I’ve had my iPod a little over a year now, and I still love the thing. Tim bought it for me last year (read about it here) before we left on vacation for Washington DC. He got me the red Toughskin that I wanted for my birthday last fall (it was documented here). I wanted the biggest, thickest, toughest casing I could find for it, since I’m very clumsy and seem to drop the thing a lot. Anyway, I’ve been really happy with it, except for one thing – the ear buds.
I am not sure what Apple had in mind when they designed the ear buds that they sell with their regular sized iPods. I mean, they seem really big to me! Maybe it’s just because I’m a girl, but these things are really too big for my ears. They’re uncomfortable and they fall out a lot, especially if I’m walking or really moving around at all with my iPod. So, for a while now, I’ve been looking for an alternative to these ear buds. I found a couple I thought I might like, but they were pricey. The ones that Apple wants to sell you are about $45 bucks and I just couldn’t see paying that, so I kept looking. I finally decided to try these ear bud covers from Griffin Technology. I got them a few days ago and so far I am trying to decide if I like them. I’ve used my iPod twice with them on (although not for walking because of my hurt ankle) and I think they fit my ear a lot better. I am not sure if they are going to stay in my ear any better though, because they stick out quite a bit further. So, on the comfort scale, they are better. On the sound quality front though, I don’t think they are quite as good. They are just snap on covers, but they seem to somehow change the overall sound of the music. The music doesn’t sound as “rich” somehow, it sounds a bit more “tinny” or something. I’m obviously not very musically inclined so I can’t tell exactly what’s changed, but it does sound different. The good thing is that I can snap them on and off, so overall, I think they’ll be ok. Best of all, I only paid 6.99 for them, so maybe it won’t be money wasted. I had bought a pair at Best Buy a couple of weeks ago, but they were 19.99 in there. When I came home and checked on Amazon and found them for 6.99, I returned those to Best Buy and ordered them!
OK, so do me a favor – if you have an iPod, please leave me a comment and let me know if you are still using the ear buds that came with it, if they fit well in your ears, and if not, what you are using instead. Thanks!
Oh, and here’s what they look like:
I don’t have an iPod… but in my experience most “included” earphones are terrible! I enjoy some nice Sonys. 🙂
Do those actually fit in your ear canal? News has shown a lot of reports from drs about making sure you keep your volume down super low. I don’t have an “IPod” but I do have a Memorex MP3 player that I’ve really enjoyed. Like you, I don’t like the earbuds but haven’t gone looking for others. I just don’t like the cord on this one; it’s weird.
I do have an iPod and am currently still using the ear buds that came with and I hate them. I sorta am digging those ones you bought. My friend had these cool deals that sorta looked like the things people at Burger King have to wear. LOL. Lord only knows what she paid for them.
I am still using the earbuds that came with my iPod. They are a bit uncomfortable (I have little bitty ears). I don’t use the pads that came with them, though. Your new ones look kinda scary to me for some reason. I’d feel like my ears were being invaded! I’ll let you know if I come across any affordable sets.
Ugh….I totally agree with you. I hate the earplugs that came with my ipod. To be totally honest, I don’t use it for that reason. I do have it docked in my sb room on a Bose speaker system so I love it that way. I really should try to find smaller ones!!
I hate the earplugs that came with the ipod. They are a standard size, and my earholes are not standard. My ears ache for hours after wearing them. We had to get better ones.
Oh yes. I’ve had my beloved iPod for over a year, and I do hate the earbuds. The SOUND from the earbuds is actually quite good–it’s hard to find anything (aside from very expensive ones) that will match the quality of sound from Apple’s standard earbuds.
But they fit horribly and they do hurt my ears! They also constantly feel like they’re falling out whenever I’m walking/jogging. Especially if I’m sweaty (which is always, this time of year).
I still continue to use them, though. I like the sound too much. If I’m going to be listening to my iPod for a long time, like when I take it to bed with me at night, I always use a real set of headphones instead. I have a nice set of Coby headphones that I got for less then $10 at a dollar store. They’re super-comfy and the sound quality is great. I can fall asleep with them on and nothing hurts. But I’m not going to wear those while out & about, so I still mostly use my standard iPod earbuds when I’m on the go.
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