Upgrading the earphones that are supplied with portable music players may seem quite odd. After all, the vast majority of MP3 players are loaded with compressed music files and used in environments that aren’t exactly conducive to picking out the finest of musical details. But it’s not an odd idea at all, as most of the earbuds manufacturers supply with their players should probably be thrown in the bin along with the packaging. Bear with me while I explain why.
I managed to get my sticky hands on a shiny new flash memory MP3 player recently and settled in to give it a good listen. Unfortunately, the audio quality wasn’t exactly what I expected, in fact it was so average that I was soon delving into the menus to locate the EQ or 3D music modes that were enabled from the factory. The various ‘enhancements’ were quickly disabled but things still weren’t right — my MP3 player sounded like a cheap radio that had been turned up to eleven, with no real bass, plenty of distortion and a harsh, grating treble.
I grabbed my good old Sennheiser MX400 earbuds and plugged them in. The difference was immediately obvious and I was quite enjoying the music. It wasn’t the pinnacle of high fidelity, but I was smiling and tapping my feet. The standard phones went out the window but the experience got me thinking: if an inexpensive set of aftermarket phones could make such an impact on how much I liked this MP3 player (which turned out to have a really nice overall sound), was the same true of all MP3 players? Were they all being hamstrung by the supplied phones?
I hustled a set of new iPod phones from a friendly ’Podder, as well as the standard phones from five other MP3 players, and compared them all to the MX400s. In every case there was a difference, sometimes subtle, sometimes unmistakable. So I decided to dig up a small selection of aftermarket phones, ranging in price from $35 to $199, and see what they could bring to the portable music party. I’ve stuck with earbud style phones because that’s what 99.9 per cent of people seem to wear with MP3 players; over the ear cans are a different story.
Sennheiser surely needs no introduction to Tone readers. The company makes superb products to suit all budgets and these entry-level earbuds are amazing at their price. The MX460s are the replacements for my old MX400s and they’re better balanced than any of the earbuds supplied with our test MP3 players — the bass is tighter, drums sound like they are coming from actual drums, the treble sounds less compressed and there’s none of that nasty distortion cheap ’phones often have. The 460s also provide more detail, especially at the top end. But the most compelling reason to grab a set (besides that insane price) is that they are genuinely musical, which adds a lot to the listening experience. The asymmetric cables make them very easy to wear for long periods and they’re conformable with or without the supplied earpads. They sound like they should cost far more than they do and even the local distributor isn’t quite sure how those clever Germans get this much bang for the buck (or Euro). You won’t go wrong with a set of these little gems.
www.syntec.co.nz
Frequency response: 19 – 20,000Hz
Sensitivity: 112dB
Impedance: 32 ohms
Cable length: 1.1m
Bang for buck champions of the universe 91%
The Denon AH-C350 earbuds are as elegant as any earphones I’ve seen. Every component from the 3.5mm minijack to the buds themselves is compact, but the construction is first rate with a cool metallic gunmetal grey finish (also available in iPod-friendly white). Three sizes of interchangeable soft earpieces provide a good fit as well as a small degree of sound isolation (though definitely not as much as the Shures below) and make these phones super-comfortable to wear for long periods. The sound is big, bold and well rounded with heaps of very solid, tight bass that seems totally out of place from these little ’phones. Bass-heavy music like the Black Eyed Peas and Warren G sounded particularly good, but don’t be fooled into thinking that deep bass is all these babies do, as the sound quality on more delicate tracks was excellent, with a terrific treble. Most importantly, they have that lovely quality of allowing the wearer to feel plugged into the music via the tiny little details and the ambience and decay that just isn’t there on the stockers. The Denons are a jump above standard phones and will shine with every genre of music in your collection at a price that will please. I could live with them quite easily, thank you very much.
www.easternhifi.co.nz
Frequency response: 20 – 21,000Hz
Sensitivity: 110dB
Impedance: 17 ohms
Cable: 1.2m oxygen-free copper
Yes please! 92%
The beautifully made Shures are definitely the quirky contenders in this group. Better described as in-ear monitors than earbuds, you can’t just whack them into the old aural orifices. It can take some time to get used to the way they feel and how they’re worn but it’s worth persisting because the end result is special. There are a number of earpieces available and playing around with them to get the right fit is a necessity — they don’t sound at all good if they aren’t properly sealed into the ear canal, but get it right and you’ll be a convert. The 110s have a wide, open sound that gives more of everything: more detail, more space around the instruments and more atmosphere to the performance; every echo is a touch more distinctive, every bit of decay is slightly more realistic. Their passive noise cancelling capability is a great part of the appeal, and the sonic benefits of being cut off from external sounds are apparent the first time you wear them in a noisy environment. You need less volume to hear the music and the details aren’t as obscured as they normally are with conventional earbuds, so they’re a must-have accessory on a plane. The only caveat is that the 110s have the resolution to highlight any bad recordings in your collection. That’s easy to fix though: buy some decent quality recordings, rip them at the highest bit rates practical for your MP3 player’s capacity, and relax in the knowledge that the Shures will make everything up to uncompressed files or CD audio sound pretty damn fine.
www.jandsnz.com
Frequency Range: 22 – 17,500Hz
Sensitivity: 113dB
Impedance: 27 ohms
Cable Length: 45cm (136cm with extension)
That insertion process is so worth it, these phones rock. 94%
Going above and beyond the call of duty, I had a listen to some fairly high end earbuds (what a hard job I have), namely the Denon AH-C700 ($399) and the Shure SE420 ($699). They’re both priced well above what most people consider sane for portable music, but they’re excellent products that really do have a certain something about the way they sound. If you’re into the finer things in life, both will provide hours of pleasure, making well-recorded high quality music files sound marvellous, with levels of detail that will make you reconsider using speakers.
The only rub is that your nasty low resolution MP3s will stand out like Sauron’s enormous flaming eye at the rugby. I found myself skipping tracks that were okay on the other ’phones, especially on music with a harsh treble. However both units were great on better quality music, especially CDs played through a headphone amp — yum. If you love (not like) your music and have the space on your player to store high-quality music files, you’ll be impressed with what you hear.
This article is from Tone issue #65.
There are a few changes to this issue of Tone. We’ve said farewell to our fine cover girl in favour of some lads in white (it’s not a statement of preference, but the World Cup only comes around once every four years). In order to stimulate maximum creativity, our designer hasn’t slept since the last issue went to print, resulting in some crazy new fonts and unbelievably sleek breakout boxes possessing a level of sophistication not previously imagined. Like Saruman forging his army of fighting Uruk-Hai, we’ve dug new writers from the earth’s very gut, who now swarm across the world’s gadgets, crafting their infernal reviews. Though we’ve changed a little on the outside, we’re still the Tone you know and love on the inside. As always, we’re committed to providing the latest technology news and the best, unbiased, independent reviews of hot new products – and that’s never going to change. Enjoy.
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