Sound engineer Kevin Glendinning knows earphones. And in his line of work, which mostly involves mixing sound for onstage performers such as Justin Timberlake and No Doubt, he has little use for the standard types that come with portable music players.
"I couldn't do what I do with those ear buds that come with the iPod," said Glendinning, who was on his way to Paris for a series of Timberlake gigs.
But you don't have to be a rock 'n' roll sound engineer to upgrade your earphones to near professional level.
Audio firms such as Etymotic Research Inc., Sennheiser Electronic Corp., Shure Inc. and Ultimate Ears now offer premium earphones aimed at users of portable music players. The earphones start at about $80 and can run as high as $550. In many cases, these products use the same components as the earphones for professionals.
But the sound coming from the ubiquitous, white iPod ear buds is already pretty good. How much are you missing in sound quality by sticking with them?
Not much in many cases. After testing six sets of high-end earphones, I found only one that significantly improved music listening as we do it in the real world.
They're the quite wonderful Sennheiser CX300 earphones, and luckily they're the least expensive of all those tested. At about $80 a pair, these Sennheiser earphones provide a warm sound mix with plenty of bass not only for rock but also for symphonic music.
That's not to say that the high-end earphones from the other companies are bad. Indeed, they produce an extremely clear and bright sound, especially in the upper range.
That is apparent during the first 37 seconds of the song "The Long Way Around" on the new Dixie Chicks album. Lead singer Natalie Maines' voice comes through with such astonishing clarity on the Shure and Ultimate Ears products that you can close your eyes and think you are standing next to her. Same goes for the guitars that accompany Maines.
The separation of the voices and instruments is terrific for a professional who is carefully mixing sounds so that onstage performers can hear one another under live performance conditions.
But on the 38th second of "The Long Way Around," a low-pitched drum and other bass instruments resound. On the Sennheisers it's a satisfying thump, whereas on the more expensive sets it's a wimpy slap.
The resounding bass on the Sennheisers also produces a rounded, musical resonance, whereas the more expensive sets maintain the bright sound of separated instruments that feels studio-like and clinical.
