# Audiophiles: best ear buds under $150?



## chiffonodd (Apr 9, 2017)

Yes I know there are entire forums devoted to this topic but please save me from another rabbit hole :dazed:

Looking for a pair of in-ear headphones (ear buds?). Don't need noise cancelling, fancy external controls, wireless/Bluetooth, sport features, crazy bass, or any of those bells and whistles. Just want (1) lush, detailed, knock your socks off sound quality in (2) something you could wear for hours with comfort.

Let's shoot for ~$150. Any suggestions?


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## panda (Apr 9, 2017)

ortofon e-q5


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## JBroida (Apr 9, 2017)

custom art music ones... they might be a bit over, but will blow your mind for sure and be very comfortable too


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## Matus (Apr 10, 2017)

JBroida said:


> custom art music ones... they might be a bit over, but will blow your mind for sure and be very comfortable too



Custom Art is discontinuing (replacing) Music One and Music Two models - it might be worth checking out whether they have some sort of discount. Piotr is very nice to deal with too. I can not comment on the product yet - mine should be finished by the end of April (and I can barely wait  ).


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## ashy2classy (Apr 10, 2017)

Check out HiFiMan...I have their RE-Zero earbuds and they produce great sound with plenty of detail.


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## StonedEdge (Apr 10, 2017)

chiffonodd said:


> Yes I know there are entire forums devoted to this topic but please save me from another rabbit hole :dazed:
> 
> Looking for a pair of in-ear headphones (ear buds?). Don't need noise cancelling, fancy external controls, wireless/Bluetooth, sport features, crazy bass, or any of those bells and whistles. Just want (1) lush, detailed, knock your socks off sound quality in (2) something you could wear for hours with comfort.
> 
> Let's shoot for ~$150. Any suggestions?



In order to satisfy #2, you'll have to check out your options of earpieces carefully as non-custom earbuds must have a good fit inside your ear in order to produce the qualities you seek in #1. Earbuds with very capable hardware won't sound anything like it if the fit in your ear is off.

Another bit of advice is to possibly look into earbuds with cables that are detachable from the actual bud itself. You're paying mostly for the drivers, not the cable. If you'll be using them often you will eventually wear out the cable. It sucks to have to replace the entire headphone just because the cable has a fault somewhere in it from heavy use.


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## Chuckles (Apr 10, 2017)

I have the Orofons and they sound really good. I got comply foam tips to increase comfort. They are comfy and you get options. They seem to have a similar driver configuration to the music ones. I would love to be able to compare them. 

Do you have to go to a doctor to get molds made for the music ones to fit properly? How does that work?


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## JBroida (Apr 10, 2017)

Matus said:


> Custom Art is discontinuing (replacing) Music One and Music Two models - it might be worth checking out whether they have some sort of discount. Piotr is very nice to deal with too. I can not comment on the product yet - mine should be finished by the end of April (and I can barely wait  ).



they're replacing them with the FIBAE, right?


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## Matus (Apr 10, 2017)

JBroida said:


> they're replacing them with the FIBAE, right?



Yep. I heard about them before my order went into production, but Music Two is supposed to be more neutral, so I stayed with them. I also did not want to wait any longer than necessary


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## chiffonodd (Apr 10, 2017)

This is giving me flashbacks to asking what's better: tojiro DP or fujiwara FKM 

:beatinghead:


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## panda (Nov 7, 2017)

I recently got a new cellphone known to be the best sounding one on the market and I can confirm that is true, I have ditched my portable mp3 player. Anyways, the previous generation came with bang & Olufsen earphones so I thought I'd check out that brand. I don't like the ones that stick inside your ears so I picked up their earbud model and holy crap these sound awesome!! And because of the clips they actually stay put.


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## panda (Nov 7, 2017)

Will post pics later. Model is earset 3i, purchased a refurbished unit off Amazon.


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Nov 7, 2017)

It's hard to even find the Tojiro DP of earbuds (sounds decent and is L O U D* if needed with today's low volume devices) these days 

*to drown out freight train grade noise, or listen loud in one ear, or to spend some douche coupons and share the beat


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## Chef Doom (Nov 9, 2017)

All about the over the ears. Cant stand earbuds.

