Earbud suggestions please

[mcad64]

Okay so I either I have too much hair in my ears or the earbuds I got stock with ipads, old sensa player, Blackberry cellphone are not that good. As such I have decided that I would like some decent earbuds. I know the Shure SE425, and I know that Etymotic has been mentioned. I am looking in the 300 Canadian price range if possible. Also, do most of these come with interchangeable ear pieces. By that I mean different sizes?
Thanks,
Mike
PS: What exactly is the difference between noise isolating and noise cancelling? Is one better than the other?

 

[Flint]

Noise isolation is like an earplug in that outside sounds are blocked from getting through the sleeve.

Noise cancelling is usually an active circuit somewhere in the headphone which uses a microphone to capture ambient sound outside of the ear and inverts the signal and adds it to the sound being played which actively cancels out the outside noise. Active noise cancelling works wonders for helicopter pilots, but I find it muddies the sound you want to be listening to.

I prefer my Shure headphone with the foam sleeves which block over 30dB SPL of outside ambient noise so I can listen to my music. It is really cool that I can turn down the sound coming from my source because the ambient noise at my eardrum is already very low. Often, to quiet the noise of the world I will wear my IEMs purely as earplugs without plugging them into anything.

 

[mcad64]

Noise isolation is like an earplug in that outside sounds are blocked from getting through the sleeve.

Noise cancelling is usually an active circuit somewhere in the headphone which uses a microphone to capture ambient sound outside of the ear and inverts the signal and adds it to the sound being played which actively cancels out the outside noise. Active noise cancelling works wonders for helicopter pilots, but I find it muddies the sound you want to be listening to.

I prefer my Shure headphone with the foam sleeves which block over 30dB SPL of outside ambient noise so I can listen to my music. It is really cool that I can turn down the sound coming from my source because the ambient noise at my eardrum is already very low. Often, to quiet the noise of the world I will wear my IEMs purely as earplugs without plugging them into anything.

So something like the Shure 425's, they have dual drivers and seem to be a good entry point for me? I am guessing dual drivers would be better than single? They would be about as much as I want to spend.

 

[mcad64]

One year "BUMP".
I ended up recently getting a deal on a pair of Etymotic 4PT/S.
I researched and price checked and decided that the price for the Etys was worth pulling the trigger on even though I had read reviews about them being weak on the bass end. Personally , I thought, I don't like really heavy base so what the heck, why not give em a whirl?
Needless to say I was somewhat dissappointed when I first tried them. Compared them to some crappy Apple earbuds and ones that came with my phone and thought" yeah , they are somewhat anaemic in the bass area". Crap, I should have listened to the reviews!! Fast forward a good two months (I was bummed about buying them) and I took another crack at them. This time I did the old over the head pull the ear up (just like last time) only I slid them in a little further and VOILA...bass!! The sound went from weak and trebly to just the way I like it!! It also went from sounding like the sound was in each ear to WHAM it was in the middle of my scull!! Reminded me very much of the time 35 years ago when I first put on my Sennheiser HD 400's and listened to Comfortably Numb on them!!
Went outside to walk the dog in the bush and I found that the triflange kept slipping out!! I have since switched to the foam tips (which seal way better but are somewhat scratchy on my ears) and the sound isolation and hence bass is even tighter. Will walk the dog again this afternoon to see if they seat better than the flanges while mobile.
Of course you know what comes next........I think I need a better DAP!!
Right now I am simply using an old Sansa e270 that I have Rockboxed which allows me to play my flac files of redbook cds.
I have looked at an online Canadian site that sells used AV gear (have sold and purchased there myself) and there seem to be lots of movemnet of Fiio products. Specifically x3, x5, first and second gen. I have tried to find the spec differences between the x3 and x5 second gen and the only difference seems to be 128g versus 256 of storage?
Anywho, just wanted to post how happy I was with these Etymotics!!
Mike

 

[Haywood]

I have found that the tips you put on IEMs have a huge impact on both comfort and sound. It is very important to get the right fit. I ended up buying some very nice after market tips for my Jaybird BlueBud X2s and it made a big difference.

 

[Flint]

I back what Haywood wrote... the tip/insert is crucial to the sound quality. It took almost a year of experimenting with my Shure IEMs before I found the exact perfect tip to use - in my case the large expanding foam style from Shure (but I tried at least a dozen different tips both Shure and aftermarket).

Get the right tips and the performance will be what it should be for that model of IEM.

 

[Haywood]

I have also had the best luck with the expanding foam ones.

 

[mcad64]

I tried the foam tips out on a walk with the hound. Wow, these things isolate so well you can hear yourself grind your teeth, your boots squishing the snow and unfortunately the microphonics of the headphone cord hitting my coat. I have a clip , but I will have to do a better job of routing the cable so it doesn't rub anything as I walk. The other problem with the Etymotics is that they don't rest flush in the ears like other IEM's do, so wearing a hat (its cold out) can also cause some microphonics. The foam itself I found somewhat abrasive to my inner ear. Not sure how to correct that? Not sure if the foam will break down, for lack of a better word, and become softer?
Still, much happier now then I was a few months ago when I first purchased them.
Mike

 

[Zing]

...and unfortunately the microphonics of the headphone cord hitting my coat.

That is highly annoying. Last summer while mowing the yard, my cord touched the mower handle. I thought I blew out both ear drums! I don't know what causes that noise transmission and I don't know why it can't be prevented in design.

 

[Flint]

That's why I like the IEMs where the cord wraps over your ear. The wrap isolates the IEM so things hitting the cable don't transfer to the sound.

 

[Haywood]

I absolutely love my Bluetooth IEMs. Say what you like, but the Jaybird BlueBuds X2 sound very good. In fact, I think they sound better than the Westone UM-1s (arguably not high end) I was using before. I love not having to deal with the cord and the 7 hour battery life makes them very convenient. The sound quality is excellent to my ears and the isolation is great with good tips. I use them on the commuter rail and while walking to and from the train station every day.

 

[Botch]

...and unfortunately the microphonics of the headphone cord hitting my coat.

That is highly annoying. Last summer while mowing the yard, my cord touched the mower handle. I thought I blew out both ear drums! I don't know what causes that noise transmission and I don't know why it can't be prevented in design.

A mower has a, heck what's the right term, magneto?... that creates the spark to fire the engine. Very primitive, and no doubt it probably isn't isolated from the frame of a mower. Might make a cool demo at the next GTG.