Hi Rich, like you I spend a great deal of
time travelling overseas and have been through a number of headphone types
before finally settling on something that ticks all the boxes (for me). Compact
size combined with excellent sound quality and as little leakage as possible
are my main criteria. I listen quite loud and my choice of music can be quite
eclectic so I do not want the embarrassment of imposing that on others
After various mistakes along the way, several
years ago I settled on Shure in-ear SE535s. Not cheap but, with three drivers
per side and multiple bud types to choose from, these fit perfectly, sound
superb and isolate the outside world to a very high degree (also excellent for when
I am cutting the lawn)
They have very robust Kevlar reinforced
replaceable cables which was also important because with the amount of use I
put them to, I have eventually snapped a cable on several other types over the
years. So far these are still going strong
Using the softest ear bud of the correct
size, these push quite deeply into the ears and as the material expands over
the first minute or so, sound quality blossoms out after initially sounding
thin and weak. This did take some trial and error to find the best size and I am using the Comply brand replacement types. If the buds are too small, the sound never fills out properly
Scroll forward to 2013 and I discovered the
Bitzie to partner with these and my Galaxy S3. These three items give me a ‘portable
hi-fi system’ and are my constant travelling companions. Everything I own from
Graham Slee sounds exceptional but I think the Bitzie is the most amazing item
of all when combined with a good source and headphones. That something so
compact can deliver music to such a high level of realism and quality is a
constant source of pleasure. Likewise when using
with Foobar or JRiver Media Centre on a laptop
Once you settle on the best headphones for
you, I highly recommend you borrow a Bitzie on the loaner scheme
…… ‘senior moment’ last summer – cutting
away back and forth across the front lawn with something really loud & good
going on in my head, I hadn’t noticed that I had yanked the power cable &
the electric motor had stopped. After a couple of ‘stripes’ without power I
noticed a neighbour eyeing me strangely, taking my lifeless mower for ‘walkies’
------------- Older than I once was, younger than I'll be ............................. Andrew
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