Ear buds-cords or wireless?
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Today a head to head Shure AONIC 215 versus the Sony MX4. Those poor Sony's didn't stand a chance but the experience was still pleasant. The Sony do a great job at providing a bit of mask for reducing the impact of a less than hi-fi recording or bit rate. The range away from the source is better and they are definitely more comfortable than the over the ear Shure ear buds. They're a wee bit louder at a given volume on the dial of the source too.
The noise isolation of the Shure absolutely kills the Sony and Bose quiet comfort. With the Sony turned on max noise cancel you can hear some noise. The Bose are better at greatly reducing noise but the Shure make noise go away.
The open air properties of the Shure are also better. When set for pass through the sounds are pretty natural. The Sony adds a bit of crisp to sounds. The Bose do well too. All three get the job done but the Shure have an edge.
The sound of a guitar pick as it plucks a string, or an audience member at a live show whistling way off in the distance show up better with the Shure. For fidelity and realistic sound stage presence the Shure wipe the floor with the Sony MX4 and Bose quiet comfort. Pete Yorn recordings are way more lively and 3 dimensional sounding. The song Government Center by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers sounds like Jim Morrison engineered it while listening to it with the Shure ear buds in my ears. It sounds like a 2 track machine with the Bose and Sony.
In some ways I prefer the sounds the Sony MX4 provides, kinda like preferring a Reeses peanut butter cup to brocolli. In some cases the Bose quiet comfort are favored. Especially for lousy recordings. The qualm I have with the Shure is when the recording or bit rate causes loss of fidelity you know it. It's like watching a VHS tape on a big screen tv.
Comfort wise the Sony win. Secure in the ear and comfort combined the Bose win. So if you've got $200 to spend on ear buds all three get it done. Bose has come out with quiet comfort 2 so the original can be found around $150-175 instead of $250. Sony's are started to show up around $180. The Shure about $220 from $275. If you don't mind cords the superior sounding AONIC 215 corded can be had under $100 and sound a bit better too.
The noise isolation of the Shure absolutely kills the Sony and Bose quiet comfort. With the Sony turned on max noise cancel you can hear some noise. The Bose are better at greatly reducing noise but the Shure make noise go away.
The open air properties of the Shure are also better. When set for pass through the sounds are pretty natural. The Sony adds a bit of crisp to sounds. The Bose do well too. All three get the job done but the Shure have an edge.
The sound of a guitar pick as it plucks a string, or an audience member at a live show whistling way off in the distance show up better with the Shure. For fidelity and realistic sound stage presence the Shure wipe the floor with the Sony MX4 and Bose quiet comfort. Pete Yorn recordings are way more lively and 3 dimensional sounding. The song Government Center by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers sounds like Jim Morrison engineered it while listening to it with the Shure ear buds in my ears. It sounds like a 2 track machine with the Bose and Sony.
In some ways I prefer the sounds the Sony MX4 provides, kinda like preferring a Reeses peanut butter cup to brocolli. In some cases the Bose quiet comfort are favored. Especially for lousy recordings. The qualm I have with the Shure is when the recording or bit rate causes loss of fidelity you know it. It's like watching a VHS tape on a big screen tv.
Comfort wise the Sony win. Secure in the ear and comfort combined the Bose win. So if you've got $200 to spend on ear buds all three get it done. Bose has come out with quiet comfort 2 so the original can be found around $150-175 instead of $250. Sony's are started to show up around $180. The Shure about $220 from $275. If you don't mind cords the superior sounding AONIC 215 corded can be had under $100 and sound a bit better too.
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raggie33
*the raggedier*
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2003
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- 13,595
i love budget audio my fav earbuds are called kz something they sound so good
PhotonWrangler
Flashaholic
I prefer a set of wired headphones any day. I have a cheap pair of wired 'cans' at home and another pair at work. For me the bass response is so much better on a set of full sized headphones, if for no other reason than the diaphragm is a lot bigger. And no batteries or pairing to worry about.
raggie33
*the raggedier*
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2003
- Messages
- 13,595
get some and thank me latter KZ ZSN Pro Dynamic Hybrid Dual Driver in Ear Earphones Gray Without Mic
PhotonWrangler
Flashaholic
Hmm, those do look interesting. Thanks Raggie.
fostex t50rp
that is all...
that is all...
I gave Mrs Fixer some Sony Link S ear buds for Christmas. I kept hearing her talking to nobody. Between the smart watch and an ear bud she has now become on of "those people" who seemingly walk around talking to themselves. They must work pretty good at phone calls because she was never walking around like those undercover people on tv who talk to their wrist a lot.
She likes the pause feature where the music stops when you talk and being able to use just one at a time.
She likes the pause feature where the music stops when you talk and being able to use just one at a time.
My brother gave me some Anker Liberty 2 Pro Upgrade ear buds. Ounce for ounce they'll hold steady with much higher priced ones and have better bass and treble. Reviews said factory setting was pretty flat, and lacking mid section. I thought they sounded pretty good in factory default but did add a bit of boost with the EQ.
No noise cancellation feature but do have a very good transparent mode. With good fitting foam tips I did not miss the noise cancelation feature, really. Yeah, I can hear my mower more than with noise cancelling but it's still as muffled as when I wear ear plugs.
Will they hold up? Time will tell. But my first (and the last) pair of Bose Quiet Comfort quit taking a charge right after the warranty expired. Hence "the last".
For sub $60 ear buds these aint bad at all
No noise cancellation feature but do have a very good transparent mode. With good fitting foam tips I did not miss the noise cancelation feature, really. Yeah, I can hear my mower more than with noise cancelling but it's still as muffled as when I wear ear plugs.
Will they hold up? Time will tell. But my first (and the last) pair of Bose Quiet Comfort quit taking a charge right after the warranty expired. Hence "the last".
For sub $60 ear buds these aint bad at all
@bykfixer Not sure if this is a good deal but payed $22 instead of $16 since I don't have prime... Girlfriend needed a pair so gonna let her try them!
SlickDeals
SlickDeals
If they sound good and hold up that's an awesome deal.
Mrs Fixer gave me her white Bose quiet comfort last summer. They did great for a while. They are afterall a fairly good sounding pair of ear buds. The ear piece is great at keeping them from falling out of your ears. They're just not reliable. This time it was the left one that died. I'd been keeping them charged too. Last time I went to great lengths to get the black ones going again to no avail. This time I just tossed them in a junk drawer. Why not just trash them? Well because I found the black ones the other night and they worked again.
I'll normally not talk bad about Bose products but will say don't waste your money on quiet comfort ear buds. They're just not reliable.
I'll normally not talk bad about Bose products but will say don't waste your money on quiet comfort ear buds. They're just not reliable.
Almost two years later, and I'm still enjoying them every day.
👆 They're popular for good reason.
haveyouseenthelight
Newly Enlightened
Try returning them to Bose, I hear they have good customer service.
I agree, wired over the ear headphones cannot be beat for music listening
Ya I bought myself a pair of Samson sr850s. They're a clone of some old akg reference headphone I believe the k240 but they're $30. I bought a pair for everyone in my family. They sound incredible.
I don't normally use headphones like I used to. I'd much rather listen on my home stereo system (when wife isn't home) but I have a pair of skullcandy over the ears and they sound very nice for the price
If they're still under warranty Bose will help you all day long. Once out of warranty all they do is try to sell you the quiet comfort 2.
