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Topic: best earbuds for under $50? (Read 87881 times) previous topic - next topic
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best earbuds for under $50?

so i need some new portable earphones and so far i've heard sennheiser mx500 and koss the plug thrown around. 

what are your opinions?  any other suggestions?

edit: my journey: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....st&p=529080

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #1 –
Really Senn MX500s (of MX400s if you don't care/want the volume control) and Sony EX71s are the usual ones I hear recommended in the price range. If you remove the earbud requirement, the Koss KSC35s are pretty incredible for the price ($30 from Koss.com).

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #2 –
i've heard good things about the ksc35's, but they're not at newegg, and i'm ordering it along with some computer parts.

i'll have to try out those clip on things sometime.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #3 –
What's kind of music are you going to listen?
In this price range, you may order the Sharp HP-MD33S, these four pole heaphones sound better than the EX71.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #4 –
Also, check these out...
Pioneer SE-CL30
Panasonic RP-HJE50

Both of them are high quaility headphones at very low price. You will like them..

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #5 –
Another vote for the Sony EX71s; just got a pair and I'm pretty happy with them. That Sharp model looks interesting, but the EX71s were $10 cheaper than that one.
Happiness - The agreeable sensation of contemplating the misery of others.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #6 –
Quote
Another vote for the Sony EX71s; just got a pair and I'm pretty happy with them. That Sharp model looks interesting, but the EX71s were $10 cheaper than that one.
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Agree, EX71s are the best value....
However, they have sibilance though, which is the only thing which brother me...
Both ex71 and MD33 are very comfortable, but the MD33 come with a good overall sound...

DoomzDayz, do you want to spend extra 10 bucks for a pair of Sony e888 or Audio-Technica ATH-CM5? .. hahah ..I'm sorry for your wallet..

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #7 –
i listen to a pretty wide range of music, probably prog the most, which itself is a pretty wide range from soft acoustic folk and piano to heavy metal and jazz.  then i listen to some classical and experimental to various genres of metal.  i definitely need good treble for highhat/symbol goodness and always feel that the bass guitar often goes unnoticed and definitely want to hear it's own separate melody as well.  so i don't want bloated bass, but clean loud bass.  i guess i don't care that much about the mids.

i'm debating whether to get one with isolation.  i'm sure they produce better bass but have heard some are overwhelming, but generally i'm one to want more bass.  the mx500's of course don't have this seal.  i'm of course also worried about fitting quite right, staying in, and being comfortable.  i tried a friend's sony fontopia earbuds before and i dont think they fit right, one side was quite bloated, and the treble was lacking.  he had sony fontopia MDR-ED21LP(oh i heard these do suck.)  another friend has ex51's, i should try those out.

oh and some random cheap non-isolated earbuds from sony my friend had fall out fairly easily.

what's the difference between ex51's and 71's?  so i'm deciding between that and mx500.  the sony ones seem to be a love/hate thing, while many complain about mx500's being uncomfortable.

any word on mx550's?

and i'm not trying to spend too much more money, this is for college use.  i havnt bought my books yet either...

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #8 –
Quote
what's the difference between ex51's and 71's?


Acutually, ex51 and ex71 are the same. The only differnece is that ex51s are made out of hard plastic and ex71s are made out of rubber. Personally, I feel the EX71s are more comfortable because the those rubber are flexable. Since you listen to wide range from soft acoustic folk and piano to heavy metal and jazz. I would suggest you buy the Sony E888 or Audio-Technica ATH-CM5. Both of them have very very smooth sounding, but their bass are not as good as EX71s.

P.S. I am going to spend 400 bucks for my text book in these semester, it's going to kill me 

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #9 –
Koss the plug sound disgusting. don't even bother.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #10 –
Quote
Koss the plug sound disgusting. don't even bother.
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The Kloss Plugs do have their place.  I listen primarily to talking books in a noisy environment.  Specifically commuter trains and subways.  For my pusposes and price range nothing else comes close.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #11 –
Another vote for the Senn MX500.
Best sounding 15EUR I ever invested into playback equipment.
"To understand me, you'll have to swallow a world." Or maybe your words.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #12 –
Quote
Quote
Koss the plug sound disgusting. don't even bother.
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The Kloss Plugs do have their place.  I listen primarily to talking books in a noisy environment.  Specifically commuter trains and subways.  For my pusposes and price range nothing else comes close.
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Yes, I have these for this purpose. I like them sometimes. I have some Etymotics now so I don't use them much, but I sometimes like listening to Violins on the Koss. They just give the core of the sound. I suppose that's because of the limited frequency response.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #13 –
I'm not a huge fan of the MX500s. I used to own a pair, but I broke them trying to clean them. I now have the MX400s, which sound exactly the same (I guess they have the same drivers in), but don't have the utterly useless moulded volume control on the cable (noisy, fades both channels unevenly, doesn't go all the way to off).

