Apple In-Ear Headphones<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThey look bad, they sound slightly less bad, they stay in my ears. What do you expect from earbuds really? At the time these were new, you could have picked up a set of lesser branded buds for a quarter of the price and got comparable or better performance. I was an Apple fan who deserved to get robbed. The silicone ear seal presents a slightly better sound than EarPods. I was disappointed though, so they went back in the box after a few hours of regret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They stand as a proxy for almost all earbuds, which were the standard for budget consumers looking for an all-round solution. It’s the same today. You can pick up buds for cheap that will pretty much do the same thing. Go everywhere and do everything. Wired does have the benefit of higher resolution listening (maybe). Buds can do everything – though not very well.<\/p>\n\n\n\nApple AirPods <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThey look bad, they sound bad, they fall out of your ears. See a pattern forming here Apple? They are all these things – however what they had was convenience. Slips in and out of your pocket easily. No wires to untangle. Good for calls, podcasts and poor for music. But they fit into your Apple life so well you forgive them for their sonic shortfalls. They got me into wireless listening on the move. But they developed a channel imbalance after 18 months due to earwax building up inside (yuck). I was sad. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSony WF-1000XM3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWow. Even today these are very good. Decent noise cancelling with similar convenience to AirPods and class leading wireless sound. I was completely sold – until I tried to do anything with rapid head movement. Then no matter which tip I used, they worked loose and fell out. Ok for gentle walks, but not anything else. Sony packed so much technology into these, the weight made them a little cumbersome. I am nit picking though. For many people, they were the perfect compromise. They are however not for running, DIY, cycling or even vigorous housework. But quite good for listening in some settings. But then in those settings I would probably opt for something bigger, more powerful and just better (wired!). I still have a use for them though… as a collector of physical media I’m constantly vacuuming up vinyl and CDs at second hand shops. If I don’t know the record, they get popped in for a quick listen via Tidal. The audio quality is very good for this use.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRolling Square HYPHEN 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nI had the first version of these Hyphens as well. The build quality and sound noticeably better in the 2nd version. Lightweight, waterproof (yes I have showered with them!), ok sonically though not in the same league as the Sony’s. The ear tip choice is critical with these. The green tips pictured require painstaking positioning to the right depth and angle to get close to anything you would enjoy. When you make that inner ear seal, the sound is as good as any decent wired earbud. They are however super lightweight and can be used for everything. I mean everything. But the sound quality is ok, so when not cycling or running you would definitely opt for something more satisfying. Good for podcasts and calls, not for immersive listening though.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBeats Tour 2.0 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBest wired buds I’ve owned. Great for calls and general listening. Not perfect audio quality (a bit bass heavy) though very good. The silicon hook design keeps them snug. Again, you wouldn’t use them for immersive listening. My go to for zoom calls from my laptop (no silly pairing issues). A good all rounder.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBang & Olufsen Beoplay EarSet 3i<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nPure nonsense ergonomically. Oh my god they are utterly useless. Like a badly designed medical instrument. I managed once in about 50 times of trying to get them positioned optimally and the sound was actually very good – though I moved my head sideways and lost that perfect position. If they weren’t so expensive I’d have chucked them away. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAudio-Technica ATH-E50<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn ear monitors. Audiophiles swear by the crystal clear audio. They are special for sure. You hear everything in amazing detail. Like 4K video for the first time when you’ve only ever watched TV on a 10 inch black and white portable from 1978. But sometimes you don’t want to see the gruesome detail in a 4K presentation. A news presenter’s chin with open pours, dripping with icky makeup plus beading sweat on the brow … just not pleasant. When you want to enjoy music you might want a bit of tone to colour the sound in a way that suits the musical style (blasphemy). Ideal for musicians, music makers and anyone needing to monitor sound in a critical way. The fit is something else as well. Bendable wire gripping the ears, holding the high quality drivers deep into your ear canal, the wires snaking behind, down your back and held in place with a sliding thing at the nape of your neck. It takes a good few minutes to get them in place, but then you are good to go. Run around your imaginary stage pretending to be a rock god. Just not very convenient for the in and out utility for everyday use. Since I’m not a musician or audio engineer, the only use I found for them so far is long walks in the forest with classical music.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBang & Olufsen Beoplay H8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nOn ear noise cancelling bluetooth. OK audio wise. Very aggressive ANC left me feeling sick (it’s a thing). Also the sweaty on-ear fit means they are usable for 20-40 mins max before you want to throw them out the window. Perhaps if you have small ears they are ok, but for me I only use(d) them for flights. Now they languish in a drawer. On-ear audio is just not for me. They look cool. Good build quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\nKEF Porsche Design Space One Wireless<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nOver ear, less aggressive ANC, sound quality quite ok. They replaced the H8’s. Design is very nice. They feel solid and really premium. Long flights. Noisy offices and coffee shops. Nice. Wireless.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBang & Olufsen Beoplay Form 2i<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nSilly. Retro cool and fun. I was really surprised how good they sound though. Resting on your ears like your first wired Walkman earphones in 1984. The drivers are a decent quality and the sound is relaxed and airy, like open backs. No good in noisy places. Great for calls in open plan offices since you can hear yourself. Fine for music and podcasts in quiet places. I love these quirky phones. Just worried they would break on the move since they have no case and don’t fold away.<\/p>\n\n\n\nQuad ERA-1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThey were my first foray into anything you would consider audiophile quality. Open backs give a divine airiness to the sound. I am constantly staggered by the improvement over every other phone listed here, by a significant margin. They are a lot more expensive though. Also you need to pair them with a good DAC. I have them running with a ifi Zen DAC v2 (below) most of the time. Sometimes with a Hifi receiver for vinyl listening. If there’s any noise in the room forget it as it all gets through. Kids, dogs, TV, washing machine, wind, even keyboard strokes. But when you’re alone, relaxed and focussed – they can be better than your main system with expensive floor-standers. I love them.<\/p>\n\n\n\nifi Zen DAC v2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nConclusion time. Well there is not a happy conclusion. I own too many sets now to be limited to 2 or 3 even. Spoiled myself forever. Though if I had to use one set only from this selection I would be forced to choose the Beats. They do everything ok. I’d be unhappy listening to Jazz or Folk or Prog or anything with a lot of dynamics and detail. I’m not a connoisseur of hiphop or EDM, which I think the Beats were designed for. My business life would be satisfied. As an allrounder they are hard to beat. Pun intended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Are you planning to hike up Haldefj\u00e4ll or slump in front of the TV? This is crudely how we think about footwear every day, so why not headphones? Not all of us want to or can afford a dozen different types of headphone, however most folk own a pair of “nice” shoes, something sporty, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gear"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":224,"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189\/revisions\/224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cann.fi\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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