Decent pair of in-ears with a decent price

[wuufer001]

I am looking for a decent pair of in-ears, not an audiophile but like to listen to music and watch stuff.
this pair would mostly be on fights, whether with the in-flight entertainment system of listening or watching on my phone/tablet.
i really can't justify spending a few hundred or thousands of dollars on a pair of earphones, am looking for maybe within the $200 range with the best bang for this buck.

i bought a Klipsch on-ear and sound was great, but sometimes it's a problem to carry with the case especially when travelling, and it does get uncomfortable sometimes since i wear eye glasses.

have just started looking at Sennheiser Momentum and the AKG K376

any recommendations?
i think i would prefer wired earphones, so don't need to worry about the battery charging.
don't need the mic or volume controls since i won't be using it for phone calls

[zx10guy]

Two brands I would look into are Shure and Etymotics. I have a Shure SE535 which I know is outside your price range. But I had a cheaper one which was in the $100ish range from Shure before I got the SE535. The sound quality of the cheaper one was very decent and the noise isolation was very good. The Shure's come with various tips to form a tight seal with your ear canal. Part of the fidelity achievements with the Shure is due to its acoustic isolation and not noise cancellation. In their product line, they have the SE315 which has a detachable/replaceable cord. A very good feature for on the go as you can replace the cord if it wears out. But with the design of the cord, it's doubtful it will as it does swivel to provide strain relief.

Both the Shure and Etymotics can have custom molded ear pieces fitted to them which increases the isolation and comfort.

[jtodd_fl]

Title TL&DR. Saw "decent pair", clicked through, left disappointed.

[wuufer001]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

Two brands I would look into are Shure and Etymotics. I have a Shure SE535 which I know is outside your price range. But I had a cheaper one which was in the $100ish range from Shure before I got the SE535. The sound quality of the cheaper one was very decent and the noise isolation was very good. The Shure's come with various tips to form a tight seal with your ear canal. Part of the fidelity achievements with the Shure is due to its acoustic isolation and not noise cancellation. In their product line, they have the SE315 which has a detachable/replaceable cord. A very good feature for on the go as you can replace the cord if it wears out. But with the design of the cord, it's doubtful it will as it does swivel to provide strain relief.

Both the Shure and Etymotics can have custom molded ear pieces fitted to them which increases the isolation and comfort.

will take a look at them

Originally Posted by jtodd_fl

Title TL&DR. Saw "decent pair", clicked through, left disappointed.

what will you suggest if it wasn't "decent pair"?

[Sidewinderpb]

Decent pair for $200!? Jeeze, I was going to recommend SkullCandies for $50-$100.

[Mr Tonka]

I'm sure someone will poo-poo these, but they sound good, come with several different sized silicon tip sizes, carry case and are well crafted. I pretty much only use them when traveling. They are well built enough to not need the case, but it's nice to put them in a wallet sized case and keep them in your jacket pocket when making connections or for the duration of your trip until your flight back. I like them a lot and talk about bang for your buck... At under $40 for a set i figured i couldn't go wrong giving them a try. Once received, i was very impressed.

http://www.jlabaudio.com/collections...iant=940962873

[Josh (PA)]

HIFIMan Re-zeros
http://www.amazon.com/HiFiMan-RE-ZER...ews/B002NSWN7A

Fantastic for the price.

[doogee]

You can't go wrong with Shure SE215, they're a steal for $100. Sound quality is impressive.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...%3Ashure+se215

[silvergray545]

I purchased a set of Klipsch S4i ear buds many years ago. I still use them till this day. I've used them every day at work for the past 3-4 years or so. For the money, the sound is good and they've lasted a long time. I'm thinking to replace with a pair of the R6i.

Just looked on Amazon, the S4i are still available.

[pz619]

Another klipsch fan here. I have their x20is and love them. Recommend the s4ii. The newer version comes with flat cables as well. I use the rugged version to run/workout.

If you can get your hands on it, there was also a limited release version a few months ago. Came in the copper color. Looked fantastic.

[P1]

in-fight entertainment

[Nihilation]

Surprisingly, Panasonic sells some $10 in-ear buds that come in multiple colors. They look cheap as hell but they are super comfortable and produce sounds that punch well beyond their price.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Head.../dp/B003EM6AOG

I just saved you $190.

[jtodd_fl]

Originally Posted by Nihilation

Surprisingly, Panasonic sells some $10 in-ear buds that come in multiple colors. They look cheap as hell but they are super comfortable and produce sounds that punch well beyond their price.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Head.../dp/B003EM6AOG

I just saved you $190.

Oddly, your nick forebodes the content of your "recommendation".

Ex nihilo nihil fit.


Or, out another way, you get what you pay for (or, pay for crap, get crap.)

[Will maddox]

Sennhieser momentum. in England they are around 70-100 but I highly rate them against the big dogs. Come. In 2 colours and 2 versions 1 for Android and 1 for apple

[muddtt]

if you want to save some bucks people like some of the monoprice models

http://lifehacker.com/5927570/the-mo...-find-under-10

also if you have time for shipping from china and find a genuine seller (gearbest or others), Xiaomi makes some decent ones. I'm using the Piston 3's and they're pretty good.

[ASAP]

Skullcandy $9 walmart ones lol...

