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Mr Peabody
09-05-2008, 11:00 PM
A friend of mine bought a pair of Aurvana In-Ear phones off the Creative Labs website and let me have a listen. They cost $99.95. The sound quality was very impressive. Easily the best portable headphone I've ever heard. I've often wondered how good the expensive Shures are, and now I wonder how they would compare to the Aurvana's. The buds go in the ear and they seem to totally close the outside out. I was inside so I don't know how they'd do on a plane or bus. I'd assume very well since I couldn't hear anything with them in and that's before music. The sound was very large and open like a larger pair of home cans would be. The frequency response was extended on both ends and balanced throughout. Now I'm wanting to get a pair.

captjamo
09-07-2008, 05:22 PM
Mr P, In-ear phones are amazing. I have Sure SE 420's. If you google the model of Sure you are interested in followed by the word discount it is amazing what price is available for these awesome phones. I just saw SE 420's for 208.00 and SE-310's for 161.00. Spend a little more and get a 5 out of 5 rated set of phones like the Sure's. You won't be sorry. If you hike, walk, jog, bike, or ride planes often you will place great value on them. If you do any of these activities avidly you will love them. In-ear buds require a lot of cleaning of them and your ears so you don't contaminate them. Last, it seems that once you spend 80.00 and over you get a tremendous upgrade in sound quality. That being said, the Creative phones may be very good.

nightflier
09-10-2008, 10:26 AM
Mr.P,

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but I have to disagree. Creative suffers from mass-production and being new to the game. I would recommend Senns or Etymotics instead. When these came out I did a little reasearch and found out that the reviews weren't all that positive:

- Weak construction - weak connections, flimsy assembly, and staticky sound.
- While the earbuds isolate well, the cable does not and tapping as well as just wind is much more audible - not so good for active people.
- Creative isn't the best on service, perhaps because of how large they are.
- Only offered with harder-plastic inserts - many people prefer foam.

I'm in the computer industry, and we've had Creative products of all kinds in our company for well over a decade. I can say this about the company: great when it works, but service has been thorny, to say the least. They may have improved since then (nowadays computer-based audio is typically built-in and we don't buy their products so much anymore), but in the past this was always a problem, so I can concur with what people have said about Creative's service in regards to these headphones. Considering that they are also not constructed as well, that might be something to be weary about.

In my opinion and for under $100, there isn't a better in-ear than the Etymotic ER-6i. When I first got them I thought that they wouldn't stand up to my busy travel schedule, but they've done just fine, despite dropped iPods and sliding laptops. I also own the Shure e3c. They cost a bit more than the Etymotics and don't sound as good. Although the bass is more pronounced, I think this is actually over-emphasized. For long-term listening the Etymotics (I do hate typing that name, though) are way better: more clarity, especially in noisy environments where ambient noise from outside is problematic. Anyhow, I take them with me everywhere - never had a problem and they sound fantastic.

If you're really strapped for cash, the Sennheiser CX-300 at under $50 are also a good deal and from what I read, very solidly constructed. A bit boomy, and oddly equalized, but otherwise a decent buy. Check out other reviews on Headroom (http://www.headphone.com). They have a wide selection of phones and also what I consider a pretty fair list of reviews.

Mr Peabody
09-10-2008, 06:33 PM
I'm not sure when the latest version of the Creative came out but the pair my friend has have a soft rubbery material ear bud and the sound quality was excellent. However, $100.00 is $100.00 and you don't want to be spending it every few months because they break or put up with bad service to get a warranty replacement.

nightflier
09-12-2008, 12:30 PM
Let us know how you like 'em nonetheless.

Mr Peabody
09-12-2008, 04:42 PM
I haven't bought any yet. The Etymotic sounds interesting but I bet I will only find them on the net. I'm using on the ear Sennheiser, I think PX-200, their black and ran about $59.00. If you've heard the Senn's do you think the Etymotic is much better? My Senn's had better bass punch than the Creative but the Creative was so much larger and open sound with overall better fidelity.

Do in ear buds require much maintenance? How do the foam attach to the other part?

bobsticks
09-12-2008, 04:42 PM
I think I saw that on John Walsh's new show. Bizarre.

Mr Peabody
09-12-2008, 05:04 PM
I think I saw that on John Walsh's new show. Bizarre.

ha ha ha...... Natural born

Mr Peabody
09-12-2008, 05:06 PM
Wasn't that guy with the Eagles?

lewislink
10-12-2008, 08:48 PM
A friend of mine bought a pair of Aurvana In-Ear phones off the Creative Labs website and let me have a listen. They cost $99.95. The sound quality was very impressive. Easily the best portable headphone I've ever heard. I've often wondered how good the expensive Shures are, and now I wonder how they would compare to the Aurvana's. The buds go in the ear and they seem to totally close the outside out. I was inside so I don't know how they'd do on a plane or bus. I'd assume very well since I couldn't hear anything with them in and that's before music. The sound was very large and open like a larger pair of home cans would be. The frequency response was extended on both ends and balanced throughout. Now I'm wanting to get a pair.
You'd be very impressed with the SE310 through SE530 Shures. They are some awesome sounding canalphones and there are others that sound just as good and one that sounds better. The Ultimate Ears Triple fi-10 Pro and Westone UM2 are at least as good of sounding and the UM2 sound better with a very punchy midrange and overall outstanding clarity and soundstaging.