Although custom fit earbuds would be worth the time and effort.


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## Matus (Nov 10, 2017)

Chef Doom said:


> All about the over the ears. Cant stand earbuds.
> 
> Although custom fit earbuds would be worth the time and effort.



My position on earbuds was siimlar before I had Jon talk me into custom ones. I absolutely love them. Apart from having fantgastic sound they fit like a glove + they never fall out. The getting used to period was surprisingly short. But they are not cheap. After I added a dedicated FLAC player (Caying N3) I find myself listening to music much more than ever before. Not only it is great it my workshop, but it also make washing the dishes much more acceptable, bordering enjoyable


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## DamageInc (Nov 10, 2017)

For me it's either over ear or custom in-ear. Nothing in between will do. Worst for me is on-ear. Garbage


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## Chef Doom (Nov 11, 2017)

Matus said:


> My position on earbuds was siimlar before I had Jon talk me into custom ones. I absolutely love them. Apart from having fantgastic sound they fit like a glove + they never fall out. The getting used to period was surprisingly short. But they are not cheap. After I added a dedicated FLAC player (Caying N3) I find myself listening to music much more than ever before. Not only it is great it my workshop, but it also make washing the dishes much more acceptable, bordering enjoyable


Although I should get some customs I keep spending money on other nonnecessary items I don't need.


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## Chef Doom (Nov 11, 2017)

DamageInc said:


> For me it's either over ear or custom in-ear. Nothing in between will do. Worst for me is on-ear. Garbage


The only on-ear that were ever comfortable were those super cheap & super light ones that came with the original Sony Walkman. Sure they were cheap but they wore like feathers.


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## Chef Doom (Nov 11, 2017)

Matus said:


> After I added a dedicated FLAC player (Caying N3) I find myself listening to music much more than ever before. Not only it is great it my workshop, but it also make washing the dishes much more acceptable, bordering enjoyable



The Digital Audio Player market is an underappreciated market. I have the N3 and it's a nice player. Great battery life and easy to navigate with one hand while driving.

I have the Opus #1 and its a good simplified interface with great sound but the touch screen on my unit is sticky. I'm thinking about getting the dbasso DX50 or DX80 next.


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## panda (Nov 11, 2017)

LG V30 phone, no need to carry a separate device.


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## Chef Doom (Nov 11, 2017)

panda said:


> LG V30 phone, no need to carry a separate device.


There are several benefits to using a dedicated DAP for music over a phone. Even with audiophile phones.

1. Battery usage is separate so you dont have to worry about constant charging.

2. Phone calls dont interrupt playback.

3. Some players have navigation buttons that can be used by feel without staring at touch screen.

4. Listening to music through Bluetooth sucks pig testicles.

5. Movies and pictures dont use up precious space for your thousands of FLAC files.

6. When your phone breaks, dissappears, gets dropped in the toilet, stops charging, stops responding to touch feedback, gets stolen, and all of the other possible situations that can happen, I can still listen to music in my car while someone else will be driving in silence as the wait on their new phone to ship.

7. Paying for a mini tech device that costs the same as a gaming PC is for the foolish and the wealthy.


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## panda (Nov 11, 2017)

true but not having to carry multiple devices all those cons. and the LG has a dedicated 'quad dac' for its headphone output, it hasnt ditched the analog jack like all the latest ones instead embraces it. as far as storage you can use a SD card


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## Chef Doom (Nov 14, 2017)

I am too lazy to walk anywhere and can not sympathize with the poor saps who are forced to walk from place. Although, its called a backpack. How cumbersome can an extra 2 1/2 ounces be?

I have not compared DAC between devices yet for the same reason I do not argue over White #1 versus White #2.

I know you can use a micro SD with the LG the problem as I stated before is the bulk of space will be used for video and photos.

Now before you say "that is why you carry backup SD cards" let me get my heavy leather glove ready for initiating duels.


