What headphones do you use?

I've heard some good things about Yurbuds Ironman. My former boss worked out in them, and loved them. They ''lock'' into your ears or something, and he said the sound was pretty good. That being said, I haven't used them myself. They are pretty reasonably priced (imo) at $50.
http://www.yurbuds.com/

I personally use Shure EC3's and love them. I don't think they make them anymore, or have changed the name in the current series. I think when I got mine they retailed for around $150. Every now and then I will need to push them back into my ears, but they never fully fall out. One of my friends has some over the ear sennheiser cans and they sound wonderful. The company does make great stuff.

Take my opinion lightly, because I have deformed Klingon ears, but I haven't been blown away by my Sennheiser OMX 680i headphones- considering the price. The fit isn't great despite my efforts to try and dial in the perfect fit with bends and different detachable rubber earpieces. Once I do find the sweet spot with the headphones the earhooks slightly deform midrun and I have to readjust. Sound quality isn't mindblowing, but it is superior to the stock earbuds you receive with an iPod purchase. I originally purchased the behind the neck headband pair of headphones from Sennheiser but didn't like how they wouldn't fit a beanie without leaving a gap in the back so I exchanged them for the OMX 680i which fit under a beanie or hat just fine.

Are the headphones sweatproof? Yes, they won't snap, crackle, and spark on you if you introduce sweat to them. However, do they sound good when covered in sweat? Nope! In the summer I was wearing them almost daily on my runs and eventually wetted them out to the point where the sound quality was poor and one earphone cut out for two days before resurrecting from the dead. I wouldn't purchase them again.

I don't wear them while hiking or bring them at all, but during breaks or at night I might be wearing Sennheiser CX55's. I like them for the sound isolation, which makes the music that much easier to pay attention to.

I don't bring them hiking at all, but for everyday use I have the Klipsch Reference S4i.

I can't live with out my head phones. I use Sony MDR-WO8 that actually said Ultra Light on the packaging. Very compact and light 0.6oz. Earphones not Ear buds.

Rhythm & Beat & Pace & In the Zone

I have a set of the Shure EC3s that I really like. I also have the yurbud ironman buds. I wear the ironmans working out and they stay in my ears well with decent sound. I paid way less than 50 at Wally World. They are supposed to be waterproof too.

I don't take any hiking.

I picked up some Sennheiser cx281's last month on deep discount ($20) thru Amazon and they sound outstanding for that price… Supposedly women specific, but the only difference I can see that might make them women-specific is the color, a maroon, which I like anyway… They go great with my Nano…

A few years back I spent way to much on headphones and purchased a pair of Shure SE530PTH. After two years of very gentle use, the cord frayed and separated from the ear bud. A little internet research found it was a common problem. The customer service was mediocre at best considering I had to pay $100.00 for a replacement pair that had the same fault. I sold them new before they broke.

I took a fraction of what I sold them for at bought a pair of Etymotic MC5's. Excellent value and overall sound quality. I am not an audiophile but the quality was on par with the more expensive Shures I owned. The Etymotics have a kevlar cord which seems to have become standard for higher end earbuds. I think a portable amp would get the most out of them but its certainly not UL. It is tough to find a better earbud for $50.00.

thanks for the responses guys. Eugene, I am surprised to hear they didn't work out for you as that has been the first negative response I have heard about those headphones. I saw them on Amazon the other day for 30 dollars so that I still might have to try them out! I have thought about the possibility that I would not be able to wear a beanie on colder days with it and definitely not wearing them laying in bed but I mostly am buying them for running so I still might get em.

Not for hiking, but for the last 15 years I've used Sony MDR-V700s. Just got my second pair, as the first finally cracked. Great sound, especially for electronic music.

I have the following:
Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10
Klipsch Image X10
Klipsch IMAGE S4
MEElectronics M6-BK

I had a pair of Shure E3's but they were in a jacket that got stolen at a bar =/

My favorite are probably the X10, followed by the UE TripleFi 10's. Each has their strengths for different types of music.

The S4's I keep at work, I can listen to them at low volume for 8+hrs no problem.

The MEE's are my "throw-aways" for when I don't care if I lose a $10 pair of earphones, and for that purpose they sound very good.

I don't take them hiking or running since I'm always with my dog and I like to pretend he can talk back to me…

Anyone have suggestions for water resistent headphones or earbuds? I sweat a lot and have ruined a couple of pairs of cheap earbuds…

How do the Klipsch compare to other models in sound quality? I've got the newer Reference earbuds and am curious as to how they stack up to others.

I haven't had a pair of Shure's since I lost my E3's, but I really loved those. I'd like to get a pair of their newer models to compare.

I've only recently had the X10 or TripleFi's, I don't think I've listened to either enough to break them in, which I know for the X10 will need to occur because my S4's definitely did. The TripleFi may or may not benefit the same? So for those two these are my initial impressions. Also, for all but my MEE's I use foam tips, I really can't stand rubber tips for anything more than 20minutes, and I also find that the sound quality is better with the foam acting as a suspension instead of rubber, even in a perfectly quiet room.

I do have a pair of Etymotic Research ER6i which I really don't use anymore. They have no low end to speak of and while they sound great for everything else, the lack of any bass gives them a very limited musical selection they are good for, even with a proper headphone amp…

So far I've found my Klipsch, both the X10 and S4's to be the most balanced of what I currently own. The TripleFi's are too bass heavy for any amplified instrument or electronic music, which makes them quiet fatiguing for long listening sessions. They do sound very tight and controlled for the mids and his though. The X10 have less bass, and they feel more controlled for bass heavy music. The Klipsch both are more airy and open though they sometimes feel like they have a loosely defined soundstage when compared to my speaker setups, my Sennheiser HD580's and the TripleFi's. The TripleFi's feel more definite in their sound stage, but sometimes overly so, a confusing combination with their bass, I'm hoping over time one of the two mellows out. UE claims fame as stage earphones for musicians, and this combination may well be what works best in that environment and so for home listening may not be as good as other options. I'll give them time and wait and see.

