Five Best Earbuds

Solid sound doesn't have to come at the expense of portability. Earbuds used to get a pretty bad rap for offering lackluster sound, but they've come a long way and many can seriously compete with their over-ear cousins. Some even offer noise isolation, and super-comfortable fits that let you hear and enjoy your music without damaging your hearing or your ear canals in the process. Here's a look at five great earbuds, based on your nominations.

We asked you earlier in the week to tell us which earbuds you thought were the best in class, whether it was for audio quality alone, price-to-performance, comfortable fit, or all of the above. You offered up tons of nominations?way more than we could feature?but we do have room for the top five that stood out among the rest. Here they are:

Shure SE215 Sound Isolating Earphones ($100)

Shure's sound isolating (not to be confused with noise cancelling) SE215 earphones offer a great balance of comfort and sound quality for a great price. They technically retail for closer to $199, but they're broadly available for less than $100. Often reviewed as offering sound comparable with earbuds much more expensive, the SE215s aren't even Shure's most expensive or audiophile-angled models, but those of you who nominated them praised their bang for the buck and great job as isolating outside noise while you listen to music or take a phone call. They're comfortable, designed to rest low in the ear, with the cable going over or under your ears, whichever you choose. The SE215s also come with multiple sound isolating sleeves so you can fit them to your ears.

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Klipsch Image S4 In-Ear Headphones ($80)

Klipsch's Image S4 earbuds retail for around $80, but they can be found for as low as $42 at Amazon unless you're shopping for the more recent S4 II model, which is closer to $80. For your money, you get a lightweight pair of earbuds that offer remarkable sound in a small, portable, and comfortable package. The flexible and interchangeable tips let you pick the best fit without sacrificing sound isolation, and the drivers in the S4s have been praised for full, deep bass and remarkable clarity in all ranges, considering their size. The S4 IIs update the design of the original, and while they do away with the angled design, they add flat cables for fewer tangles, fatter tips for a more snug fit, and bigger drivers in the earphones for better sound.

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Etymotic Research HF3 Earphones ($179)

Etymotic Research knows a thing or two about audio equipment, and they proudly boast that their HF3 earphones are the most accurate noise isolating set under $200. That's a bold statement, but those of you that nominated them praised their comfortable fit, exceptional noise isolation, and crisp, clear, and gorgeous sound quality. Many of you called our Etymotics specifically on its commitment to a comfortable fit: the HF3s come with multiple sets of tips designed to fit ears of any shape or size, and if those don't feel right, the company will work with you to mold and fit a custom pair of tips for your earbuds so they're just right, just for your ears. No more figuring out which tips are "okay, I guess," they can have them molded to your ear canals. Combine all of this with Etymotic's smartphone controls on the headset cable and its Awareness app for iOS and Android, and you can boost the noise isolation to levels normally seen in over-ear headphones. They're pricey (available for $170 at Amazon), but they're impressive.

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Bose IE2 Headphones ($100)

The Bose IE2 (and its mobile counterpart, the $129 MIE2 that include audio controls and a headset) both offer Bose's StayHear eartips, designed to keep the earbuds in place in your ears even during activity, with an eartip attachment that nestles inside the bowl of your ear while you listen. Those eartips also come in three sizes so you can find the one that fits you the best, or swap them out depending on what you're doing. The IE2s aren't specifically noise isolating, but those of you who nominated them praised Bose for its sound quality and the design of the earbuds, saying they've lasted a long time under heavy use. For its part, Bose also touts the "natural" and "smooth" audio from the IE2s, noting the earbuds have an added audio port specifically to boost sound quality. They're $100, available at Amazon.

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Monoprice 8320 Enhanced Bass Hi-Fi Noise Isolating Earphones ($8)

For less than $10 ($7 from Monoprice directly, or if you're a prime member, pay the extra $2 to get them shipped free from Amazon for $9) you can have sound quality that we love so much we've written about it before. We're not the only ones, either. Head-Fi adores them, and The Wirecutter noted they're better than models three times as expensive. The 8320s offer great sound for less than a drive through value meal or a fancy drink at Starbucks, and while they're not going to blow away a significantly more expensive pair, they scratch the "better than good enough for the buck" itch quite nicely. They're noise isolating thanks to the tips, which some people say are a pretty snug fit, and don't expect extra tips or fancy accessories with these puppies, although there are some great DIY mods for them to make them more comfortable and functional. Seriously, even if you love one of the others here, you could still buy a pair of these and walk away happy.

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There you have it! Now that you've seen the top five, it's time to put them to an all-out vote to decide the winner.

Honorable mentions this week go out to the Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 Noise Isolating Earphones by Logitech, which are technically discontinued, but widely available for a pricey $180, down from their MSRP of closer to $400. They're great earbuds?comfortable and sporting three different speakers with a sizable driver in a tiny package.

Also worth mentioning are the more affordable RHA MA-350s (around $40) and the RHA MA-450s, (which come with a remote for smartphones, and will set you back $50 at Apple Stores), both of which are machined from solid aluminum and offer amazing sound quality for their price point. RHA was kind enough to send these to us for review, so more on them in a future post.

Have something to say about one of the contenders? Want to make the case for your personal favorite, even if it wasn't included in the list? Remember, the top five are based on your most popular nominations from the call for contenders thread from earlier in the week. Make your case for your favorite?or alternative?in the discussions below.

The Hive Five is based on reader nominations. As with most Hive Five posts, if your favorite was left out, it's not because we hate it?it's because it didn't get the nominations required in the call for contenders post to make the top five. We understand it's a bit of a popularity contest, but if you have a favorite, we want to hear about it. Have a suggestion for the Hive Five? Send us an email at tips+hivefive@lifehacker.com!

Photo by Anssi Koskinen.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/zmj735MxT-U/five-best-earbuds

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