Rank Apple's EarPods from 1 to 10

I often hear people give flack to Apple's EarPods. I think that because it's an Apple-made audio playback product that people tend to just write them off as "cheap sounding" earphones but in reality they sound very good in my opinion. These things produce great sound given their $30 price tag. They may not be near high-end headphones in sound quality but I went to an audio store and listened to some higher priced headphones and they didn't even have as much bass as these EarPods. I do think that the high end might be a little bright sounding but at the end of the day these earphones sound clear and thick, WAY better than the original stock Apple earbuds.

I think the one real negative thing I can think of about them is that they don't block outside sound enough; if at all. It means I lose a lot of detail and volume when I'm on the train, but all of my comprehensive listening is done at home in a quiet setting with these EarPods and in that situation they sound great.

Unfortunately, I've had to go through a few pairs. I used to take them to the gym and I think the combination of sweat/wax started to weaken the phones and dull the product, to the point where the volume was playing WAY lower than when they were first purchased and the sound/detail wasn't as strong. I now refrain from bringing them to the gym and keep them in good condition and they're fine.

I guess I want to gather some opinions on these, to see if they really get the hatred that I think they do, and if so, find out why. I know good sound when I hear it, and these sound good. If only the top end were more tamed and they blocked outside noise, these would be perfect. Apple definitely made a huge improvement over the old earbuds.



Rate and comment.

 

For pack-ins, I think they sound great, although I use Klipsch.

 

Funny, I must have a dozen sets over the years and at least a few of the new style, yet have never even opened the package on a set!

(edit) Broke out the set from my 6 and really not bad though a bit heavy on the bottom which is not at all what I would have expected. I'll still hang on to my old Ety's though!

 

The ear buds that came with my iPod Touch are better than I would have expected. Their only real weakness is in their bass extension, but that's no big surprise.

 

I actually think this is a positive. Most IEMs block too much sound IMO, which makes them dangerous when you're trying to cross the street or whatever. The Earpods sit nicely in the ear and were a huge improvement over the original Apple earbuds. I voted a 6 which is pretty good for what is essentially a free headphone.

 

The EarPods are much better than past generations of Apple-provided earphones. I got a pair with a iPod Touch. I use a pair of Skullcandy earphones with my iPhone and the EarPods are secondary.

 

Any brand of those style simply don't work for me. I think I have wonky ear openings as they just do not stay in at all.

 

The older ones hurt my ears. These don't stay in. Kinda useless.

 

In that I can not comfortably wear, in ear canal type headphones/pods/buds, the Apple earpods are much to my liking. Are they perfect? Nothing is. But they don't cost much, are an easy stow for commuting, vastly better than most buds, and are very comfortable in my ears. That said, I'd love to have a set of Ultimate Ears 18s molded up custom to my listening appendages, but who wouldn't?

Happy Listening, Happy Holidays!

 

Earbuds / earpods = useless garbage. And yes, I've heard these, care of my nephew's phone. Horrible.

 

The bud design is absolutely the worst of the common designs. Even in $200 buds it is a sub par design. Anybody who is ranking these above a 3 obviously hasn't had much experience with headphones.

 

Or has a differing opinion and/or portable priority than you...

A pair of Audeze LCDs are not practical for subway listening, etc... Pleazzz

 

The early earbuds were abysmal. Not the worst I've ever heard, but maybe a 2 or 3. The new ones, which I briefly had with my iPhone 5s before giving them to my son, were a tremendous improvement. I think most people who aren't into audio, or wouldn't want to pay to upgrade them would be more than pleased with the quality. My in-ear headphones I use with my iPhone are Thinksound TS02's and are a great improvement over the Apple models.

 

LOL. Who said anything about Audeze for subway listening? There are plenty of much better options in the same size as those Apple buds. It has nothing to do with portable priority. I happen to like the B&W C, but RHA makes a set (MA450i) that is only a little more than those craptastic Apple buds. There are tons of options. Like I said.. obviously not much experience with headphones.

Different opinion is one thing. A person can't afford better? That's fine too. But don't claim portable priority as a reason when there are options the same size.

 

The new ones are ok
Plenty of level,good detail,no bottom octave, but unobtrusive and still allow conversation

 

I tried these out briefly when I got my iPhone 5. Wasn't impressed, but don't recall well enough to offer a rating. I'll try to pull them out again at some point.

