Headphones
Tech December 9th. 2007, 10:00pmI have had rotten luck with every single pair of headphones I’ve bought in the past year. They break. They have loose wiring. Their rubber inner ear lining gets lost. I’ve gone through four sets of headphones this year. I am a heavy user of portable audio devices. I listen to my mp3 player every single day, usually one to two hours daily, depending on what I need to do around town.
My last pair died due to some bad wiring. I needed to pick up a new style because what I was using were atrocious. I made a huge mistake insisting that the brand was know for quality, and thus was above releasing a substandard set of ear buds. I dropped good cash on them in Europe and got completely ripped off. My wife has not let me hear the end of it.
Her headphones are flat and large. I dislike the weight on the outside of the ear. I remember the big fuzzy headphones that used to be popular when I was in high school. In summer, they make my ears all sweaty. Ew. I borrowed them today for my walk, but it felt like I had small ear muffs. The sound was acceptable, but the piece that fits snugly over the ear to keep them in place was new for me. It’s better than a band connecting to the two ear pieces, but it’s still odd. I thought I would strongly dislike it since I wear glasses, but I got over it after a while.
I went to the store to pick up a new set. I took a long look at the sets available and settled on moderately inexpensive pair. There was a set with a similar design that were “stick deeply in the ear canal” style. This tends to cancel outside noise, but the small pieces get lost. Having already had problems with this style headphones this year, I decided for the fixed style, “Jab in ears” plug.
Walking around downtown and on the subway today, I can say that while putting on the ear hook style headphones is more difficult, they do keep the plugs locked into my ear well enough that I don’t have to be constantly poking at them to stay in place. That alone makes this purchase of headphones my best of the year. I kept the case of my terrible headphones to keep my new headphones from being a tangle of wires. The next mp3 player I own will have Bwluetooth. Screw all this wire nonsense.
Tags: headphones, mp3
3 Responses to “Headphones”
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December 10th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Yes, those old headphones with the foam earpads always made my ears itch. But smaller ear buds never stayed in my ear. I bought the hook-around-the-ear style headphones several years ago and they’re fantastic. I hope they work out for you.
December 10th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Don’t thinks bluetooth headsets are there yet. More inferior sound reproduction comparing to even the most basic of earbuds. I find the earbuds work well enough tho it is hard to find the set that fits well. Hook round headphone set with band going round the back of your neck seem it would be in the way when you lean back in the chair!! MEH!! earcanel style , havn’t tried.
Good luck with you new set and glad that you are over your little under the weather thingy.
R
V
December 10th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Right now, they are 50% LOUDER than my last pair. I had to struggle to hear EAR CANAL SOUND CANCELING head phones on the subway, but these BLAST sound into my ears.
They also don’t fit my ear shape. They are round and large instead of cone shaped to fit into the ear canal. While they stay perfectly in place, they are a bit too big and are irritating my inner ear.
If I get a new pair, I’ll get “Hook” shapes with a more flexible “hook” as well as “ear canal” style.