Replacement earphones wanted

October 23, 2007 5:15 AM

I like these earphones but they're no longer available. What do you recommend as a substitute?

These are the characteristics I am looking for, assuming that reasonable sound quality is a given:

* Same earphone type - neither right in the ear nor huge cans

* The design I think they call "neckchain" or perhaps "asymmetrical" where it has a long and a short side, and you are meant to wear it with the input cable coming up one side then the feed to the other ear going round the back

* Nice textured cloth-like finish on the cable

I don't mind whether they're made by Sony or not.

I'm in the UK.

Thanks!

posted by Lotto to Shopping (8 answers total)

These
posted by zemblamatic at 5:40 AM on October 23, 2007

I've got Edifer H260 earphones, which are the same as the Sennheiser CX300s zemblamatic mentions above, but Chinese-branded. I like them very much, but there are a few points that are different thatn Lotto is looking for. For one, they are the "plug"-type of earphones that shut out external noise, unlike the Sony's. The cord is alsonon-textured rubber, so bumping or tapping on the cord results in loud noises in the ear.
posted by Etaoin Shrdlu at 6:43 AM on October 23, 2007

I went from the same pair as the original post to the Sony MDR-EX51.

I also have a pair of the Shure E2C's.

The Sony's have a more pronounced bass, and I use those with my ipod while on the go.

The Shure's have a better mid and hi range, but a somewhat annoying over the ear loop which makes them more useful ( for me at least ) sitting at my desk at work.
posted by zap rowsdower at 7:27 AM on October 23, 2007

Do you want in ear canal speakers or ear buds like you had? For ear buds go with emblamatic's suggestion. They are cheap and decent, and probably the best ear buds you can get, which is not saying much. In ear canal speakers or whatever you want to call them (isolation is a commonly used term) fit into your ear canal tightly like ear plugs. They block sound from the environment and their tight seal vastly improves their bass performance. Their overall sound can be stunning. The sky is the limit on pricing and many people find them uncomfortable. The MDR-EX51's are sort of in between. They are supposedly isolating but don't work that well at blocking out outside sounds. Sometimes this is a good thing.
posted by caddis at 8:06 AM on October 23, 2007

Response by poster: caddis: I'm fairly set on having ear buds. I might be wrong but it looks like zemblamatic's suggestion is ear canal ones. I could be persuaded to go for in ear if there really is little choice but I'd rather not.
posted by Lotto at 8:20 AM on October 23, 2007

oops, you are right. I was thinking of the Sennheiser MX series of phones.
posted by caddis at 9:14 AM on October 23, 2007

These are pretty great and they don't go "right in the ear" all the way, just partly. They're cheap, sound amazing, have symmetric cables, and the cables have a rubberized texture.
posted by damn dirty ape at 10:33 AM on October 23, 2007

These don't match your second criterion but are very close to what you had. I love these earphones so much that I recently ordered three pair when I lost my old ones.
posted by sjuhawk31 at 12:11 PM on October 23, 2007