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## StonedEdge (Nov 14, 2017)

panda said:


> true but not having to carry multiple devices all those cons. and the LG has a dedicated 'quad dac' for its headphone output, it hasnt ditched the analog jack like all the latest ones instead embraces it. as far as storage you can use a SD card


I don't replace my phone often but Im actually one of those people that buys a phone in large part due to how it sounds with headphones and earphones. I have the LG you're referring to and I agree that it has very clean sound and seems to pump out enough juice to drive bigger cans. Another impressive phone sound quality wise are the HTC one series phones. I also like having the SD ports vs an iPhone


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## panda (Nov 14, 2017)

doom i hear ya, if you can deal then congrats. i used to use a separate with a portable dac/amp and everything and i just couldnt deal with the hassle any more, lol. bluetooth is not great for sound quality, but for convenience there's nothing better  i blast tunes during prep hours/closing time via a JBL charge 3 and it sounds decent enough to get me through the day. i think the bang & olufsen portable speakers sound better but they cost too much. plus if i were to upgrade id just get a bigger JBL so i can really crank some volume 

stoned - the SD thing isnt big issue for me, i just dont like iphones. ive always been a nokia/windowsphone user. i even use a launcher that makes it look like windows phone 10


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## DamageInc (Nov 15, 2017)

Bang & Olufsen quality has gone down in recent years. They are switching out management all the time like it's speed dating and product design and quality has suffered. And prices have gone up.


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## Matus (Nov 15, 2017)

panda, my understanding is that if you want a nice pari of JBLs today, you need to get either something like THIS (new) or THIS (used) 

But I fear we got a bit too far from the earbuds for under $150 ...

Doom, different strokes for different people for different situation. I use a DAP when I can, but e.g. in a car I just play MP3 from my phone via bluetooth - given all the noises and audio setup it is the best solution there. Nobody argues that an 'adiophipe phone' (what ever that means) gets the same quality as a proper player. But the ultimate quality is not necessarily always the main objective.


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## panda (Nov 15, 2017)

Matus funny you mention that , I use active JBL studio monitors in my home stereo. &#128526;. I was referring to usage in the kitchen @ work where sound quality is definitely not high on priority list


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## Matus (Nov 15, 2017)

panda, I got your point, but you would cetainly be to coolest guy in the kitchen with such a setup  But we need to talk about your JBL monitors offline. I am eyeing Infinity R90 for my (hopefully near) future HiFi setup.


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## panda (Nov 15, 2017)

infinity as in the planar tweeter floorstanders? i think i left a busted set in my parents basement somewhere.

hahaha, i most certainly would! these are what i use http://www.jblpro.com/www/products/recording-broadcast/lsr6300-series/lsr6325p-1#.WgwQ8JgUlEY
along with a mytek stereo96 dac. those two are old pro audio kit that i bought used off ebay (from recording studios that were selling old gear that they replaced with newer stuff) all for a little over a grand! blew my previous 'hi-fi' system out of the water (japanese dac, british preamp, american amp, british speakers). simplifying the signal chain down to just two components upstream did wonders for cohesiveness and purity. going pro audio gear instead of audiophile equipment was an eye opener. i liken it to old school japanese knives = pro audio, and customs = audiophile

you should really consider jbl lsr-308 theyre quite the bargain at just $400 NEW for a pair (oops that's US only, $500 everywhere else)
if you prefer better trebles then genelec is the other brand that i like, but they cost absurdly more than jbl. and then if you have a really fat budget ATC is primo stuff to drool over


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## Chef Doom (Nov 15, 2017)

panda said:


> doom i hear ya, if you can deal then congrats. i used to use a separate with a portable dac/amp and everything and i just couldnt deal with the hassle any more, lol. bluetooth is not great for sound quality, but for convenience there's nothing better  i blast tunes during prep hours/closing time via a JBL charge 3 and it sounds decent enough to get me through the day.



You are right about carrying a portable DAC/AMP. That's where I drew the line. No way was I putting myself through such hassles.


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