Audio What is your primary music listening headphone / earphone?

raksrules

Elite
What is the single most used personal music listening wired / bluetooth headphone / earphone you use and recommend others as well? You may be using it for the convenience it offers or it can be it's stellar sound quality or both.
Just list down yours and also the reasoning.
Lets see what TE folks use.

Starting with me, I full time use the LG HBS A100 Neckband design Bluetooth Earphones. I love the neckband design due to the sheer convenience it offers and sound quality in my opinion Is pretty good. I anyways use it to watch TV shows on my tablet most of the time. One huge plus (which is use rarely) is the inbuilt small speakers this has. It is like personal speaker near your ears and is a great way for me to watch TV In bedroom when kids are asleep.
 
For music / movies : Laptop > Fiio Alpen 2 DAC & Amp > Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro. I have experimented but come back to his combo
For travel: Sennheiser Cx 275s. Great isolation and overall sound
 
Sennheiser hd25 mk II (6 year old) with an aging fiio X3, Sennheiser pxc550 /HD 4.5 btnc with mobile phone.
For any work hd600.
 
Starting with me, I full time use the LG HBS A100 Neckband design Bluetooth Earphones. I love the neckband design due to the sheer convenience it offers and sound quality in my opinion Is pretty good. I anyways use it to watch TV shows on my tablet most of the time. One huge plus (which is use rarely) is the inbuilt small speakers this has. It is like personal speaker near your ears and is a great way for me to watch TV In bedroom when kids are asleep.
I've wanted to get LG's neckband for years but there is no warranty in India. So if the thing dies after 6 months then you have to look at something else. People who've had them in the US discouraged me from getting them without warranty. WTH LG!!

These aren't aptx-LL either.

How do you find latency with TV viewing. So if a door slams or someone claps, can you notice a lag ?

As t your quetion i don't usually listen to music with earphones but my Senn Cx6.00 BT counts for that i guess.

I do have a plantronics wireless headset sitting around but when i checked it out a few months back i was dismayed to see the inner lining of the ear pad had come apart. Apparently the way you avoid this is to let them hand outside and not in the case.

:banghead: :depressed:

Nice pair with even some what decent sounc cancelling on those plantronics

As a rule when buying BT headsets, two rules are followed
- must be able to pair to two devices at a time (nicely eliminates 30k offerings from Sony & Bose that can't deliver here. Big FAIL! at the price point)
- must be BT certified as in i check the BT website and the product is listen
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For travel: Sennheiser Cx 275s. Great isolation and overall sound
I've seen that isolation word thrown around this board since 2011.

And i don't know what kind of ears you need to get it.

I fiddle with the ones i had, push them in until i got a good seal and you know what. My ears ached after an hour. And no way the seal remains out and about with head shaking around.

After 3 pairs of tips that came with my Senns, i sprung for some comply tips.

Heh, tried that and then i discovered what 'great isolation' means.

Comfortable for hours unlike stock but comes with an expiry date on the tips which are not cheap.
 
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I've seen that isolation word thrown around this board since 2011.

And i don't know what kind of ears you need to get it.

I fiddle with the ones i had, push them in until i got a good seal and you know what. My ears ached after an hour. And no way the seal remains out and about with head shaking around.

After 3 pairs that came with my Senns, i sprung for some comply tips.

Heh, tried that and then i discovered what 'great isolation' means.

Comfortable for hours unlike stock but comes with an expiry date on the tips which are not cheap.

Its all about the fit in ears with the kind of tips, silicone or foam. I never had any issues with silicone while Ive seen this with almost everyone on long usage. I once tried a-Jays 5 iems and it just wouldnt fit. While it did easily for my friend who had it.
I did try comply once. Though the isolation is better compared to silicone, it wasnt for me long term, both comfort and price wise
 
I've seen that isolation word thrown around this board since 2011.

And i don't know what kind of ears you need to get it.

I fiddle with the ones i had, push them in until i got a good seal and you know what. My ears ached after an hour. And no way the seal remains out and about with head shaking around.

After 3 pairs that came with my Senns, i sprung for some comply tips.

Heh, tried that and then i discovered what 'great isolation' means.

Comfortable for hours unlike stock but comes with an expiry date on the tips which are not cheap.

