Any recommended earphones?

[tech3475]

My Sennheiser (CX300?) earphones broke last night and I'm in need of replacements.

Are there any which can be recommend as an alternative with decent quality (but not bass heavy)? Because direct replacements will cost around £32 (I paid £10 on offer) and I only like to spend up to £20.

In the past I've used Sony earphones and while they had decent quality, they had hit or miss reliability.

Thank you.

 

[NintendU_the_great]

Apple ones. they are pretty good

 

[Haloman800]

Bose in-ear headphones are the best I've used. Very comfortable (to quote a condom commercial, "feels like nothing's there"), great sound, and reliable. They also have volume and pause/play buttons built in to the headphone wire. Be prepared to pay ~$100 for them.

 

[sarkwalvein]

Get the Apple MD827ZM/A, they are quite acceptable (but a little bass heavy though)
They usually go for 10-12€ on eBay.

PS: They are reliable, they have already survived many accidental laundries without problem.

 

[enarky]

I'd recommend either Xiaomi Piston v4 or KZ ZS3. I use both, but dislike the ZS3's clumsiness a bit. If you google for headphone reviews these both are the absolute best in the lower price range category and compete with headphones triple their price.

EDIT: If you want to spend a bit more the 1more E1001 is pretty good, unfortunately mine broke within the first month, so YMMV.

 

[kehkou]

Skullcandy Ink'd are pretty decent (they surpass my Sony's), cost around $10 USD

 

[Deleted User]

Apple ones. they are pretty good

Can't vouch for this myself because never used them but Apple products generally have very good build quality so they might be a good choice.

 

[tech3475]

Bose in-ear headphones are the best I've used. Very comfortable (to quote a condom commercial, "feels like nothing's there"), great sound, and reliable. They also have volume and pause/play buttons built in to the headphone wire. Be prepared to pay ~$100 for them.

Way over budget though.

Coincidentally, last week I had someone at work want to return a set because of an intermittent fault.

Get the Apple MD827ZM/A, they are quite acceptable (but a little bass heavy though)
They usually go for 10-12€ on eBay.

PS: They are reliable, they have already survived many accidental laundries without problem.

Got a pair with a phone once, I would honestly recommend looking at others if you're using them because their quality was night and day worse difference between my Sony or Senheisers.

I'd recommend either Xiaomi Piston v4 or KZ ZS3. I use both, but dislike the ZS3's clumsiness a bit. If you google for headphone reviews these both are the absolute best in the lower price range category and compete with headphones triple their price.

EDIT: If you want to spend a bit more the 1more E1001 is pretty good, unfortunately mine broke within the first month, so YMMV.

Skullcandy Ink'd are pretty decent (they surpass my Sony's), cost around $10 USD

Thanks I'll look into those.

 

[DeoNaught]

The ones that last the longest so far, are the apple ones

 

[sarkwalvein]

Got a pair with a phone once, I would honestly recommend looking at others if you're using them because their quality was night and day worse difference between my Sony or Senheisers.

TBH I normally use Sennheiser HDR180 or HD598 when I am home.
When I am out I normally use either some Marshall Mid Bluetooth (really convenient) or some Bose QC25 (good noise cancel), but neither sound as good as the Sennheiser.
Nevertheless, for the price I consider the Apple model I talked about quite good, and I sometimes use it together with my Switch or 3DS because they are very small and portable. The sound quality is below all the others I use but it is acceptable IMHO.

PS: By quite acceptable I mean better than some JBL and Sennheiser earpods I used in the past... I don't remember exact models, but the Sennheiser had a 40 somewhere.

 

[kehkou]

Thanks I'll look into those.

If you go with the Skullcandy, make sure they are "Ink'd 2" model, they are better than the originals (this is the ones I was talking about but forgot to mention the "2").

 

[HamBone41801]

iRiver earbuds are by far my favorite headphones/earbuds of all time.

 

[Yepi69]

Apple ones. they are pretty good

No they aren't, at all.
Talking from experience.
They might be durable, but for music its absolute shit.

For the OP:

Get JBL ones, I got a pair for 20 bucks and the bass almost blew my head off, couldn't even have the volume at max.
That is, if you prefer enjoying music rather than just listening to it.

 

[Hanafuda]

Skullcandy Ink'd are pretty decent (they surpass my Sony's), cost around $10 USD

For the money, yeah those aren't bad. Or JVC Gumy's if they still make them. You're looking at very low-end with that price limit, OP. I use the ATH-IM02 and highly recommend it, but it costs a bit more than the ceiling you quoted.

 

[kehkou]

For the money, yeah those aren't bad. Or JVC Gumy's if they still make them. You're looking at very low-end with that price limit, OP. I use the ATH-IM02 and highly recommend it, but it costs a bit more than the ceiling you quoted.

Ah yes, I forgot about the Gumy's. The Gumy+ are about as good as the Ink'd 2. I've got lucky once and even found a family dollar $5 metal pair that compared with my Sony's. Most dollar store headphones are crap though...

 

[Saiyan Lusitano]

Is it to use at home? Get Sennheiser HD 201 or for earphones, Samsung (£2.45) or Apple (£6.80) ones should do the job.

* Amazon UK prices

 

[sarkwalvein]

I agree, but people don't seem to take the Apple earpods seriously because of... bias.
I had some strong prejudice also, until I tested the MD827ZM/A, and I am positive that they are the best earpods in that price range... But no sugarcoating, being the best don't make them good, just acceptable... There are no good earpods in that price range.

PS: And for serious acceptable quality, drop more money, I don't know, get some Sennheiser Momentum if you want something closed that you can take out...

 

[Boogieboo6]

My pair of Apple earpods have gone through the laundry about 4 times and still haven't broken. They're also the only earbuds that fit in my ears.

 

[tech3475]

I agree, but people don't seem to take the Apple earpods seriously because of... bias.
I had some strong prejudice also, until I tested the MD827ZM/A, and I am positive that they are the best earpods in that price range... But no sugarcoating, being the best don't make them good, just acceptable... There are no good earpods in that price range.

PS: And for serious acceptable quality, drop more money, I don't know, get some Sennheiser Momentum if you want something closed that you can take out...

The problem I have is that their sound quality is noticeably inferior to similarly priced alternatives Ive used, even if they have lower durability. This includes the model you recommend (got one with an iphone).

Im weary about dropping more money partially because Ive heard more epensive ones in the past (e.g. A Bose set) but the quality didnt seem to justify the price and the risk of them breaking anyway (the ones Ive seen are not like my QC25s or HD598s which have a replaceable cord).

 

[Saint_Kaiser]

It's all personal preference, I like headphones better. Skullcandy I find to be a reliable brand, I've been using the same Bluetooth headphones for 4 years straight and they are good as new. Use them everyday.