Hi-Fi/Studio Quality Earbuds [message #74489] |
Fri, 16 November 2012 19:35 |
24KPython
Messages: 16 Registered: October 2012 Location: San Diego, CA
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Chancellor |
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Do any of you other audiophile types use earbuds?
I've been interested in earbuds for a while now, just for portability sake... and as with everything else, I enjoy finding bargains. I found a few gems over the years that tend to get overlooked by more stylish and trendy models that advertise "big bass" and other sorts of distortion.
For a while I recommended the $7 Sony 828s for their flat smooth and detailed sound, as well as their comfortable fit. The only thing really lacking is low bass, but it rolls off smoothly.
Then I moved for a while to the original $8 JVC Gumi -- surprising with their pretty colors -- that turned out to have a powerful driver with 109dB sensitivity that provides tons of detail and flat even sound, and a bit more low bass than the Sony 828. The only downside for me was they're rather large for earbuds.
The next upgrade was the discovery of metal speakers from A4Tech.com, and the treasure of the bunch is the MK-510 *dual* sided earbuds. The idea behind these is that you can listen to the in-ear side if you want a bassy sound...(which IMO sounds terrible) BUT it turns out that the in-ear side also functions as a port for the flat side, providing another octave of smooth low bass extension for the studio-quality detail offered by the flat side. I've actually given these $15 earbuds as gifts to a few audiophile friends and they've loved them.
Since then, I've switched to in-ear phones... and have taken a hit in quality in exchange for noise-blocking. I actually think that an in-ear phone is unlikely to provide audiophile-quality sound. But what has come close for me is the V-Moda Vibe.
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