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I Can’t Hear You!

11 years ago by

After breaking my third pair of earbuds (AHHH!) I am on the search for a new pair of headphones, because walking to work with my music in only one ear is not the most enjoyable experience…

Garance swears by a pair of noise canceling ones because they’re good for travel, but I’m not sure I’m ready to shell out $350 for them.

What do you think? Have you found a pair of headphones that you love?

PS: These are from Urbanears.

96 comments

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  • Selena Delgado April, 15 2013, 5:54 / Reply

    I too, feel that it is so expensive to find a great & cozy pair of headphones. Bose earbuds (various) have worked well for me, they are a bit squishy but don’t fall out when I run for 4 miles at a time.

  • I never thought of Bose, but I bet theirs are good. I’m going to remember this. Thanks!

  • I love BOSE headphones, they’re the best! You don”t even hear the sound of the subway, I tried both in Paris and NYC! Even better on the plane! The sound is absolutely perfect!
    Downside, they’re a little expensive (around $350 at least).

    Paris-NYC Fashion Blog
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    Xoxo Cory

  • ditto. Bose are the best. You can wear them on a plane and hear absolutely nothing of the plane’s vroooms. They are definitely expensive. (I pinched my husbands Bose so I never had to get them.)
    but then, if you spend like a hundred every year or so, why not get those as a good investment. trust me, they last and the quality is super.

  • i’d love some noise cancelling headphones but the price is a bit steep…

    http://littleaesthete.com

  • Je te conseille les casques Marshall!! Le son est de très bonne qualité, ils sont très agréables à porter et très beaux.. Et à un prix abordable! :)

  • Your friend is right. The Bose noise canceling headphones are fabulous. Lost and replaced ours twice.

  • Claudia April, 15 2013, 6:00 / Reply

    Check those: http://www.aiaiai.dk/ They have various models, mines are the TMA-1 Dj Headphones and I LOVE them! Sound is great and I like the way they look (all black, no logo). A bit expensive but really worth the money!

  • J’adore les ecouteurs de chez Marshall

    http://www.marshallheadphones.com/headphones/major/major-black

    ils sont beaux, hyper confortables et de tres bonne qualite…aussi avec leur micro, c’est pratique…

  • Hi,
    Urbanears are good for everyday. Lot of Colors. Low prince and good quality.
    But at work I prefer to use bowers and wilkins c5. For confort and quality.

  • Quand on voyage c’est mieux les casques (par rapport aux écouteurs), mais je ne mettrai pas autant d’argent non plus! J’ai acheté le mien au virgin, sans marque, et ça me convient!

    http://www.laurablogmode.com

  • The Urbanears in the pic are amazing, but not entirely comfortable to walk with (they close off pretty well, so you hear your footsteps too much, I find). Superior quality though. Urbanears also offers in-ear buds that sound great, but mine died after 13 months… just 3 weeks after the warranty expired.

  • They hurt your ears after about an hour, even worse if you’re wearing glasses. Besides that- the sound is really great and you can plug other headphones into them so that you can listen to music from 2 different headphones; fave feature!

  • my boyfriend has had his sony MDR-V6 headphones forever and i just got my own pair. they are studio quality, and 70 bucks!! pretty big but i feel cool wearing them and the sound is great. http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-V6-Monitor-Series-Headphones/dp/B00001WRSJ

  • Velvetfur April, 15 2013, 6:39 / Reply

    I wear Skull Candy headphones (all black ones), they’re fab, I totally recommend them :)

  • Hey Emily,
    Those Urbanears ones are actually really good, I recommend them; but Bose headphones will always be perf.

  • i use in ear for noise canceling: “mee m6 clear”.. works okay with loud neighbours, in trains.. the low profile is good for sleeping.

  • Love them, but they are too expensive. Will ask for them on my birthday lol.

    xo
    http://pinksole.com

  • Urbanears are definitely good quality for an affordable price, which is very important for me as a student, plus they have a great color range Mine recently died after three years (because I accidentally pulled the wire, so it’s my fault) and I’m definitely going to buy the same ones. The only downside though is that they do hurt your ears after a while, especially with glasses, but I’m still happy to have them when I have an 8 hour flight across the Atlantic.

  • J’ai racheté un casque Urbanears après avoir cassé mon Sony que j’adorais et niveau rapport qualité/prix il est top! je ne le quitte jamais, je suis dans une bulle..contrairement à Jazz il n’est jamais devenu douloureux alors que je porte tous les jours des boucles d’oreilles et qu’il m’arrive même d’aller courir avec :D Après ça dépend l’utilisation que tu veux en faire, les Marshall restent Les Marshall.

