Buds, earbuds, earphones, headset, phones, headphones, cans; call ‘em what you will but there seems to be a never-ending quest to find the perfect set.
It wasn’t long ago when top-notch audio was hard to achieve without forking over a fortune. The iPod is capable of producing audio with quality that was simply unachievable just 25 years ago. In terms of distortion, dynamic range, output compression and noise floor, the iPod is truly a miracle. With a decent set of earphones, this is obvious to even the most casual of listeners.
The stock earbuds, while pretty good, do not really do the iPod justice. I’ve spent a small fortune in search of the perfect headphone. Here’s my take on how to find audio nirvana on a budget:
N2XE Laboratory
IEM/Bud Style - Sennheiser CX-300 at about $50
Top 5 IEM or Buds for the iPod:
#1 Sennheiser CX-300 $50
#2 V-moda Vibe $99
#3 Stock Apple Ear Buds $24
#4 Any sub $10 bud you can find at Wal-mart or Best Buy
#5 Shure E4c
Top 5 Headphones for the iPod:
#1 Grado SR325i $200
#2 Sennheiser PX-100 $55
#3 Grado SR80 $80
#4 Koss KTX Pro1 $15
#5 Grado SR60 $60
You can find all sorts of complaints and recommendations regarding phones and buds. Some are good, some are bad, some are just plain silly but if you search long enough, you can find diametrically opposed opinions on any piece of audio equipment.
The Brain
I’m an avid Radio Amateur (ham). I’ve spent considerable time trying to understand psycho-acoustics and improve my performance especially with weak signal work. The ear-brain combo is a remarkable machine and the brain’s capacity for signal processing is without equal. The brain is so adept at signal processing, you can listen to really crappy audio for a short period of time and it will actually begin to sound good. Do this long enough and then switch to clean pure sound reproduction and it sounds like shit (at least until the brain re-compensates). This is probably the single greatest contributor to the myriad of contradictory reviews and opinions relating to audio equipment.
The funny thing about anything audio related is that “most accurate” may not necessarily sound the best. For years, audiophiles have claimed vinyl records sound better than CDs - tube amps sound better than transistors. Maybe, maybe not. Audiophiles have a difficult time identifying either in blind sound tests. In most controlled sound studies, people prefer high bit rate lossy CODECs like MP3 and AAC over the lossless AIFF. Likewise, all headphones “color” sound to some degree.
Voodoo
About 20 years ago, some audiophiles claimed that painting the edge of a CD with a green Magic Marker improved the sound quality. Apparently the green marker kept the bits from “leaking” out the edge. Despite controlled experiments showing that the digital bit stream was identical with or without the green marker, the belief persisted. There is a lot of voodoo, cultish devotion to all things audio and these factors will keep audio equipment debates raging for years to come. See
“Monster Cables” are one of my favorites. You can get the exact same thing at Home Depot for half the price but some audiophiles just aren’t happy unless they’re burning up some big bucks.
If you are really hell-bent on flushing you kid’s college fund down the toilet, you can get super-duper special oxygen-free copper Litz speaker wire at $30 a foot (12 gauge). If you have a friend that sprang for this snake oil, it’s tons of fun to replace his speaker wire with Radio Shack 24 gauge, made in China wire. He’ll never notice. With some creative prodding, you can get him to demo the system for you and expound on how great it sounds. That’s when you want to point out what you did.
I have a friend who used to work at a hi-fi repair shop just outside of Washington, DC. Some customers would be upset if he charged $5 for a simple repair that took 5 minutes. The customers apparently didn’t feel he took enough time and care to truly solve the problem. He started charging at least an hour’s labor for these simple repairs and the customers were much more satisfied to pay $80 for a $5 repair. Keep this in mind when seeking advice from an “audiophile.”
Pride
I’ve received a few notes from kids who forked over $300 of their hard earned cash claiming that their Shure E4c’s sound better than anything on earth. I can’t really blame them, nobody wants to think they wasted a small fortune on something that sounds like an oatmeal can on a string. But I have the E4c and some Koss KTX Pro 1’s sitting right here in front of me and can do a side by side comparison. There is none. It’s no contest - every pair of my headphones, even the bad ones, blows the doors off the Shure E4c. I’m not happy about wasting $300 on some over-hyped earbud but at least I’m honest about it. Pride is perhaps the second greatest contributor to glowing reviews on disappointing audio equipment.
Physics
Think about it... there’s a reason why woofers are large diameter speakers. If you want bass, you have to move a lot of air--slowly. Don’t expect tight, deep and clean bass from an earbud.
Engineering an audio transducer to be crisp, clean and well balanced is apparently exceedingly difficult. Those guys at Sennheiser seem to do it consistently. Sony, Shure, Koss, AKG all have a few dogs out there. I’ve never heard a Sennheiser product that wasn’t decent.
