In ear headphones

[kopite]

Hiya,

i`ve just got a psp but the supplied headphones as well as being white are also crap.

So i`m after a new set. I have been told sony fontopias are good but i wanna know what are good as well. price isnt too important although 100 Quid would be a bit excessive

[BenW]

Well, a budget would be helpful. Does price important but not excessive include £55?

If so then shure e2c at mobile fun, no question about it!

For £50 you can get the Sennheiser IE4's. They would go well with the PSP as well!

If you are looking foe whute headphones that out do the PSP ones, try the MX500 whites. For 20 quid you can't go wrong.

[kopite]

Dont want white ones.

55 quid doesnt sound too excessive if the phones are good.

[multiply]

I also endorse the Shure E2c. I recently bought the more-expensive E3c and really regret it. My 2cs were stolen, so I replaced them with the 'better ones' - big mistake!!

For the money, the E2cs are excellent.

[lukey]

For your intended use i would recommend the sony fonotopia type (Ex71) you can pick them up for £20 on the web or £34 in the highstreet. Bass response is good and are cheaper than the schure e2c, I have owned both and went back to the sony due the the shures being a bit oversized, fiddly and poor bass response.

[kopite]

I would also use them with my sony minidisc as well.

I`ve heard a few ppl say the fontopias are good.

[lukey]

I also use my sony ex71,s with my sharp minidisc and they are equally as good, nice a light even although cable and build quality arnt the best, but certainly good for the money

[dj_johnnyg]

Not fully on-topic, but here we go...

Would a 3rd party headphone (i.e. not the crap white sony efforts) allow higher volume levels?

It's just playing Lumines at full volume, I could still hear the missus' TV program. The game loses most of its atmosphere when you can hear Cockneys shouting at each other in the background!

[Reano]

You need isolation headphones like the shures

[Funky]

Not many people talk about the Philips SHE9501 In-Ear Headphone! I think they are pretty good for the PSP. Very AMAZING!! For $30 with shipping you'll never find a better set of canalphones than these. I was using the Sony EX71's for almost two years, thinking they were great. After using these, I can't believe I actually liked the Sony's. If your looking for a great set of canalphones for all types of music, the SHE9501's are just what the doctor ordered!

Rating=10

Originally Posted by multiply

I also endorse the Shure E2c. I recently bought the more-expensive E3c and really regret it. My 2cs were stolen, so I replaced them with the 'better ones' - big mistake!!

Yeah?! You might be having a problem with sealing, since E2's tips are the only ones different from the rest of Shures. All those IEMs need a good seal in your ear cannal to do what they're meant to do. When I get a new one, I usually spend about a week fiddling with it till I get it just right. A bit annoying really, but the benefit outweighs in the end. Getting a different type would mean going through that process all over again, so you are bound to find your older one better.

Anyway, I too think E2c is good for PSP at low cost.

[PAUL250268]

Dear All,

I have a Sony HD NW5 Walkman and think that the sound quality of the supplied heaphones is O.K.

However, after a few hours they make my ears "ache" a little.

Is going for the Shure EC2's going to solve this or do you think I need some "proper" headphons like the PX250?

[cu3ed]

firstlky i got the Ec2's a month back, best headphone chioce i have made in a long time, i couldnt be happier with them (and i mean that).

Paul, as i said i think the E2cs are great, but, the fitting i have is hit and miss with poeple, the ear bud fits quite deeply into the ear canal itself, nowi find this comfortable, and considering you get three different ear bud materials, that come with 3 different sizes in each, you should find one that suits your ear, although , nearly all will recommend the foam earbuds, very comfy in the ears.

While the PVC ones are alittle like torture devices, i use the silicon ones (i think), they are durable, yet comfortable.

Originally Posted by PAUL250268

I have a Sony HD NW5 Walkman and think that the sound quality of the supplied heaphones is O.K.
However, after a few hours they make my ears "ache" a little.

Yeah, I've heard many complain about that "ache" with sony's stock earbuds. It seems to be mainly because of that eggy shape it has, and while its designed to lock into your ear's inner rim (hence the egg shape), that actually gets painful after a while because it digs into your skin.

IEMs like Shure and Etymotic (like E2C) are double edged sword. In some ways they're better for comfort, because once you find a good foam (Westone one is good), they are very comfortable. Good foams are as soft as baby's bottom, you squeeze it and push into your ear and it expands and sits softly coushioned in your ear canal.

The only problem is, though, you will find that uncomfortable till you get used to it, simply because you aren't used to having things stuck in your ear. We are by nature designed to reject foreign objects entering our ears, for safety reasons. It takes some getting used to. In this regard, "normal" earbuds like your sony's is more natural because it doesn't go inside.

Suffice to say, I like IEMs better than the likes of sony's stock earbuds, for comfort alone. If the likes of E2C is not to your taste, you might want to consider a little less threatening ones. Not as good, but they are quite a few out there and they feel more like a normal earbud.

Popular ones are sony's fontopia series, Panasonic HJE ones (HJE-50 if I'm not mistaken), JVC makes one too (HA FX something or rather, though some say it uses the same components as Panasonic due to their internal relationship) and often-overlooked Philips SHE 9500 or 9501. Personally I don't know JVC one.

Bear in mind though, the real benefit of the likes of Shure and Etymotic is that they do provide great isolation from the outside world. Lesser ones don't, or do very little.