In-ear headphones

[Hobie1dog]

for the folks who have used the Koss, what about these combined with the Etymotic ER4 flange?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Koss-The-Plug-Etymotic...1QQcmdZViewItem

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I have been trying (buying) out different earbuds lately and the Koss are really bass heavy, it just plain ruins all the midrange(vocals) to the point of having listener fatigue after 5 minutes or so.

I just ordered the highly rated ER6i models and can report on those when I get them. I think HSlammer has those and likes them.

[Nixx]

The reason I like the ER6 is they stand behind thier product, I tore a silicon sleeve and they replaced it free, they offer replacement parts fairly cheap, ear nubs, filters and such on their website.

The part that works for me is that they fit in your ear canal and dont stick out where they can irritate your ears by brushing up on the foam padding of your helmet, they are safely in the ear canal and out of the way.

Etymotic Research

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:beer:

After trying several different sets of headphones, these are the best riding headphones i have ever tried. Well worth the price.

[magellan]

I should have the Skull Candy earbuds in hand tomorrow or the next day, and I already received the ER6 2-flange earbuds to go with 'em. Purchased it all off eBay.

$16 for the flanges (five pairs, $12 + $4 S&H) and $25.28 ($13.95 + $11.33 S&H) for the Skull Candy buds. I'll write up a review asap.

[magellan]

Just noticed these, and I wasn't even looking for them. Good price! http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Shure-E2c-S...roductDetail.do

[Hobie1dog]

Just noticed these, and I wasn't even looking for them. Good price! http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Shure-E2c-S...roductDetail.do

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I tried out the Shure E4 models and they were a huge dissapointment. Sold them on Ebay. I gave them to my son, daughter, and wife, and they all thought the same thing, so it wasn't the way they fit in the ears. I did read that there are big differences in the Shure models. Has anyone compared the different Shure's?

[magellan]

Well, here's the preliminary report regarding the Skull Candy in-ear phones... First impression: these are a quality product. They have a volume slider on the cord with a tremendous range (set it and tape it in place, I say), a nice case, and two extra sets of single-flange eartips of varying sizes. The smallest eartips work best for me because I can really get them into my ear canal. Even the dual-flange ER6 eartips are too big to get far into my virginal little ear canals, AND the ER6 tips will not work with the Skull Candy buds anyway.

But forget about that and just get the Skull Candies. The noise isolation seems as good as the dual-flange eartips (which I stuck on some Koss crap I have laying around), probably because I can get them so far into my ear. These are very small phones, so once they're in I'd expect no more trouble with helmet yankage than you'd have with top-end Shure and Etymotics. As for sound quality, there's far more dynamic range than with the Koss. Treble is remarkably crisp, and bass is full with good source separation (with the Koss, bass is overwhelming and you can't distinguish between the strum of a bass [the instrument] and a drum hit), but it's not gonna make your ears bleed.

Ride test tomorrow. I think I'll be happy :thumbsup:

[Guest]

Products I've owned or do own:

* Ety ER-4P (You want the 4P, not the 4S if you go this route unless you are using a quality amp)

* Shure E2C

* Ety ER6i

Ety ER-4P...horrible fit with a helmet on as it sticks out way too far for me. It was painfull taking the helmet off or puting it on with the ER-RP

Shure E2C...Tried all of the tips and it just wasn't comformtable and stuck out a bit too much. Not like the ER-RPs, but not comfortable enough. Seal wasn't as good as the Ety's.

Ety ER6i. Perfect fit! Sound quality isn't too bad, either. I personally like more bass and you lose ALL soundstage with in-ear unless you are willing to spend big bucks. These work and it's not like you a portable MP3 is all that great of a source anyways.

[Hobie1dog]

Products I've owned or do own:

* Ety ER-4P (You want the 4P, not the 4S if you go this route unless you are using a quality amp)

* Shure E2C

* Ety ER6i

Ety ER-4P...horrible fit with a helmet on as it sticks out way too far for me. It was painfull taking the helmet off or puting it on with the ER-RP

Shure E2C...Tried all of the tips and it just wasn't comformtable and stuck out a bit too much. Not like the ER-RPs, but not comfortable enough. Seal wasn't as good as the Ety's.

Ety ER6i. Perfect fit! Sound quality isn't too bad, either. I personally like more bass and you lose ALL soundstage with in-ear unless you are willing to spend big bucks. These work and it's not like you a portable MP3 is all that great of a source anyways.

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Now you have me worried. I had the 4P models and sent them back as they had zero bass below 80hz.

I bet I'll be dissapointed with the 6i models too. Do you use them with an iPod?

I figured I would have to use the EQ settings on my iPod to compensate for the lack of bass in all of Etymotic products.

