Favorite in-ear/ear-bud headphones UNDER $30?

[bullfrog]

Hey all, hoping you can help me out here:

I have a pair of the Bose in ear head phones that are such a pain in the *** as they just wont stay in my ears regardless of the size bud I use - $100 down the tube and I'm going to give em to my wife.

Before the Bose, I had a pair of Shure's that I lost - they were cool but just way too much money at over $150.

Well, I've come to the conclusion that I refuse to spend more than $30 on headphones considering my track record thus far and I'd much rather spent the $$$ on lights - I'm willing to sacrifice sound quality as I'm sure there MUST be decent ones out there...

So... what are your favorite in-ear or ear-bud style headphone that are UNDER $30? (I dislike greatly over the ear ones)

Thank in advance!
-Harry

 

[bullfrog]

:wave:

 

[Skeptic]

Under $30 can be tricky. I have used a number of the Sony ear buds, they range in price between $25 and $50. The silicone in the replaceable sized ear inserts is pretty good, in fact some of the best. Link to Amazon 32.99

I have a pair of v-moda duos right now, these are very good and have an integrated microphone for the iPhone. But, they are $90. You can buy the v-moda regular ones at Costco for under $60 (if they still have them, I saw them about 1 month ago). The bass is very good, soft silicone for a good fit and comfort. Link to Amazon 24.33

There are a couple of models of Skullcandy brand that seem pretty good.

I think that your $30 price point is where you see the difference in the silicone or other materials for the ear piece. I know that i have bought some earbuds that actually hurt my ears after a while, so I tend to be picky.

 

[scott]

I'm happy with my Skullcandy buds. Very comfortable and the sound is good...at least to me.

 

[StarHalo]

Sony 828's, these are sonically identical to any of Sony's 30mm open-air headphones, but much smaller and more comfortable. You can often find these at Target for ~$8. See them here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008VF63/?tag=cpf0b6-20

 

[dilbert]

I have some Sennheiser CX-300 ear buds. I got mine a while ago and they have been great. I travel occasionally for work and they do a good job of blocking out the airplane noise so I don't have to crank up the volume to hear my music or movie. It looks like they have them for around $22 at Amazon... I paid around $35 for mine.

One odd thing about them is they have an asymmetrical cable. One side, the right, is longer than the other. This makes it easy to tell the right bud from the left and it allows you to put the longer side behind your neck and helps keep the cord out of the way. It was a little odd at first, but I've grown to like that feature.

Here's a PDF spec sheet. I tend to overanalyze things before I buy them.

 

[bullfrog]

I'm happy with my Skullcandy buds. Very comfortable and the sound is good...at least to me.

I had the SC smokin buds for a while:

http://www.skullcandy.com/shop/smokinbuds-p-10.html

They just would NOT stay in my ears...

Maybe I have really weird ears? nothing seems to fit..

Thanks for all the suggestions so far - the sonys and steinheisers look like they would work really really well!

 

[dilbert]

The Sennheisers have three sizes of ear adapters that come with them. I actually use a different size for my left than my right ear to get the best fit. I guess I have strange ear canals.

 

[StarHalo]

The Sennheisers are in-ear/full-isolation, whereas the Sonys are buds/transparent.

 

[bullfrog]

Hmmm. The traditional bud type like the ipod phones have always stayed in my ear better than any in-ears ones...

I think I will stop by best buy tomorrow and maybe pick em both up..

Thanks for the continued advice!

 

[tebore]

Another vote for the Sennheiser CX-300. I had them for over a year and they were great. Especially for the money.

They were so good I had to replace them with CX-500 because my girlfriend took my CX-300. The CX-500 I find have better bass, better isolation and sound clearer. I say the CX-500 are a step up on the CX-300 in everyway. The CX-500's tip is also goldplated while the CX-300 are not for some reason.

Only thing I don't really like about the CX-500 is the volume control.

 

[baterija]

Maybe I have really weird ears? nothing seems to fit..

It's not just you. I have larger ear canals. Most in ear phones fall out if I blink hard...ok maybe a slight exaggeration. Usually the large adapters are still too small for anything resembling a secure fit.

I've settled on the JVC Marshmallow. They stay in place better when I run than some Phillips around the ear clip phones I have. It's coming up on 2 years and the foam is less pliable but they are still staying in place adequately if not quite as well. Decent sound, about 20 bucks, and I'm not constantly distracted by having to fiddle them back into place. I really like the Marshmallows.

 

[tiktok 22]

Got a couple of sennheiser MX400's. They sound great for about $10.

 

[csshih]

Hmm, maybe you're looking for canalphones? they stick in your ear canals, and don't come out easily.. I guess.

I currently use Shure SCL-2s, (formerly known as E2c) but they're 3x your price limit.

I still recommend them, as they come with a 2 year warranty, their design makes it very hard to pull out of your ear, the sound clarity is decent, and they don't break easily.

they wrap around your ear, by the way.
you'll have to see a picture to get what it looks like.

oh, and they have great reviews.

sound good?

and here's an amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UF0BWM/?tag=cpf0b6-20

they come is either black or clear variety, by the way.

as you can see in reviews, the fit is indeed extremely important, as it is the difference between having tinny earphones that sound just as bad as iPod earphones to having awesome ones.

 

[gsxrac]

Skullcandy has been the best bang for my buck! Good luck with the search!

 

[R@ndom]

Google head-fi the cpf of all kinds of portable audio gear.