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Where can I get cheap, good quality earbuds?

Deep in-the-ear earbuds that don't leak sound.

  • I'm looking for cheap, deep-in-the-ear earbuds for listening to audiobooks. The sound quality doesn't have to be great, because I won't use them to listen to music. I want cheap ones, because I inevitably break headphones, and I don't want to have to spend $100 every month. On the other hand, I'm willing to spend $20 a month if I have to. In-the-ear, because I don't want to keep my wife awake with "leaking" sound. I listen audiobooks when I have insomnia, which is way too often. But if there's even a tiny bit of noise leakage, my wife complains. The only solution I've found is that sort of earbud that sticks way in your ear canal. There's no leakage, and I can keep the volume really low and still hear. My full-bodied (enclose-the-ear) headphones don't leak, but they're too uncomfortable when I'm lying on my side, which is what I mostly do in bed. Only earbuds seem to allow me to lie on my side. For whatever reason, I'm finding it harder and harder to find earbuds that go deep inside your ear. I live in NYC, and all the ones I see are those ones with the little round buds on the end. Those leak too much. I've tried expensive ones, but they're not worth the $ if you're just listening to audiobooks. Also, I'm careless with them. I break them and lose them. I thought I found http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2215019&cp=2032057.2032187.2202780&fbx=0&fbn=Headphone+type%2FEarbuds+%26%23038%3B+earclips&f=PAD%2FConnectivity+Technology%2FWired&f=PAD%2FHeadphones+Type%2FEarbuds+%26%23038%3B+earclips&fbc=1&parentPage=family what I was looking for at Radio Shack. Deep-in-the-ear headphones for $10 (I got a better deal than what you'll see via the above link). I figured they'd be crappy and that I'd have to replace them, but I'm fine with $10 a month. So I bought about five of them. And -- no joke -- they lasted about three days each! After that point, the sound kept cutting off, and I had to constantly bend them and put rubber bands around them to get any sound out of them at all. I guess you get what you pay for. Feel free to suggest other solutions or talk me into expensive headphones. I want a solution, and I'm willing to think outside my box. Requirements: no leakage. comfortable when lying on side. inexpensive (in the long term).

  • Answer:

    I recommend trying the http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00001P4XA/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/. They're cheaper and supposedly better. The Koss Spark Plugs you found at Radio Shack are actually an "upgraded" model of the fairly popular http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00001P4XA/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ earbuds. The Koss Plugs have a surprising following due to the "mod" community - people have come up with a variety of ways to improve the sound quality of the little buggers. I bought a pair myself hoping to get a great sound on the cheap but was disappointed with the audio quality for music, even after the modifications. Anyway, the original Plugs (not the Spark Plugs you bought) may be of better build quality. I've not read any horror stories like yours about the original plugs. For that matter, it seems like you may've gotten a bad batch from the factory or something, as five dead pairs in three weeks time is a little unusual. They're only $10/pair on Amazon (free shipping over $25 too), so it's not like it's a big risk. Oh, and I definitely think you're on the right track with the Plugs as far as sound leakage. The huge, deep rubber surrounds (that I personally found so uncomfortable) stops all possible sound leakage. Even other, high-dollar "sealed" in-ear buds won't prevent leakage like the Plugs. I'm not sure if Koss or a competitor has any other models based on that design, but that's what you need to look for: Fat honkin' rubber inserts.

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damn dirty ape

the phillips ones leak quite a bit... for audiobooks they would be annoyingly base-heavy too. i think any ear-bud with a 'bud' (i.e. a ball) instead of a cone is going to leak. my etymotics really worked well but the cable went and i haven't had the energy to try to fix it... i thin the shure e2c is less fragile than the etymotics ones...

geos

3rd vote for Shure. Have a pair of E2c that I bought about 5 months ago and the sound isolation is great. Using them means I can have the volume at a very low level even on a plane, vs the max volume I used to have on the standard iPod earphones. I listen to a lot of podcasts and the clarity of spoken word is great.

arcticseal

My favourite pair of earphones ever are http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000E1FYQA/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/ Sennheiser ones. They don't leak sound at all in my experience. I've tried Shure e2cs, Koss Plugs, and the Sony ones someone else has linked; I found the Shures a bit fiddly (they go in your ears at a weird angle), Koss Plugs a bit weird, and the Sony ones were OK but I went through two pairs in about a month and both broke in exactly the same way (one earbud suddenly stopped working). The Koss ones don't leak sound but you have to replace the foam often and christ, the wax they pick up. Or maybe that's just me...

terrynutkins

Nthing the JVC Marshmallows that sanka linked to. I have a few pairs and they have held up well, have great sound and are quite snug.

bristolcat

Oh, and my Shure are comfortable on the side if you punch your pillow in a sort of donut shape. The plastic does stand out a couple of millimetres.

stereo

Seconding Shure, for their http://joi.ito.com/archives/2003/01/30/shure_e2c_the_best_headphones_ive_ever_used.html#c001873. For two years they replace them, no questions asked. Then they charge you a flat fee for any repairs.For any of our earphone products the replacement fee is the same. The reasoning is that you already spent the money once, so you should always have the ability to replace the product at reasonable cost. Those who buy an E2c for $99 might not be happy that the replacement fee is the same as it is for the $499 product (E5c), but that's the policy. Same thing for our dynamic microphones - $55 gets you a brand new one, no matter what the state of the microphone is. Drive over it with a Mack truck, send it in to us, if it can't be fixed, $55 gets you a new one. For our more expensive microphones (condensers) the fee is $80, but still quite good IMO. You can email them at personalaudio shure com. I have a pair of E3Cs that sound amazing, especially with their new black foam fittings. They block a huge amount of noise both ways - my girlfriend can fall asleep next to me while I listen to audio books, and I can survive noisy trains and crying kids.

stereo

I know you specifed $20/month, but I think you would be happiest with Etymotic Research's http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6.aspx buds. If you're looking for smaller buds that won't fatigue your ears, come with a clip so that you can secure them against accidental cord jerking and to prevent loss, and have perfect sound, they are hard to beat. The Shure http://www.shure.com/PersonalAudio/Products/Earphones/ESeries/us_pa_E2c_content comes with a sturdier case but is a little less sweet-fitting, but that may just be from the size and shape of my ear canal. They are both available for around ~$100-150.

onalark

I'd give serious consideration to springing for some Shure e2cs or something in that lineup. I know you don't want to spend a lot, but these things are the closest I have found to indestructible. They go pretty much everywhere with me and are constantly being crushed and pulled around inside my messenger bag or whatever miscellaneous place I've stored them. I have a hard time imagining that listening to audiobooks in bed could result in them being seriously harmed.

feloniousmonk

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