparison.

ROTFLOL!!!!!


I used to work asa sound engineer for a PA company years ago.


WHAT? SORRY CAN'T HEAR YOU! I'M DEAF!



/E

Have to say I am a fan of the Shure E2C. I have tried a variety of different brands and types and keep coming back to them. I use them both for actually listening to music/videos, and for hearing protection when I end up sitting in the rear section of a DC-9 or an MD-80. I actually took a decible meter on one flight and found that the window seats near the engines produce upwards of 100dB at take off. (Which by the way exceeds the OSHA limits for 8 hour exposure). The reading dropped significantly after take off. However, I like my hearing and don't want to take the chance. The other thing I really like about them is that they are compact, unpowered and lightweight. No replacing batties or problems using them on the airplane at anytime.

I've been using the Philips HN060 Noise-Canceling Earbuds
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=172282

but with the Koss foam tips rather than the rubber tips that come with it. The Shure foam tips don't fit.

Watch out, Redburgundy, you're gonna get a blast! You didn't spend enough for these!!

I had a pair of Sony NC-10s and LOVED them. But then left them on a flight. I replaced them with Sony NC-11s which I did not like as much. I recently accidentally left them on a FRA-IAD flight. I think it might have been passive aggression.

Anyway, a very good friend gave me his old pair of NC-10s on Sunday and I used 'em on a couple of flights yesterday and they are as wonderful as I remember!!!! ^ ^

The only problem with earbuds vs. bulky, unwieldy headphoes is that they are so small that one might tend to leave them on airplanes

Ironically, I find that my noise cancelling Bose work so well in eliminating background noise that they foreground other noises that I really don't want to hear eg loud conversations (in person or on cellphones), repeated airport announcements, crying babies. muting these are more important to me than superb sound quality (although it needs to be decent). So just gearing up to my first set of buds, either as back up or replacement to my Bose. Which model do you recommend to best achieve my objective?

You're right....I decided to switch to the Shure E3Cs. Circuit City sells open-package units on eBay under the name Trading Circuit and they go for $70-80.