New to ear buds...

[TwoRails]

Just picked up a SanDisk Sansa Express 1GB at Best Buy. I've always only had full sized headsets... so how the heck do you keep in those ear buds??

On a aside, I picked it up for a voice recorder for my BetterHalf but must say I'm pretty impressed on what a little $39 unit can do. I'm listening to the radio, for example, and it sounds good for a "radio." It also came with some sample songs and am impressed with the overall sound, even with the cheapo ear buds that came with it.

Just thought of a second question: I don't want to chance blowing that little thing out, but does anyone know if can they handle a full sized head set?

[Alaron]

Earbuds that come included with players are hit or miss considering everyone's ears are different sizes. If they aren't working for you, check out some alternative sets that come with plastic inserts to make them larger/smaller. Or just go back to regular earphones.

[TwoRails]

Glad to hear it's not "just me" -- Even though I have only an hour or more using them, I like the idea of ear buds in the way you can still hear things about you. Heck, while working in the office I've got football on and can hear it fine.

I'll check out some "adjustable" buds as you mention... I just don't want to spend too much as I know they can be pretty pricey.

Thanks

[Lespaul20]

To reinforce what Alaron said, it depends a lot on your ear shape/size. I've had several different kinds and the pair I have now seem to work the best(Sony MDR-EX71). They came with three different sized seals and I use the smallest. They are kind of pricey, I paid $40 for my pair about a year ago but they were well worth it.

The downside, or upside for me, of the adjustable buds is that they do a particularly good job of sealing out ambient sound, so they may not be what you want.

[TwoRails]

Thanks for the tip! $40? heck I paid onlyl $39.95 for the unit

I'm still "wearing" them and I guess I'm getting better at installing them, as they haven't fallen out for over a 1/2 hour. I must have small ear holes as I have to push them in pretty hard for them to stay at all.

[TwoRails]

New question: I've found out that I can put the buds in in manner they don't fall out, but then I don't hear that "deep" bass and it's a little more tinny, too. If I point them more directly into the ear canal, then the sound is much better and the bass is a lot more impressive... but then they fall out easy.

Is that just a fit problem or do I have strange ears?

[Lespaul20]

The bass response for earbuds are critical to the position relative to the ear canal, like you've found out. I tend to think it's just a fit problem since you are describing exactly why I bought the $40 buds. I never could get the cheaper kind to fit right, the ones I have now completely seal the ear canal and only work well if you make sure of it.

[TwoRails]

Comforting to hear my ears my not need replaced -- I still plan on looking for some adjustable buds.

Now, though, I hope I don't have to buy another one of those Sansa Express' !! I'm falling in love with that little thing, but since I bought it for my BetterHalf... it's pink!

Heck, for "only" $39, I think the radio part of it is worth it. You can even record the radio, too.

I don't have an mp3 collection, but I've already been tasked with getting some of her CDs into it. Heck, I bought it for the voice recorder part, now I'm lined up with a bigger "Honey-Do" list...!

[PnyK1d]

hey if you looking for the perfect earbuds i would reccomend the shure SE110, the sound quality is amazing, it has noise isolation, and the wires are thick making them equiped to last a long time. more importantly the come with a ear fitting kit. the kit has a veriety of interchangeable ear sleeves. that include foam, rubber, and triple flanged sleeves, which all have 3 different sizes. their a little pricey coming in at a 100$ but i think thier well worth it.
i own the SE210 and they have a better sound range, but these are 50$ more.

hope this helps

[glc]

Why would anyone buy a $100 set of earbuds for a $40 device?

[SonicVanguard]

Originally Posted by glc Why would anyone buy a $100 set of earbuds for a $40 device?

Don't know - these are the earbuds I wear.

[Floppyman]

Originally Posted by SonicVanguard Don't know - these are the earbuds I wear.

Wowser! What makes these so good? At that price I'd be afraid or breaking and/or losing them.

[SonicVanguard]

Originally Posted by Floppyman Wowser! What makes these so good? At that price I'd be afraid or breaking and/or losing them.

