Sound Advice III

One side of my Philips ear buds stopped working, so it was time for a new pair (which was fine, because I didn't like them anyway)*.  I decided on these mid-priced (US$60) Incase Capsule ear buds.

The sound is clean and well balanced, but the bass seems a little tight. Hopefully it will loosen up after a bit more use. On first listen though, I like them a lot.

It comes with 3 sizes of ear plugs, allowing for a comfortable fit with good sound isolation. However, I found the plugs pull off relatively easily (like when taking them out of my pocket), making them easy to lose if you're not careful.

***

Follow up:

After letting them wear in for a couple of months, the bass and overall dynamics do get better, producing a more natural sound. For the above average audio quality at this reasonable price point, these are a solid choice.

*You can read my review of the Philips here.

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.