[Guest]

Now you have me worried.  I had the 4P models and sent them back as they had zero bass below 80hz.

I bet I'll be dissapointed with the 6i models too.  Do you use them with an iPod?

I figured I would have to use the EQ settings on my iPod to compensate for the lack of bass in all of Etymotic products.

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The ER6i have more bass than the ER4P, but I'm not sure how to quantify how much. I do not use them with an iPod. I use them with a Zen Xtra.

[Guest Peregrinus]

I tried the Etymotic ER-6 and found that they stuck out too far to get my helmet on comfortable. The Shure E2c looked like they would be way too bulky... and another member had recommended the E3c. I find the sound incredibly accurate (as in good detail, bass neither 'boomy' nor lacking), the hardware durable, and they fit well into the ear without much sticking out.

They are a bit pricy: list $180, but you can get them right now for under $110 (special deal at compuplus.com, $109).

[Hobie1dog]

I tried the Etymotic ER-6 and found that they stuck out too far to get my helmet on comfortable. The Shure E2c looked like they would be way too bulky... and another member had recommended the E3c. I find the sound incredibly accurate (as in good detail, bass neither 'boomy' nor lacking), the hardware durable, and they fit well into the ear without much sticking out.

They are a bit pricy: list $180, but you can get them right now for under $110 (special deal at compuplus.com, $109).

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I received the ER6i earbuds today and they sounded just as I expected. NO BASS whatsoever below 80hz just like the high dollar ER4 models I bought.

I gave them to my son and my daughter and they both said the same thing after I told them to put them in as far as they could while holding their ear open during insertion. "There's no bass". So it wasn't just me.

So Etymotics are the worst sounding earbuds out of all the ones I've tried so far.

I could also not even come to terms with them on comfort. Putting my helmet on shifted them ever so slightly which caused them to lose even more bottom end.

So now I took my ever so faithful Koss Porta-Pro headphones and popped off the speakers from the headband and stuck them in the ear pockets in my helmet, and tried them out. Now all I have to do is get them fitted into the ear cavities in the helmet so that they line up with my ears and I will once again have great sound quality. Nothing beats the Koss Porta-Pro under 150.00 that I've heard so far. And that is echoed on the headphone forums as well.

ER6i's up for sale asap.

[teleskier]

I just got my Skullcandy buds today with ER4-14 tips attached. They fit great and sound good too. Not to mention dirt cheap on Ebay.

[Guest]

I received the ER6i earbuds today and they sounded just as I expected.? NO BASS whatsoever below 80hz just like the high dollar ER4 models I bought.?

I gave them to my son and my daughter and they both said the same thing after I told them to put them in as far as they could while holding their ear open during insertion.? "There's no bass".? So it wasn't just me.

So Etymotics are the worst sounding earbuds out of all the ones I've tried so far.

I could also not even come to terms with them on comfort.? Putting my helmet on shifted them ever so slightly which caused them to lose even more bottom end.

So now I took my ever so faithful Koss Porta-Pro headphones and popped off the speakers from the headband and stuck them in the ear pockets in my helmet, and tried them out.? Now all I have to do is get them fitted into the ear cavities in the helmet so that they line up with my ears and I will once again have great sound quality.? Nothing beats the Koss Porta-Pro under 150.00 that I've heard so far.? And that is echoed on the headphone forums as well.

ER6i's up for sale asap.

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What headphone forums are you reading? IMO the Koss Porta-Pros cannot even compete with cans such as Grado SR225s and Sennheiser HD-590s, Audio-Technica AT500s, and many others. Koss Porta-Pros are good for being cheapies but cannot even compete with quality cans in the $150 range. I dunno what forums you are reading, but they either have a very very limited access to headphones or are smoking crack. For audiophile forums for headphones I'd sugges perusing www.head-fi.org.

I agree however, the Etys are sterile sounding, but they are not lacking in detail. Soundstage is non-existent and they are not a lively phone by any means.

[Hobie1dog]

What headphone forums are you reading? IMO the Koss Porta-Pros cannot even compete with cans such as Grado SR225s and Sennheiser HD-590s, Audio-Technica AT500s, and many others. Koss Porta-Pros are good for being cheapies but cannot even compete with quality cans in the $150 range. I dunno what forums you are reading, but they either have a very very limited access to headphones or are smoking crack. For audiophile forums for headphones I'd sugges perusing www.head-fi.org.

I agree however,  the Etys are sterile sounding, but they are not lacking in detail. Soundstage is non-existent and they are not a lively phone by any means.