Virtually perfect sound isolation, best bass response I've ever heard out of any in-ear system, and they're so comfortable I don't know I'm wearing them. And they take a beating - I wear them as in-ear monitors for the church worship team and in the band I play in.

[Floppyman]

Originally Posted by SonicVanguard Virtually perfect sound isolation, best bass response I've ever heard out of any in-ear system, and they're so comfortable I don't know I'm wearing them. And they take a beating - I wear them as in-ear monitors for the church worship team and in the band I play in.

Is $450 really the going price for these or can they be had cheaper? Are there any other Shure models you would also recommend that don't leave such a dent in the wallet?

TIA.

[Alaron]

Floppyman, Shure has less expensive models: http://www.shure.com/PersonalAudio/P...dels/index.htm

I've never read a poor review of them.

[SonicVanguard]

Originally Posted by Floppyman Is $450 really the going price for these or can they be had cheaper? Are there any other Shure models you would also recommend that don't leave such a dent in the wallet? TIA.

Floppy, it depends on what you want - I play in clubs that have severe stage volume issues - I have a DI box that will give me a monitor mix and my own keyboard mix (A & B mix, mixed as I see fit). I've tried other noise cancellation in-ear systems and there are the only ones that can knock down 80+ dB without a thought.

[TwoRails]

OK, so I'm back to wondering if I have weird ears or not... I was at Best Buy and my criteria was what looked like they would fit and stay in. They had a set of JVC Marshallows (hey, I didn't name them ) that are kinda torpedo shaped. Price was $25, but I got them for $10 (long story).

Anyway, they fit, and they stay in, BUT, they sound freaking atrocious. Very, very tinny and zero bass. They sound worse than the included buds when they are almost falling out.

So why do I think my ears may be off? Well, if I hold the included onea tight they sound pretty good (meaning I'm happy with them) but if I rotate them about 45° forward, they sound even better.

Obviously since they don't stay in flat (parallel?) to the head, they won't stay in turned in that fashion.

I'm I missing something really obvious here? Or is my ear hole out of whack?

[SonicVanguard]

Originally Posted by TwoRails OK, so I'm back to wondering if I have weird ears or not... I was at Best Buy and my criteria was what looked like they would fit and stay in. They had a set of JVC Marshallows (hey, I didn't name them ) that are kinda torpedo shaped. Price was $25, but I got them for $10 (long story). Anyway, they fit, and they stay in, BUT, they sound freaking atrocious. Very, very tinny and zero bass. They sound worse than the included buds when they are almost falling out. So why do I think my ears may be off? Well, if I hold the included ones tight they sound pretty good (meaning I'm happy with them) but if I rotate them about 45° forward, they sound even better. Obviously since they don't stay in flat (parallel?) to the head, they won't stay in turned in that fashion. I'm I missing something really obvious here? Or is my ear hole out of whack?

By holding them tightly in you're creating a resonance chamber within your ear. Changing their angle you're changing that resonance chamber to include what is for the most part a bass trap (acute angle for bass to bounce around in). That's why the Shure SE530 work so well for me - they create a isolation fit (creating a resonance chamber). The Shure SE530 also have dual woofers in them for excellent bass response.

And no one's outer ear is created the same - another reason for the isolation designs.

[XenaWP]

Originally Posted by TwoRails ... I'm I missing something really obvious here? ...

Duct tape?

(... just a thought ...)

[TwoRails]

Originally Posted by SonicVanguard ... And no one's outer ear is created the same - another reason for the isolation designs.

That's kinda what I thought.. but why do the replacements I bought sound so freaking bad? They can't be selling them that much with that kind of sound!?! It also the reason I bought them, not that I knew what isolation was in ear buds, but they did have that "torpedo" look like the Sharps above. Even if they were "poor" buds, I would imagine them sounding at least as bad/good as the one supplied with the little $40 MP3 player...

Originally Posted by XenaWP Duct tape? (... just a thought ...)

