Earbuds or Headphones?

[UghRochester]

I don't really like earbuds. I have waxy ear and they clog my ears up. Sometimes that little rubber piece of earbud gets stuck in my ears. They're just uncomfortable in my opinion. Even the kind that are supposed to go around your ears are practically useless. I prefer headphones. I don't have noise canceling headphones, but the $20 pair I have are comfortable for a person wearing glasses. What say you?

 

[Paradox]

Headphones. For some reason, I can't keep an earbud in by right ear. It might stay in for a few seconds but then slips out unless I constantly push on it or hold it in. But I rarely use headphones either. I'd rather blast my music through good speakers and I can't justify buying a good pair just for gaming when my soundbar puts out good sound.

 

[De-Ting]

Only time I wear headphones is when they have a mic attached. The rest of the time it's earbuds, but not the ones that actually go inside your ear. They're guaranteed to make them itch.

 

[Colin_B]

It all depends really. I have some LG bluetooth earbuds that are nice and comfortable, really light. But for are wider soundstage I prefer headphones. I have a pair of Beyerdynamic DT990 Pros that I use for movies and gaming late at night and I love them. They aren't noise cancelling as they have an open back design which helps create a wider soundstage. I sometimes prefer them even over my tower speakers.

 

[Sourdeez]

7.1 Headphones for gaming.

My HTC one speakers while listening to music around the home

A USB connected stereo for movies or music in my room.

Earbuds while I am cruising around on my ebike. Wind noise starts getting crazy after 20mph so I get the low profile noise canceling ones. I can still hear traffic. (My last set broke when I was ran off the road by a car. Now I just blast my HTC One M8 speakers.)

 

[Master_Craig]

Headphones for gaming, earbuds for travel.

 

[Green_Lantern]

This thread is my time to shine! Essentially I wear headphones at home and IEMs while traveling. Here's a list of the headphones I have:

Sennheiser HD800
Sennheiser HD650
Sennheiser HD598
Sennheiser Momentum
Audio Technica AD700

And I've been REALLY close to getting a pair of Audeze LCD-X

As for IEMs, mostly just cheaper stuff, but my current pair are Westone W40s
And I've been thinking about getting custom fitted IEMs.

I even have a tube amp for my headphones - Woo Audio WA22

As you can tell, I take audio pretty damn seriously.

 

[Bretimus_v2]

I saw the brand Sennheiser and immediately knew clicking would just make me jealous.

 

[used44]

Wasn't really expecting to see a pair of $500 earbuds in here.

I have a nice set of Sony studio headphones but I don't use them too often. My earbuds, on the other hand, are on my person nearly 24/7. I used to prefer the non-silicone skinny ones that just rest inside your ear (like the official iPhone buds) but now I greatly prefer the plug type.

Here's my favorite pair, which I considered expensive until I saw GL's tastes. http://amzn.com/B00JRD13T8

Usually a pair of cheap earbuds doesn't last long around me. Like I said, daily use. But these have only had to be replaced one time in the last two years. Nice build quality, really nice cord, right angle plug. They're kind of bulky-looking in my ears, but whatever.

 

[UghRochester]

This thread is my time to shine! Essentially I wear headphones at home and IEMs while traveling. Here's a list of the headphones I have:

Sennheiser HD800
Sennheiser HD650
Sennheiser HD598
Sennheiser Momentum
Audio Technica AD700

And I've been REALLY close to getting a pair of Audeze LCD-X

As for IEMs, mostly just cheaper stuff, but my current pair are Westone W40s
And I've been thinking about getting custom fitted IEMs.

I even have a tube amp for my headphones - Woo Audio WA22

As you can tell, I take audio pretty damn seriously.

I just can't see myself spending $1500 for a pair headphones. So now when I say something has great sound, my opinion doesn't matter.

