earphone recommendation
basically living with earphones (ear buds, whatever you want to call them) inserted in my ears, i’ve worn through about 7 pairs in under two years. figuring they’d suck, i bought two pairs of cheapos as a test a while back — one for $2 and JVC “gumy” phones for $10.
the $2 piece of shit sounded like a cavern, assuming the resonant freq of the driver chamber no matter the input. almost hard to believe they could have designed a shittier audio accessory on purpose.
the JVC gumys, however, are eminently listenable, with some superior features apart from the audio. the unusual textured rubber (gummy) aids handling, and JVC added something to gumys i’ve long wanted on my pricier rigs: a braille-style raised dot so you can tell the left from the right in the dark. hurrah! nice goin’, JVC.
if you need new earphones or just an emergency backup, the gumy model is found nearly everywhere, in tons of colors. they don’t sound super bitchin’, but they don’t distract by being stupendously sucky. they’re comfortable, durable, and inexpensive.
my main workout/starbucks earphones (shure SE110) for noisy environments are still going strong, though i had to replace the plug on the 3′ extension cable shure requires for normal use.