I hate regular ear buds, because they hurt like hell after about two minutes. They also don't stay put. However, Sony makes a very nice pair of sport ear buds (I tried to find them on Sony's website and couldn't) that hook over one's ears and don't jam all the way in. They're painless, inexpensive, and produce amazing sound.
If I had the money, I'd love a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, but I don't use headphones in my house, and big headphones aren't really all that portable.
I hate regular ear buds, because they hurt like hell after about two minutes. They also don't stay put. However, Sony makes a very nice pair of sport ear buds (I tried to find them on Sony's website and couldn't) that hook over one's ears and don't jam all the way in. They're painless, inexpensive, and produce amazing sound.
If I had the money, I'd love a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, but I don't use headphones in my house, and big headphones aren't really all that portable.
Agreed, I never liked using the standard ear buds that came with my nano. They didn't hurt (as much) after some time, but they were annoying indeed for not staying in your ears. Have you tried using in-ear ear buds? They aren't noise-cancelling, so they are not that expensive (only $30 or so) yet are great, produce awesome sound, dims surrounding noise and stay easier in your ears. And the ones I have are very comfortable.
Two years back I had a guy in my class who had huge headphones, and wore them all the time. At one point he also had wheels attached to his shoes and skidded through the school on them. Was an awesome sight.
I hate regular ear buds, because they hurt like hell after about two minutes. They also don't stay put. However, Sony makes a very nice pair of sport ear buds (I tried to find them on Sony's website and couldn't) that hook over one's ears and don't jam all the way in. They're painless, inexpensive, and produce amazing sound.
If I had the money, I'd love a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, but I don't use headphones in my house, and big headphones aren't really all that portable.
Agreed, I never liked using the standard ear buds that came with my nano. They didn't hurt (as much) after some time, but they were annoying indeed for not staying in your ears. Have you tried using in-ear ear buds? They aren't noise-cancelling, so they are not that expensive (only $30 or so) yet are great, produce awesome sound, dims surrounding noise and stay easier in your ears. And the ones I have are very comfortable.
I haven't tried those yet, but they sound like they're worth a look.
Two years back I had a guy in my class who had huge headphones, and wore them all the time. At one point he also had wheels attached to his shoes and skidded through the school on them. Was an awesome sight.
I would imagine that it was.
One thing I forgot to mention, has anyone else seen the headphones on ThinkGeek that supposedly channel sound waves directly into your inner ear without blocking your ear canal at all? Does anyone have them? They're pretty pricy, but I'm thinking that I might get some of these with my next tax return.
One thing I forgot to mention, has anyone else seen the headphones on ThinkGeek that supposedly channel sound wavesdirectly into your inner earwithout blocking your ear canal at all? Does anyone have them? They're pretty pricy, but I'm thinking that I might get some of these with my next tax return.
The problem with those is that they do not block out noises from the environment. In fact, the ad copy on Think Geek pushes that as a feature.
When you are listening to something on headphones, you want all other noise to be blocked out. If there are other noises, you will have to turn up the volume on your music to hear it. Turning up the volume like that is what destroys your hearing. If you're in a city, like me, if you don't have headphones that cancel or block outside noise, you really can't listen while walking around the street, or in the subway, or near a train, or near a bus, without destroying your ears.
One thing I forgot to mention, has anyone else seen the headphones on ThinkGeek that supposedly channel sound wavesdirectly into your inner earwithout blocking your ear canal at all? Does anyone have them? They're pretty pricy, but I'm thinking that I might get some of these with my next tax return.
The problem with those is that they do not block out noises from the environment. In fact, the ad copy on Think Geek pushes that as a feature.
When you are listening to something on headphones, you want all other noise to be blocked out. If there are other noises, you will have to turn up the volume on your music to hear it. Turning up the volume like that is what destroys your hearing. If you're in a city, like me, if you don't have headphones that cancel or block outside noise, you really can't listen while walking around the street, or in the subway, or near a train, or near a bus, without destroying your ears.
That's generally true, but sometimes it's good to be able to hear what's going on around you. For instance, my last car had broken speakers, so the only way I could listen to music was with headphones. I never had any problems, but there was always this nagging feeling that I might miss something that I shouldn't because the headphones were cancelling out more sound than regular speakers would.
I also startle easily, so something that lets me listen to music and still be able to hear what's going on around me isn't necessarily a bad thing.
That's generally true, but sometimes it's good to be able to hear what's going on around you. For instance, my last car had broken speakers, so the only way I could listen to music was with headphones. I never had any problems, but there was always this nagging feeling that I might miss something that I shouldn't because the headphones were cancelling out more sound than regular speakers would.
Wearing any headphones while driving, noise canceling or not, is dangerous and illegal. Don't ever do it. Ever.
Wearing any headphones while driving, noise canceling or not, is dangerous and illegal. Don't ever do it. Ever.
It is dangerous, but not really any more dangerous than rolling up the windows and turning up the speakers, which is legal. In fact, I found that with headphones on and the windows down (my car had a broken AC too), I heard more than I did with the windows up and the radio going, even if the radio was at a lower volume.
