Your ears are for life

or How I Learned to Stop Using Stock Earbuds and Embrace Quality

They’re iconic. They’re everywhere. They’re stock earbuds, that come free of charge with every Apple iPod — you know, that one you’re getting for Christmas this year. Those glossy white portals into the wonderful world of audio, built to taste, for your personal enjoyment.

 
But are you really enjoying what you’re listening to? Worse yet, is everybody else on the train, waiting in line at the bank, sat around you in the packed lecture theater, or worse yet, the library even remotely enjoying what you’re listening to?
 
Deep down you know that the answer is a unanimous no. If you’ve ever decided to rip a lossless version of your favourite CD, bought a mid-range Hi-Fi system for your living room, or wondered why after only two months your headphones are crackling to those heavy dubstep tracks you listen to, then it’s high time you grasped those glossy white menaces tightly in your fist and disposed of them in the nearest bin. Here are a handful of reasons why you should wisely spend some of that Christmas card money on improving your life in a very easy way:
 

Theft

By wearing stock iPod earphones, you could potentially make yourself a target. You don’t see it circulated as frequently in the news any more, but if any potential mugger notices your brilliantly white earbuds, they’ll assume that there’s an iPod (or even an iPhone) on the other end of the wire.

 

Durability

They may just survive a trip in the washing machine that one time you forget to take them out of your pockets, but apart from that they’re stock earphones for a reason – they’re cheap and disposable. If you’re into hard rock, metal, or even drum and bass (basically anything with extremes of frequency) then they’re really not going to survive more than three months of consistent use before they begin distorting your audio and fail to reproduce the music accurately. Higher quality headphones will be much more up to the challenge, and you’ll instantly be able to tell.

 

Comfort

Being stock ‘buds, they’re cleverly designed to be as average as possible – even in the comfort stakes. They’re simply not going to be able to perfectly fit everybody’s ears and so the design aims to be adequate for the majority of people. In truth this can lead to a lot of discomfort after using them for a long time (e.g. a long-haul flight, or listening in bed). There is greater variety with a lot of next-tier ear buds, in the form of interchangeable silicon tips.

 

Sound Isolation

Those silicon tips hold another purpose, too – they form a seal inside the ear canal that helps to prevent excessive outside noise from interfering with your music, meaning you can enjoy your music peacefully at lower volumes. This not only protects your precious hearing, but reduces the noise pollution (sound leaking out) that so bothers those unfortunate enough to be stood beside you whilst listening to Aqua’s Barbie Girl.

 

Price

If those stock ‘buds decide to meet their maker, then you’re going to end up short changed – to buy a replacement pair will cost you £25, whilst there are far better options for as little as £17.

 

So what are those tantilising, higher-quality options then? A few are listed below, in order of price:

 

Sennheiser CX 300 II, £15-20 [Link]

They’re between £5 or £10 cheaper depending on where you shop, and you’ll instantly notice the massive boost in quality from your music.

 

Sennheiser CX 500, £17-24 [Link]

A step up from the CX 300 II, and not a great deal more expensive. If you have the extra £5 then these are the obvious choice.

 

V-Moda Vibe Duo (iPhone), £22 [Link]

Quite bass-heavy compared to the above, but durable and even include a click microphone and audio controls for use with your iPod touch or iPhone.

 

Apple In-Ear Headphones, £35 [Link]

If you simply must have Cupertino’s offerings tethered to your California-designed-China-made iPod, then these are the more desirable option to the stock replacement ‘buds. They’re not very durable, but at least you know they’ll work with all Apple devices.

 

Klipsch Image S4, £57 [Link]

They’re at the high end of the ‘budget’ price band (believe me, they get a lot more expensive), but they are some of the best headphones you can buy at any price.

 

Advertisement