[odgaard]

i currently have the bang & olufson ones and they are starting to get some wear and tear from walking to class and what not...

i was just wodnering what you guys used...i want a headphone/earphone that cancels out sound but isn't huge like the bose headphones my brother has...

i guess im looking for the combination of clarity, blocking of exterior sound, and some bass

plus nothing that breaks the bank

[aaronp92988]

bose qc3's. i have them, good stuff. small too. you pay for the name though.

[Thull]

Do you want active noise cancellation? Or passive?

I have some in-ear buds by Sennheiser, absolutely love em.

They would be called a passive noise reducer, like an earplug. Very good sound quality, and a surprising amount of bass, I actually turn down the bass on my iPod's EQ.

They were $75 earlier this year, they have since come out with new ones and I don't know what the corresponding model would be. I do recommend Sennheiser, great stuff.

Of course, you should go to an audio store and try them yourself, it is far too subjective to base off an opinion over the internet

[odgaard]

Originally Posted by Thull

Do you want active noise cancellation? Or passive?

I have some in-ear buds by Sennheiser, absolutely love em.

They would be called a passive noise reducer, like an earplug. Very good sound quality, and a surprising amount of bass, I actually turn down the bass on my iPod's EQ.

They were $75 earlier this year, they have since come out with new ones and I don't know what the corresponding model would be. I do recommend Sennheiser, great stuff.

Of course, you should go to an audio store and try them yourself, it is far too subjective to base off an opinion over the internet

thanks a lot...that was th price range i was looking for

if you have to turn down your bass on ur ipod then i think they should do the trick...

[sy0296]

i've used etymotic research er-4s with sensaphonics custom ear moulds for a couple of years--love these!!!!! The etys are canalphones (sp?) which i feel are awesome if you want to shut out outside noise. there are a couple models: the er-4p and er-4s. if you don't plan to use an external headphone amp, then go with 4p. like brian (thull) said, these ear plug type earphone has very good bass response as well--it uses your ear canal as a speaker box essentially. an added benifit to better sound, because they block out so much outside noise, sound is playback through the phones at a much lower volume than conventional ear phones--saves battery but most importantly your ears!!

i've recently switched to the newer shure e500 which has been a disappointment. maybe i'm just too used to the sound signature of the etys but i feel the shure has the bass and mids boosted way too much. i guess some would call it more exciting, but i would call it obnoxious. this is typical of shure sound which many people love (gamers, for hiphop music, etc.) but i just read so many awesome reviews i had to give it a try. wasted $500

shure vs ety war has been going for a long time. you'll have to decide which type of a sound you would like more (accurate or exciting). i have looked into the sennheiser line, but based on popularity and personal opinion, these would be the 2 brands i recommend.

the king of canalphones would be sensaphonics 2x-s. i never looked into these because i only use headphones when i'm travelling. can't justify for $1k+ headphones that'll only get used a few times every couple of months. but based on reviews (user and professional) there is nothing better.

**edit: i switched the 2 ety model numbers. er-4p is made for use without an amp. i made corrections in the post.

[odgaard]

hahaha $1k on headphones? yeeaaaah im basically not wanting to spend over $100

[odgaard]

i think im going with the Sennheiser CX300-S...seems like the best in ear street headphones....

thanks for the recommendations

[LSeven]

I've got a pair of Etymotic Research Isolator ER-6 and they sound great and fit like earplugs. They attenuate alot of background noise, nearly as well as dedicated ear plugs, which I find lets me listen comfortably without cranking up the volume. I think they were around $150. Not cheap, but how much is your hearing worth?

[sy0296]

Originally Posted by Drivers ED

hahaha $1k on headphones? yeeaaaah im basically not wanting to spend over $100

yeah, i agree $1k+ is a little our of control. as with most things, as prices go up, the increase in quality only improve marginally. i the guess the question is you pay for what you get, but how much are you willing to pay.

for your budget, i think you should take a look over the lower line ety and shure models. i didn't notice your budget and listed 2 models that are higher than what you want to spend.

senheisser is a great brand, but imo they're lower priced models are less than so so. with the lower price models you are essentially paying mostly for marketing. you'd be surprised, but a lot of their lower priced stuff does not share the same technology as the big brothers. shure is pro/commercial grade as is the more expsive senheisser products but they don't spend the million on consumer marketing like senheisser, which is probably why you don't know them as well (ok, to be fair, shure has been starting target consumers in their marketing as well but it's still not as much as senheiser). etymotic is a much smaller american company compared to the 2 started by an enthusiast who wanted to make the best sounding headphone, not to make millions.

i'm not putting senheisser down, they make awesome products, just at a higher market up (you are getting less with the same amount of $$). if you love music even at 1/100th of how much i love music, then you will most definietly appreciate the sound you get from a set of ety or shure.

there is one scenario where canalphones will not work so well. if you plan to use these headphones on the move, canalphones will tranmist a lot of noise from the buds moving in your ears and cable brushing against you body/clothes into your ear. casually walking around is maybe ok, but jogging or walking around in a fast pace (like in a big city) you might want to take a look at some over the ear models. the lower priced grado labs are my favs there.

[versace7866]

Sennheiser
dont get bose