iPods Terrible Headphones

nd32k3 · February 19, 2005 12:36PM

I just bought the iPod Shuffle, but when I listen to it with the headphones it came with, it sounds terrible. But it looks so good! When I listen to it with my normal headphones, it sounds good, but they are black and look terrible on a white shuffle. Are the headphones that come with the Shuffle low quality compared to the headphones that Apple would sell at the Apple store, or is there an alternative that looks as good but sounds better?

mr. h · February 19, 2005 12:55PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nd32k3

I just bought the iPod Shuffle, but when I listen to it with the headphones it came with, it sounds terrible. But it looks so good! When I listen to it with my normal headphones, it sounds good, but they are black and look terrible on a white shuffle. Are the headphones that come with the Shuffle low quality compared to the headphones that Apple would sell at the Apple store, or is there an alternative that looks as good but sounds better?

Some people/magazine reviews have suggested that the iPod earphones are just not very good. Personally, I don't really get that point of view. I have some Shure E2c earphones, and whilst they are of course much better than the iPod's 'phones, they don't make them seem totally awful.

Perhaps you got a bad pair, or you are a member of the camp who dislikes the sound of the iPod 'phones. Do you have any friends who have an iPod? Perhaps you could borrow their earphones just to make sure you don't have a dud pair.

fawkes · February 19, 2005 1:47PM

I highly recommend these as a superb replacement for the iPod headphones. Not only are they white, so you get that iconic look, they sound fantastic.

headphone.com is also a very reliable place to research and buy headphones, btw.

ipodandimac · February 19, 2005 2:52PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nd32k3

I just bought the iPod Shuffle, but when I listen to it with the headphones it came with, it sounds terrible. But it looks so good! When I listen to it with my normal headphones, it sounds good, but they are black and look terrible on a white shuffle. Are the headphones that come with the Shuffle low quality compared to the headphones that Apple would sell at the Apple store, or is there an alternative that looks as good but sounds better?

maybe you got bad ones. my earbuds get frozen every day walking to class and they still sound good.

apparatus · February 19, 2005 4:10PM

The standard iPod headphones sound horrible.

I agree with you, though, my Sony earphones sound so much better but look so bad with the iPod since they're black.

danielctull · February 19, 2005 6:54PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Apparatus

The standard iPod headphones sound horrible.

I agree with you, though, my Sony earphones sound so much better but look so bad with the iPod since they're black.

I have a pair of EX71's which are available in the beautiful white, as are an increasing amount of Sony headphones I have noticed... The main gripe people have with them are that they are quite bassy, but I think the bass levels about right on them.

nd32k3 · February 19, 2005 7:41PM

I guess I'll just listen to the sound as is, because although not that great, I don't see the sense in spending 130 for headphones when it isn't the difference of night and day, especially when the headphones are almost the price of the actual MP3 player. I use black headphones for my normal iPod, but it looks decent because I have the black leather case. But on the Shuffle, the black headphones just look terrible. I'll just stick to the Apple headphones.

gene clean · February 20, 2005 12:59AM

iPod headphones are a disaster. Cheap $5 Sony headphones - the ones sold in every friggin' computer/electronics store sound a 1000 times better.

For such a high-priced product, the headphones are a big no-no.

nd32k3 · February 20, 2005 1:07AM

These look really good. It says that it has high quality sound and base, but then again Apple wouldn't put down their product on the website. They are white and go with the iPod, but they aren't the standard iPod headphones. Does anyone have these?

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...1.1.1.0.1.0.13

telomar · February 20, 2005 2:13AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gene Clean

iPod headphones are a disaster. Cheap $5 Sony headphones - the ones sold in every friggin' computer/electronics store sound a 1000 times better.

That's total crap. Have you ever actually used a $5 pair of earphones? There's no texture to the sound and it comes out hollow. If you honestly think they are better than the iPod headphones then you've had broken iPod headphones.

mr skills · February 20, 2005 8:06AM

I bought some nice new black headphones because a) they sounded better and b) I don't get mugged for my iPod.

mr skills · February 20, 2005 8:08AM

Oh, and then I sold my iPod headphones on eBay for £20 ($35), so someone else could go round pretending to have an iPod - and they'll get mugged instead of me!

flounder · February 20, 2005 8:35AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Telomar

That's total crap. Have you ever actually used a $5 pair of earphones? There's no texture to the sound and it comes out hollow. If you honestly think they are better than the iPod headphones then you've had broken iPod headphones.

