Know what's impossible to shop these days? berkeleyin' headphones.

So, I have determined I need new headphones. Preferrably earbuds so I'm not wearing some ridiculous set of muffs at the beer factory, and it's easier for me to fall asleep with them in, or do activities, etc. I went to Best Buy (jesus, that was a mistake) looking for a set. As long as I want Beats By overpriced or SkullCandy? I'm golden. Or chinese junk. But if I want Shures or JBLs or Sennheisers or just a quality set of headphones without a lot of E36 M3 stuck on em, I'm out of luck. Target? Same thing. I won't even bother with Walmart, they can't even stock the damn hotwheels aisle right, I don't expect anything out of the headphones. So, that's got me on the dreaded internet. I HATE internet shopping, because I want to look at the berkeleying thing before I buy it. Especially something I'm going to cram into my ears for hours at a time. Why does this have to be so hard?

Go to an actual musical instrument shop, where poor musicians go to buy their supplies.

I feel your pain.

Edit: Get these!

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-DTuniCKKulo/p_143IE800/Sennheiser-IE-800.html?tp=60828&awkw=75620907265&awat=pla&awnw=g&awcr=47439172705&awdv=c

In reply to mndsm:

I have actually been very satisfied with some skullcandy full Metal jackets I bought from the clearance rack at best buy. They weren't fashion accessory colored, so I got fifty buck ear buds for 15 bucks. The plastic ones are pretty crap, but a couple of levels up the line are some acceptable ear buds in a format you can take back to a bricks and mortar store if you hate them..

In reply to mndsm: I buy these. A bit like ear plugs, so they're really comfortable and stay in well, and they sound great.

Guess where you get them....

Walmart!

In reply to Grizz:

Someone recommended those to me just the other day.

I've been using them for a few years now, and I don't like using other kinds anymore.

I have the $15 Coloud buds from Target. The flat cable keeps them from tangling. Sound isn't amazing, but it is quite good. I find it more balanced than all of the "megaBASS" crap in the sub-$20 range.

I've heard great things about Monoprice ear buds if you're looking for good sound on a budget.

1988RedT2 wrote: I feel your pain. Edit: Get these! http://www.crutchfield.com/S-DTuniCKKulo/p_143IE800/Sennheiser-IE-800.html?tp=60828&awkw=75620907265&awat=pla&awnw=g&awcr=47439172705&awdv=c

lol. When i saw those I was like, who the hell misplaced a 0?

turboswede wrote: Go to an actual musical instrument shop, where poor musicians go to buy their supplies.

This is most helpful

I have a set of klipsch hear buds that I love. I've heard excellent things about super cheap E10's from amazon as well

I used to go through earbuds like crazy. Skullcandy were my favorite in the sub $20 range. All the other cheap sets had way too much bass.

For the money, you simply can't beat these Panasonics: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003EM8008

I have like 6 pairs of them. Yeah, it's the internet, but come on, they're seven bucks. If you don't like them, you aren't out much. But look at the ratings on Amazon, they really are pretty good.

I don't know if they're still recommended, but the earphones off of Monoprice were supposed to punch way out of their weight class.

I'm not really an audiophile though.

I destroy headphone at a geometric rate. I buy cheap ass $5.00 ones so I don't feel too bad killing them. E36 M3ty sound for sure, but it helps that I'm hearing impaired.

The headphones here on my desk are some $29 Skullcandys from Target. They're fine for travel and stuff.

I also have a pair of these: http://www.koss.com/en/products/headphones/full_size_headphones/PRO4AA__PRO4AA_Full_Size_Headphone

How much are you looking to spend? I've had good luck with these, have had the same pair for years, sound better than skullcandy. http://www.amazon.com/MEElectronics-Sport-Fi-Isolating-Headphones-Memory/dp/B0038W0K2U/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1427340796&sr=1-3&keywords=mee+m6

On the same topic, has anyone found earbuds with a decent quality microphone? I spend a lot of time on phone calls where a quality mic would be a huge help.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: How much are you looking to spend? I've had good luck with these, have had the same pair for years, sound better than skullcandy. http://www.amazon.com/MEElectronics-Sport-Fi-Isolating-Headphones-Memory/dp/B0038W0K2U/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1427340796&sr=1-3&keywords=mee+m6

Significantly more than this, actually.

mndsm wrote:

Kenny_McCormic wrote: How much are you looking to spend? I've had good luck with these, have had the same pair for years, sound better than skullcandy. http://www.amazon.com/MEElectronics-Sport-Fi-Isolating-Headphones-Memory/dp/B0038W0K2U/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1427340796&sr=1-3&keywords=mee+m6

Significantly more than this, actually.

I had a pair of those, the two problems that I ran into were that the right side one had the wire preshaped in the wrong direction (meaning that if I laid it over my ear as it should be the earbud was facing away from my ear) and they stopped working after a relatively short period of time which I attribute to the combination of stress to rotate the earbud so it fit in my ear and perspiration as I usually wore them when exercising.

I've been using cheap (supposedly) OEM earbuds from Samsung phones found on Amazon. I think they were $3-4 per pair and have a mic along with 3 sizes of silicon tips. Not great, not bad, but with a 2-3 month life on most earbuds that I've tried the price is right.

Tom_Spangler wrote: For the money, you simply can't beat these Panasonics: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003EM8008 I have like 6 pairs of them. Yeah, it's the internet, but come on, they're seven bucks. If you don't like them, you aren't out much. But look at the ratings on Amazon, they really are pretty good.

^This^ I only have three pairs, but I will eventually need to buy more. No way you can beat the bang for buck of those, especially if you break/lose/drown headphones on a regular basis.

If you want to spend more money, spend it on these: http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Ears-Isolating-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B000Y8Y8FG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1427344945&sr=8-5&keywords=ultimate+ears

I had a pair that lasted for years and sounded very, VERY good. I've listened to some really good in ear and over ear monitors and I just wasn't able to tell a difference. These are better than the MP3's you're listening to and probably better than your ears.

Ear buds? I get them at the dollar store

dj06482 wrote: On the same topic, has anyone found earbuds with a decent quality microphone? I spend a lot of time on phone calls where a quality mic would be a huge help.

The ones I posted have a version that has a mic built in. I use it for skype when I'm playing games on my laptop, it seems to work pretty well.

In reply to mndsm:

Skullcandys last me around 6 months to the day as if it were a natural law.

My current ones are Sony cheapies (Like $10), and they've lasted me around 8 months so far. Pretty happy with them. Since what I'm listening to is mp3, streaming and podcasts, usually while exercising, I really don't care about soudn quality.

Had no trouble finding extremely good ear buds that last. Cheap they were not, but they were worth the price. http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop_online/headphones/in_ear_headphones/index.jsp&nav=fit