All those black silhouettes cavorting in their white headphones on the Apple Computer commercials? Can't possibly be using the crappy headphones they found in the box. Yikes, says Steve--already not a fan of the little players, not least because the sound's so substandard. True, says Angela--but that goes for any MP3 player. The headphones in the box are about as bad as it gets.
Of course, if you've dropped a hundred or two on your player, you might be asking yourself how much another fifty or hundred for headphones will get you. Or, if your headphones disintegrate every couple of months, you have to wonder if it's worth getting anything better than whatever's for sale behind the register at the drugstore.
So the Duo did some testing, and the answer is ... yes! Steve, for one, can't even wear most of the earbuds that come with these devices. For him, earphones not only deliver sound into his ears, they help keep unwanted noise out.
There are two ways higher-end headphones claim to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. Noise-isolating earphones, like the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi series, Altec Lansing's IM716 earphones, or Etymotic Research 7 Isolators, basically keep noise out by creating a tight seal--usually with special silicone, rubber, or foam tips that expand in the ear canal once you put them in. Noise-canceling headphones, like the Bose QuietComfort 2, actually have microphones in the earcups that pick up ambient noise and then inject sort of the inverse of that signal to cancel it out. And of course, because these sit around your ears, they also suppress some noise. The Bose headphones are battery-powered, since they're doing some fancy stuff to flatten those extra sound waves.
Angela was admittedly a skeptic about such things, having had one too many encounters with the travel earplugs sold at various airport-concourse concessions around our fine nation. But she happened to put these things on for the first time when the dryer was running in the next room, and she had to pull them off again to make sure the laundry was still going. Profound difference. And now she's converted, though the $300 price tag may yet keep her from making a purchase.
Steve likes them too, finding them comfortable and much better than the cheap, noise-canceling earphones he purchased a few years ago. But thanks to the technology in use, all the noise-canceling models tend to be better at peeling away low rumbles than at muting whiny kids or endless talkers. As for the sound itself, Angela liked it greatly, especially for listening to recordings where details are crucial.
The Duo also checked out earbuds and found that even though the sound was often less impressive, there was one significant advantage: portability. That said, notes Angela, all the models the Duo tested have better sound than either the earbuds included with music players or the $10 replacements you might pick up at the drugstore. The Duo found the Etymotics for around $100, the Altecs for around $175, and the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 EB for about $200.
It can be tricky to get these models arranged properly in your ear. Ideally, you want a variety of tips--single-flange, double-flange, foam--that you can experiment with. And in general, you want to pull your ear up while you're inserting these to get a better seal. Angela was the first one off this particular boat; though she tried, she could never find a comfortable spot that did more than slightly dull the sound of the dryer or the general street rumble.
Steve's been happy with Shure's E3c model over the years. But that particular model isn't particularly sensitive, so the volume sometimes runs out when he's listening to quiet classical stuff. Of the ones he tried for this episode, he liked the Ultimate Ears best overall; Angela liked the sound, but not the isolation, of the Sony MDR-EX71SL headphones. (Isolation's not a minor consideration, of course. When the isolation isn't effective, you tend to crank up the volume to compensate--a very bad idea.) Angela likes the Sony set--best sound of the trio, nice bass, and decent fit. She still heard the dryer rumbling, but at $40 that's acceptable.
Still, there are several problems with in-ear models. Some manufacturers suggest that you moisten the earphones for a better seal. The earbuds can and do fill up with earwax. (Ultimate Ears gives you a little tool to dig that out.) Some units, like the Etymotics, want you to replace a little filter every once in a while, and some want you to disinfect them after every use. Steve's also run into problems with tips falling off the ends of the earphones, though he's got a solution for that: the Ultimate Ears UE-5c, custom-built for him (and this would be a good time for you to check out the video, as that customization process is truly beyond the scope of a mere recap) and priced at $500.
But all that money didn't buy perfection. The UE-5cs don't have a soft surround like regular noise-isolating models, and Steve found them a) rather uncomfortable and b) not superb at isolating him from external noise. And Angela? She's still trying to wrap her head around paying $500 for headphones, especially when a decent MP3 player costs less than $200.
Ad Choices