 

[MattAY]

Clean your ears!!

and I'm an earbud man. I dont like my ears being "squashed"

 

[Colin_B]

This thread is my time to shine! Essentially I wear headphones at home and IEMs while traveling. Here's a list of the headphones I have:

Sennheiser HD800
Sennheiser HD650
Sennheiser HD598
Sennheiser Momentum
Audio Technica AD700

And I've been REALLY close to getting a pair of Audeze LCD-X

As for IEMs, mostly just cheaper stuff, but my current pair are Westone W40s
And I've been thinking about getting custom fitted IEMs.

I even have a tube amp for my headphones - Woo Audio WA22

As you can tell, I take audio pretty damn seriously.

A man after my own heart!

I'm assuming the only reason you have so many different pairs when you own the 800s is due to upgrading them to the point of getting the 800s?

 

[Green_Lantern]

Yeah pretty much. I basically went 598 -> 650 -> 800. I got the momentums later to try them out for traveling.

It's also why I'm looking at the Audeze, they're a good counter to the 800s.

 

[Colin_B]

Yeah pretty much. I basically went 598 -> 650 -> 800. I got the momentums later to try them out for traveling.

It's also why I'm looking at the Audeze, they're a good counter to the 800s.

I was considering the momentums for travelling as well.

You may be the person to ask - What would be a worthwhile upgrade when I'm ready to switch from the DT 990 Pro? I was considering the Fidelio X1 or X2 but they seem like they'd either be a lateral transition or just a very slight upgrade.

 

[FrozenBacon]

Earbuds are the only option when working out, or just about any other case of listening to music in public.

Headphones are the only option when you are at home and do not want to disturb others.

My current earbuds are a pair of Sennheiser CX-300s. I brought them overpriced as fuck at an airport for like $80, but damn these are the best earbuds I ever owned. Bass is amazing, and they do a decent job of blocking out sounds for earbuds. I had these things for about 4 years now and they are still going strong, even after being drenched in gallons of sweat from running nearly every day.

The last headphones I had were a pair of Bose QC-15s. They were ok, but are extremely ovepriced. Before my QC-15s I had a pair Sennheiser PXC 350s. Those things were AMAZING. The QC-15s were shit in comparison. Unfortunately I had to replace them because I fell asleep with them on and one of the ears stopped working. Same thing happened to my QC-15s but I did a shitty repair that fixed them for about a year, but eventually they just decided to crap out on me completely.

Thinking of buying SteelSeries's elite prism as my next pair of headphones. I love Sennheiser's headphones but they are so damn expensive. I do not care enough about headphones to spend more than $300 for a pair. Those HD 598s Green Lantern linked to do look extremely tempting, though...

 

[HK-47]

Earbuds, using the ones I got with my old iPhone 4, or some oldish Apple buds. They sound good to me and I'm good as long as they work.

 

[Anthony_LaBella]

I'm not quite an audiophile, but I need a pair of really good headphones when I listen to music. I recently purchased a new pair: Sennheiser HD 598. Probably the most comfortable headphones I've ever had and the sound quality is great too, especially for $150.

The only time I use earbuds is when I'm working out and listening to music. I have some Bose ones for that.

 

[FrozenBacon]

Fuck it just ordered some 598s off Amazon.

 

[Anthony_LaBella]

Fuck it just ordered some 598s off Amazon.

Nice! I just realized Green_Lantern also mentioned those earlier in the thread. They've done me well these past couple of months, so I think you'll be happy with the purchase.

 

[FrozenBacon]

Just received my 598s and they feel awesome. It is like I am not wearing anything on my head at all. As for the sound quality, that is equally as awesome. The bass is damn near perfect, and the other frequencies sound on point as well. The sound is ultra natural, just as advertised. This is my first pair of open ear headphones so ambient sounds do leak through and the sound from the headphones leaks out, but that was expected. The main reason I want headphones is so I don't wake up others with loud noises and this does the job just fine.

I definitely do not regret buying these. Definitely not airplane, or travel headphones, but I have my earbuds for that. These things are definitely worth the price. They do need a pre-amp, though.

Next step is to get speakers that allow me to get molested by sound waves, but I will not be able to do that until I buy a house.