I've got to agree with you 100%. When I lost my earbuds I used an emergency pair of $5 ones. They hurt to put in your ears and sounded unbelievably bad. I might as well have been humming to myself......

The iPod earbuds aren't great, but I think they're distinctly non-crappy.

gene clean · February 20, 2005 9:50AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Telomar

That's total crap. Have you ever actually used a $5 pair of earphones? There's no texture to the sound and it comes out hollow. If you honestly think they are better than the iPod headphones then you've had broken iPod headphones.

Sure I have, otherwise I wouldn't be saying this. And it's my opinion, ha. Crap or noncrap. Thanks.

magicfingers · February 20, 2005 10:32AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gene Clean

Sure I have, otherwise I wouldn't be saying this. And it's my opinion, ha. Crap or noncrap. Thanks.

IMHO, yuo are full of it. I have found the ipod stock headphones to be better than any low to midpriced ($10-$80) headphones out there. I bought a set of Sony MDR-EX71SL because they were highly recomended, took them back because they sucked. ipod stock sounds better. Etymotics have some good earphones for $100 or so. They sound better, but not that much.

of-course this opinion comes from a musician that has played live music for over 30 years and has heard many a wicked sound systems and has recorded at a more than a dozen recording studios. this opinion is not from a self proclaimed audio-phile

My advice: unless you are willing to spend >$100 don't bother, and you probably have a fuxored set of headphone in the first place

ps I know you didn't claim that you are an audiophile, but most people with your type of attitude are self proclaimed audio-philes, and most of those wouldn't know a decent sound from a live instrument if their lives depended on it.

telomar · February 21, 2005 6:21AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gene Clean

Sure I have, otherwise I wouldn't be saying this.

Plenty of people say things without ever first trying them and frankly I believe that to be the case with you. Crap or not it's just my opinion, but I think you don't have a clue

They aren't the best around and they are uncomfortably large for some people's ears but they certainly are pretty good by default headphone standards.

gene clean · February 21, 2005 11:10AM

Quote:

Originally posted by MagicFingers

IMHO, yuo are full of it. I have found the ipod stock headphones to be better than any low to midpriced ($10-$80) headphones out there. I bought a set of Sony MDR-EX71SL because they were highly recomended, took them back because they sucked. ipod stock sounds better. Etymotics have some good earphones for $100 or so. They sound better, but not that much.

of-course this opinion comes from a musician that has played live music for over 30 years and has heard many a wicked sound systems and has recorded at a more than a dozen recording studios. this opinion is not from a self proclaimed audio-phile

My advice: unless you are willing to spend >$100 don't bother, and you probably have a fuxored set of headphone in the first place

ps I know you didn't claim that you are an audiophile, but most people with your type of attitude are self proclaimed audio-philes, and most of those wouldn't know a decent sound from a live instrument if their lives depended on it.

That's just fine my man - I'm glad you are the smart one and can tell a decent sound from a live instrument. Now, have a nice day.

gene clean · February 21, 2005 11:14AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Telomar

Plenty of people say things without ever first trying them and frankly I believe that to be the case with you. Crap or not it's just my opinion, but I think you don't have a clue

They aren't the best around and they are uncomfortably large for some people's ears but they certainly are pretty good by default headphone standards.

I have an iPod, and yes, I have tried them. And they're still crap for the price. Get a $50 dollar Sony DiskMan and see which headphones sound better - the ones that come with a $299 iPod (20GB) or the ones that come with a cheap Sony DiskMan.

Of course, you may not see any difference, but to my ear, the Sony ones sound better, and this should finally seal this issue here.

Have a nice one.

pbg3 · February 21, 2005 12:02PM

Try putting the little black pads on them, maybe they're not sticking in your ear properly, the pads help.

dobby · February 21, 2005 2:18PM

I still use the headphones from my original 5GB ipod. I think they sound fine. A friend of mine and my brothers ipod headphones (same model etc) sounded crap in comparison when they bought them and took their headphones and mine back to the retailer to get a replacement which they did.

Dobby.

flounder · February 21, 2005 5:08PM

Quote:

Originally posted by PBG3

Try putting the little black pads on them, maybe they're not sticking in your ear properly, the pads help.

I think that is very much dependent on the person. For me, personally, they fit and feel much better without the pads.

iPods Terrible Headphones

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