in-ear headphone recommendation?

[davemchine]

I am looking for a set of in-ear headphones to use while walking. I want a good quality headphone as I normally use Grado SR150's at home. I mostly listen to jazz and what might be called easy listening vocals. Norah Jones, Melody Gardott, Chris Botti etc. Bonus would be a microphone but it is not necessary. Thank you for any recommendations.

[jdc]

http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1...sg-1655866

[davemchine]

Huh, in reading the thread you pointed to and reading another thread inside that thread (confused yet?) I see there are "in-ear" and there are "ear-buds". I didn't realize there were two different styles. Now I'm really confused about what to get.

I will cross the slightly gross line and share that I have a significant ear wax problem. Would buds be better than in-ear given that issue?

[RAMd®d]

IEC or in Ear Canal has come to mean transducers with foam or silicone bits that seal inside the ear canal, to some degree.

Earbuds have come to refer to things like the Apple Ear Pods that sit inside the outer cavity of the ear, and nothing enters the ear canal itself, except sound.

[RAMd®d]

I will cross the slightly gross line and share that I have a significant ear wax problem. Would buds be better than in-ear given that issue?

Generally speaking, yes, as far as um, debris collection is concerned.

Also, ear buds tend not to seal tightly so you have more access to ambient sound. This is a plus if walking near traffic or serial killers.

[testcase]

I have a high end set of Etymotics I bought years ago. They go IN the ear (which some people don't like). When I first started using them, I was amazed at how much I had been missing with "ordinary" headphones / earbuds. When flying commercially, they really block out noise and, make flights much more comfortable. They are expensive (although I believe Etymotic does make some less expensive models).

[Black]

testcase wrote:
I have a high end set of Etymotics I bought years ago. They go IN the ear (which some people don't like). When I first started using them, I was amazed at how much I had been missing with "ordinary" headphones / earbuds. When flying commercially, they really block out noise and, make flights much more comfortable. They are expensive (although I believe Etymotic does make some less expensive models).

This raises a good point that the OP may not want noise isolation considering there could be safety concerns depending on where he's walking.

[davemchine]

I think it would be best to let SOME noise in as I do walk along a busy road. :-) Your help is greatly appreciated.

[davemchine]

I think I overbought but I did make a decision. I went with the Bose® MIE2i Mobile Headset. They are reviewed well and they have a microphone and iPhone controller.

[Fritz]

Sennheiser IE6 is a good $ mid point for the quality.
Been using mine for 4 years at least.
They are discontinued, but they turn up now and then .
Perhaps a good ebay seller.
Or IE60 which has replaced them.
They list at $300, but were often found at $150.