Phone Styles
Ear buds - These are the things that come with the iPod. They are small, light weight, unobtrusive, convenient and make a perfect compliment to the iPod. Unfortunately, many people find their sound to be tinny, thin and woefully lacking in bass response. I tend to agree. I do find that in quiet surroundings and at low volume, they are actually pretty respectable.
Anatomy plays a big part in earbud performance. The shape, size and idiosyncracies of the ear canal affect bass that gets to your eardrum. Some people say earbuds sound great so maybe they have great ear canal structure.
Women, despite their inherent superior ears, seem not to care. Men, on the other hand, tend to demand more fidelity over the audio spectrum. God strips away the male high-frequency response as we age so it’s a cruel paradox. When I was 20 years old, I could hear up to 22KHz. Now 48, I top out at 16KHz. Not that any of this matters...
Over the years, I’ve purchased a few dozen pairs of earbuds. The cheap, stock iPod buds are probably the best in my opinion.
In Ear Monitors (IEM) - These are produced by several manufacturers and can be quite pricey. Shure, Etymotic Research, Ultimate Ears and others make true IEMs. These things get jammed into the ear canal and effectively isolate outside noise; to a better degree than so called noise-canceling headphones.
Warning: IEMs can (and will) kill you. Do not bike, run, ski, skateboard or perform any activity near traffic with IEMs. IEMs isolate outside noise to such a great extent that you are effectively deaf to your surroundings. IEMs are particularly deadly when cycling; you simply cannot hear cars approaching from behind. I’m not adverse to high risk activities but using IEMs, where you need to know what’s going on around you, is simply idiotic - really.
In general, IEMs sound better than earbuds but they are a super pain in the ass (or ear) and quite pricey. Some come with a triple flange thingy that you shove deep in the ear canal. The triple flange really isolates outside noise. Inserting this medieval-looking torture device can be quite an experience. Most people don’t really know where the ear canal is so inserting a triple flange IEM is a lot like sex for the first time -- just probe around for a while until you find it. It helps if you lubricate the flange with a little saliva before it gets jammed into your dry, crusty ear canal.
Even more disgusting is the collection of wax (ear butter) and crud the triple flange rakes out of the ear when removed. I find the triple flange IEM to be uncomfortable, expensive and too much effort. The cheaper ones don’t sound very good and have weak bass. I consider the Shure E4c to be the bottom of the acceptable barrel. Anything less is a huge waste of money and at $300, the E4c is hardly worth it either. Cheap, conventional headphones outperform IEMs by a very noticeable margin.
The warning above notwithstanding, running with IEMs is annoying. For these things to work properly, they need an airtight seal in the ear canal. When running, your heal-strike on the pavement sends a shockwave through the body which produces a loud, annoying subsonic THUMP.
Notwithstanding, IEMs have their place. I use mine when mowing the lawn and traveling by air or rail when the background noise is high. If you are looking for great audio however, IEM are not the best choice.
Hybrid IEMs - These are a cross between the earbud and the IEM. Hybrids are less expensive, more comfortable and in some cases, much better sounding than IEMs. Sony, Sennheiser, Apple, Koss and others make hybrids with lots of other manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon. Most of them suck and the same warning applies to hybrids as IEMs.
The Sony MDR-EX71 gets good reviews but I find their bass to be a monotonic thump. All hybrids are capable of providing bass but they all rely on a good airtight seal in the ear. If you don’t hear any bass then that cup/cushion thing is too small (if you own some, you know what I mean).
There is only a couple of hybrids I’ve found that comes close to headphone quality sound and that’s the Sennheiser CX-300 and V-moda Vibe. They both are small, light, comfortable, well made. The CX-300 sells for about $50, the Vibe, twice that. They have full spectrum sound with deep tight bass. The CX-300 sounds better than the Vibe but the Vibe is unbeatable in quality of construction. I consider anything else in this category to be a waste of money.
Headphones - Nothings beats a good ol’ set of cans - nothing. IEMs, buds and hybrids (except the Sennheiser CX-300) can’t come remotely close to the sound quality of decent headphones. There’s a million different options out there for headphones so I’ll cut to the chase and point out three that I really like.
At the bottom of the price range are the Koss KTX Pro 1. They have great bass, good mid-range and brilliant highs. At $10 to $15, you can’t beat them for cost effectiveness. They are an on-the-ear (supra-aural) style and these are the set I jog with. I run in rain, sleet, snow and couldn’t care less about how sweaty and salty they get. If they get too ragged out, I just buy a new pair. If you’re a kid or college student on a tight budget, the Pro 1 will take you 95% of the way down the path to perfect audio. They won’t score any points for style or coolness but they sure sound great.
If you want an almost imperceptible increase in performance, the Sennheiser PX-100 is the next choice. These are also supra-aural phones and have a little better mid-range response and slightly tighter bass. Most people can’t tell the difference between these and the Koss KTX Pro 1 so if you don’t have “trained” ears, don’t bother. At $60, you can buy 4 or 5 pairs of the Koss - keep that in mind.
