I spend about one and a half hours on the bus everyday so I thought it was time to upgrade my headphones for my ipod.

Trying to find the right headphones was hard, I went to future shop,bestbuy,visions,ect but I could not find the ones that where for me. So I went online to Ncix and found these two that I like.

Super fi 3 stuido

Etymotic

As you can tell I only like to use the earbud style, I'm only looking to spend $150-200 CAD does anyone else have any ideas/experiences.

I was not to sure where to post this subject, but I thought what better why to get a idea then from axiom owners.

Hello

Try to find a pair of Koss Porta Pros. Excellent headphones for on the go and a steal at about $80.00.

http://www.koss.com/koss/kossweb.nsf/p?openform&pc^pt^PORTAPRO

Sorry, didn't see the reference to earbuds only

Thanks Ihulls for the info, I guess i could try headphones they do have better sound.

Not really, the the units you linked to would be better suited for your bus ride than the open ear porta pros. I have had the Superfi 3 and the porta pro plus a pair of Altec Lansing that were made by Etymotic. The ER*6 would be my choice between the two.

These are not really a ear bud; they are known as an iem (inner ear monitor)

Etymotic makes really nice IEM's. I've never heard them but I've read enough glowing reviews over the years to trust that they're great.

I'd also have to recommend Shure. I have a pair of E2C's and E4C's (both discontinued), and they're both great. They isolate so well that I frequently wear the E4C's when I'm mowing the lawn. With the foam earpieces, they work just like a pair of foam earplugs and put me in a nice and quiet sonic cocoon. They're very clean and detailed, similar to Axiom's, IMHO. Bass can be a little lacking if they're not seated just right, however.

The first major drawback with IEM's is that some people don't like wearing them. Some find them very uncomfortable. If you go the IEM route, make sure you get them from somewhere that allows returns. Since everyone's ears are built a little differently, they just don't work for some people. Try out all of the ear-pieces that will come with it.

The second drawback is that you have to be EXTREMELY careful with the volume levels. They're very sensitive and obviously stuffed in your ear, so you'll find that a fraction of the 'normal' volume you use with regular headphones should be sufficient. You can really damage your hearing if you crank up your MP3 player, so be careful. And for goodness sake, don't *EVER* plug into someone else's MP3 player without first lowering the volume.

And if you're looking for a good online retailer for headphones, I'd have to recommend HeadRoom. I think they ship to Canada. Usually great prices, great return policy, and they have always been pleasant to deal with. Not unlike Axiom, you'll deal with a real person if you have any questions or problems. And no, I have no relationship with them, other than a satisfied customer.

I have the super.fi pro 5EB. Good bass extension, may be a bit much for some people.

The thing to realize w/ these IEMs is that while they may have slight differences in sound signature, for me, the biggest factor was fit. Because they go in the ear canal, you have to find ones that are actually comfortable for your ears. I was lucky enough to go Macworld a while back and many of the vendors had them for demos w/ disposable tips so you could try them. Futuresonics/Xtrememac has a pair of FS1's that are also quite good and comfortable, for me.

For me, I wouldn't necessarily carry a REALLY expensive pair, just for the fear of getting jacked. You may also consider some over the ears like maybe Sennheiser PX100, Koss Porta Pros (which I hear about a lot), or maybe even some Grado SR60's.

Heck if it's an inexpensive pair of open headphones it very hard to beat the Koss KSC75 . I even kept these and let a pair of Ports Pros go to my nephew. I have yet to see a better bang for the buck headphone as of yet.

I still say the iem is better suited for this application.

I'd recommend checking out earphonesolutions.com. Great info and comparisons.

I'll recommend the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Earphones for that price range.

On the bus I use noise cancelling "on ear" headphones - Sennheiser PXC150. They sound very clean and cancel low frequency noise very nicely.
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=500369

They're discontinued now but I'm sure they still make something similar.

I concur, as I currently have a pair that I picked up on eBay for super cheap.

Also, if you're looking for discontinued models, eBay is a great place.

Well, it took a while to decide what kind have phones I wanted but I have it down to these two.

Super fi.5 Pro

or the

super fi.5 EB

Now, I like both of them and they both have there pros and cons. The 5 Pro are a bit smaller and are good all round. The 5 EB have more bass and are cheaper, but some have said the highs are not as good.

I think I will go with the 5 Pro they are a bit more in price but I think they will fit my ear better. Wow, that took awhile, so much information to look over, just like home audio. I like the ultimate ears products but I dislike that they brag what star or band use's them, I could care less.

Thanks everyone for your help and thanks too Nonpoint for that one website (Very good prices and ships to canada)

Nice choice to have. I liked the SuperFi 3s I had so I can only imagine the 5s are that much better. One nice thing with UE, they don't require much in the way of power and should do very well with an ipod hp out.

Well I finely received my SuperFi 5 Pro. Wow is all I can say, I never knew how good my music could sound. I know that some people have said that the bass is not that good, well for the type of music I like (Punk, techno, 1990's G Funk) the bass was nice, mid range was a bit weak I found. But I must say one bad thing about them, there was no DVD video with my phones like they said there would be and it was missing one set of eartips, but they did come with another set of ear plug type. So it all worked out.

All and all I would say get them if you want to treat your self I say go for it, are they worth 230$ CAD I will have to get back to you on that wife still mad I payed that. Anyway I still stand by what I said this was just my opinion of them and others may feel different.

I find the sound that they produce is very nice, a friend at work tryed them out and did not care for them b/c they did not go loud enough for him (He uses some sony earbuds). I told him it was not about how loud they can go, you know BooM BooM. I told him with the -26DB it was not about the BooM it was about how clear the sound could be. I guess some people like the BooM I myself like hearing a guys hand on the guitar strings, I never liked live albums or studio demos but now I'm giving them a chance and oh man, the song "No woman no cry" live, never sounded so good.