Earbud Review

I have accumulated several different styles of earbud headphones over the past year. When I run I listen to music, and many times I forget / misplace / lose them so I get new ones. So I thought I would do a review on the ear buds that I have. I have a bit of cauliflower ear from grappling so comfort and fit is very important to me and I tend to stick with the smaller form ear buds. I typically stay away from the more expensive models since I lose so many headphones.

Apple I-Pod ear bud headphones
Model: Standard Apple Ear Buds that come with IPod Nano (2nd Gen)
Manufacturer: Apple
Price: $40.00
Overall: Poor

Review: The Apple ear bud headphones came with my iPod Nano that I bought a few years ago. The ear bud design for me is horrible, although it is better than the first gen as they are actually kind of wedge shaped. Sometimes the speaker actually sits flush on my ear when inserted and I cannot hear the sound very well. They become extremely uncomfortable after they have been in my ears for more than about an hour. I find myself adjusting these quite often when I'm forced to use them. Sound quality is mediocre at best, the bass is there but distorts fairly quickly at higher volumes. The cord can become tangled easily. As far as activity, these ear buds will stay in my ears while running - sometimes. It depends more on the proper orientation of the ear buds in my ear than anything else. I keep them as a backup pair. It is actually surprising to me that Apple would even package ear buds like this with a product like an iPod. My recommendation - use these in a pinch.


Sony MDREX36V/BLK EX Earbud Headphone (Black)
Model: MDREX36V
Manufacturer: Sony
Price: $30.00
Overall: Excellent
Review: I have purchased three sets of this model so far. Out of the four headphones reviewed the Sony ear buds receive my pick. First the ear bud is angled which makes it fit very nicely. These ear buds come with different sized rubber fittings so you can adjust the snugness of the ear bud depending on your ear canal size. I can wear these ear buds all day long and never have any discomfort and they stay in during activity that requires a lot of movement. The headphones handle high volumes very well and the bass response is good. There is a volume slider on the cord which is handy when you keep your music device out of reach. You can crank the volume on your MP3 player and control the output easily from the headphone cord. These are the only headphones reviewed that have a volume control inline. For the price you cannot beat these headphones. My only complaint about the headphone is with the cord. The cord can get tangled easily, especially during storage. I have to use a cord wrap to keep the cord in check.

Skull Candy S2INBB-BR Ink'd ear bud headphonesModel: S2INBB-BR
Manufacturer: Skull Candy
Price: $20.00
Overall: Very Good

Review: The Skull Candy ear buds, like the Sony have rubber fittings of various sizes. The bud profile is straight and from the tip of the rubber fitting to the back of the headphone is a comfortable distance. In other words, the headphones don't stick out too far. The opening in the rubber fitting is larger than the other headphones tested, which probably helps with sound transfer. The overall sound quality of the Skull Candy headphones is the best of the reviewed earphones. I really like the tangle free cord. The cord is just stiff enough to keep it from tangling, and I can wrap it up in itself when I'm done using the headphones. The single drawback that I have with the Skull Candy ear buds is that when I run I get a metallic popping sound. This appears to be caused by the ear seal. I can make the popping disappear with enough adjustment. for anybody doing activity, you might experience this problem.

Rocketfish RF-MEP3L ear bud headphones - LimeModel: RF-MEP3L
Manufacturer: Rocketfish
Price: $10.00

The Rocketfish ear buds are a straight ear bud like the Skull Candy headphones. There are multiple rubber fittings as well. The Rocketfish ear buds are comfortable and they also have a tangle free cord, and come in some cool colors. They are priced lowest out of all the ear buds at $10.00 they are almost a steal. The major drawback to the Rocketfish ear buds is the sound quality. The bass response is quite poor, and very noticeable if you have listened to any headphone with decent bass response. For the money these are ok, but I would spend the extra $10 or $20 for a pair of headphones with better sound.

Overall Assessment
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Best: Sony MDREX36V ear bud headphones
Better: Skull Candy S2INBB-BR Ink'd ear bud headphones
Fair: Rocketfish RF-MEP3L ear bud headphones - Lime
Poor: Apple I-Pod ear bud headphones