 

For those who think they are "bad" I'd like to know why. I like these because they have good bass, and they still sound crisp and open. Other models I've tested disappointed me due to their lesser amounts of bass. I understand it's to produce more balance but I like a little more bass and these do the job. And just because they're cheap doesn't mean they need to sound cheap. They don't sound cheap to me.

 

My Apple earpods cost me nothing. I never claimed to be an authority on ear widgets, puff. Besides my valid point of personal choice and portability, I was trying to hint to you that you need not be personally degrading or in attack mode toward others, or did you miss that subtlety?

 

I went 5.

I use Apple's latest EarPods on the go and sometimes in the office. They produce perfectly acceptable sound (especially for the price) and fit my ears just fine. I actually prefer them to my Sennheiser IE8s with my iPhone 5s. I have HD800s and LCD-X for real listening sessions at home, and I could that EarPods wouldn't be acceptable as part of a "reference" portable system for folks that didn't want full-size cans. But for my mobile needs they are just fine.

If you haven't seen them, check out an accessory called EarSkinz. Helps improve the seal between the EarPod and your ear, resulting in somewhat better quality and fit.

 

FO-KING AWFUL,The weakest link of the Ipod chain.

 

I did miss it. It must have been the "Pleazzz" that helped me gloss over your ever so subtle hint. If I offended your feelings or anyone else's for pointing out the obvious and calling it as such.. well shoot. I guess it'll have to be. Judging from the other comments about how bad they are and the fact that 7 others gave those things a 1 when I was generous enough to give them a 3.... I'm not too worried about it. It may be a little sensitive to think I am being personally degrading or in attack mode when all I did was state what is obvious to most that have heard/had/have a great sound set of "ear widgets" as you call them. If somebody thinks these are anything above a 3 then they haven't heard what a 10 really is.

You can hang on to that one if you want to. Personally if there are better choices that are the same size and weight it doesn't make sense. But then there is always that personal choice. That one never needs to be validated.. it is what it is.

 

If comparing them to the previous generation of earbud from Apple, or most of the other knockoff brands you get at the airport/gas station they aren't bad. It's when you listen to them side by side with a decent pair of IEMs (some even costing the same like the RHA I mentioned above) that you realize how much better there is out there, sometimes at a minimal cost. Add that to the fact I'm not talking about any additional size but the same form factor and it's a no brainer. If you can afford it and are so inclined to improve the sound anyway.

 

Junk. Apple and good sound are two things that apparently do not mix.

 

I must be missing something. The reason I came up with this thread is because I went to two sound stores (one was Best Buy) and listened to several pairs of over-ear headphones, and I was expecting them to be fuller and bassier but in reality, I found that even the highest end Bose headphones (that Best Buy had) had less bass. Smoother highs, perhaps, but despite full sound in most regards, the bass seemed lacking. There were some nice Sony pairs but they cost over $200. The one pair I found that might be a contender was a pair of JBL's because they had a good amount of bass but it sounded EQ'ed because the highs were squashed. I used the track "Neal And Jack And Me" by King Crimson as comparison. While there may be some things that higher end headphones have that the EarPods don't, Im happy with these.

Now if we're comparing earbuds in particular, I can't quite comment, because you usually can't sample them in stores. Aside from that, I thought headphones were supposed to be better.

And we also have to consider that these may not fit in some people's ears the right way. I notice myself that they only sound great when they're in all the way, and for some they can easily loosen and then, the sound is compromised.

I'm not trying to fanboy or anything, Im just expressing my opinion. Sound is subjective, after all

 

bcaulf- Over the ear or even on ear headphones are not necessarily better than IEMs. It's just design philosophy and the limitations there of that have to be overcome to get the best sound. Ear buds are the hardest of all to overcome the limitations of the design. Mostly because, as you pointed out the ear to diaphragm connection is usually very sub par.

I hate to say it but the Bose headphones you were comparing aren't known as being great as far as SQ goes. But we have some touchy folks here and I don't need any more back and forth in terms of how I'm being rude or condescending so we'll just leave that alone.

You are right, you can't really listen to B&W C5 or RHA or any of the other IEMs I could list that sound much much better than these. The closest you could get is reading reviews found on many of the headphone oriented sites. Inner fidelity is one of them.

Your point about being happy with them.. in the end that is all that matters. But when you throw up a scale of 1-10, just realize as VinylRob and I have pointed out in our back and forth everyone's scale is different.. somebody's 10 may be another persons 5.