It is dangerous, but not really any more dangerous than rolling up the windows and turning up the speakers, which is legal.
It's illegal in almost every state, and you can get a substantial ticket. Regardless of your rationalizations or arguments, you'll be in trouble if a police office sees you.
Coincidentally, I am looking for some nice noise-canceling headphones right now! I don't have a lot of money to spend on it so I'd prefer if if they weren't too expensive. Also I live in the Netherlands so I might not be able to get a certain pair if you recommend it. I also prefer the neck models over the standard ones, but that's not the most important part.
Does anyone know of a good pair of phones?
btw, I bought these, and I must tell you, THEY DO NOTHIIIIING!!!!
It is dangerous, but not really any more dangerous than rolling up the windows and turning up the speakers, which is legal. In fact, I found that with headphones on and the windows down (my car had a broken AC too), I heard more than I did with the windows up and the radio going, even if the radio was at a lower volume.
Actually, in many places it is illegal to have your car stereo turned up too loud. It is also incredibly dangerous. The exact law about how many decibels you are allowed to be cranking out varies by where you are.
I use earbuds because I want to listen to people while having some background noise. The Skullcandy brand seems to work for me, but they break easily. I may invest in some headphones for home use if I get around to it.
Coincidentally, I am looking for some nice noise-canceling headphones right now! I don't have a lot of money to spend on it so I'd prefer if if they weren't too expensive. Also I live in the Netherlands so I might not be able to get a certain pair if you recommend it. I also prefer the neck models over the standard ones, but that's not the most important part.
Does anyone know of a good pair of phones?
btw, I boughtthese, and I must tell you, THEY DO NOTHIIIIING!!!!
Well I can tell you something you shouldn't get, I got these Sonys they are a total rip-off, you notice back noise reduction, but right now, I'm really not a fan of active noise canceling and I'll tell you why. From what I understood, right now, what they do is cancel sound waves witch are in average what background noise is, and what that is, is mostly low frequencies such as the sound of a bus, or an airplane, and by doing so it also inevitably cancels out some of the low frequencies in whatever you're listening, making them sound really crappy, at least the Sony ones in the link I pasted.
Well I can tell you something you shouldn't get, I got theseSonysthey are a total rip-off, you notice back noise reduction, but right now, I'm really not a fan of active noise canceling and I'll tell you why. From what I understood, right now, what they do is cancel sound waves witch are in average what background noise is, and what that is, is mostly low frequencies such as the sound of a bus, or an airplane, and by doing so it also inevitably cancels out some of the low frequencies in whatever you're listening, making them sound really crappy, at least the Sony ones in the link I pasted.
Wouldn't that be easly solved by a good seal around your ear? I understand if some sound 'leaks out', but they shouldn't normally do that.
Well I can tell you something you shouldn't get, I got theseSonysthey are a total rip-off, you notice back noise reduction, but right now, I'm really not a fan of active noise canceling and I'll tell you why. From what I understood, right now, what they do is cancel sound waves witch are in average what background noise is, and what that is, is mostly low frequencies such as the sound of a bus, or an airplane, and by doing so it also inevitably cancels out some of the low frequencies in whatever you're listening, making them sound really crappy, at least the Sony ones in the link I pasted.
Wouldn't that be easily solved by a good seal around your ear? I understand if some sound 'leaks out', but they shouldn't normally do that.
I'm not sure I know what you mean, but a seal does work that's why the rubber, tight sealed, ear buds work great. But then again, if they are sealed you already have physical noise isolation of witch I think is much better then active noise cancelling, for the reason I already described.
Ah... didn't read the hole whole thing. 180 bucks is so much for a pair of ear buds. I guess that's what you pay for having the functionality of the original ear buds and with much better sound quality. I didn't even think there was a pair of these things with the really useful button and mic.
Sorry for the double post, they are a couple of weeks apart.
Don't worry about this kind of double post, it is to bump the thread back up to the first page and thus get people back in. Double posts with 2 minute intervals are stupid however. More importantly, could you take a little more of your time and actually make links? This is not a warez forum where they are scared shitless for getting linked to download sites via referrals.
As for your actual question, the amazon product has as technical specification "# Frequency response: 20 Hz to 16 kHz", whereas on the Etymotic site it's 50Hz to 16kHz. Not like it matters since you cannot really hear the difference between 20 and 50Hz anyway, if at all. Secondly, Amazon = 90 days warranty, Etymotic = 1 year.
Important, I'll be sending mine back sometime soon due to a loose connection.
Yup. I have in-ear (cheapo) earbuds, and while the sound is great, and it reduces the surrounding noise, the connection in the left earbud (on which the majority of the rest of the cable pulls) has a tendency to get loose in about half a year. It is the one downside I know off these small in-ear earbuds. And the pain whenever you accidentally jank it out of your ears because the cable gets caught at your knee.