  • Sennheiser PX 100-II are awesome. I’ve gone through so many headphones. These fold up so they fit in your bag and are less likely to break. They are super comfortable. I think the sound quality is great. And they look OK. So many headphones are these giant weird bulky things that make you look like you’re from outterspace but these are pretty subtle. They are about 40$ so they won’t break the bank.

    JVC Flats are also not bad if you want something even cheaper. You can probably get them for less than $20

  • i love urbanears!

  • Colleen April, 15 2013, 8:23 / Reply

    Sol Republic. They’re like $80-90, have fantastic sound, come in a ton of colors, and the ear-parts are removable so it’s easy for travel. And there’s one of those volume things on the cord, and you can even pick up phone calls with the little buttons on there too!

  • Mon copain m’offert dernièrement pour mon anniversaire le Monster “Diamon tears”. Je ne pourrais plus jamais vivre sans!

    http://monsterproducts.com/headphones/diamondtears/

    http://suelleninmontreal.blogspot.ca

  • I have the Urban Ears in mint green and sadly they hurt my ears.

    Now what I REALLY want are the We Are Friends “Layla” in Rose Gold. So beautiful!

    http://www.ronherman.com/Layla-White-Leather-&-Gold-Headphones/p/1147635?cid=950&idx=2&sid=1458

  • ^*Frends* (in love with the Rose Gold!)

  • Courteney April, 15 2013, 10:04 / Reply

    The best earphone/buds I’ve had are Urbanears & Beats by Dre. They both work really well as far as noise canceling goes and they’re both pretty inexpensive.

  • Sennheiser PX200. Great quality sound, kind of noise canceling, and affordable.

  • Nathalie April, 15 2013, 10:37 / Reply

    Actually I was on this same quest today! I found some cute and good headphones at Victoria’s Secret’s Pink at Herald Square and bought them. While I was reading this post I was listening to music with them and they sound incredible! Such a coincidence. Anyway, they come in awesome colors (I bought the neon pink one – thought it would be nice ’cause I wear black, like, A LOT) and looks so much like these Urbanears you posted.
    Good luck on finding yours!
    Xx

  • Les Marshall Major sont les meilleurs ! Excellente qualité et abordables (90€).
    Je ne peux plus quitter le mien.
    Bises!

  • The Parrot Zik headphones, designed by Philippe Starck, are definitely what you should purchase! They’re wireless, so you have the option to play music via Bluetooth, and the entire right earpiece is touch sensitive . . . to adjust the volume, you swipe your finger up and down. The change a song, swipe your finger left and right. To pause, simply remove them from your ears. They’re also noise-cancelling, of course! $400, and worth every penny. Plus, they look super sleek. Check them out at http://www.parrot.com!

  • Hi!

    I bought a pair of white urBeats by Beats from the Apple store last week. They got good ratings on the Apple store website so I went ahead and gave them a shot. So far I’m loving them and they cancel a lot of noise as well. They are sold for around $100 dollars here in Toronto. I’m sure you’ll like them as well. :)

    Ps: They come in a neat carrying pouch and hence are protected from the elements and stay tangle free. I also discovered something cool on Etsy today called Cable Taco!

  • I am not sure if you are into rock and roll or more heavy music… but if you have at least a bit of rebel in your blood – get Motorheadphones ! http://www.motorheadphones.com/en/products/details/4581/Bomber-Black#about
    it’s a must! :) I got Bomber version… here are some photos http://godsavesispend.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/if-its-too-loud-then-youre-too-old/

  • You have to splurge a little bit and buy a Dr. Dre headphones. They are amazing! Just be careful because you will hear nothing else… so cars, bicycles and other human beings on the street can be dangerous ;)

  • I used to think like that but then my best friend told me that if I add the amount of money spent replacing earbuds and then time I spend looking for new ones each time, then it probably equal the price of really good headphones. That makes you think doesn’t it?

    Bose noise cancelling headphones are good and so are the monsters. But I find the monster to be more stylish.

    Urbanears are definitely cheaper but no noise cancelling whatsoever and hurts your ears after a while

  • I’ve had Skullcandy ear buds for years and like them. I especially like the volume control on the cord.
    Donna
    http://Www.prettysparklythings.blogspot.com

  • Moi j’ai des Urbanears et j’adore. Le son est superb, et la couleur est super joli!xx

  • Get a Bose Noise Canceling headset! Might not come in fancy colors, but it’ll change your whole idea of listening to music in a crowd. I travel daily on the train with it, don’t hear the spinning of the wheels anymore, people’s conversations fade far away into the background and the only thing I hear clearly is my music. I’m alone in my bubble of my favorite songs :-) Love it!