They're also not very comfortable and the bass isn't good (although that's to be expected). But I think both of those factors are probably to do with the shape of my ears.

The other problem is trying to balance the isolation - I really wouldn't want to walk around London with a pair of ER-4s, or I'd get run over .

From what I've heard, the MD-33s are the way to go at the sub-$50 price point.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #14 –
I am a little late with this advice, but at Newegg.com I purchased the MX400RC which is a version of the MX400 with a design suited to remote control use.  It has a shorter cord and the unbalanced earbud cords like the EX71 has, so you can hang the earbud cord behind your neck.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #15 –
If if you don't like them, it's not like they cost a fortune

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #16 –
I have owned 1 EX51S, 2 EX71S, 1 MX500RC and 1 SE-CL30.

Personally I like the SE-CL30 most, followed closely by MX500RC.

I found the bass on EX51S and EX71S to be too strong.

Also it is very easy to break the EX51S and EX71S. After I bought them for about 1 month, I found that one side of the earbuds does not have sound. There is no such problem with MX500RC and SE-CL30.

Both MX500RC and SE-CL30 give similar sound quality, but with SE-CL30 I am not disturbed by the noisy environment, and its cord is not as long as MX500RC.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #17 –
so, the SE-CL30s look like a good choice (I need some good earphones, too, right now), though the cord isn't long enough for my needs (MP3 stick, no RC)...
Andrew915, how do they compare to the RP-HJE50s?
Hmh... MD33s look good, too...
Just btw, from what I've heard, the Koss The Plugs have a very (almost too) strong bass... not good for classic music for example
Hello, I'm a signature virus. Please copy me to other signatures to help me spread :]

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #18 –
Quote
I'm not a huge fan of the MX500s. I used to own a pair, but I broke them trying to clean them. I now have the MX400s, which sound exactly the same (I guess they have the same drivers in), but don't have the utterly useless moulded volume control on the cable (noisy, fades both channels unevenly, doesn't go all the way to off).

They're also not very comfortable and the bass isn't good (although that's to be expected). But I think both of those factors are probably to do with the shape of my ears.

The other problem is trying to balance the isolation - I really wouldn't want to walk around London with a pair of ER-4s, or I'd get run over .

From what I've heard, the MD-33s are the way to go at the sub-$50 price point.
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How is the isolation on the 400s?  I like to work with my headphones on and the volume low so that people can still talk to me if needed.  I'd hate to have a pair of buds that I had to pull off anytime someone needed to ask me something.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #19 –
Quote
so, the SE-CL30s look like a good choice (I need some good earphones, too, right now), though the cord isn't long enough for my needs (MP3 stick, no RC)...
Andrew915, how do they compare to the RP-HJE50s?
Hmh... MD33s look good, too...
Just btw, from what I've heard, the Koss The Plugs have a very (almost too) strong bass... not good for classic music for example
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=238028"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


My SE-CL30 does come with an extension cord, like the EX71S. I just don't need it for my iFP-190TC.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #20 –
Isolation of earbuds sometimes depends on the geometry of your ear, but for me the 400s didn't have much isolation at all, which is great for wearing them while wandering around town, but not so much for audio quality (especially bass response).

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #21 –
Quote
so, the SE-CL30s look like a good choice (I need some good earphones, too, right now), though the cord isn't long enough for my needs (MP3 stick, no RC)...
Andrew915, how do they compare to the RP-HJE50s?
Hmh... MD33s look good, too...
Just btw, from what I've heard, the Koss The Plugs have a very (almost too) strong bass... not good for classic music for example
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=238028"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


From my ears, I couldn't hear any different between SE-CL30s and RP-HJE50s, but the build quaility of SE-CL30s are better.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #22 –
I have the Sony EX51S plugs for bus listening, and while they are o.k., I would never use them at home. Voice frequencies and midrange sound "canned." Bass is rather strong if they actually stay in my ears; because of the shape of my ear canals, earplugs don't make a good seal and therefore I don't get as much isolation (an low bass) as some might experience.

They were cheap, though; you could probably find them (or the 71S) on eBay for less than $30.

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #23 –
Does anyone have the Sennheiser MX550? Where can I buy these? Can someone please give me some comments on these buds?

best earbuds for under $50?

Reply #24 –
I'm also interested in chasing down some HQ headphones. I'm currently looking at Sennheiser MX500 (there's no info about a MX550 on their site :?) and Koss KSC35.

The specs for both are pretty good (that's generally all I've got to go on here, as well as some internet reviews), but I'll look through some of the other suggested headphones.
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