Best Ear Buds Ever

Let me guess....more midbass for pop/rock/r&B (Shure) vs. more midrange purity for Jazz/Classical (Grado)?

 

 

How'd you guess?

 

That about sums them up nicely. The Grado's is more transparent whereas the Shure's has more punch. I am a tad worried about the longevity of the Grado's though as it looks fairly fragile.

Damn now I'm shopping for a pair! Im not ready to drop $1k on some IEM's but Ill bite at $300-$400. Trying to decide between the GR10e or the IE80's. Best earbuds I've ever had are the Klipsch Image S4

Also looking at the Weston W20's.

 

Anyone have any experience with those three?

Yeah bumping an old thread.

 

So what do you guys like for wireless sport earbuds? Im seeing the bose soundsport and jaybird x3 are essentially the two most popular. I need durability and water resistance over supreme sound. Wont swim with them on but i sweat a lot and will probably be pretty rough with them.

 

Im fine spending a couple hundred bucks but not going for anything obscene.

Yeah bumping an old thread.

 

So what do you guys like for wireless sport earbuds? Im seeing the bose soundsport and jaybird x3 are essentially the two most popular. I need durability and water resistance over supreme sound. Wont swim with them on but i sweat a lot and will probably be pretty rough with them.

 

Im fine spending a couple hundred bucks but not going for anything obscene.

 

Speaking on the durability of Jaybirds, I've had my original Jaybird X's for 3 years and have had no problems, even after putting them through the washer and dryer 2 times! The sound quality is still great as well

I had Jaybirds for a few months until I lost them but they were great. Very comfortable and stayed in for my long runs and HIT workouts

obviously not the same sound quality, but loving my airpods! so many cool features!

Yeah bumping an old thread.

 

So what do you guys like for wireless sport earbuds? Im seeing the bose soundsport and jaybird x3 are essentially the two most popular. I need durability and water resistance over supreme sound. Wont swim with them on but i sweat a lot and will probably be pretty rough with them.

 

Im fine spending a couple hundred bucks but not going for anything obscene.

 

FWIW I picked up a pair of JLab Audio Epic2 ($99) to wear at the gym after reading a favorable review of them, and they turned out to be absolute garbage, sound quality spikes and dives when the wires bend. Uncomfortable too.

 

 

For buds that still has a wire between themselves but not to the music playing device, Optoma Nuforce BE6i.

For true wireless buds, Jabra Elite Sports and Onkyo W800BT. The Onkyo would likely get replaced soon though.

Yeah bumping an old thread.

 

So what do you guys like for wireless sport earbuds? Im seeing the bose soundsport and jaybird x3 are essentially the two most popular. I need durability and water resistance over supreme sound. Wont swim with them on but i sweat a lot and will probably be pretty rough with them.

 

Im fine spending a couple hundred bucks but not going for anything obscene.

 

These I put through the ringer and they held up well, on sale also. Loved how I can just come home and hop in the shower with the music still playing. Going to buy another pair.

 

https://slickdeals.net/f/11221215-plantroni...earchBarV2Algo1

 

I had jaybird freedoms and was not a fan. Although not bad. Costco sells them. I recommend trying them out there if you have a Costco membership. The thing with the jaybirds is my sweat eventually got inside and corroded the inline connector for charging/extra batteries, made them useless. Also, I didn't like the tugging you get with the inline remote while jogging, but that can be minimixed with a nice earbud fit. Battery life was poor, always had to recharge or have an extra battery on me. But will last through a workout no problem.

Last night i ordered the jaybird x3, bose soundsport, and optomo. They should be here today (amazon rocks) so i will check them all out and report back.

 

This bump came at a interesting time.

 

I’ve used the Shure846’s since I started this thread years ago. For countless hours, on probably 30 international flights and more domestic. And at home often, 5 days/week. I upgraded the cables and got a amp, whole kit is $2500. Which works out to 0.136428647 cents/hour. Cheapest luxury item I ever owned by the hour.

 

Now since this thread the IEM market has really blown up and $1000 ain’t much now for a pair. In fact it’s not even half way to the top now.

 

What makes the timing of this bump interesting is in the last 2-3 weeks I’ve finally noticed some fall off of the sound quality and sound stage of the 846’s.

 

I didn’t expect them to last this long, I’ve changed the foam tips and never used them at high volume levels.

 

Not sure what I’m replacing them with, possibly the same thing because they fit like custom IEM’s would fit-just was lucky. And they are not too big so I can sleep with them in on flights as the noise canceling is great just with their natural seal in my ears.

 

 

So after all these years, my opinion of them is only better.

