[Scott L]

After the stock earbuds on my 4g iPod broke I was determined to replace them with an aftermarket set that was supposed to have better SQ for the $. Budget was under $50. Here's what I tried:

Sony MDR-EX71 - These are the popular earbuds that you always see reviewed on iLounge, with many users claiming superior SQ over the iPod earbuds. This just wasn't the case for me. It had better bass yes, but almost NO mids. Highs were nice and not overbearing but I need that open-air sound for a somewhat wide soundstange and these Sony's just didn't provide it. I can't believe people actually think these sound better clarity-wise.

I decided to keep them anyway because I use them sparingly at work and didn't want to go through the hassle of boxing them back up. After 93 days they broke, right when Sony's warranty ended. So back to the drawing board...

Creative EP-630 - These got great reviews all over Head-Fi and was $28 w/ free shipping at Amazon so I went for it. After 10 minutes of listening I put them back in their case and plan to ship them back to Amazon for a refund. Horrible sound with a very tinny sound. Again better bass than the iPod buds but that was it.

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So by now I'm frustrated. I hate buying things on the net and being dissatisfied. I just decided to go with what I knew was good and re-buy a pair of the stock iPod earbuds. I went to the Apple store and saw there is a new model, seems they were updated along with the new Nano.

Model #MA662G/A

Not only do these sound better all around but they are more comfortable with rubber edges. Sleeker, more durable design too. Treble doesn't seem to be as good as it should be, so these aren't perfect, but for $30 I doubt you can find a better earbud.

So if you're looking for a replacement for your older earbuds look at the updated model first.

[Kimmo Jaskari]

Or you can up your budget just a tad and buy a really nice set of earplug style phones that are quite a bit better than the EX71's.

Sure E2c's are very nice indeed and will set you back $99 online. These will save your ears when you are in places that are noisy - no more need to crank the player up to literally ear-splitting volumes to try to drown out the noise. I have a set and feel no urge to upgrade at the moment.

Another phone in the same category and price would be the Ultimate Ears super.fi 3 - never heard them myself, but they look like a nice set and the reviews are good.

Etymotic Research E6i is another nice earplug style choice, also around $100 or so online.

[Scott L]

Man reading over that review makes me think twice about trying to rush a post before leaving work. ;]

Thanks for the input Kimmo. I actually read all about those over the years, but I was on a budget for my earbud search. I already went through two before they broke so you can see why

[Ray Chuang]

Kimmo,

My brother has the Shure E2C and they are excellent-sounding units.

But then, they better sound good at US$100 for these headphones!

[Kimmo Jaskari]

Yeah, but you get what you pay for. Besides, if you take care of the phones they should last longer than the player.

I really can't overemphasize how nice it is with plug style phones when out and about. Assuming one avoids getting run over in traffic, it really does cut down on "noise stress" a LOT when you can filter most of that out and have sweet music flowing through the phones instead.

Takes a little getting used to to have them crammed into the ear canal, but we're only talking a day or two, I'd say.

[GordonL]

Scott,
PM me if you're interested in the SuperFi 3 Studio's for $50 from a local (sorta) dealer.