What are some good ear canal bud headphones to buy?

The ones I know of right now are Koss - The Plug and the Sony MDR-EX71SL... I know there are others, looking for some affordable for an $100.00 mp3 player with 90dB (whatever that is!)

Any ideas?

Thanks

I used to use the Sony ones. After you use them, it's really quite hard to get used to the non-canal type.

They're really good!

i got the sony 51s and they are awesome. can't really say anything bout the koss since i never looked up any reviews for them. But i can vouch for the sony's. Once u get them in properly, sounds like a mini subwoofer in ur ear

The Koss's are pretty good, some people think they sound as good as the Sony 71's, but I like the Sony's far better. The next one up is the Shure E2C which are around $130 (well worth it as they are excellent). Under $100, I'd go for the Sony 71SL's

I have to say this: What's up with you people thinking that the EX51 and EX71 are decent? The EX71's bass is really poor, too much, too fake...to say the least.

Originally Posted by chatbox

I have to say this: What's up with you people thinking that the EX51 and EX71 are decent? The EX71's bass is really poor, too much, too fake...to say the least.

My thoughts exactly, I owned the EX71's, and I thought they were good until I purchased some REAL headphones, now I just can't understand how anyone could consider those over-bassed noisemakers anywhere near "good"

Originally Posted by Zeni

My thoughts exactly, I owned the EX71's, and I thought they were good until I purchased some REAL headphones, now I just can't understand how anyone could consider those over-bassed noisemakers anywhere near "good"

So what are "REAL headphones"? I honestly want to know... Obviously a set good noise cancelling headphones are better, but if there are better earbuds around the same price I'd be interested in trying them out for use with my mp3 player

My friends got me a set of Shure e3cs for my birthday... even with these that are well-known to have weak treble/rolled-off highs, it makes the Sonys sound bad. However, if you really really like bass, the Sony's are a good bet.

Originally Posted by monkey-boy

So what are "REAL headphones"? I honestly want to know... Obviously a set good noise cancelling headphones are better, but if there are better earbuds around the same price I'd be interested in trying them out for use with my mp3 player

Over at www.audiocubes.com, they have the Etymotic Research ER-6i for $129 USD. Really worth the price. (P.S. We're talking about earbuds. You can find some real headphones at that site as well.)

Originally Posted by chatbox

I have to say this: What's up with you people thinking that the EX51 and EX71 are decent? The EX71's bass is really poor, too much, too fake...to say the least.

i'm pretty much going from my experience. I don't consider myself an audiophile but the 51s are good nuff for me. Funny tho, the problem with these threads is that you'll sometimes end up more confused. This is what i did when i got my 51s and read so many different reviews about it and the 71s. Even ones saying the 51s sound better than the 71s, so i just decided to try out one, and it was the 51s i found.

just give one of them a try and see how it is to you, since it will be u listening to them, not anyone else

i love my ex51s. i would easily buy the same model again.

as for buying "real" buds...c'mon. look at the price of a pair of Ety's compared to the Sony. completely different league and for what? so you can listen to your mp3s with better clarity? oO if you want to talk about real headphones you might as well go out and get a pair of Grados.

Originally Posted by chatbox

I have to say this: What's up with you people thinking that the EX51 and EX71 are decent? The EX71's bass is really poor, too much, too fake...to say the least.

The thing with Sony's is that they have characteristically high bass. IMHO the excessive lows muffles the highs.

Originally Posted by chatbox

Over at www.audiocubes.com, they have the Etymotic Research ER-6i for $129 USD. Really worth the price. (P.S. We're talking about earbuds. You can find some real headphones at that site as well.)

I heard Etys are good. So are Shures.

Seriously though -- before you get a good pair of cans, make sure your equipment can support it. If you got a crappy little MP3 player, then there won't be a difference between a pair of E51's and a pair of Shure E3's. If you have an Ipod then you may hear the difference.

That's why I always tell myself not to get Shures. I have a PDA, which isn't exactly the best for audio quality anyways. Plus, I listen to OGGs converted from MP3's anyways, so quality takes a double hit. The only way I'm going with $100+ cans is if I get an ipod.

So before you decide on a set of cans, know your device, and know your format. Otherwise, you're wasting your money.

Just got a pair of the shure e3cs from ecost.com (they put em on for 124.99 from time to time)

Big, big difference over the sony EX-71s.. I liked the sonys quite a bit, but I knew the sound was pretty fake (overly bassy but the mids aren't as bad as people say).. But the e3cs mids and highs blow it away. Not really as bassy, but a nice flat response.

A couple gripes: they are not as comfortable in the ear as the sonys, and they aren't as ergonomic (both headphone leads are the same length instead of the short/long way on the sonys so you can drape it over the back of your neck). Also, I did like how the sony had a short lead (with extension) so you could plug it into a remote without oodles of extra cable.

Also, more of a gripe on my iriver player is that the remote needs the extension cable in order to plugin to the remote - included with the iriver but still kind of annoying. For now I am going without remote.

I think I'm just going to try the Koss The Plug headphones, the Sony's are going for way too much on E-bay. Anyone know where to get a good deal on these?

Brian

The Sony's are definitely bloated in the bass, and not accurate at all, but the do have some detail that comes through. The Koss's are just muddy sounding to me. Even if you go to the next step, Shure E2C, they aren't that accurate, the highs are too veiled and the sound is on the warm side, but the mids are very nice.

So it's a matter of the lesser evils, which one can one enjoy the most. Ideally, everybody wanting good canal sound has to ante up the big bucks. I definitely prefer the Sony's over the Koss. I'm not a bass head at all, but I actually find the Sony's kind of fun to listen too. It's like listening to classic Klipsch horn speakers, you *know* its fake, but it's lively and fun to listen to. If you can't get "all-natural", then go for the "tastefully enhanced" pair and enjoy your one night stand.