Works great!! ... now ... how do I get them off LOL

[SonicVanguard]

Originally Posted by TwoRails That's kinda what I thought.. but why do the replacements I bought sound so freaking bad? They can't be selling them that much with that kind of sound!?! It also the reason I bought them, not that I knew what isolation was in ear buds, but they did have that "torpedo" look like the Sharps above. Even if they were "poor" buds, I would imagine them sounding at least as bad/good as the one supplied with the little $40 MP3 player...

IMO, I've not seen good isolation designs until you get close to $100 - most of them use poor quality, ultra high impedance speakers that are far to small with a resulting sound that is way too tinny for my taste.

[Hi Ho]

I have a pair of Sennheiser CX300s. They sound much better than any other earbuds I've tried in that price range. The bass response is simply unbvelievable. I had to plug them into my reciever and play the depth charge scene in U-571 just to hear the bass from the explosions. They don't sacrifice the mid and high range for bass either. The highs are smooth and detailed without being the slightest bit harsh. Mids are clear and not muddy. They work great on planes too. I even use the headphones as earplugs sometimes and don't even plug them into a player. The phones come with three different sized fittings so you most likely wouldn't have a problem fitting them in your ears.

[TwoRails]

I guess I'll look around some more. This is snowballing some as it was originally purchased solely for the voice recorder part. I probably would have never played music if it didn't come with some sample tunes. Then I discovered the radio and that's what got me hooked. I can do, for example, yard work all over the property and stay "in tune"

I'm not (yet) looking for sound as good a proverbial home stereo, but would like buds that sound as "good" as the ones that came with it, but simply just stay in my ears. Heck, if I got some really good buds then I'm sure I'd want to upgrade to a better player, hence more snowballing.

And, I don't really have plans to convert all my CDs to MP3s (heck, I don't even have any MP3s to put on it), so something good enough to listen to radio would be OK with me.

[Lespaul20]

Originally Posted by TwoRails OK, so I'm back to wondering if I have weird ears or not... I was at Best Buy and my criteria was what looked like they would fit and stay in. They had a set of JVC Marshallows (hey, I didn't name them ) that are kinda torpedo shaped. Price was $25, but I got them for $10 (long story). Anyway, they fit, and they stay in, BUT, they sound freaking atrocious. Very, very tinny and zero bass. They sound worse than the included buds when they are almost falling out. So why do I think my ears may be off? Well, if I hold the included onea tight they sound pretty good (meaning I'm happy with them) but if I rotate them about 45° forward, they sound even better. Obviously since they don't stay in flat (parallel?) to the head, they won't stay in turned in that fashion. I'm I missing something really obvious here? Or is my ear hole out of whack?

Too add to what Sonic said, the type you bought requires a very good seal. With mine, if I don't get them in completely they have no bass. It took me a little while get used to fitting them correctly so maybe thats all you need, or maybe you just do have weird ears.

[Jaggannath]

I've never had a pair of buds that fit my ear without discomfort... but then, I've never spent more than $20 on them

Another concern to be aware of with buds is that they can damage your hearing in the long term, there was a study done a number of years back

[XenaWP]

Originally Posted by Lespaul20 ... or maybe you just do have weird ears.

TwoRails, can you post full specs on your ears?

Maybe include a photo.

We really need this info. to troubleshoot your problem.

[TwoRails]

Originally Posted by XenaWP TwoRails, can you post full specs on your ears? Maybe include a photo. We really need this info. to troubleshoot your problem.

Specs:

Stereophonic. Two each in cable select jumpering. Location: one on either side of the cranial cavity. Indirect system bus to the CPU via a VIA chipset. Sensitivity: good.

Pic below:

[SonicVanguard]

Originally Posted by TwoRails Specs: Stereophonic. Two each in cable select jumpering. Location: one on either side of the cranial cavity. Indirect system bus to the CPU via a VIA chipset. Sensitivity: good. Pic below:

There's your problem right there!

[shadowpr]

You might consider a case mod...

[SonicVanguard]

Originally Posted by shadowpr You might consider a case mod...

I've got the dremel and the rotozip - I'd be glad to help the cause!