what earphones/headphones do you use? And what EQ/effect settings?

[al+wright]

I use good ole sony fontopid buds because they are loud and i think they sound good for how small/cheap they are i.e. $20 australian. They also have a lot of bass compared to other buds which is important when catching the train (i find that background noise from the train is really annoying).

I have to leave mach3bass pretty much off. I've had 3 pairs of fontopids and they tend to rattle after a couple of weeks of solid solid bass. Its good while it lasts.

BBE i have on about 2-3 or sometimes off. I think it suits rock and stuff but reduces sound quality.

Surround Sound my ass. That feature is putrid i dont know why they even tried to make 2 speakers sound like 5. A failure.

Can anyone reccomend some good buds that are gonna maybe last longer than the sony's? i havent really been bothered to shop around....

[kemot1984]

I have Sennheiser MX500 (soon moving to Sharp HP-MD33s canalphones).

Mostly Eq set to Rock, BBE set to 1, Mach3Bass on, Surround on 4.

[Jose Perez]

Sennheiser PX-100's sound awesome with my M3

As for EQ I defeat all the settings including BBE, Surround, and MachBASS

[CleanPauper]

Bang & Olufsen A8, all effects off.

[Lestat]

Sony MDR-EX51.
All effects off, except Mach3Bass on 3.

[TommyB2]

I think the M3 sounds awful without BBE and M3B.

[oluv]

if you have good headphones you will notice that the m3 sounds awful with effects. turn them all off and you will be happy... if not, your headphones suck!

[taz]

my sennheiser mx550's must really be shit then

EQ - 8 - 10 - 0 - 6 - 10
BBE - 1
mach3 - 10
mp enhance on
surround 3, or 0 dependant on how i feel.

these headphones cant pump bass to save their lives so i have just focused on the mids and highs which are good.

[jw0613]

uhh i guess all of my headphones must suck too.. lol
anyway, i think it all depends on personal taste..
hence the option for equalizers and effects..
i use ex71s for hip hop.. bass is good
for other music i use e888s

[hobs0n]

I use Sennheiser HD 25-1. Closed earphones that dampen the amount of outside sounds that I want. I can go in heavy traffic and still only have to raise the volume slightly. Kind of pricey tho but when I bought them I had money

[TommyB2]

if not, your headphones suck!

Rubbish!

The sound from my Boomgear SX900s is probably just as good as my Hi-Fi. Sound just sounds really plastic without BBE.

[jgerry]

Headphones -- Shure E3C. Just got these bad boys, and wow, they do sound amazing. If you can wear them comfortably (I'm still working on that part), just awesome. They will, however, reveal every little deficiency in your player and your source material. Forget about enjoying those 128K mp3s, they sound awful. VBR or 256K should probably be a minimum for good headphones. Also don't believe what you read about not having bass response. They have plenty, but they have to be sealed VERY WELL into your ear canal or they suck.

EQ/Effects -- I've been messing around with line-in recording, and all the various EQ settings and effects. I've turned everything off (no BBE, no Mach, no EQ, no surround, no mpenhance). I think the sound is best this way.

Thing is, I have very revealing equipment -- studio monitor speakers and the Shure buds -- so the digital effects just jump right out at me and sound terrible. I was hating the sound when I had these on, and once I turned all that stuff off, I found the sound quality of the unit to be quite good.

[Erasure4ever]

Hey jgerry, how do the E3Cs compare to the stock I5 earbuds assuming you have a I5? I recently received my I5 and the stock buds already sound very good if a bit slightly lacking in bass. I'm wondering how the Shures compare since I'm going to be ordering a pair next week.

[jgerry]

Originally Posted by Erasure4ever

Hey jgerry, how do the E3Cs compare to the stock I5 earbuds assuming you have a I5?

I have an M3, brand new last week. It came with the Cresyn buds, which are pretty horrible in my opinion. They don't sit well in my ears and the sound isn't great either.

The E3Cs (wearing them now at the office) definitely sound great, but the fit is taking some getting used to. I still haven't quite got the hang of wearing them yet. The cords really do need to go over and around the ears -- hanging them loose twists the earbud in the canal and breaks the good seal (for me at least). Because of the way the cords converge up behind your head, I have found it most comfortable to run the cable behind my neck, through my shirt, and under my arm. If the cable isn't pulling pretty much straight downward, I find I get twisting. So try as I might, I can't seem to find a comfortable way to wear these buds with the cord hanging down the front.

I've tried some suggestions that people have said they'll insert fine into your ears turned upside down (cord hanging down from each bud), but for my ears at least, the only comfortable position is with the phone cords over my ears.

Another note -- the sound quality, bass especially, is 100% dependent on what tips you choose, and you have to figure out which ones work best for you. Remember, you're shoving these things way into your ear canal, so be careful! I'm using the soft silicone gray (medium size) and those seem to work fine for me and are very comfortable. The foam ones are pretty good too, but they're going to get dirty quick. The clear silicone tips feel like I'm shoving a paper clip into my ears. I won't be trying those again. Once you get a hang of how to deal with the cords, pick a sleeve, get them inserted comfortably into your ear, and figure out how to get a really tight seal, you're golden.

Basically, I've found these phones to be a bit of work to figure out, but I think it's going to be worth it in the long run. They sound really amazing.

[Erasure4ever]

Cool thanks.