[shoei]

Sssooooo... I've gone through just about every type of in-ear headphones one can buy... For a multitude of different reasons... Namely, take about 100 flights a year and like you, I want something on the plane... Secondly, gym, I have a set for the gym, and then finally, heavily frowned upon but I need it, another set for under the helmet when I rode the motorcycle so I could cut out some of the exhaust / road noise / listen to tunes... These are the best of the group that I tried out, starting with cheapest..

Senneheiser Momentum (in-ear) the only thing I disliked about these was the shiny red color they came in... These did not last too long, and actually had a couple of pairs fail on me... I didn't mind so much because wear and tear under helmet, it's expected, plus when I purchased them on Amazon, they were discounted to $60...

Bose Quiet Comfort 20 - easily the best noise cancelling but not sure I could justify the $300 sticker... Some cost much less but did not come close to the noise cancelling so I was torn... Enjoyed them but ended up returning them when I realized that I got better sound quality at marginally priced sets...

Xiaomi Piston Version 2 - holy mother, for a super cheap pair, I was expecting crap... How wrong I was... Not the best sound, but no one comes close in their price range... The quality of the unit though is ridiculous... I was super skeptical until someone at the gym recommended them to me, and after much surfing through reviews and all the counterfeits on Amazon, I found an authentic pair... They have a "3" as someone mentioned out but haven't tried... Apparently this brand is huge in china, phenomenal quality at marginal prices... So I've heard but hands down best sub $30 pair of in ears I've ever owned... I like the braided non tangle cords... (Enclosing picture of back of box if you go this route so you know what a legit box sticker should look like)

Jaybird X2 - love these as well... Wireless... Bluetooth... Pretty good noise cancelling... Comfortable (once you find the right sizes with the kit they include in the box... Silicone strap runs along your neck, you won't even notice it's light... Sound quality great, noise cancelling pretty damn good... The wireless portion is fantastic, just as long as you charge them when needed...

There are some cheapo sony and Panasonic ones that for $10 you don't care if they take a beating... Surprisingly they sound decent, just no good features as the others like, non tangle as you can see from the pic...

Last but not least... LG Bluetooth headset - I can't remember the exact one, it's the best of all the ones they offer and not the most expensive, but it's the headset of choice of 85% of tech guys up in SF to wear around the office... My friend is actually borrowing them so I'll have to ask him for the model number, but for the gym / motorcycle not so great, but on an airplane / walking around, they're great, especially again, wireless and Bluetooth...

[carzaddict]

skullcandy has some pretty good and inexpensive buds. I believe the line is called Ink'd

i have a bunch of them, they range from $10-20 depending on if you get the mic or not

[Banana Hammock]

I agree with shoei and recommend the Xiaomi Piston 2. I've had them for a while now and they're great.

They recently released the Piston 3, not sure how good those are.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by shoei

Sssooooo... I've gone through just about every type of in-ear headphones one can buy... For a multitude of different reasons... Namely, take about 100 flights a year and like you, I want something on the plane... Secondly, gym, I have a set for the gym, and then finally, heavily frowned upon but I need it, another set for under the helmet when I rode the motorcycle so I could cut out some of the exhaust / road noise / listen to tunes... These are the best of the group that I tried out, starting with cheapest..

Senneheiser Momentum (in-ear) the only thing I disliked about these was the shiny red color they came in... These did not last too long, and actually had a couple of pairs fail on me... I didn't mind so much because wear and tear under helmet, it's expected, plus when I purchased them on Amazon, they were discounted to $60...

Bose Quiet Comfort 20 - easily the best noise cancelling but not sure I could justify the $300 sticker... Some cost much less but did not come close to the noise cancelling so I was torn... Enjoyed them but ended up returning them when I realized that I got better sound quality at marginally priced sets...

Xiaomi Piston Version 2 - holy mother, for a super cheap pair, I was expecting crap... How wrong I was... Not the best sound, but no one comes close in their price range... The quality of the unit though is ridiculous... I was super skeptical until someone at the gym recommended them to me, and after much surfing through reviews and all the counterfeits on Amazon, I found an authentic pair... They have a "3" as someone mentioned out but haven't tried... Apparently this brand is huge in china, phenomenal quality at marginal prices... So I've heard but hands down best sub $30 pair of in ears I've ever owned... I like the braided non tangle cords... (Enclosing picture of back of box if you go this route so you know what a legit box sticker should look like)

Jaybird X2 - love these as well... Wireless... Bluetooth... Pretty good noise cancelling... Comfortable (once you find the right sizes with the kit they include in the box... Silicone strap runs along your neck, you won't even notice it's light... Sound quality great, noise cancelling pretty damn good... The wireless portion is fantastic, just as long as you charge them when needed...

There are some cheapo sony and Panasonic ones that for $10 you don't care if they take a beating... Surprisingly they sound decent, just no good features as the others like, non tangle as you can see from the pic...

Last but not least... LG Bluetooth headset - I can't remember the exact one, it's the best of all the ones they offer and not the most expensive, but it's the headset of choice of 85% of tech guys up in SF to wear around the office... My friend is actually borrowing them so I'll have to ask him for the model number, but for the gym / motorcycle not so great, but on an airplane / walking around, they're great, especially again, wireless and Bluetooth...

Is that your carpet in those pictures?

[Will maddox]

Skull candy are junk

[silvergray545]

Originally Posted by Will maddox

Skull candy are junk

This. I used them as gym headphones for a while. Nothing great about them except the fact that they are throwaways.