I've been listening more to the X10's so far, so perhaps more broken in, but mostly because they are smaller and lighter in my ears than the TripleFi's which are big and heavy. I'll probably switch to the TripleFi's soon though to get them some break in time and see if that helps them any. But initial impressions are that the X10 are my overall favorite so far.

The S4 are noticeably not as good as the X10's, but they are a very fine pair. The "Reference" version supposedly has much less cable noise due to the different cable, for walking around this is probably a good thing, especially in high wind. But without comparing I can't say how much better, especially since the non-Reference can be had for much less than MSRP(at $50 or less they are very difficult to beat value).

Hope that helps!

Thanks! Lots of good stuff.

My most used headphones during hiking are the Koss KSC75, as they have great sound quality for the price, and a lifetime guarantee. They generally pair up with my Rockbox'ed Sandisk Sansa Clip+ to deliver great sound from FLAC files. It's a nice setup for under $60 that can go just about anywhere.

I save the real headphones for listening back at camp or the like: http://www.jhaudio.com/content/jh13-pro

Of course, the real audio player isn't terrible UL, but it sounds amazing: http://hifiman.us/Products/?pid=72

Jabben bijoux3, it's no longer in production, the replacement model has better cables with less microphonics ( that's the only real problem with the bijoux).

Recently got a pair of Phonak Audeo. The best cost/performance I have seen. Highly recommended. They work great with the clip+ (rockboxed).

When I have sound duty at work, I have several Akg headphones and UE4 iem.

Peter,

how do you like the Rockbox'ed Sansa Clip? Last time I looked into rockbox it was rather "unfriendly". How do you find the quality difference between that and the 801? Have you tried the 601 or 602?

I like my Walkman, but the only uncompressed audio it supports is WAV, so not the most efficient use of memory.

@Sam,

Don't get me wrong, the Sennheisers are of quality, they just didn't fit my ears as well as I would like. Do they work? Yes. Can I run in them without them falling out? For the most part yes, wearing a beanie helps keep them locked on to my head. Would I pay full price? Not again. I think my inner ear shape is odd, as most headphones fall out or have difficulty staying in, even with the different sized cones for dialing in fit. Over the ear headphones seem to work best, but aren't as low profile.

Those Ironman Yurbuds look promising. If they can really lock in as they claim without needing an ear clip I may take a stab at them.

Khader, did you find your UE4's needed break in time? I'm wondering what I should expect from my TripleFi10's

The Rockbox'd Clip is a nice piece of hardware in that it plays all sorts of lossless files, takes memory cards, and is so small that there's no excuse for not having it. And it sounds way better than it should for the size and price (as in, it sounds better than most normal portable players I've used over the years, including various iPods, and other models from Creative, iRiver, and Archos).

That said, there's no comparison to the Hifiman players for sound quality. The HM801 is an amazing device, with a multibit PCM1704 DAC generally only found in AC-powered equipment. I've had a number of home DAC units in the $1K-2K range over the last six years, and the HM801 sounds better than all of them, and I do use it as the DAC in my home speaker system. Bass depth and control, midrange presence, treble smoothness and detail, stereo imaging, are all vastly improved compared to the Clip.

The 601/602 (same unit, the 602 just adds the ability to act as a USB DAC) both sound much better than than any other portable player, but compared to the 801, they just fall short a bit. The bass is slightly louder, but doesn't play as deep, nor is it quite as well-controlled and punchy as it is from the 801. The 601/602 also doesn't dig up quite as much detail as the 801, so imaging suffers a bit. Being that the 601/602 uses a non-oversampling DAC chip, the overall sound signature is different than the 801, a bit more relaxed and laid-back, which some listeners might actually prefer. The 601/602 also lack the support for 24bit/96kHz high-resolution audio that the 801 has.

Anyway, the Hifiman players are quite special and unique, with the 801 in particular offering an unparalleled level of sound quality in a portable device. While it might not be the most attractive or smallest DAP on the market, it is the best sounding, by quite a margin. The Sansa Clip+ is a great device that is all the sound quality most people will ever need/want, in a very reasonable size and price. Just as it would be a bit wasteful to use $50 headphones with the $800 HM801, once you start spending $200 and more on a set of headphones, you really should pay more attention to what you're plugging them into, as it can make just as important difference in what you hear.

I recently got the Sennheiser Adidas MX 680i phones for my iPhone to go running. You can also get the MX 680 (no i) without iPhone control.

I like these because they fit inside the ear, not around the neck, and not over the ear. The good thing is that they fit well, but loose enough that I can still hear all the background noise adequately (the CX 680 are the noise-cancelling, snug-fit ones).

They're also sweat-resistant. I looked for this feature because I killed a set of iPhone headphones already when jogging.

Whatever fit you go with, the Sennheiser Adidas line is pretty good.

Thanks Joe for the hands on experience account. I noticed that I could get the one without a microphone and it is about half the price on Amazon so me having no iphone I would definitely go with that option. Just out of curiosity, how much do the headphones weigh?

@Steven:

I'm not going to start an Esoteric Hi-End Flame war here, here you have an interesting insight to burn-in times:

http://www.matrixhifi.com/ENG_contenedor_rodajealtavoces.htm

Anyway armatures wouldn't have break-in times even if they exist.

I use the UE4 in cheap summer gigs for monitor control in bad conditions, they are good enough and there is nothing more comfortable than a custom IEM. Your's should be fine.