 

Just a heads up caution, I’ve read about counterfeit ones for $500-$700, so I’d only buy them from authorized dealers.

 

Best

Eric

There's lots of new players on the market now. Personally I like Campfire Audio and 64Audio

These are my new favorite: https://aftershokz.com/collections/all/prod...p0aAh6sEALw_wcB

AirPods? Work just fine for me 😂

I once tried the airpods that came with iPhone and they were broken right out of the box. Did not matter at all even it was 1000€ phone. I was just thinking "typical". lol

Probably being way too esoteric here but for causal tunes, IEM's do the job but they aren't really too hi-fi per se. The frequency response might be right and some tonal qualities do make the grade. But as far as soundstage and imaging go, they flop completely. And some of these are getting ludicrously $$$ for what they really are. Take one apart and you will probably have an idea. Yes, one might be able to say the same about phono cartridges (some are in 5-figure USD now) but those are a lot more difficult to make as compared to IEM's. There are a lot of limitations on IEM's due to their size and the power required. They have a long way to go yet especially for the wireless ones.

Yes, one might be able to say the same about phono cartridges (some are in 5-figure USD now)

 

Didn't believe this when I read it . Google searched, got this: https://www.soundstagedirect.com/clearaudio...owaAlc4EALw_wcB

 

Wow. WTF

Didn't believe this when I read it . Google searched, got this: https://www.soundstagedirect.com/clearaudio...owaAlc4EALw_wcB

 

Wow. WTF

 

I kid you not.

I always used mid level sennheiser ear bud headphones but recently got a pair of AKG K3003i IEM. I find the audio quality astonishing but I understand how the reference filters can be fatiguing for extended listening , I still need to try the bass boost filters to see if it helps.

Probably being way too esoteric here but for causal tunes, IEM's do the job but they aren't really too hi-fi per se. The frequency response might be right and some tonal qualities do make the grade. But as far as soundstage and imaging go, they flop completely. And some of these are getting ludicrously $$$ for what they really are. Take one apart and you will probably have an idea. Yes, one might be able to say the same about phono cartridges (some are in 5-figure USD now) but those are a lot more difficult to make as compared to IEM's. There are a lot of limitations on IEM's due to their size and the power required. They have a long way to go yet especially for the wireless ones.

 

I prefer lots of my IEMs to my full size headphones. Personally I feel soundstage is overrated. There's a minimum acceptable level for me and then the rest is tuning, separation, impact, decay, isolation, etc.

 

Have you listened to Campfire Audio Andromeda or 64Audio U16?

Have you listened to Campfire Audio Andromeda or 64Audio U16?

 

Not only the Andromeda but the Vega and the Dorado as well. Not bad but not 4-figure "not-bad".

U16?? No I have not...because such a model doesn't exist! U12t and U18t yes but not U16. I've also tried the tia Trio and Forte. All nice but not several-thousand-dollar nice especially several-thousand-dollar earbuds.

 

Personally I feel soundstage is overrated. There's a minimum acceptable level for me and then the rest is tuning, separation, impact, decay, isolation, etc.

 

I see that you are trying to pull the same trick on the IEM's as your claimed knowledge on cars.

Didn't work on the cars and it wouldn't work here either. Soundstage is overrated?! You know how naive that sounds? (pun intneded) Soundstage in audio is as important as depth of field in vision. Without soundstage, one wouldn't be able to aurally judge distance and width. Do yourself and everyone a favour, either cut the BS or go have a drink at your local bar that features live music. Doesn't matter how well or bad they play, go and experience the soundstage that a live performance offers and then compare that to your favourite buds, cans or whatever you put on your ears. If you still prefer your IEM's, then that's equivalent to saying your prefer the "driving experience" on a PS4 GT Sport / XBox Forsa Motorsport over driving the actual cars. Quit while you can and before you make a fool out of yourself. Wait..., you've done that already so just quit!

Quit while you can and before you make a fool out of yourself. Wait..., you've done that already so just quit!

 

 

 

 

Didn't believe this when I read it . Google searched, got this: https://www.soundstagedirect.com/clearaudio...owaAlc4EALw_wcB

 

Wow. WTF

 

There's at least one (if not more) six figure turntable, so naturally elite cartridges can/will be pricey too.

 

A $50k D/A converter for "analog sounding digital", haha.

 

Law of diminishing returns still applies, but for the super well heeled audiophile, this is their custom built hyper car.

 

It still fascinates me how people so jaded by exotic car and hyper car prices seem so shocked at how much audio gear goes for.

 

At the rate audio tech moves versus other tech, what is great now will still be great 30 years from now. It still will be working well with decent maintenance after many years.