iPod Earbuds
Apple iPod earbuds with their fussy little case.
Where I work, it’s like totally iPod Nation. It seems like everyone either has one or is thinking of getting one. I admit it would be fun to have one (and it would make a great place to store photos from the digital camera on field trips), but, really, I don’t have much use for one. I do listen to music, however, on the train ride to work using my laptop. One CD at a time, one track after another, in order. It’s good enough.
That’s enough background; we’re here to talk headphones. I had been using some old “open-air” headphones for a while, but the foam on these finally disintegrated. I switched to a set of earbuds that had come with a free radio. These were horrible. Not only did they sound tinny, but they weren’t very efficient—even with the computer volume all the way up, the music was just barely loud enough. What I liked about them, however, was their size; they took up almost no room in my backpack. Once I tried a set of full-size headphones on the train (Sony MDR-V6). They sounded great, of course, but they were obviously too big and heavy.
It looked like earbuds were the way to go, so I tried a friend’s iPod earbuds, and these sounded much better than my free earbuds and were plenty loud as well. They were more than good enough, so I ordered a pair. Note that the iPod earbuds that Apple sells as an iPod accessory are different from the ones that are included with the iPod, although they do come only in the same trademark white. For one thing, Apple provides three sets of interchangeable silicone elastomer earpieces so you can choose the set that makes the best seal in your particular ear. My initial experience was that the seal was anything but tight, and the sound was thin. I attempted to phatten it up by using the iTunes equalizer, but that only provoked distortion. After much experimentation, I found that the longest sleeves promised to provide the tightest seal, at least in my ear. When the seal wasn’t adequate with normal pressure, I just screwed the earbud into my ear with a firm twisting motion. (Owww! I hate when that happens.) That did it. I finally had a tight seal, and suddenly I had mega-bass. I actually had to roll it off a little to keep my skull from rattling—and that was with Mozart!
Even with the earbuds jammed in that tight, they were very comfortable to wear. You just gotta love a good silicone elastomer. The tight seal not only provides excellent bass response, it also seals out most of the ambient noise.... oops, I just missed my stop.