Earphones - best to buy?

[waz94]

Hey guys,

Have recently bought an X20 and was just curious into the earphones that was packaged with it.

I am a previous owner of a H340, N10, Clix and the earphones packaged with these DAPS have been servicable to my ears. I really cant tell the difference between most earphones, however the earphones packaged with my X20 seem to be pretty cr*p to say the best.

The only other thing that i can think of is the X20 quality itself however i dont have any other earphones to run a test with. Surely the X20 wouldnt be the problem as my other iRiver DAPs have been great.

Just seeing if anyone else has had a problem with the X20 earphones. The problem is mainly that the sound being emitted is dull and tinny with very little bass without distortion.

Also can anyone else recommend a good pair of earphones (models) that I can purchase for my X20?

Cheers.

[andrewmel]

The more money you spend the better.

Shure are a good brand, and their bottom of the range headphones are better than the top of the range for the cheap brands. They also have a good service record. I sent my E500s back to Shure. I bought them online in Australia, but am now in Korea, with no receipt. They told me to send them to Hong Kong.

A new set came back in the mail.

a

[Step666]

How much do you want to pay?
What sort of music do you listen to?

I mean, there are IEMs out there for ~$1200, which have 4 drivers but most people don't want or need such things (well, a lot of people want them but don't need them, nor could they really afford them...).

Asking 'what are the best earphones/headphone/IEMs?' is like asking 'what's the best car/computer/DAP?'.
The question is far too vague due to the huge range of products available.

[caramelsoul]

The only portable earphones that i can recommend that i have tried are from the Shure range.

[_kuroyume_]

the JVC marshmallow are pretty good, and when you consider the price (around 10 bucks) they become fantastic :P

[waz94]

Hey guys,

thanks for all the replies, will take them onboard. Looking at spending up to $200 aussie so not sure if the shure range will be within that limit.

Also just seeing if any other x20 owner out there has noticed a difference in earphone quality with the x20. Seems pretty poor.

Also hoping that someone can answer my question about the digital quality output of the x20 and other iriver products. Could that be an issue or are most iRiver DAPs the same in music quality.

[ShyAnne]

Originally Posted by waz94

Also hoping that someone can answer my question about the digital quality output of the x20 and other iriver products. Could that be an issue or are most iRiver DAPs the same in music quality.

Check out some more threads in the X20 forum, do a search or just quickly scan titles. There's been other questions regarding X20's sound quality, especially from those already familiar with iriver's usual sound.

X20 was contracted out to a different manufacturer, Korean company Joytoto, to be re-branded as iriver. Not usually done by iriver, in fact I believe this may be the first time. Probably because X20 was meant to be the 'budget' model -- to offset the new flagship product, the 2nd generation Clix.

Joytoto also makes retail chain Best Buy's Insignia branded players. If there's a Best Buy near you, go check out the Insignia Video MP3 player model number NS-DV. Outside casing is designed differently but basically it's the same player as the iriver X20. It's a little less expensive because it's Best Buy's own brand, instead of saying "iriver" on it, and because the styling is much more simple rather than flashy-looking like the X20.

If you bring your X20 and test it against the NS-DV they should sound identical. I haven't tried an X20 but did play with an Insignia. It's a good sounding player, but not quite a great sounding player. Overall sound quality is not as good as T10, one of iriver's past flash players, which was not contracted out. Since (as per your original post) you already had the H340 and 1st generation Clix, neither of which were contracted out, you are familiar with iriver's sound and this is probably why you're noticing the X20 difference. (Which does not mean X20 is a 'bad' sounding player, just not like iriver usually sounds.)

EDIT: Ooops ...just noticed 'location' on your posts says "Australia". I don't think you can go to Best Buy and compare to an Insignia player, Best Buy is a U.S. retail chain. You can check Best Buy's web site and see the features on your X20 are indentical, doesn't help with sound testing though. Maybe if there's a U.S. X20 owner on this forum they can go to Best Buy and compare to their X20.

[Haans74]

Full size headphones or plugs?

I used Grado SR80 with my old Archos player. They sound fantastic, but they are loud and not suitable on a crowded bus I've switched to earplugs...

Shure e2c should be within that pricerange, even e3c might be. I've borrowed a pair of Creative EP630's after reading some great reviews, and I must say they sound great for the price. I've not been able to compare them to Shure, but others have - and given the CL's much kudos.

[teajay]

As far a sound quality goes, I've been very impressed with the X20. The headphones sound great too. But then again I used to use a Creative Muvo TXFM so maybe anything sounds great by comparison

[rastaman25]

Personally it'd be Sennheisers all the way... but it's personal choice... depends which type you are after - headphones or plugs.

[waz94]

Looking at plugs in relation to my initial post.

[Haans74]

As I said earlier, Creative EP630 (I think EP635 is the new model) are highly recommended as great budget plugs. Around $30 I think.

[ryancamcam]

Originally Posted by waz94

The problem is mainly that the sound being emitted is dull and tinny with very little bass without distortion.

There is a equalizer on the X20, although it doesn't make that much difference.

[madandu@gmail.com]

Hi,

I am too using creative EP 630. Gives deep bass with good dynamic range.

