[oskar]

A few weeks ago I bought an inexpensive set of buds for traveling.
I was completely surprised at how good they sounded.
I like to listen later in the eve and I like a little volume. 
It got me wondering how a better set would sound.
WOW.
I’m just knock out. Detail, dynamics, imaging it’s all there.
I can listen for hours. No fatigue at all.
Best $200 I’ve ever spent
How are people here liking their buds?

[Mag]

A few weeks ago I bought an inexpensive set of buds for traveling.
I was completely surprised at how good they sounded.
I like to listen later in the eve and I like a little volume. 
It got me wondering how a better set would sound.
WOW.
I’m just knock out. Detail, dynamics, imaging it’s all there.
I can listen for hours. No fatigue at all.
Best $200 I’ve ever spent
How are people here liking their buds?

  I concur, I have two Brand sets in the $130 CDN price range and I'm quite impressed with the sound quality, very articulate. The downside mine tend to work themselves out of my ear. That's not a big deal as I push them back in place. The other Pros is that they're really handy on my mobile app being that I'm back to driving for a living. Also I can lye in bed while listening, I use a neck pillow and place my ear in the hole space which keeps the pillow from pressing against the ear bud.
   Don't get me wrong though my wired headphones a damn good. Just that I don't find them as convenient.

[TRADERXFAN]

You guys should try these...
Panasonic RP-HJE125

very good to my ears and cheap

[TRADERXFAN]

You guys should try these...
Panasonic RP-HJE125

very good to my ears and cheap, but im not a headphone guy. really curious what you guys think

[oskar]

Those Panasonics are sure on the low end of the scale. $20.cdn
Mine are wireless. What I like is being able to move around the apartment and always being in the sweet spot. I've never had phones before so the experience is new.
These buds also have an app with a basic eq and it works great.
The noise cancelling is also a big plus.

[dB Cooper]

A few weeks ago I bought an inexpensive set of buds for traveling.
I was completely surprised at how good they sounded.
I like to listen later in the eve and I like a little volume. 
It got me wondering how a better set would sound.
WOW.
I’m just knock out. Detail, dynamics, imaging it’s all there.
I can listen for hours. No fatigue at all.
Best $200 I’ve ever spent
How are people here liking their buds?

So, any chance you might tell us what they are?
My Periodic Audio Be (Beryllium) v3 ($249) are very detailed but the form factor is tricky for me. I have to wear tem 'upside down' and wrap the cable behind my ear á la Shure etc. That works but is a little awkward. YMMV applies big time to every aspect of in-ears, so be ready to experiment with everything from cable routing to tip type and size to whether your ear canals are the same size or not.
BTW 'inexpensive' means different things to different people. My Truthear Zeroes (Blue) are $50 (or $55 for the Red which is more neutral}. The Periodics are more detailed but the Truthears sound way better than they have any right to for the price.

[Freo-1]

Earbuds can sound good, especially at a reasonable price.  Just need to be careful with spl levels. 


I don't use earbuds anymore, due to a comfort level issue for me.  For travel, like the Sennheiser Momentum 4, as they are comfortable, and support both wired and wireless. 

[TRADERXFAN]

Despite the price, I hope you take them seriously and try them.

Because pretty much all earbuds that I have tried had been huge disappointments compared to these.

They do have 3 different size silicones so you should be able to find something comfortable.

I tried this only after Earl Geddes told me that etymotic are the best design for sound reproduction...

If anyone tries them please let me know

As far as noise canceling - I find that they block out external noise pretty well because the way they seal into the ear. I walk by locomotive engines sometimes on my commute to work, underground, where you can feel the engine in your body... and they make a huge spl difference -- if you did that without them you would appreciate how much it really does help.

Tony

[toocool4]

TRADERXAN you talk about Etymotic, for critical listening while traveling I use IEM in particular Etymotic ER-4SR with comply foam for comfort. For noise isolation they are one of the best, I would rather have noise isolation than cancelling they just sound more natural.

[dB Cooper]

Have had multiple Etymotics:hf5, ER3XR, ER4SR, ER2XR, ER2SE.
Pretty much the best out there as far as isolation goes but no more BA drivers for me, period. A decent DD will ruin you for BA drivers. I use my ER2SEs (which are DD) on local trains and buses when I use those for that reason. They do still make all of the models listed.

[BobM]

I picked up a set of Sennheiser earbuds when the recent updte to my Android based Pixel 7 phone wouldn't let me plug in my Porta-Pro headphones anymore. Love how those updates "improve" things. Oh well.

