Best headphones for music during Workout?

whlog

New Member
Aug 26, 2013
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I want to get a set of earbud headphones that block out a lot of sound, sit well in my ears and don't fall out, and are durable for everyday use. Price isn't an issue, although if you know of a cheap set that fills my criteria i'd be very happy!
 

Phelonious Ponk

New Member
Jun 30, 2010
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You don't need ear buds, you need IEMs, in ear monitors. The etymotics are great, Shure makes some very good ones too, as do ultimate ear and many others. When you get up to the high end models, they'll make custom fitted tips like old-school hearing aids. The ultimate in comfort and stay-put. A couple of things to watch out for: These kinds of transducers can be extremely accurate - very flat. Because we're used to room gain, they sound dry and thin to us. A little bass built in is not a bad thing. The other is that some can be too demanding for the headphone jack straight out of your iPod, you need phones designed for that. Too much is awful. Here's a great resource -- http://www.headphone.com. The only caveat is they'll sell you an amp where you really don't need one, particularly for working out! Just look for the cans labeled good straight out of your portable device and you'll be good, ignore them when they tell you how much better it will sound if you buy an amp and strap that to your body too!

Tim
 

Whatmore

Well-Known Member
Jun 2, 2011
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Melbourne, Australia
If you are running with them I would advise against IEMs or 'phones that are *too* isolating.
One reason is that you need to hear what is around you a little bit - particularly if you run near roads or on paths that are shared by bikes or rollerbladers.
Second reason is that IEMs tend to amplify your own internal sounds. Not a big issue if you are sitting quietly but you may find you quickly tire of the sound of your own breathing (and even footsteps too) if you are running hard.
 

FrantzM

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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If you are running with them I would advise against IEMs or 'phones that are *too* isolating.
One reason is that you need to hear what is around you a little bit - particularly if you run near roads or on paths that are shared by bikes or rollerbladers.
Second reason is that IEMs tend to amplify your own internal sounds. Not a big issue if you are sitting quietly but you may find you quickly tire of the sound of your own breathing (and even footsteps too) if you are running hard.

+1. If your workout is inside and static ..Fine, isolation can be a good thing , if it is outside and involve running in public space.. You need to hear some .. People warnings, car coming, etc. Very sound advice from Whatmore . The pun was not intended :)
 

Phelonious Ponk

New Member
Jun 30, 2010
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I agree. In fact, I just wouldn't listen to music while running or biking at all. Walking? Safer. Where the IEMs are really useful is on cardio machines and in noisy gyms. They knock out enough ambient noise to allow you to listen at much lower, healthier levels.

Tim
 

Whatmore

Well-Known Member
Jun 2, 2011
1,011
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438
Melbourne, Australia
I agree. In fact, I just wouldn't listen to music while running or biking at all. Walking? Safer. Where the IEMs are really useful is on cardio machines and in noisy gyms. They knock out enough ambient noise to allow you to listen at much lower, healthier levels.

Tim

Agreed there Tim. The background noise in gyms is usually way too high. That's one of the reasons I prefer my workout to be outdoors in the real world :)
 

daytona600

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2012
724
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scotland
I use one of these as a source in the gym with IEMs ( Tiny & sounds brilliant) 16/44 - 24/192khz or even DSD rips of vinyl transferred from my Korg MR

http://www.astellnkern.com/
 

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