Tell me about it
I have never been comfortable with IEMs
I have gone through plenty but eventually end up going to regular non IEM buds

My thoughts on the stuff I gave gone through in the last couple of years


Airpods
Daily drivers - Love them for the
- comfort (this is really really important to me, it doesn't hurt my canals like IEMs and I can comfortably use them for hours)
- Call quality is excellent (extremely important to me - I take a lot of work calls at home - I can get on a super important client call with no worries about BG noise etc with them)
- The SQ is acceptably good
- Flipping between devices is not a game of guessing which device it actually connected to when you switch it on

On the flip side, they are no good when in a noisy environment like a flight- too much background noise comes in

Plantronics Backbeat Go3

My 2nd fav

Very comfortable for an IEM (though not as comfy as airpods- instead of flushing tight against the canal, it uses a rubber tip pressing against your upper ear to get a tight fit)
Excellent SQ - probably the best of the lot I have
Call quality is acceptable though not as good as airpods
On the flip side, it is not true wireless although the connecting wires are rather unobtrusive


Anker Sound Core Liberty -
Like it as it came cheap and is really good for the price
On the flip side, The mids are weak.. call quality is poor
Gets uncomfortable within 30 minutes or so although I think it‘s an isolated issue with me more than anything else

Jabra Elite 65t -
Sold off now - Liked it for the decent SQ
hated it for the poor call quality (at the receiver end- gone through 2 of them and the microphone/noise cancellation is terrible)
Gets uncomfortable after an hour or so

Soundsport Free

Sold off now
The SQ was good and the fit was more comfy than the Jabra.
I found a ready buyer hence sold it as I preferred the comfort of the AP over this.
Hard to say if the SQ of the Plantronics is better or this as I didn't have them at the same time.

My biggest bugbear with all BT/TWS headphones (other than AirPods) is this
In my use case, I need them linked to multiple devices and need the ability to flip between them as needed
With all BT sets, you need to disconnect from the device it was last connected to before connecting to the one you want to.
Half the time I don't remember what device it connected to last so I need to go on a wild goose chase checking the BT settings on all devices till I find the culprit.
The Jabra can do two but good luck if the current device is the 3rd one in sequence
With the AP, I don't need to do that as it will actively disconnect from the current device if you ask another paired device to connect to it
This may seem like a small thing but makes a huge usability difference
 
Tell me about it
I have never been comfortable with IEMs
I have gone through plenty but eventually end up going to regular non IEM buds

My thoughts on the stuff I gave gone through in the last couple of years
Ever tried comply ?

The thing with non IEM is portability. I suppose you could walk around with wireless cans.

My ear canal is some where between medium & large. When i got the Senns over a year ago. Medium seemed like a decent fit but the isolation would fail after a while. No good for travel. Travel here means walking. Isolation will be better Sitting down without much head movement.

A year later i think the mediums are too small and the large size is better. But it just pops out after a while. Comply stays in on the street and gives me decent isolation without the ear canal strain.

Airpods
Daily drivers - Love them for the
On the flip side, they are no good when in a noisy environment like a flight- too much background noise comes in

I want to emphasise the bolded bit because its a PSA.

You do not want to use airpods in a noisy environment if you want to preserve your hearing.

Upping the volume to compete with background noise is a total no no. This is the reason i never listen to music on the go just podcasts. Voice
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Its all about the fit in ears with the kind of tips, silicone or foam. I never had any issues with silicone while Ive seen this with almost everyone on long usage. I once tried a-Jays 5 iems and it just wouldnt fit. While it did easily for my friend who had it.
I did try comply once. Though the isolation is better compared to silicone, it wasnt for me long term, both comfort and price wise
What % out of 100 is your volume set at when you are out and about walking ?
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Jabra Elite 65t -
Sold off now - Liked it for the decent SQ
hated it for the poor call quality (at the receiver end- gone through 2 of them and the microphone/noise cancellation is terrible)
Gets uncomfortable after an hour or so
Audio in general is a tough subject to review. Occasionally you find people who can tell you more than others.

How closely did your experience with the Elite match this guy

Going by how he sounds in the different environments its does not seem that noise canellation is terrible. Well, i don't know but you can make him out without too much background noise getting in the way. Though admittedly riding a Royal enfield without a helmet was too much :)

Was tempted to pick these up but the price was a bit high so i went with the senns and got two for the price.
 