Top of the heap in my opinion and if you have money to burn, are the Grado Labs SR-80. These are made in Brooklyn, NY and it shows. The SR-80s are over-the-ear (circumaural) and look like something designed in the 1930s. Again, without a trained ear (if there even is such a thing) most folks can’t tell the difference between these and the Koss. The Grado shines in long listening sessions - it’s as if you’re right there in the recording studio. They have a flat response from 20 to 20 kHz and are heavenly. The headband is a tad tight when new but loosens up over time. I love ‘em but be prepared to part with about $100 to acquire a pair.
Anything over $100 is unnecessary - particularly with an iPod. There’s nothing wrong with spending $300 on a great set of cans but the incremental improvement is small. There are some great cans that demand big bucks and some that are really bad. I have both the Grado SR80 and SR325. In my opinion, the SR80 sounds better (with an iPod) and they’re a whole bunch less expensive. Buyer beware...
Hate Mail !!
Well, I did say that audiophiles have a cultish, voodoo devotion to some really silly notions. The green marker, mouth-breathers came out in force on the iPod Lounge http://www.ilounge.com
Here are some of the mindless comments:
Originally Posted by Macromedia
“I did read the article. Older turntables can match the ipod in terms of SQ. The Koss KTX Pro 1 are good for the money but they just don't compare to higher end offerings from Grado, Sennheiser, etc.
The Grado SR-80 don't have a flat response. Here's a picture of the frequency response of the Grado SR-60. http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCom...are+Headphones
The SR-60 are just a lower end version of the SR-80. Not much is different. Just the bass is better on the SR-80. Try the RS-1 [$400!] also n2xe. I think they're legues [sic] ahead of the Koss KTX Pro...”
My response:
“Turntables don't reproduce anything, they simply spin records. The SR-60 isn't the SR-80 and I think I sufficiently explained what the average Joe can and can't hear in different headphones. Besides that, you agree with the article.”
He wasn’t done however:
“The only thing I agree with is the Koss are good budget headphones but thats [sic] all. You also claim the SR-80 has a flat response. It doesn't. I posted the graph because the SR-60 is simmilar [sic] to the SR-80.”
Never mind that the SR-80 response curve is posted all over the place. He didn’t use it because it doesn’t support his position.
Warpdrive posted this gem:
“Why do you keep saying the SR80 has flat response? No current grado [sic] has flat response, they all lack deep bass extension and have a HUGE [sic]10dB peak in the treble.”
My response:
“Define flat. The SR-80 is dead flat (+/- 3dB) from 40 to 17kHz. Above that is bobs around from +5 to -10 dB which is not dramatic. Keep in mind the -10dB sounds half as loud even though it's 1/10th the power (ears have a logarithmic response). And, the deviation is up at a range where there is little audio content and most people can't hear up there anyway. Moreover, the MP3 CODEC chops off all audio content above 16kHz.
I'm not sure what you consider "deep bass extension" but if you paint the edge of your CDs with a green Magic Marker, I hear that will improve it.”
Originally Posted by Mercuttio
“I know this thread is a few days old, but oh man. If you think Grado headphones are "flat" you're totally deluded. And I'm probably one of the biggest Grado fans around.
I've met the guy, and [sic] talked headphones with him while listening to his headphone rig. He does not design headphones to be flat. He designs them to be fun to listen to [sic].”
[my reply]
“Glad you could take time away from painting the edge of your CDs with the green marker. Thanks for your thoughtful comments!”
Grado may indeed design headphones to be “fun to listen to” and as it turns out, the response is relatively flat (as I say in the article). I don’t think anybody really buys her claim that she knows John Grado but it’s a nice touch. Here’s more, Mercuttio wasn’t satisfied:
“Dude. Seriously. [sic][sic] I know John Grado. I've listened to his setup on a few occasions. I've talked to him about it specifically. What isn't to get here? The creator of your headphones disagrees with you.
Honestly, it's a joke that you even responded to me in such a manner. Clearly you couldn't argue, so you decided to throw out a generic insult and run. Pathetic.”
I haven’t received any comment from John Grado yet but apparently this chick has been on the hot line with him and I’m all wet. I guess we all are supposed to just accept that she knows John Grado, “seriously,” and that makes her argument bullet proof.
Some pimple faced kid who goes by the name of “ihatenames” wrote:
“A 15 db swing is huge, if you can't hear it you are a idiot.
Most iem's [sic] sound a hell of a lot better than the koss [sic] (I know that because I own the ksc 75 [sic] and the er6i [sic] and can hear a lot better than you!!!!!!!!!) [sic]
Your a deaf moron who should STFU.” [If anyone knows what STFU means, let me know. I’m usually very good at deciphering abbreviated invective.]
The fact that I never commented on the Koss KSC 75 notwithstanding, this genius feels that they are better than the Etymotic ER6i, which I didn’t comment on either. Can these guys read? You have to marvel at his intellect.
Unfortunately the thread got locked just as it was getting fun...
Comments always welcome - n2xe@arrl.net