So the Sennheisers sound pretty good, but not at the same level as a set of headphones IMO.

[oskar]

I've never been a headphone listener so I don't have anything to compare to what I have now.

Knowing that there's always something better I'm still pretty darn impressed with what I'm hearing with the Technics AZ60.
Using Amazon Music at present. I'll probably try Qubuz now that it's available in Canada.

As to noise cancelling vs noise suppression I assume one is active and the other passive?

[mcgsxr]

Best iems I own are a set of wired Nobles.  I have the predecessor of their Dulce Bass model.  Excellent pair.

But wired increasingly sucks (thanks Apple for the required lightning to 1/8th connector) so I have a set of Mifo 05 plus I use for work - wireless and with mic etc.  Good but not great, though they do live up to the long battery life per charge.

Have thought about some Sony wf-1000xm4 for on the go enjoyment but hear the call quality isn't good - not my primary use case, but would be useful if they were at least good for that.

[toocool4]

As to noise cancelling vs noise suppression I assume one is active and the other passive?

Yes, noise cancelling is active and noise isolation is passive.

[Mag]

   I did it again, ordered another set of Ear Buds. I guess I'm suffering from a audio sickness.
 My reasoning: Last night on a 4 hour road trip I had my ear buds with me. Unfortunately initially I could not get my JBL 130NC to work, the right bud appeared to be dead. So I popped in my Yamaha TW-E3 which I gave a glowing review not having heard anything else. They are good except that I can't hit the desired volume as I can with the JBL 130NC, which is the critical difference. The JBL also has the equalizer which I believe I must have nailed the settings as I could clearly say the sound is superior to my Yamaha's as I wore the JBL's on the way back as the right bud was now fully charged having put them in the case. The downside of the JBL 130NC is they tend to want to fall out of my ear and I almost lost one of them already falling out of my ear in the dark at night.
  This prompted me to order the JBL Endurance Peak 3, which has a extension to wrap around the ear to keep 'em from falling out. However this may cause me some discomfort around the ear as I wear glasses. Also apparently these have low bass which tends to muddy the overall sound so I might not like that but I plan on using the equalizer that come with the app and hopefully be similar to the 130NC which IMO is excellent. The bass rating for the 130NC has been reviewed at 9.1 and the Peak 3, 5.7, but again this is without the equalizer.
I'm bought these mainly for the sound quality and not so much the other features. With the JBL 130NC I had no issues with answering the phone.

[newzooreview]

I just set up a return for the Sennheiser Momentum 4. I wanted to like them, but they have a channel imbalance issue. Apparently, this has been observed and measured by others: https://www.soundguys.com/sennheiser-momentum-4-wireless-review-2-86111/

It was noticeable. Mono recordings are pulled to the right, and that gets old fast.

I switched back and forth with my older Sony noise-canceling WH-H900N, and the imbalance is definitely there.

It's a pity, but the Sennheiser did not sound significantly better than the Sony. Probably better in side-by-side comparison, but nothing sounds bad with the Sony. I would look into the Technics AZ60, but I want something over the ear for ease of use and use on longer plane flights where something in-ear gets uncomfortable.

For the Sonys I had to get the Wicked Cushions earpads because the stock pads don't allow enough room (ears get squished).

[oskar]

Still enjoying my Az60's. I'm only wearing them around the house.
I'm hearing things in music that I've been listening to forever that I hadn't heard before.
I think the noise cancelling must be contributing to that. Fun

[Mag]

Still enjoying my Az60's. I'm only wearing them around the house.
I'm hearing things in music that I've been listening to forever that I hadn't heard before.
I think the noise cancelling must be contributing to that. Fun

Same here, for example, listening to Dead Babies by Alice Cooper a song I've played countless times, I thought I heard a wind sound. I thought about it and thought maybe I was hearing ambient noise from the road. I played it again and there is definitely the sound of wind in the background.

[newzooreview]

1. What source are you using for the AZ60s? I ask because they support LDAC, Sony's proprietary Bluetooth codec, and if you are using an Android phone that might help a bit with the fidelity.

2. Have you left the AZ60s on the default equalization or used the app to make adjustments?

I found that getting memory foam tips transformed the comfort and sound of my Airpods Pro, although it sounds as if the fit is good in this case.

[newzooreview]

Just noticed that Amazon has the AZ60s for $147 at the moment.