Recommended in ear phones for HD-5

C

carolo

Guest
Can anyone recommend me a GOOD pair of in-ear phones to use with my HD-5?
I mean ones where the actual phone part goes IN your ear-and doesn,t "drop out"! :clap:
 
Shure E4 or E4c. With a little bass boost from the player, the sound is just right!
 
Actually, if you don't mind a thin or slightly wider headband (foldable), I'd recommend the Sony MDR-A34L (thin band) or MDR-A44L (wider double band). Both are vertical drivers like the J20 above, but with 16mm diaphragms, much fuller/cleaner sound, and very efficient. (They will play as loud as you want!) These are also inxpensive. The Shures or Etymotic E4's are great in-the-ear plugs at a higher price level.
 
Another vote for the Shure E4s...a very good match for the HD5!!!
 
uridium said:
Sony MDR-EX71SL


Dont touch these ones they are the worst pair of earphones I have ever bought and they cost an alarming £34. :eek:

Bass is no better than my great Sennheiser MX500 phones and the treble with the sony is :thumbsdow awful.
 
Don't the above two posts just go to confirm how subjective and personal a choice this is? Try before you buy, it's the only way.
 
Exactly, you need to have a good look round and try some if you can, personally I found the Sennheiser MX series to be awful, appreciate they suit lots of people but they just didn't fit me, constantly fell out of my ears and unless I held them pushed in they sounded like pound shop specials!

EX71's suit me perfectly, loads of bass (admittedly probably not a clear as the Shures, but they are half the price) and they are a perfect fit for me.
 
The Sony EX71 is relatively speaking terrible...


... but, they're the only widely distributed earphones under £50 which provide a decent amount of isolation. That is a plus. However I'd personally trade just a bit of isolation and some portability in favour of the more balanced sound of the Sennheiser PX200 mini-headphones.


I didn't like the MX500 much either for the same reasons as uridium (inconsistency of fit) and also for the lack of some isolation, which I think is mandatory for commute use. However, it does have decent sound quality when you can get it to fit. They should perhaps ship different sized foam covers with it, because that might fix things.
 
extremelydodgy said:
The Sony EX71 is relatively speaking terrible...


... but, they're the only widely distributed earphones under £50 which provide a decent amount of isolation. That is a plus. However I'd personally trade just a bit of isolation and some portability in favour of the more balanced sound of the Sennheiser PX200 mini-headphones.


I didn't like the MX500 much either for the same reasons as uridium (inconsistency of fit) and also for the lack of some isolation, which I think is mandatory for commute use. However, it does have decent sound quality when you can get it to fit. They should perhaps ship different sized foam covers with it, because that might fix things.


Thats odd Dodgy as I find the isolation excellent. The original pod phones hurt my ears but the Senn 500 fit well (not tight though for going running). I have got my kids to listen to it with me sitting next to them and the sound is minimal.
I also have the Sennheiser PX100 and although they sound great and the bass is heavy they do not half leak sound, the amount of dirty looks I got when on public transport was terrible. :D

Even though these Sony's fit in the ear canal they are still rank and I would not buy them again if they sold for a fiver, never mind £34 :eek:
 
another vote for here for the sony ex71, £20 off ebay, £29 in dixons, small, comfortable to wear and good bass response, although cable design can be awkward and build quality is a little dubious for some, had mine for last five years with no problems
 
A bit offtopic, but does anyone have an opinion about Sony MDR-V150?

I own a pair, and i'm thinking about buying an hd5 and would like to know if i should buy some other headphones or if those will sound good...

By the way, if any hd5 users are around, please see my thread (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=250909) and help if you can...

Thanks!!
 
lukey said:
another vote for here for the sony ex71, £20 off ebay, £29 in dixons, small, comfortable to wear and good bass response, although cable design can be awkward and build quality is a little dubious for some, had mine for last five years with no problems

5 years!!!! :eek:

I am on my second pair of these ear phones, and I think they are terrible. Nothing to do with the sound, but after a month or so, the cable wire goes all mushy, and then splits and then the wire is exposed and it is down hill from there.

Will not be buying them again.
 
Another vote here for the Shure E4's !!
 
Is there a specific reason as to why you prefer in ear head phones to a different variety? If you are more flexible I can recommend the AKG K 26 P's. They cost about the same as a semi-decent pair of in ear headphones, offer pefect isolation and kicks massive ass in the bass department - without distortion. My partner has the MDR - EX71 and they are just so terrible compared the AKG's. I have only encountered one negative review about them EVER (including all online reviews) and even that person said he didn't understand it as other people who'se opinions he usually agree with differed from him in this regard...