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The more popular forum is Headwize.com

When you are talking competing with the Koss, the Grado 225's are 169.00 normally and I did say headphones below 150.00

The Sennheiser 590 phones are 269.00 and I quote from the forum from an owner " They are too big, incoherent, shrill, bright, and a steaming pile of dung"

The Audio Technica AT500 is also a rather big headphone, at least the pictures I have seen of them.

I would like to know if you have tried putting a set of 225 cans inside a helmet. Or if you have other headphones that you have personally fit inside of helmets to recommend. That is the only issue I'm trying to deal with here. I agree with you that there are other "audiophile" headphones with superior quality in certain areas, but 90% of them are substantially bigger than the drivers that Koss uses.

I have already disected a set of Beyer DT770 phones, but the drivers are simply too big to use inside a helmet.

Thanks in advance for a helpful response.

[Guest]

The more popular forum is Headwize.com

When you are talking competing with the Koss,  the Grado 225's are 169.00 normally and I did say headphones below 150.00

The Sennheiser 590 phones are 269.00 and I quote from the forum from an owner " They are too big, incoherent, shrill, bright, and a steaming pile of dung"

The Audio Technica AT500 is also a rather big headphone, at least the pictures I have seen of them.

I would like to know if you have tried putting a set of 225 cans inside a helmet.  Or if you have other headphones that you have personally fit inside of helmets to recommend.  That is the only issue I'm trying to deal with here.  I agree with you that there are other "audiophile" headphones with superior quality in certain areas, but 90% of them are substantially bigger than the drivers that Koss uses.

I have already disected a set of Beyer DT770 phones, but the drivers are simply too big to use inside a helmet.

Thanks in advance for a helpful response.

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You are able to fit the Koss porta underneath your helmet? They would never fit underneath my helmet which is why I brought up other cans that wouldn't.

I purchased my SR225s for 150 new from a head-fi sponsor. I got my HD590s for 135.

As far as the quest for quality audio (up to my standards) I've given up. I'm not willing to drop 500+ for just riding with.

Many don't like the HD590s and I didn't at first either. They mellow out a lot after burn-in. That would be sweet if you could somehow get some Beyers in a helmet! I'd think that the wind noise would ruin it though.

I hope you find what you are looking for and if you do, let me know. :blink:

[Hobie1dog]

You are able to fit the Koss porta underneath your helmet? They would never fit underneath my helmet which is why I brought up other cans that wouldn't.

I purchased my SR225s for 150 new from a head-fi sponsor.? I got my HD590s for 135.

As far as the quest for quality audio (up to my standards) I've given up. I'm not willing to drop 500+ for just riding with.

Many don't like the HD590s and I didn't at first either. They mellow out a lot after burn-in. That would be sweet if you could somehow get some Beyers in a helmet! I'd think that the wind noise would ruin it though.

I hope you find what you are looking for and if you do, let me know. :blink:

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Once you detach the drivers from the headband,( they pop right off when you put a screwdriver near the swivel socket). The drivers fit nicely in the ear pockets in all of my helmets I tried.

[Guest]

Well, here's the preliminary report regarding the Skull Candy in-ear phones... First impression: these are a quality product. They have a volume slider on the cord with a tremendous range (set it and tape it in place, I say), a nice case, and two extra sets of single-flange eartips of varying sizes. The smallest eartips work best for me because I can really get them into my ear canal. Even the dual-flange ER6 eartips are too big to get far into my virginal little ear canals, AND the ER6 tips will not work with the Skull Candy buds anyway.

But forget about that and just get the Skull Candies. The noise isolation seems as good as the dual-flange eartips (which I stuck on some Koss crap I have laying around), probably because I can get them so far into my ear. These are very small phones, so once they're in I'd expect no more trouble with helmet yankage than you'd have with top-end Shure and Etymotics. As for sound quality, there's far more dynamic range than with the Koss. Treble is remarkably crisp, and bass is full with good source separation (with the Koss, bass is overwhelming and you can't distinguish between the strum of a bass [the instrument] and a drum hit), but it's not gonna make your ears bleed.

Ride test tomorrow. I think I'll be happy :thumbsup:

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:music: So, how was the test ride, and what hat do you wear?

[magellan]

:music: So, how was the test ride, and what hat do you wear?

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Ha! I tried to get my first ride in with them yesterday (after a rainy week), but when I went to look for them I couldn't find them. My wife had them at work! She likes them as much as I do. Guess I need another pair... <_<

I'll get a ride in with them today or tomorrow. My lid is an HJC CL-10 with one of these ( http://www.proline-sports.co.uk/acatalog/U..._jammer_21.html ), which is a good product, but I think I'll still need to buy a balaclava to really enjoy the earphones. I'll let you know ASAP.

Teleskier, have you ridden with yours yet?