  • I have Dr Dres Studio’s – they are expensive but amazing. I love them.

  • Bribes De Mode April, 16 2013, 3:26 / Reply

    Et bien je te conseille celui sur la photo! Tout simplement! Je viens de l’acquérir en corail, une couleur bien flashy, il est top!

    Très bonne journée!

    Bribes De Mode

  • Actually I should clarify – they are comfortable, the ear pieces are big enough to fit OVER your ears, not ON TOP OF your ears, they look awesome, the sound is excellent and they are somewhat noise cancelling. And sturdy, and I wear them walking, running, and sitting and they have been great at all three.

  • Colette April, 16 2013, 3:35 / Reply

    Bose is the best !
    I recommand the Bose AE2 ! Awesome quality and affordable !

  • Hello Garance!

    http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Headphones/Headphones/P5/Overview.html

    These are wonderful; they fold flat for travelling, are genuinely ‘audiophile’ quality sound and are a nice proportion for a woman’s head :-). We have some seriously amazing headphones from Japan at home for listening, and these are the one’s that we eventually chose for out and about. Plus, you should be able to get them much more cheaply than we did here in Australia!

    Cheers

    Beth

  • URBANEARS are fabulous! Get some, plus they come in funky colours for spring – YAY!

  • Les écouteurs Apple se cassent au bout de 4 mois maximum. Et c’est juste impossible pour moi de me balader dans Paris sans écouter de la musique dans le métro. J’ai flashé sur un casque, le Parrot Zik, et après l’avoir essayé dans la boutique, j’avais vraiment envie de repartir avec. Mais problème, il est assez cher.

    N’empêche que si tu souhaites un bon casque, le Parrot est génial, je n’ai jamais entendu un aussi bon son, puis il est sans fil et tactile, tu l’effleures juste pour augmenter le volume ou mettre ton morceau en pause, une prouesse.

    Bisous de Paris ( et vive Claus ;)

  • Regarde donc ma sélection de casques peu répandu, design et audiophile !
    http://www.unairdejavu.com/2013/selection-casques/

    Mais au moins, ne fait pas l’erreur des Marshall, Urbanears, Monster, Beats et autres casques sous-traités au même endroit, où la qualité se rapproche plus du casque de supermarché que celui de l’audiophile ….

  • Christelle April, 16 2013, 5:02 / Reply

    Moi ses histoires de casques réducteurs de sons, ça me donne envie de vomir, je perds l’équilibre…
    Je suis certaine que ça donne le cancer ce gadget!

    Garance arrête ça tout de suite!

    Les bons vieux sony sont top. PAs besoin de mettre 300$

    Bonne recherche!

  • celui ci a l’air tres bien, pas la peine de mettre 350$ dans un casque on est pas kakye west aussi…

  • kanye west pardon

  • Je suis une grande fan de la marque Urbanears (beaucoup plus cool et discrets que la marque B… biiip, lol) et le modèle d’écouteurs que je préfère : Tanto !!!

    Bonne écoute :)

    Aa

  • I think The Momentum by Sennheiser is the best at the moment : http://www.geekoming.com/le-casque-momentum-nouveau-bijou-de-sennheiser/
    Vintage look, and the sound is good…

  • Yes! Zumreed are pretty good, and they have a cool retro style! Mine are in white. x

  • Etymotics ear buds. The silicone ear buds are really comfy (they come with three types of buds) and fit so snugly that they are pretty much noise cancelling. They can even make CUSTOM ear buds too – where they take a cast of your ear (!) – crazy huh. Unfortunately they don’t come in any other colour, but everyone likes chic black, no? Good luck in your quest!

  • I have Scullcandy, and im really rally happy with them! I got the headphones, and they really keep noise out, sound awesome, their size is perfect, not hidiously big ( oh well, i think there is bigger size than mine.

  • I ”steal” the headphones from my daughter(she’s 11 years old) and they are great UCB(United Colors Benetton) in green neon!!! So trendy! I think they costed like 30 euros or something!
    Kisses & Bisous!

  • Charlotte April, 16 2013, 7:14 / Reply

    Comme je perds tout le temps les miens.. le prends les basics earplugs de apple.. c est blanc c est pas trop moche… et je casse pas ma tirelire..

