Just ordered new ear buds

I finally replaced my lost iPod, and have been using the same old Denon ear buds that I had, but I decided that I wanted to step it up a bit, without spending an arm and a leg. I opted for the $65 NuForce NE-700X, which has gotten raves for its price to performance ratio. Unlike many ear buds, including much more expensive ones, it favors a neutral tonal balance, which is definitely my preference. (No real surprise, given that it is made by NuForce.) Here is Playback's rave review:

http://www.avguide.com/review/nuforce-ne-700x-ne-700m-ear-headphones-playback-41

I was looking at the NU NE770 model, and the NE700, ...the NE700 based on reviews is the way to go. I didn't buy from NU only because I kind of wanted something with an inline mic. too.

The 700x which I ordered has none, but the 700m does. Both models are identical except that the m adds the mic.

Your kidding me, I never even looked at the "m", ...I thought it was only for the different color, duh!!!

Time to visit Amazon again.

Actually, that is the only thing that annoys me about the 700x -- I think that the bronze color looks more slick. But I have no need for the mic, and it would be an issue for jogging, so silver it is.

Nice headphones...

Found a list of headphones review to work out.

http://pulse.me/s/8zwXZ

Don't use sites like Gizmodo or Cnet for audio hardware reviews. That is like reading computer reviews in People.

Playback has a very good Buyer's Guide:

http://www.avguide.com/buyers-guide/the-playback-guide-earphones-custom-fit-ear-monitors

Good Cans is also a great resource for anything headphone related:

http://www.goodcans.com/HeadphoneReviews/Reviewss/InEars101.html

Actually, I should be more accurate and refer to the 700s as in-ear monitors, not earbuds. Earbuds are really the kind like you get free with an iPod that sit wedged in your outer ear; in-ear monitors like these are actually pushed into your ear canal.

DAM, and I thought I was doing good with my 25 dollar Sony buds I got a couple of years ago.

$65 is cheap in my world. The custom-fit type of in-ear monitors that I would really want can go as high as several hundred dollars.

I received them yesterday and spent some time with them last night and again today while working out. In a nutshell: I LOVE them. The sound is clear, neutral, and balanced. Some of the reviews mentioned that they had less bass than their predecessor, and while that may be true it makes me wonder how much bass people think that they need. The bass on these Nuforces is plenty powerful, but very tight and articulate, just like I prefer it. I threw some of my subwoofer "torture test" tracks at them and they passes most of them with flying colours. There is never any kind of "one note" sound, and all pitches are cleary delineated.

Not only that, but the standard ear tips that were attached worked perfectly for me. They do come with different sizes if you need them, and I have read suggestions to swap them all out for Comply foam tips ($10). I will probably not do that, though, as the though of foam tips while sweating during exercise is a mite disconcerting.

Glad you're enjoying your new monitors. And good for you for checking out Nuforce. I would've defaulted to Etymonic or something similar.

I've been tempted by in-ear monitors in the past, but I can't wear them. I end up with impacted wax when I use them (how's that for a visual?!). In this case, the pain is not worth the sound, so I stick to open, circum-aural or earpad phones.

I have been using IEMs since I got my first iPod. They do take some getting used to -- at first I thought that I would never be able to stand having them in my ear canal. But now that I am used to them there are definite advantages such as noise-blocking. That has a side benefit in that you can listen at a much reduced volume level compared to more open designs, so while at first glance IEMs might appear to risk damaging your hearing, in the long run they may be even better than any other portable design. The earwax would be an issue, though!

I was looking at comparison guides like the one in Playback and that is what sold me on Nuforce. At that price point it appears that you cannot do any better, assuming tonal neutrality is your goal. But I was really surprised at the quality of the bass given how that was pointed out as a negative in the reviews. Overall they are a well-balanced product.

Yes, in-ear monitors are great for blocking noise. They are better than most noise-cancelling phones and far superior to other closed phones. Sucks if a zombie sneaks up behind you while you are listening to some tunes though.

Yes, but what a way to go.

I thought this one for a while but gave into dishing out for the Westone UM3X and for SWTOR - great sound imaging in an IEM

Yes, something like that with multiple armature drivers (instead of dynamic drivers like the less expensive Nuforce IEMs) would have been my druthers, but I decided to be content with something under $100. Nice phones, though! Are they still comfortable with the larger driver enclosures outside your ear canal?

I just noticed that those come equipped with Comply foam tips. How do those work for you? I am still debating picking some up for my Nuforces, but I am concerned about them absorbing sweat while I work out.

One problem - seals out much of the background noise so get that recurring tap on the shoulder from my son or wife when I don't respond to their call, but then I am quite absorbed in SWTOR at the time. YES the soft "mushroom" tips are quite comfortable that you soon forget the things are in your ears, even after several hours of devoted attention to tha game.

The only think I saw in your post is SWTOR...... I haven't logged in awhile, been into Diablo3, all the freakin clicking gets addicting.

Did, would you believe it, Lego Universe, but then it was a bonding thing with my kid (now 13). Heard of SWTOR from a gamer friend, but didn't interest me till my kid mentioned it, so bought it and got hooked. One big problem, only one gaming laptop in the house (Asus J73) so came the idea of a second laptop and separate account. So now, can both be online and can team up together for missions. Have Diablo III (my favorite all time game since the first one), but SWTOR still keeping me fixated with leveling my two chraracters

Magus: sealing out background noise is not a problem for me; it is part of the goal. I was sweating pretty heavily today and I noticed that one of the rubber tips kept slipping a bit, which hugely impacts the sound. I think that I will order some Complys.

El Mago wrote:One problem - seals out much of the background noise so get that recurring tap on the shoulder from my son or wife when I don't respond to their call . . .

Replace the bolded words with zombie and therein lies my point!

Iago wrote:I was sweating pretty heavily today and I noticed that one of the rubber tips kept slipping a bit . . .

That's what she said.

Repeatedly!