Stuff Geeks Want

Are you a ‘sound snob’? Looking for the perfect sound? This is about as close as you’re going to get to in-the-ear bliss…the Turbine Pro In-Ear Speakers.

The Turbine Pro headphones are shaped like the original Turbines. However, that’s where the similarities end: the Pros are much more lightweight and the metal housing is available in either gold or copper plated. The base of the In-ear speakers are made of a rugged heavy duty rubberized plastic and the 3.5mm jack is gold plated to achieve optimum contact.

The Turbine Pro comes with five advanced sound Isolating eartips, each one aimed to fit every ear size. There is also cord management on the Pro cabling so that they won’t get tangled.

No, these aren’t for someone replacing their chepo iPod earbuds Apple gave you. These are for serious music lovers looking for the ultimate.

Buy for $250 from Amazon

Klipsch (like Mercedes Benz) has always tried to stay ahead of the competition with innovation and quality. The Image s4i continues that tradition.

The s4i is the first third-party headset to work with Apple’s VoiceOver feature that lets you control the iPhone through a gesture-based screen reader as well as the third-gen iPod shuffle, second-gen iPod touch, fourth-gen iPod nano and the 120GB iPod classic.

In addition, they now come with an in-line microphone and remote control for iPhones and iPod touch users to call or record audio. As with the original S4 models, the S4i set has the unusual oval ear tips that we’ve found to be more comfortable than circular tips found on other earphones.

But what might be most interesting is their new ’360-degree design’ that suppose to cancel out background noise. If it works as advertised, 99 bucks is worth it.

Buy for $99.00 from Amazon

In a former life I reviewed Ultrasone’s iCans and found their sound to be quite impressive. Unfortunately their comfortable feather-weight design couldn’t make up for their garish looks, especially at $130.

But Amazon is selling them in white/chrome, black/chrome, and black/gold for around $60, a price that should put them back on your radar.

Even more impressive, the gold ones are actually plated in gold apparently, and sold for over $200 originally (other stores are still selling them for $150+)…

Buy Ultrasone iCans at Amazon

Looking for a solid earphone upgrade for your iPhone? Don’t want to go with the Shure I2C-M deal for about $35 we showed you last month?

No worries, this month’s earphone-du-jour is the Ultimate Ears-Metro.fi 200v. Unlike the Shure I2C-M which sells for about $30 everywhere despite is $119 retail price tag, the Metro.fi 200v sells for $65-$80 from all resellers.

But today, for whatever reason, Amazon is selling it for just $29.99. Given that yesterday the price on Amazon was $80.50, we suggest you jump on this deal.

They’ve got an attractive design, comfortable fit, and for the money are probably the best you’ll get (as long as the money is $30 — at $80 this is open for debate). Wondering why they’re so cheap? UE just rolled out the 220 series for the same price. They don’t seem that different from the 200′s, except for their tacky chrome exterior…

Buy for $29.99 from Amazon

So you want a better headset for your iPhone but you don’t want to have to worry much if you lose or break it.

Enter the Shure I2C-M Stereo Mobile Headset. Shure’s most junior offering won’t deliver the performance of their $200+ earphones, but it’s a solid bet—especially at around 40 bucks, which is what you can get it for these days (MSPR: $119; Shure Direct: $79).

This in-ear headset is compatible with iPhones and other cell phones right out of the box, features Dynamic MicroDrivers, a VoicePort inline microphone, various sleeves to fit different size ears, and a 2-year limited warranty.

$39.69 from Amazon with free shipping

Sennheiser is known for its legendary headphones. The company’s flagship HD650 audiophile headphones ($600 retail) are the subject of much debate among the sonically gifted (or those who think they are).

Do they sound better with a $100 cable? How about a $1,700 tube amplifier?

How about this: you’re smarter than that, and recognize that the marginal benefit of these ultra-high end products and add-ons represent a terrible value proposition.

That’s why, for you, we’ve selected Sennheiser’s HD555 headphones. Like the HD650, these also feature a wide open design (you can hear everything around you, and everyone can hear you music), which creates a uniquely rich and deep listening experience.

While we haven’t tried them, many regard the HD555 headphones as the best bargain this side of $150 (the Bose On-Ear Headphones we’ve tried and recommend sell on the other side, at around $160).

In fact, you don’t even have to spend that much: Amazon sells them for $98.99.

But, for who knows how long, Dell is blowing all competitors out of the water with this unheard of deal: just $69.99 (plus tax in some states; shipping is free).

If you have the extra money, we still prefer the Bose for their more compact size and booming bass (the HD555′s are said to be tuned a little “warm”), but at $70 the HD555′s cannot be ignored.

Through the joys of employee discounts, last year I picked up a pair of Shure SE420 earphones for just $180. WIth a retail price of $399, I thought this was quite a steal, and they were going to be best earphones I ever bought.