[nokabolikov]

I live in Japan and my son goes to school by train and
has his player with him all the time.
My wife was quite worried about the long-term effect
on his hearing if he listened at volumes high enough
to overcome the train noise.

We were all satisfied when he got noise-cancelling phones.

I tried his out and was so impressed that I went out
and got some, too.

I can listen to audiobooks at from 30% to 50% the volume
that I used to and do not get listening fatigue.

The ones we got are Sony MDR-NC32NX
You can see a picture and details here:
http://store.aikotradingstore.com/sonymdrnc32nx.html
(_maybe_ not the best price, but only adds about $15 to cheapest
online pricing in Japan)

I never got on very well with ordinary ear buds
and had two pairs of ear-plug type phones before
getting these Sony ones.

The Sony's are more comfortable in the ear.
I also like the necklace arrangement because you can wear
your player even if you don't have a breast pocket and
because the wires don't get tangled in the same way.

You might find it odd that the phones (with their own battery)
weigh more than your player, but to me it's been worth it.

The cheaper MDR-NC22 is the same model without the necklace.

Anyway, to minimize noise leakage, which may annoy the people around
you, I recommend earplug phones.
To preserve your hearing and to actually hear the amazing sound
that your player is capable of, I recommend noise-cancelling phones.

Other makers besides Sony do them. I don't much care for Sony as
a company, but here in Japan, the Sony's were affordable (JPY 7000
or USD 80). I haven't compared the MDR-NC32NX to other noise-
cancelling phones but, with NC switched off they clearly show up
the limitations that MP3 has with properly rendering the sound of
snare drums of 1950s jazz records: something that I hadn't noticed
before. NC can be switched on and off to preserve battery power.

FWIW a Japanese 'net-info site rather better than CNET,
in the headphone section has these as the most popular for hits:
Sony MDR-EX90SL (earplug type)
Sennheiser CX300 (very affordable earplug type)
Bose TriPort IE (earplug type)

And these as the top three in terms owner rating
Sony MDR-Z500DJ (actual over-the-ear phones)
Shure SE310 (pricey earplug type)
Shure E4c-N (pricey earplug type)

Shure prefers isolation to cancellation,
http://www.shure.com/PersonalAudio/R...logy/index.htm
but it is not always a good thing to be isolated from ambient sound.

Sony claims to cut about 3/4 of mechanical noise (other sounds are
more difficult). One reviewer claimed that ordinary cars
sound like a Prius or other hybrid, but that has not been my experience.
I can hear cars, but they are not as loud as they used to be.
I only know this because the volume setting on my player is
7 whereas without noise cancelling it has to be 14 or 15 and
sometimes louder.

[kasabian]

The phones that come with the X20 are an absolute joke, you can't possibly be expected to use them. Sennheiser CX300. You can pick them up new on Amazon Marketplace for about £8 +P&P. Supposed to be as good as it gets in that price range.

[Step666]

Originally Posted by kasabian

The phones that come with the X20 are an absolute joke, you can't possibly be expected to use them.

What do you really expect from something that's bundled for free though?

I don't know about the ones that come with the X20 but back in the era of the H300, iRiver actually had a reputation fro providing better earphones that most DAP manufacturers. Best of a bad lot, if you will.

[kasabian]

Fair point, but you say you don't have an X20, I am not saying it for effect, they are absolutely horrible. I used the ones I got with my Zen Micro whilst the Sennheisers where on the way, three years old and 10x as good. They sound like mobile phone speakers stuck in your ears.

[melodyh40]

Originally Posted by kasabian

The phones that come with the X20 are an absolute joke, you can't possibly be expected to use them. Sennheiser CX300. You can pick them up new on Amazon Marketplace for about £8 +P&P. Supposed to be as good as it gets in that price range.

Hey! I was bopping around Ebay tonight and came across this auction: http://cgi.ebay.ca/Earphones-for-ipo...cmdZViewItem#v . They're called the CX300 (not Sennheiser), but look like Sennheiser aside from missing the little logo on the side (see this: http://uk.gizmodo.com/2006/07/12/sen...eadphones.html ). So, what do you think? Are these "knock off" Sennheisers? For a penny plus 5 bucks postage, I'm tempted to try them! What you ya think?

Mel

[Step666]

Probably not worth wasting your cash on.
Even if they're not fakes but, maybe, phones provided by Sennheiser to be packaged with DAPs that are being sold off not-entirely-legally, they're still not going to be wonderful.

If you're after a set of (reasonably) cheap 'phones, try finding yourself some Shure E2s.
At around £30/$60, they're meant to be an excellent buy.

[melodyh40]

Thanks Step!

However, in perusing the Internet, I see that there are E2's , E2c's and E2g's. To which are you referring?

[Step666]

They're all basically the same.
The E2s are marketed as professional in-ear-monitors (ie the sort of thing members of a band wear on stage), the E2c's are supposedly the 'consumer' version but there's no difference and the E2g's are the 'gamer' version and are, I think, black instead of a sort of clear-ish sort of colour.
Apart from that, there might be a slight difference in the length of the cord but, basically, you should just go for whatever one you can find cheapest.