8 earphones

[Thank The Cheese]

I have been through 8 earphones since I bought my iPod G5 around 18 months ago. 6 of them were Apple earphones, which are just about the crappiest pieces of junk available.

Last time I bought some Sony earphones, which have lasted longer than the apple, but today, after being loose for a couple of weeks, my left earbud literally popped out, leaving only a couple of wires and no sound.

*sigh*

OK, so my first thought is to stop buying the mid-to-low-end earphones, but then again I don't want to spend too much money on earphones that may not last more than a couple of months.

Does anyone have any recommendations for what I should buy? I don't care about sound quality because I only ever listen to podcasts and audiobooks, I just want them to last.

 

[bbloke]

I use Sennheiser CX300 earphones. I'm not any kind of expert on subtle differences in sound quality, but all I can say is that even I noticed a great improvement, compared to Apple's standard earphones. They've also received some good reviews from various sources, such as MacUser:

If you're still using the white earbuds that came with your iPod, you're doing your music collection a disservice, as Apple's supplied earbuds lack range and leak sound like a rusty sieve.

These latest earbuds from Sennheiser - the company's first attempt at producing earbuds specifically designed to fit snugly inside your ear canals - are a much better choice.

Build quality and attention to detail are excellent. The rubberised cable feels sturdy and there's a rigid, rubber sheath around the cable where it joins the earbuds - traditionally a point prone to breaking with extensive use.

The earbuds feel comfortable, although they can take a little getting used to if you've never worn earbuds that sit right in your ear canal before. There are three different sizes of rubber caps to fit the ear, and while they don't cut out all ambient noise, it's greatly reduced.

Sound quality is very good indeed. Bass is superbly punchy - not just rich, but remarkably crisp, too. There's also plenty of detail right up in the treble frequencies, although there was a little flabbiness towards the high end of the mid-range. It's not enough to bring you up short, and is certainly well within the tolerances of what we'd expect from a pair of £33 earbuds.

If you want the very best audio performance, you'd be better served with Etymotic's ER-6i earbuds (available online for £85) or the £80 Ultimate Ears super.fi 3 Studios, but at less than half the price, these earbuds from Sennheiser are a superb choice.

The CX300 earphones are "in-ear" types, which takes a little getting used to at first, but it does cut out a lot of background noise. As a bonus, they have been coming down in price a lot over the months, and can be picked up fairly cheaply now, including from places such as Amazon.

Good luck in your hunting/purchase, whatever you choose in the end!