Headroom at www.headphone.com rated it one of their top ten must haves... My music, which I always loved, now takes me to levels I never used to realise existed with the stock earphones supplied...

They have a really funky design and are very comfortable too - but that obviously all only matters if you decide that you would consider types of headphone, other than just in-ear...

EDIT: Oh yeah, and when a company slaps a 2 year manufacturer's warranty on a £35 pair of headphones I think it's ok to assume they are of extremely good build quality...
 
extremelydodgy said:
However I'd personally trade just a bit of isolation and some portability in favour of the more balanced sound of the Sennheiser PX200 mini-headphones.

I second that (and emphasise the isolation bit); these are the best headphones I've used on the move (use them with my HD5). I far prefer them to the (don't know the number off the top of my head) expensive - £30 or so - Sony in-ears 'phones with the three different size rubber bungs. (As an aside, I HATE Sony's thing with uneven length wires for each ear.)
 
im in a same boat, stock buds that came with hd5 r just crap.....
im in Japan so didnt see any shures for sale, and with EX71, people either love it or hate it...... ill try to go to some store and listen before buying something
 
I can't say much beyond my own experience of the AKG K26P, where I bought one and borrowed someone else's. I thought it sounded even worse than the EX71 in terms of sound balance and considerably inferior to the PX200 in terms of finesse (and the PX200, while a very good compromise in a portable package is hardly the height of hi-fi). Fine for those who love to sit in their riced-out Novas and kick out the bass, but quality can't really be mentioned. Then there's the pair I borrowed, which the owner loves... which sounded exactly the same. It is certainly understandably better to some because of its massive pounding bass (to the detriment of everything else) which is kicked out with slightly better definition than the cotton-wool-bass EX71's.


However, there's another variable in that several people point out major batch differences in the sound balance / quality between different K26P's... and that those purchased from slightly before the time I bought mine were noticeably worse. I can't confirm this since I haven't heard an acceptable K26P yet. I'd rule it out just on that basis if they can't make consistent sounding headphones. My guess is that Headroom had the 'good' ones to review. If they are recommending the batch I heard, they have no business being in the headphone biz. There's also a 'premium' K27i which was just announced which I'll get as soon as it's generally available.
 
I have EX71s and I like them - but they do seem very flimsy.
 
Lyris said:
I have EX71s and I like them - but they do seem very flimsy.

They are quite flimsy, but you aren't going to be absailing down buildings with them are you?

If you look after them, I think they will last. NEVER wrap them around anything or you deserve all you get.
 
yet another vote for ex71's. They cost 32 euros here, and imo it's the best i could get for that money.
 
Ex71s are ok but my advice is dont touch them...

I have had 2 sets of ex71s previously on the recommendation of someone from work. 1st set I thought sounded good (compared with bundled phones) with good bass and good all round sound...then they broke after 6 months. I did not mistreat them, just used them normally. I figured that I got a randomly dodgy set so I bought another...same again, sounded ok and then after 6-7 months they broke. The problem I had twice was the sound going in one headphone, and its a common problem with these. I then got the Porta pros and that the EX71s sounded like a piece of crap compared to these, everything was better sounding and I couldn't believe I listened to the ex71s for so long blindly. Cost me same price too!

But like the guy who had the px100's they leak sound so I decided it was time for a set of in-ears. I chose the Shure e3c's and they are very nice, great isolation from outside sources and very good seperation in the music with great treble and adequate bass. The bass is not as strong as the Ex71's but thats because in the Ex71s it's muddy and messes with the treble and does not sound 'tight'.

My advice would be either save up and get a decent set of shures (E2c, E3c, or E4's) rather than paying £30 every 6 months for some average headphones. You won't know any different unless you have better ones than the Ex71s though, and I'm no audiophile although I love music.

I paid £100 for my e3cs though you get them cheaper, E2cs are about £45 or so.
 
Have had my EX71's for nearly 2 years now BTW, still look and sound as good as the day I bought them. Maybe I've just been lucky, end of the day if they break after 6 months take them back, that's what the sale of goods act is for!

For this reason alone I'd recommend buying them from a big high street store and pay a fiver more, then if/when they break just take them back.
 

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