They sounded good, but when I listened to a friend’s pair of Bose On-Ear Headphones, which retail for $180, I felt robbed.

I can only imagine everyone giving 5-star reviews to the SE420′s is trying to justify the 4 bills they dropped on them, because for half price you can get a far better experience from the Bose.

To be fair, headphones are in a different category from earphones for a lot of people (larger, bulkier, less subtle), but man does Bose know what their doing when it comes to headphones.

I’ll be the first to admit that Bose’ multi-$1000 Lifestyle systems are a joke (you know, “no highs, no lows, must be Bose”), but the On-Ear headphones are banging. Bass sounds full and powerful like I’ve seldom heard in headphones at this price, and highs are clear and precise.

Suffice to say, I recently sold my gently used SE420′s to a friend for about what I paid for them, and used the proceeds to pick up my own Bose On-Ear headphones, which Amazon is selling for just $161.95.

Sure, the Bose On-Ear headphones has a lower overall rating on Amazon than the Shure SE420 earphones (4 stars to 4.5, but it has 5x as many reviews)… but don’t let that throw you off, just check out the 5-star rating the headphones have at Apple based on 100 reviews. Just don’t buy them from Apple: you’ll pay more, and you’ll pay tax.

Oh, a few other points: out of the box, the Bose On-Ear headphones are first-gen iPhone friendly (narrow headphone jack), fold nicely, come with a great carrying case, and deliver all-day comfort.

Etymotic makes some terrific earphones, and with the new hf2 you won’t have to decide between good quality sound or using a headset or adapter with your iPhone.

The hf2 earphones feature both a built-in mic and iPhone-ready (narrow) plug. The result is great sounding music and iPhone convenience.

These $180 earphones have the same response accouracy as the compny’s $300 model, and is said to deliver more noise isolation than any other competing headset. It ships with the usual array of goodies that high-end earphones come with, including assorted eartips, a filter tool (and two replaceemnts), and storae case.

The hf2 isn’t just iPhone compatible, either: it will work with ordinary audio devices and other mobile phones.

Pick them up at Amazon for $176.81.

Maybe if you started visiting StuffGeeksWant with your earphones on, we’d stop writing up so many posts about them.

Kidding, kidding… we’ll stop writing about earphones as soon as we stop finding quality products at even more quality prices, like Harmom Kardon’s EP 730 earphones. H/K is a well respected name in audio, but its earphones are less well known.

So here’s what you need to know about the EP 730′s, the company’s flagship ‘phones:

• “natural” (read: passive) noise isolation to 35dB
• advanced transducers (read: good sound)
• in-line switch between High Fidelity and Bass Boost modes (read: slick)
• in-line volume control
• 20Hz-15kHz frequency response
• <4% total harmonic distortion at 1kHz at 100dB SPL

We’re not gonna lie: we have no clue what that last line means, but it sure sounds pro and I imagine makes headphones with >4% harmonic distortion tremble!

The best part, of course, is the price. The EP 730 earphones originally sold for $150-$200 a pair; most resellers today have them in the $90-$100 range. But Buy.com is selling them for just $56.99 shipped.

Not only is that a terrific price, it also differentiates these earphones from others we’ve featured here (which typically are in the $20-$30 range, or over $100). If you want some quality earphones for less than your iPod cost, the EP 730′s will fit the ticket nicely.

Wireless is no doubt where earphone technology is going in the coming years, and there are plenty of reasons to cut the cord: no more catching the cable on anything, no need to untangle cables, no need to run the cable down your shirt when you want to be discreet, plus (at least for the manufacturer) it’s so much easier to lose a wireless earphone, and when you lose one, you’ll have to buy a whole new set!

Let’s just hope you don’t lose one of Sennheiser’s new MX W1 earphones. These wireless wonders will set you back a cool $600 at full retail price. But what did you expect when you take cutting edge technology and combine it with a company that has as good a reputation as Sennheiser?

A thin transmitter plugs into your audio device and sends the sound over a 2.4GHz digital link to the earphones. The earphones themselves aren’t unobtrusive, but they’re better than first attempts at creating wireless earbuds a couple years ago, although folks might still wonder why you have what looks like a Bluetooth headset in both your ears.

The MX W1 earphones are literally plug-and-play with no setup required. Technical specs are commendable:

• 19-20,000Hz frequency response
• signal-to-noise >80 dB
• Dynamic transducer
• 32 Ohm impedance
• 115 dB Sound pressure level

Of course, the most important number when you’re talking wireless is battery life. Each earphone is rated to last 3-4 hours per charge, and takes about 2 hours to fully recharge.

This is acceptable, but not really impressive. The transmitter will last you 10 hours per charge (and also takes 2 hours to recharge), which is what we would have liked to have seen from the earphones.

Stock is very limited right now, but get your order placed for $549.99 at Amazon to get in on the next shipment they receive.