Sound Advice II

I accidentally stepped on one of my Nakamichi earbuds while getting out of a taxi, instantly disintegrating it to dust.

Needing a quick replacement, I picked up an inexpensive (around US$20) pair of Philips O'Neill SHO9950 Specked buds. The main selling point is it's tangle free nylon cord. Though it's a collaboration with O'Neill, these ear buds are not waterproof, so I'm not exactly sure how they link to surf..

After having the super bass-heavy Nakamichi's*, these sounded like I was listening to music through tin cans - flat and hollow, and not a lot of punch. But for 20 bucks, you can't expect too much and it's not really fair to compare them with a $100 pair.

The tangle free cord actually worked, which is great because I'm normally trying to pull a tangled mess of wires out of my pocket. But the problem with the textured cord is when you're moving around and it rubs against something, the sound travels up to your ear, which is really distracting. For that reason alone, I wouldn't recommend these.

*You can read my review of the Nakamichi's here.

Sound Advice

My Bose ear buds just broke (again), so I thought I'd try a different pair this time and give a comparison. I ended up picking the Nakamichi MPE-550, which are in the same price range as the Bose (around US$100).

The Bose are clear and crisp, with nice bass response and great dynamic range. The only reason I am switching is because the wire connection has broken twice during the year and a half that I've had them.

I chose the Nakamichis because they claimed great bass response. However, on first listen, they sound really muffled and muddy. While the bass is in fact pretty solid, the mids aren't clear, and the highs are not bright at all. It sounds like I'm listening to music through a pillow..

****

Follow up:

After letting them wear in for a couple of weeks and letting my ears get accustomed to them, I have to say, the bass of the Nakamichis is pretty incredible for ear buds. The sub 150Hz range is really clearly defined and never distorts, no matter how loud I turn up the volume. However, the mid-range and highs are still pretty crap.

Bottom line, if you only listen to music with a lot of bass, like rap and hip-hop, you'll get your boom for the buck. But if you want all around quality audio reproduction, Bose wins hands down.