I wear wrap-around headphones everyday when I ride to school. They have much better sound and STAY ON! But just before I arrive at school I switch to ear buds if I brought them, the only reason being that they are portable and aren't as noticeable. I will probably buy some new ear buds in the future that have good sound and stay in my ears. But until then, I have to use the shitty ear buds I have now.
I use a cheap set of Skullcandy buds with my iPod, but I like using headphones for video games and home listening. I also do a fair bit of composition on my computer, so headphones are a must for that when you don't have the cash for custom In-Ear Monitors.
I use earbuds when I can because they're much more comfortable with glasses or a helmet when I'm riding my bike. I want to get pair of sound isolating ones, but I've held off because I want to be able to hear things like sirens or honking cars. Does anybody make headphones that just reduce outside decibels by an amount like those fancy earplugs Rym and Scott are always plugging?
I have been using some Skullcandy Lowriders recently and I am loving the switch from earbuds to headphones. Sure the headphones are larger and less subtle than the earbuds, but they are much more comfortable and will help protect my hearing a little bit more.
Important, I'll be sending mine back sometime soon due to a loose connection.
I live in Brazil, so I probably won't be able to claim warranty even if I do need it. Any other ideas for ear buds that might not go bad in such a short time?
I use a pair of cheap in-ear buds right now. They're good enough for anything quieter than a car on a gravel road, but I still tend to avoid using them when there's a lot of background noise. I've already lost a bit of my hearing and earned myself a case of tinnitus from a combination of drumming without ear plugs and crappy iPod earbuds, so I'm a bit paranoid about my hearing.
I actually found (the "lying on the street" kind of "found", not the "I was looking to buy them and I did" kind) a pair of nice noise-canceling in-ear Skullcandies the other day... it's a glorious upgrade over the iPod-standard buds I was using prior.
Revived for advice: Both my computer headset (used for anime, gaming and Skype, formerly these) and my earbuds (used for walking home, homework, and falling asleep, formerly $5 pieces of junk from RadioShack) have broken within two weeks of each other, and I have little idea what I should buy. I was wondering if you guys had any recent recommendations. Also, since I'm a poor high school student, I'd like to keep the total cost under $100 or so, though that may not be possible.
I have a set of Sony MDR-XD400 headphones that I lucked into when my school's concert hall was chucking their stuff for their seasonal upgrades. Ironically enough, after some accounting irregularities, they canned the old director and hired someone who's actually knowledgeable about sound quality, so they all use MDR-XD200's now. The sound quality is amazing; I prefer wearing these over listening to my stereo. They shut out almost all the noise on the bus, and they form to the area around my ears perfectly.
Comments
If I had the money, I'd love a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, but I don't use headphones in my house, and big headphones aren't really all that portable.
Two years back I had a guy in my class who had huge headphones, and wore them all the time. At one point he also had wheels attached to his shoes and skidded through the school on them. Was an awesome sight.
One thing I forgot to mention, has anyone else seen the headphones on ThinkGeek that supposedly channel sound waves directly into your inner ear without blocking your ear canal at all? Does anyone have them? They're pretty pricy, but I'm thinking that I might get some of these with my next tax return.
When you are listening to something on headphones, you want all other noise to be blocked out. If there are other noises, you will have to turn up the volume on your music to hear it. Turning up the volume like that is what destroys your hearing. If you're in a city, like me, if you don't have headphones that cancel or block outside noise, you really can't listen while walking around the street, or in the subway, or near a train, or near a bus, without destroying your ears.
I also startle easily, so something that lets me listen to music and still be able to hear what's going on around me isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Does anyone know of a good pair of phones?
btw, I bought these, and I must tell you, THEY DO NOTHIIIIING!!!!
Well I can tell you something you shouldn't get, I got these Sonys they are a total rip-off, you notice back noise reduction, but right now, I'm really not a fan of active noise canceling and I'll tell you why.
From what I understood, right now, what they do is cancel sound waves witch are in average what background noise is, and what that is, is mostly low frequencies such as the sound of a bus, or an airplane, and by doing so it also inevitably cancels out some of the low frequencies in whatever you're listening, making them sound really crappy, at least the Sony ones in the link I pasted.
180 bucks is so much for a pair of ear buds. I guess that's what you pay for having the functionality of the original ear buds and with much better sound quality. I didn't even think there was a pair of these things with the really useful button and mic.
Sorry for the double post, they are a couple of weeks apart.
As for your actual question, the amazon product has as technical specification "# Frequency response: 20 Hz to 16 kHz", whereas on the Etymotic site it's 50Hz to 16kHz. Not like it matters since you cannot really hear the difference between 20 and 50Hz anyway, if at all. Secondly, Amazon = 90 days warranty, Etymotic = 1 year.
Both my computer headset (used for anime, gaming and Skype, formerly these) and my earbuds (used for walking home, homework, and falling asleep, formerly $5 pieces of junk from RadioShack) have broken within two weeks of each other, and I have little idea what I should buy. I was wondering if you guys had any recent recommendations. Also, since I'm a poor high school student, I'd like to keep the total cost under $100 or so, though that may not be possible.