    Comme je cours aussi, je préfère les earplugs aux casques car quand t’as un peu chaud (et que.. mh.. tu transpires un peu.. pas moi hein.. ms je dis.. bref) le casque c est pas top dans ce cas là!

    good luck!xx

  • Les ecouteurs de Bose (quiet comfort) sont chers mais valent vraiment la peine. Ils sont non seulement confortables mais marchent vraiment bien. La je suis dans un cafe assez bruyant et n’entends rien… a part ma musique bien sur!

    http://www.ramblingmuse.com

  • Moi j’ai un Marshall à 99€ et il est top ! en plus j’adore son petit look vintage…

    http://hidinginheaven.blogspot.fr/2013/04/the-one-with-snakeskin-clutch.html

  • Jocelyn April, 16 2013, 7:52 / Reply

    I use skull candy earbuds for exercise/commute but I adore my over the ear Panasonic RP-HTX7 stereo headphones in pastel pink for their comfort, sound, reasonable price, and retro feel.

  • Tout à fait d’accord un bon rapport qualité / prix!

  • I got the Capital headphones from aiaiai (http://www.aiaiai.dk/store/headphones/capital) Compared to the TMA, they are smaller and more easy to carey with you in your bag. The sound is still really good and the price is cheaper. And the design – perfection.

  • My boyfriend also swears by his Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones but I have the Bose Over Ear Headphones (AE2) and actually prefer them to his.

    I personally don’t like the noise cancelling thing, it makes my ears feel a bit funny and it’s disorientating.

    The over ear ones have just as good sound quality, are quite a bit cheaper and work brilliantly!

    They are slightly bulky though. A bit retro looking.

    I wrote about them in an article I did on Travel Essentials so if you’re interested take a look!

    http://beautifulfunctionalperfect.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/travel-essentials/#more-1380

  • Isabelle April, 16 2013, 9:05 / Reply

    Mon casque est un sennheiser HD 205 . Impossible de partir au boulot sans … il est idéal pour s’isoler dans le métro et en plus il protège mes petites oreilles en hiver … le parfait compagnon quoi !

  • Un article qui me parle! Je suis une grande graaaande spécialiste des cassages de casque audio, je dois en être à mon 6 ou 7ème en 3ans! Après avoir acheté des chers, des moins chers, des sophistiqués et des épurés, je dois avouer que mon dernier, le Panasonic RP-HTX7, correspond tout à fait à mes attentes!! Le design est sympa (il existe en plusieurs coloris…) le son est top et il a un super rapport qualité/prix (il est à une 60e d’euros si mes souvenirs sont bons…) je le recommande très vivement !!! Et lui au moins, il ne se casse pas ;)

  • Urban Ears are the best! My favorite part is that you can play another pair of headphones into them so if you are traveling with a friend you can listen together. The sound quality is great and they are worth the price. And how great are the colors!

  • I use the same on as pictured above, and it’s perfect (and beautiful) :-) !

  • FRENDS! They are the absolute best!

  • Céline T April, 16 2013, 11:16 / Reply

    Frends! they are beautiful

  • Woman, how can you not use Beats or Bose??!!

  • Eh bien j’ai pile le casque de la photo ! En cette couleur exactement. Et j’en suis ravie :)

    xx.

  • Senheiser PXC 250-II. They are small foldable headphones, so they don’t break so easily are about 50USD and good quality sound.

  • Sennheiser HD 25 ! Le casque des djs et professionnels, à prix abordable et vraiment la meilleure qualité sonore (et physique) que je n’ai jamais entendue. D’un confort sans pareil, il ne paye pas de mine mais l’essayer c’est l’adopter !

  • Je te conseille le urbanears, la qualité est top, il est pratique pour le transporter et le prix est raisonnable.

  • Sennheisers for quality of sound all the way. For reasonable sound & style, check out Nixon’s selection. I have a pair of Troopers – really comfy, silicon ear coverings so your ears don’t get sweaty, and gorgeous design. Plus they fold up.
    With Urbanears, the thing that put me off was the fabric-covered cord – I used to have a pair of Wesc’s with a fabric-covered cord and I don’t think the connections are as secure as a plastic one – it went far too quickly!

  • Le site n’a pas été mis à jour depuis un moment, mais c’est un ami qui est passionné par l’univers du son. Si tu veux plus de précision, un simple message et il répondra à toutes tes questions!

    Son site: http://www.banginheadz.com/

  • for home and professional use i like anything by KOSS, but they can be quite pricey as well. however, for street and travel i haven’t been able to find anything better than JVC HA-FX34 marshmallows. they are so good at noise cancellation, fit my ears perfectly, are compact and best of all – they are under $50 :)

  • It depends what headphones you want: good looking or for performance?

