Apple earbuds = worst ever?

[Shanghaichica]

I like the latest ones that come with the iPod touch 5th gen and iPhone 5. I usually throw the headphones away and use my own but these ones are comfy and loud enough for once. The ones that came with my touch stopped working so I bought some Sony inner ear ones that I've used in the past. Aggh, they were so uncomfortable this time round. I think my ears have just got used to the Apple ones. I had to quickly rush to the apple store and get some Apple ones.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

The build quality and aesthetics of the Apple Earphones are good, the sound quality and comfort are CRAP. Apple makes quality products, but the earbuds just SUCK. I admit, the earbuds that come with most other products aren't any better or even worse, but come on.

I just can't get people that say 'they are fine to me' or 'i don't want to spend money on earbuds'. Like what the ****, you spend 100+ dollars on an iPod, but you don't want to spend money on the devices that make you actually HEAR the ****ing music?

You don't have to spend a lot of money on good earbuds.
- If low on budget: Get the Creative EP-630, about 30 bucks but they have the best price/quality for sound i've ever heard. They even come in white.
- If more budget: Sennheiser CX-300, I think you can get em for about 60 bucks, more clear sound then the EP-630.
- If even higher budget: Shure SE215, I currently own these, SUBLIME sound and they are not even THAT expensive about 100 bucks. Don't go any more expensive than this by the way, your iDevice will become a bottleneck in sound quality.

I spent 'big' money and got the Ironman running ear buds and after the control shorting out (sweat proof my butt), decided to go back to the Apple ear buds. I saw the Polk exercise buds and switched to them and after getting the main cable replaced due to a short, have been using them now for a while, but the Apple ones are a good fallback.

My biggest complaint on the Apple ear buds was the sharp corners on the control that always got hung up on nearly everything that I wore. I HATED using them doing anything that would involve extra clothes like skiing, biking, etc, because I hated getting distracted with the eventual hangup and yanking feeling.

That said, the new design is better then the older ones. They fit the ear better, and have a rounded corner control (YES!!!). The only additional complaint I have is the ear buds that come with the Touch *should* be the same that come with the iPhone. The Touch has recording capabilities, correct? I hate grabbing the wrong buds when I'm in a hurry and finding out that the people I am calling are hearing the iPhone rub against my clothes rather than me talking. I usually toss the ones without the mic.

But anyway...

 

[oneMadRssn]

http://www.amazon.com/YUIN-Yuin-PK3...=UTF8&qid=1374685016&sr=8-1&keywords=yuin+pk3

Best earbuds ever. The cable will break eventually though, usually after several months of use. What most people do, by themselves or with the help of a friend capable of basic wiring, is replace the wire with the one from the standard apple earbuds with the inline mic and remote; essentially swap the actual earbuds on the standard apple ones with these. Its actually quite easy for anyone that has used a soldering iron before.

Seriously though, the sound these make is shockingly good for the price.

 

[Irishman]

Apple Earbuds are bad but the Apple EarPODs are really good for earbuds that come with the device.

Agreed! They really did the impossible and made what was arguably the WORST earbuds one of the BEST ones.

 

[AppleDeviceUser]

Agreed! They really did the impossible and made what was arguably the WORST earbuds one of the BEST ones.

Yeah for sure! I love my Apple earpods

 

[hugo7]

Yes! (I found this thread)

Yeah for sure! I love my Apple earpods

Got to admit that the new Apple earbuds which come with the iPhone (NOT in the in-ear canal type) are surprisingly good. Maybe it wasn't that hard to surpass the previous generation which had at least one serious flaw - the rubberbanding ring would crumble and render the earbuds useless (the exposed coarse edge plastic was so uncomfortable sitting on the ears).

Sound quality is okay, with the better directed speakers delivering more bass and allowing music listening at a lower volume. The inline controls are useful and the whole thing can be scrunched up and stuffed in a shirt pocket.

These things are definitely my fallback listening gear.

 

[musicjunky]

I use my Apple earbuds only when I'm desperate. I don't know how people listen to music, or god forbid, podcasts on these things. I wear them on public transportation and I can't make out what anyone is saying in the podcast unless I crank my volume to 100.

 

[SeenJeen]

The new Earpods are decent. It's nice that I can run with them and not lose them. The sound quality is good, not great. For $10-$20 more you can have drastically better headphones, though. IMO isolation earbuds are the way to go.

But for the average listener that listens to 128-192 kbps music, Earpods are good enough.

 

[MacTCE]

I personally really like the new earbuds. They're the best fitting in-ear headphones I've ever used.

 

[djtech42]

I used to use them until I got headphones that are actually good. Even the new EarPods didn't isolate sound enough and the sound quality wasn't clear enough.

 

[MacTCE]

I have to agree they're not the best sounding but I only really use them for taking voice and video calls and I use my over the ear for music and movies.

 

[mpantone]

The Apple EarPods are okay as an included headset with the phone. However, I would never pay the $29 retail price for these EarPods, there are far better earphones available at a similar or slightly higher price:

• RHA MA450i, $50 at Amazon.com
  
• NuForce NE-600M-BLK, $30 at Amazon.com

I wish the NuForce had the volume controls on the inline mic/remote. At a buck more, that would make them the perfect cheap substitute for the Apple EarPods.