In-ear Phones Recommendation Needed

[ppo]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here.

My 5 years old Sony MDR-EX51LP headphones have stopped working yesterday...
I'm sad because I know it's difficult to find good headphones.


The main problem that I have is that I cant buy them again. I tried to search but now they have this Fontopia model which I saw some reviews and they say the cord is rubbish:

"Disintegrating, flimsy cords reveal bare wire after 6-7 months normal wear."


Please read this review:

The confusion regarding the first two types of reviews lies in when the reviews were written. It seems (from my own experience, and that of others) that around February 2005, which I will from here on refer to as "Day X," the material of the cord was changed. I have no words to describe the digust I feel towards the new material: After a few weeks, it literally turns to mush and starts peeling off. I don't know what Sony is trying to pull, but it's unfair that so many people keep buying these earbuds after reading the good reviews, which happen to be written either before Day X, or before the disintegration starts. It's also quite annoying that those who bought the earbuds prior to Day X keep telling others to ignore the bad reviews on Amazon, as their earbuds have lasted them years. Of course they have! You bought 'em before Day X, people! Oy.

I didnt want to take a step backwards and buy some headphones worse than my old ones... its bad enough to have to buy new ones.

Specially because they were very good, they lasted me years, always with clear good sound with powerful bass.


Can you suggest me any similar headphones or perhaps a place where I could buy the old model?

Thank you!

[Ferral]

It may be worthwhile contacting Sony Ericcson directly to see if you can get them from ther.

[dave87]

Sennheiser come up well in reviews, perhaps have a look at their in ear offerings?

[ppo]

Thanks for the quick anwsers.

I gave sony a call and they dont do the old model anymore =/


About sennheiser, I know they make good studio headphones but I never tried their in-ears.
I saw some reviews and the specifications on some models, they don't seem to provide such good response range (hz)

17-22500hz

as opposed to my old ones:

6-23000hz

That should make a huge difference (at least for me =p, I like earphones to 'simulate' the bass power of speakers without losing definition).

What do you guys think?

[schmunk]

Originally Posted by ppo

Thanks for the quick anwsers.

I gave sony a call and they dont do the old model anymore =/


About sennheiser, I know they make good studio headphones but I never tried their in-ears.
I saw some reviews and the specifications on some models, they don't seem to provide such good response range (hz)

17-22500hz

as opposed to my old ones:

6-23000hz

That should make a huge difference (at least for me =p, I like earphones to 'simulate' the bass power of speakers without losing definition).

What do you guys think?

I would suggest that Sony are more outrageous liars than Sennheiser...

[this_is_gav]

Sennheiser CX95s (so long as they're genuine).

[ppo]

I read about that somewhere schmunk =/

But does it really work like that? they can specify something wrongly? I wouldnt thought they could lie like that.

There is a way to check though, one of my headphones is still working I can test its response frequencies.


Are there any particulary good earphones from sennheiser or are they all almost the same?
Do they have similar quality as their studio headphones?


Another thing. My old ones had a weird cord which was very useful actually: from the joint, the left was smaller than the right. Do you guys know the name of that cord type?

Thanks for all the help!

[Saracen]

Originally Posted by ppo

....

Are there any particulary good earphones from sennheiser or are they all almost the same?
Do they have similar quality as their studio headphones?

....

Sennheiser do a range, to suit many budgets.

Typically, you get more or less what you pay for. I'd put Sennheiser as being very good for the money, for a mid range. If you're looking for quality, you might want to check out Etymotic, Shure, etc .... but be prepared to pay for it.

Last time I did the comparison, I went for Shure but .... like speakers, headphones are at least partly personal taste in how you like your music to sound, and even what type of music you like. Also as model ranges have changed since I bought my last pair, I won't recommend specific models as just because I preferred Shure a couple of years ago in their last generation doesn't mean I still would now. I'd have to listen again to be sure of Shure.

[ppo]

Saracen, I have been checking shure and sennheiser range but there is this issue with the response frequencies, how can sony claim their earphones are so much more responsive than both brands?

I mean, it is not a small difference, they claim 6-23000 hz compared to 17-22500 Hz (Sennheiser CX95) or 20-19000Hz (Shure SE420 and they are expensive ones!) .

[ppo]

I found out the cord type name. It is J type when the right is bigger than the left.

Also, I found these earphones: JVC HAFX55ZB which appear to have 5-24000Hz frequency response.

Is JVC lying as well? Anybody tried these?


Thanks!

[oldskooladdict]

CX300 Sennys for me - just be sure to avoid ebay and Amazon Marketplace - otherwise they're likely to be fakes.

Also, if you like bass v heavy, try the V-Mode Bass Freq - well heavy bass, but not quite as comfortable as the Sennys imo

[oldskooladdict]

Oh, of course, what ever you choose, be sure to 'run them in' too - put some tunage on and leave them playing in a drawer or something - after a few (quite a few) hours of play they sound much better.

If you wanna really geek out get on www.head-fi.org - serious levels of detail there

[ppo]

Thanks for the info. Ill have a look

[schmunk]

Like oldskooladdict, I can recommend the Sennheiser CX300 - they even have the J-cord you're looking for..!

I am aware that Sennheiser have recently released CX400 and CX500 models at higher price points. I'm not sure how they compare.

Definitely avoid buying such headphones from eBay or similar - they are almost guaranteed to be fake.

[Mike Fishcake]

I'm happy with my CX300s because they're one of the only models that actually stay in my ears

[oldskooladdict]

Try and get the CX300's quick if you want them - They have been superseded by a new model so any stock left probably will probably be dwindling.