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Ever tried comply ?

The thing with non IEM is portability. I suppose you could walk around with wireless cans.

My ear canal is some where between medium & large. When i got the Senns over a year ago. Medium seemed like a decent fit but the isolation would fail after a while. No good for travel. Travel here means walking. Isolation will be better Sitting down without much head movement.

A year later i think the mediums are too small and the large size is better. But it just pops out after a while. Comply stays in on the street and gives me decent isolation without the ear canal strain.



I want to emphasise the bolded bit because its a PSA.

You do not want to use airpods in a noisy environment if you want to preserve your hearing.

Upping the volume to compete with background noise is a total no no. This is the reason i never listen to music on the go just podcasts. Voice
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What % out of 100 is your volume set at when you are out and about walking ?
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Audio in general is a tough subject to review. Occasionally you find people who can tell you more than others.

How closely did your experience with the Elite match this guy

Going by how he sounds in the different environments its does not seem that noise canellation is terrible. Well, i don't know but you can make him out without too much background noise getting in the war.

Though admittedly riding a Royal enfield without a helmet was too much :)
The only true noisy use-case for earbuds I have is flights
I prefer using the Plantronics then - a little more uncomfy than airpods

The AP pro supposedly has a pressure vent that makes for a comfortable fit for an IEM but the pricing is phew !
Hopefully some sale in the near future brings it down to acceptable levels

As for the guy in the link, I dunno
The call quality/noise cancellation I guess was acceptable for personal calls - but I take a lot of professional calls on earbuds at home
I would often hear someone groaning about my voice not being clear (too aggressive noise cancellation i guess) or too much BG noise with the Jabra
(I have two dogs :) )
Don’t get that with the AP thankfully
 
The only true noisy use-case for earbuds I have is flights
I prefer using the Plantronics then - a little more uncomfy than airpods

The AP pro supposedly has a pressure vent that makes for a comfortable fit for an IEM but the pricing is phew !
Hopefully some sale in the near future brings it down to acceptable levels
Can you check out the part about Jabra in my last post. You replied after i posted it I think :)
 
Can you check out the part about Jabra in my last post. You replied after i posted it I think :)
I did and edited my post - Also saw the video :)
His audio is seriously bad even in the first 20 - 30 seconds I watched and exactly echoes the issues i had with mine
With the wind blowing, the Jabra is either aggressively applying noise cancellation making his voice fade
and a moment later is doing too little and causing the gusts to be in the forefront
 
I did and edited my post - Also saw the video :)
His audio is seriously bad even in the first 20 - 30 seconds I watched and exactly echoes the issues i had with mine
With the wind blowing, the Jabra is either aggressively applying noise cancellation making his voice fade
and a moment later is doing too little and causing the gusts to be in the forefront
ok, you asked about cheap pair of wireless IEM's a week ago for your cook.

Now, compare what Rs.2.5k gets you compared with Rs.13k which is what the jabra cost a year back

Maybe the Jabra's are not good enough on their own compared to ?airpods but they blow these ant audio wave sports right out of the water.

No comparison whatsoever.
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The only true noisy use-case for earbuds I have is flights
I prefer using the Plantronics then - a little more uncomfy than airpods

The AP pro supposedly has a pressure vent that makes for a comfortable fit for an IEM but the pricing is phew !
Hopefully some sale in the near future brings it down to acceptable levels

As for the guy in the link, I dunno
The call quality/noise cancellation I guess was acceptable for personal calls - but I take a lot of professional calls on earbuds at home
I would often hear someone groaning about my voice not being clear (too aggressive noise cancellation i guess) or too much BG noise with the Jabra
(I have two dogs :) )
Don’t get that with the AP thankfully
The thing with the airpods is they are a winner for taking calls but the problem is reversed in a noisy environment. Caller hears you but you struggle to hear them.

People in the comments calling the airpods better than the Jabra for call quality.

The difference is slight in the review but no complaints kinda seals the deal

When the airpods come out there were these calls of indignation about how expensive they were.

That is until Bragis launched. Then airpods appeared very affordable :)

All of this is rubbing up against a sober reality.

You can get decent call quality and competitive at that, for no extra cost.

What do i mean.

I mean the wired, free headset that comes with the phone.

Hold that mic up and it will compete with any wireless offering there is. Possibly even beat it.
 
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