Shanghaiist: Looking for a good deal on brand new, pre-broken headphones?

Billy Cea

Sun, 08 Oct 2006 14:51:16 +0800

Go for the Shure earphones. You won't be disappointed, to be sure though they are expensive. They virtually eliminate outside sound meaning you don't have to max out your iPod to hear over the street noise. I've seen them at the Apple Experience store at the Hong Kong Plaza.

Zat Liu

Sun, 08 Oct 2006 14:02:03 +0800

I got my fake ipod buds at Cyber mart at the corner of Huaihai Zhong Lu and Huangpi Bei Lu after the cats destroyed two sets of real ones, 20 Kuai works still well after 3 months.

Shanghai Slim

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 20:28:31 +0800

The earphones for my Philips MP3 player lasted about four weeks. Like Matt (above), I replaced them with cheap-ass Firstline earphones from Carrefour. Months later, still work fine. I'm rather surprised, as every other piece of Firstline merchandise I've purchased was cr@p. Personally, I think it's rather pointless to spend more than about 25-35 rmb on earphones. Unless you're packing a portable Cone of Silence, the ambient noise of China pretty much levels the playing field.

matt

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 17:02:30 +0800

I've had pretty good luck with a set of Firstline that I bought at Carrefour in Shenzhen. I think they only cost about 20kuai and they've lasted a little more than 3 months now. I'd reluctantly suggest trying major chain stores like (gasp) walmart so that you can at least return them should they break quickly.

rain

Sat, 07 Oct 2006 06:50:26 +0800

Not earphones (but lightweight, anyway), not exactly a new model (though user reviews appear to think its better than the new releases), and not exactly uncommon, but I'll still be sticking with my Sennheiser PX100's.

Glen

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 12:37:25 +0800

You got ripped off first time around mate. You should only pay 15-20 rmb for fake iPod buds. Pay for the real thing on amazon.

Shamus

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 12:12:02 +0800

DPOP, cheers for the advice. Just checked on Amazon: they look like some heavy-duty phones. And if they can deliver brilliant sound and eliminate the noise of the guy who is currently drilling through the wall next to my office, then they'll be worth every cent.

DPOP

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 10:44:04 +0800

Etymotic ER6i's are in my opinion the best bet for 1) Sealing out the outside world (they offer massive passive noise cancellation in the form of a deep in ear seal-up to 35dB!) 2) Accurate sound reproduction with a slight modification made specifically for the ipod/portable music players underpowered headphone output (the bass is slightly elevated above neutral) 3) They come in ipod white! At roughly 90 USD they are quite expensive compared to the markets here, but they do compare favorably with 400 USD models. If you can get used to the snug in-ear fit you will never go back. Have a friend get them from Amazon and bring them to you!

Shamus

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 10:12:25 +0800

All of the above.

mark

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 09:49:50 +0800

did you ShanghaiDaily subscription expire or is your intern Peijin on holidays or do you really don't have anything else to write about ???

Mydot

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 08:36:55 +0800

I am very skeptical about the authenticity of those products sold in the market. There must be some real ones, but I don't dare to risk losing any money. So instead of replacing the crappy headphones, it's wiser to fork out 100-odd yuan to get a durable pair of headphones in a licensed retail shop. My current earphones are TDK bought cheaply in Spain and still work fine.