    Also how often you use them and for what, what kind of sound you want, if you like it deep with lot of bass or more neutral?

    Some friends working in sound design advised me to buy the one I currently have, it was a gift so I am not sure about the price but it’s around 120€ I think it’s sony MDR7506, I find them great, comfortable not too big plus you can retract them so it doesn’t take too much space and sound quality is great!Of course you can find cheaper, one of my friend has really good headphones with nice bass and deep sound and it costed him maybe 50€ or less! It’s sony as well can’t remember the name.

    I would avoid the wesc and skullcandy it’s just fancy stuff but the quality isn’t necessarily there.

    Also the good thing to do is go to a shop where you can try them. Last time I went there I tried the Bower and wilkins and OMG the sound is so good, but the price is according to the quality : /

  • Sennheiser are the best. Parrot, UrbanEars, Dr Dre etc. are fashionable but don’t offer the best sound. Sennheiser PX 100-II or HD25 or any of their models that you like. Best price/performance. I definitely recommend.

  • Moi perso j’utilise le Dr Dre mais il est assez bruyant c’est vrai! Donc l’antibruit doit être assez chouette

    Bisous
    http://www.Lauralexo.com

  • I love my Urban Ears! Very comfortable and with very nice colours! Mine are brown.

    Ana

  • The Urbanears are the best, cheaper than the Dr.Dre ones and looks much better.

  • J’ai un casque Sony MDR V55 (je suis pas certaine de la référence) qui est très bien, et pas trop moche. Comme mes casques me durent un an et demi à tout casser je ne vais pas investir des milles et des cents dedans, même si il faut mettre environ 100€ pour un bon son… Je ne peux pas me passer de musique non plus alors je suis prête à faire ce sacrifice ;)

  • Enytomic Research makes a badass noise-canceling bud for under $200. The sounds is life-changing.

  • I love the sleek stylish understated but great performing Bowers & Wilkins P5!

  • J’utilise le casque de la photo :-) Confortable et robuste, on peut le replier pour le ranger dans le fond de son sac, avec une bonne qualité sonore !

  • DO NOT BUY URBANEARS, I’ve had like 3 pairs of them and every single one broke after less than 3 months. It’s a complete waste of money and time.

  • J’utilise justement celui que tu montres en photo ;-)

  • I am searchig at the moment as well…

    Urbanears looking good~ but aren’t that good, both for sound and sturdiness…

    Panasonic makes great ones! But you have to know what you want. Do you need high-defnition sound? How do you want to look with them?

  • Bose and Sennheiser make awesome headphones and earbuds respectively.

    I use Sennheiser buds when out and about and I’ve had a pair that have lasted me almost 2 years, the only time I had to replace them was when I accidently stepped on the bud and crushed it :( other than that they’re as good as new and I use them every single day.

    Stay away from Skullcandy, I bought a set many years ago and within a few weeks they needed replaced, I thought I had a duff pair but I bought another set and the same thing happened. Never again.

  • Definitely the Bose A2. I’ve had them for two years. They are good as new and the sound quality is matchless.

  • I bought these Marshall headphones in November and I’m loving them!

    http://www.marshallheadphones.com/headphones/major/major-black

    They sound amazing and are reasonably priced (I paid 99 Euro for them). Also, they fold so they’re easy to carry around.
    Very balanced sound – not too bass heavy and you can hear the placement of instruments in the stereo field very well. Makes for a nice listening experience. I’m a music composer so I have pro headphones for studio work, but these are just excellent for leisure listening!

    Let us know what you get.

  • I’ve dropped $350 on noise cancelling headphones. Best investment if you’re travelling a lot! I use them strictly for flying and any other loud trip ha.
    I recently had an 11 hour flight from China, and a baby was crying most of the way, but I slept with my headphones and didn’t hear a thing. Definitely one of the more thankful times I’ve had them haha.
    Plus it comes with adapters for airplane headphone plug-ins.
    Sound quality is top notch too.

  • I echo the Marshall’s… I’ve had mine for a couple years now, and love the sound, the look, and the compact folding.

    http://www.marshallheadphones.com/headphones

    I did a LOOOT of research when I bought mine, because I’m in no way an audiophile, but just wanted something to block out the engine noise/annoying passengers/screaming babies on flights.

    My understanding is that Bose are over-marketed but actually not very good for the money. Dr. Dre’s are good, but kinda ugly for my taste, and pricier too…

    Hope you enjoy whatever you end up with, but hope you’ll think about the Marshall’s. Let us know what you end up with!

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