[Guest]

I have been using the skull candy smoking buds with the Etyomic tips found on Ebay for about 3 months now. These are my first in ear phones, so I don?t have any comparison (other than my kid?s $5 hard plastic freebies). I use them with a Roady2 XM radio. For fitment, they are slightly difficult to get in, but once you have them set, they are a good firm fit. Sometimes they do get shifted when putting on my helmet (HJC CL-14 with a Quiet Rider). I haven?t made any long trips with them, so I don?t know about extended comfort, but I don?t have a comfort problem using them so far. You have to be careful with the tips. They can slide off the earbuds. The tip attaches to the earbud with a small tube that was made to fit. Loose it and you?ll have to use the skullcandy tips. I wasn?t impressed with the skullcandy tips as compared to the Etyomic 3 flange tips. The sound quality is very good and the isolation is also very good. I have my XM output turned all the way up, so the music quality is hurting. An amplifier would be nice and in the plans. (Check out the AmpliRider). I?m impressed overall with these, but have a couple cons. The cord length is way too short. If you caught it on your tank bag or sit up too far, you can rip the buds out of your ear (OUCH). I have them plugged in to the XM radio that is mounted by RAM mounts to the top tank mount. The cord is also offset when it splits. The left side is about half as long as the right. Not a big deal, but kinda odd. There is an inline volume slider that I thought would be useful because my XM doesn?t have one. I find that I just set the volume and leave it, so it isn?t really an added feature for me. In fact, the slider is located at the top of the cord just before it splits. So if it gets turned down, you are searching for the slider located just under the helmet, about shoulder level trying to turn it back up. Doing this with some decent winter gloves is a pain.

I recently added a radar detector and tried to combine the audio to the XM with a simple Y cable. For some reason, they didn?t work out together and the left earbud got fried. So I am looking for a replacement. The smoking buds are still on my list and I will probably end up getting another pair. I may try the Koss for comparison.

[Hobie1dog]

I recently added a radar detector and tried to combine the audio to the XM with a simple Y cable.  For some reason, they didn?t work out together and the left earbud got fried.  So I am looking for a replacement.  The smoking buds are still on my list and I will probably end up getting another pair.  I may try the Koss for comparison.

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Just remember from the previous posts in the thread:

Koss are documented to have very heavy exaggerated bass which muddies up the midrange really bad. Now if you're a bass head, then get them now. :D

[Das Bone]

Any new news on wither the Skull Candy's or the Shure E3-c's?

I had the Shure E2-c's but for me #1) I felt they were lacking in bass response, and#2) I couldn't get my helmet on without pulling them out.

The E3's are supposed to have extended bass response anyone have any experience compared with the E2"s???

[Hobie1dog]

Any new news on wither the Skull Candy's or the Shure E3-c's?

I had the Shure E2-c's but for me #1) I felt they were lacking in bass response, and#2) I couldn't get my helmet on without pulling them out.

The E3's are supposed to have extended bass response anyone have any experience compared with the E2"s???

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I bought the E4's and they had very little bass as well. A BIG disappointment for the money. I sold them on Ebay right after I tried them out.

No more Shures for me

[Guest Peregrinus]

I bought the E4's and they had very little bass as well.  A BIG disappointment for the money.  I sold them on Ebay right after I tried them out.

No more Shures for me

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There is definitely a lot of subjectivity in what is 'good' in earphones of any kind. I find the Shure E3C's have plenty of bass for me, and can use EQ to make anything relatively more bass-heavy if I feel like it. On the other hand, I have never heard this much DETAIL from headphones, even my trusty Sony studio headphones. Try before you buy (or take your chances and be ready to return), as YMMV.

Bob

[chrisford]

There is definitely a lot of subjectivity in what is 'good' in earphones of any kind. I find the Shure E3C's have plenty of bass for me, and can use EQ to make anything relatively more bass-heavy if I feel like it. On the other hand, I have never heard this much DETAIL from headphones, even my trusty Sony studio headphones. Try before you buy (or take your chances and be ready to return), as YMMV.

Bob

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P6150056.JPG

One very large mellon and Shure E3c's...

The Shures take a little getting accustomed to it took me severl tries to get the combination of inserts correct i wound up using the yellow foam type been using them for about 18 months now with no complaints

I havent had any problems getting my helmet on or off

[Das Bone]

Man, it's tough to know which way to go with this stuff. I've got the $50 or so dollar Sony buds EX71 Sl's and liked them better fit wise and bass wise than the E2c's. Granted the E2c's were "clearer" overall, but they didn't fit that well and wouldn't work with helmet where the Sony's bass response is much better, fit with helmet but aren't noise canceling so I couldn't see using them while riding.

aaargh :P