Recommendation for Replacing my Sansa Fuze Headphones

2016-09-19 11:53:22

Hello everyone :-)

I never considered myself to be an audiophile. Years ago I picked the 'Sansa Fuze' player, and the sound quality was decent enough for me to enjoy it (not perfect, but good). As those falling apart by now, and I'm officially moved all my 256kbps encoded albums into my LG phone, I decided to get new headphones. I was sure the player had cheap headphones, so I went to buy a cheap Sony headphones - everything sounded super bad. I tried another low cost Samsung headphones a friend had, and again - sound was awful.

Based on that I'm guessing the Sansa Fuze headphones were not THAT cheap as I though they were.

I'm looking for recommendation:

1. I mostly enjoy isolation when I'm listening to music. An immersive experience. Over the ear headphones sounds bulky for daily use and hiking, so I guess they should be in-ear.
2. That should be at-least match the Sansa Fuze headphones quality - even though I won't mind a small upgrade.
3. Sadly I don't have many options in my country (I can import outside of it, but the shipping gets expensive). So any "common" options would be appreciated.
4. They should be durable, as I'm hiking with toss and often 'toss them' into my bag. Because I walk, I want them to 'stick' into my ear and not fall every-time I move my head around.
5. I'm not aiming for the very expensive headphones. Low to minus mid in price would be good.

Thanks!

Re: Recommendation for Replacing my Sansa Fuze Headphones

Reply #1 – 2016-09-19 13:46:07

Describe what you mean by "awful".  Maybe your phone is doing something wrong or there is a dramatic impedance mis-match.  I've owned plenty of Sony earbuds over the years and they all were fine or as good as I'd expect for the price.  Have you listened to your phone over a set of headphones you know sound good on someone else's phone?

Does your phone have an equalizer or any audio "effects" that need to be turned off?  Maybe your phone has some sort of volume limiting that is preventing it from performing as you wish.

Re: Recommendation for Replacing my Sansa Fuze Headphones

Reply #2 – 2016-09-19 15:49:39

Everything sounds 'flat'. But do have in mind those were indeed a very cheap Sony/Samsung earphones. In Amazon you have Sony earphones that cost 10$, it might be something like those. But your right, It's a good idea. I will check the sound quality of my Sansa headphones with the phone, see if it's the same like the Sansa player. Is there any recommended player for Android that does not has all kind of build-in audio modification I can not control? something like foobar but for Android?

Also - as my Sansa headphones already dying - I would still lover to hear a recommendation anyhow
Thank you!

Re: Recommendation for Replacing my Sansa Fuze Headphones

Reply #3 – 2016-09-19 16:06:49

I've been extremely pleased with my SoundMagic E10s, they're inexpensive and seem rather well-built and solid. The sound quality is quite good, better than you'd expect at the price point, currently $42 on Amazon.

Re: Recommendation for Replacing my Sansa Fuze Headphones

Reply #4 – 2016-09-21 13:00:37

It was a pleasant surprise to figure Foobar2000 actually had an Android implementation
Sounds still is not amazing with the cheap Sony.

Thanks KozmoNaut, those indeed are in the price range I was looking for. I will check those out. Any more suggestions?

Re: Recommendation for Replacing my Sansa Fuze Headphones

Reply #5 – 2016-09-21 21:02:22

If it is about isolation, have a look at Etymotics
Even on the train I can listen to chamber music
Very neutral so not suit for bass heads.

Re: Recommendation for Replacing my Sansa Fuze Headphones

Reply #6 – 2016-09-22 13:33:25

So many brands, so many opinions.

I'll give you my opinion. I have Shure SE425's (just yet) and I love them (combined with FiiO E17k), but others may not like them so it's very personal...
If you like rich sound, enough bass but overall quite decent sound and cheapish look at Sennheiser. I still have Sennheiser CX500's around and they are fine for everyday use or fitness (running, biking etc) connected to a Samsung S5.

Re: Recommendation for Replacing my Sansa Fuze Headphones

Reply #7 – 2016-09-22 15:04:29

Roseval,

Not sure what 'bass heads' means. I'm guessing very 'bassy' type of music? I enjoy multiple of music types. From Metal to Classic music up to Dubstep. So I think I'm looking for good all around ear phones. I will checking Etymotics headphones as you mentioned. They seems to have some 50$ ear phones.

Fairy,
Shure SR425 too expensive for me (around 300$ according to their site). I'm looking for something around the 40-70$ range.

I found CX300II in a pretty decent price, and according to Amazon they got a good reviews. Opinions?

Thanks!

Re: Recommendation for Replacing my Sansa Fuze Headphones

Reply #8 – 2016-09-22 23:15:26

I'll second the Soundmagic E10, assuming you can get the full-blown export version with red zipper case and all, rather than just the cheaper Chinese market one (they are not identical). Mids are somewhat set-back but otherwise pretty neutral. (So sort of the DT770s of the in-ear world.) That's not something you can say about many other similar dynamic driver in-ears, including CX300s, which have a typical V-shaped response with definitely colored mids. (The raw response tends to show it quite well, which can be taken quite literally up to about 1-2 kHz. A rather narrow scoop centered around 600-800 Hz or so is what I'm talking about. Hmm, looking at CX100 and CX200 again, those actually look reasonably civilized, there are far worse offenders.)

I got mine about 3 years ago to replace dead SE420s on a budget, and while isolation has never been quite on the same level, sound is definitely better (about the first not to require at least some EQing). I did get to test their newer (higher-end) E50 and E80 models a while back, which were quite nice but didn't have the sort of extra bass that tends to come in handy in portable use (my primary application for these).

I will recommend making DIY foam tips out of Moldex Spark Plugs, the stock silicone tips are pretty thin and do not isolate too well. I have also set stereo separation to 90% in Rockbox to make up for widening caused by cable return resistance one a near-zero impedance output like my Clip+' (set channel config to custom for this). I wear mine upside down so the cable can go over the ear like it did with the Shures - not perfect comfort-wise but good enough, and gets rid of most cable noise. (Been doing that for a decade, starting from Etymotic ER6s, which definitely look more ridiculous like that.) I have not had any issues with the headphone cable, but the plug itself appears to be gold-plated brass (and I do mean that - not your average nickel-plated brass with gold flash), and the gold plating has not held up too well, requiring a good wipe about every once a week.

Re: Recommendation for Replacing my Sansa Fuze Headphones

Reply #9 – 2016-09-23 21:11:22

Thanks for the detailed answer stephan_g. That's another vote for Soundmagic E10.
I tried the CX300 and as I mentioned I hike with my headphones. Every small touch in the cord was being carried right into my ear. The Sansa fuse were Earbuds, is there touch sound that being carried over the cord is common to all in-ear? same issue for the Soundmagic?

I was told by a friend another good option is Monk Plus. Those are VERY cheap in price, but I heard couple of decent reviews about those. Anyone one heard about those?