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54 of 57 found the following review helpful:
Speaking As An "Audiophile" Dec 24, 2008
By sayock
This review is for those of you who see all the consistently high reviews on this product and wonder if it its really as good as all that (high sound quality, noise canceling, do they really stay in, etc). I have only had these for a short while, but I will be as detailed as possible based off my experience so far.
I am using these with iPod earphones. They do make them sound a lot better, and they DEFINITELY stay in your ears, no matter how you move your head. You can even tug on the earphones (a bit) and they stay in. However...if you're anything close to an audiophile, i.e. you like incredible sound, these don't increase sound quality to that point. I have tried various EQ settings on my iPod Touch (maybe the most satisfactory being the "loudness" or "hip hop" setting for bass and sound quality), and these still basically sound like earphones...very good earphones, but earphones nonetheless. They don't really compete with even headphones like neckbands from companies such as Sony, etc, and so on if you like bass and high-quality sound. This is not revolutionary in that aspect. But they do make earphones sound better and do seem to add SOME bass. Volume is also not an issue--your mp3 player is probably at least as loud as before with these.
And they also do a decent job of knocking out noise from the outside. I doubt you could go on a very noisy subway with many people near you talking and the sound of the train and these totally cancel those sounds out, unless you play the music at the top of the volume. I can turn the TV up to a volume I watch it with my fan on and still hear the TV distantly. And you definitely can't sit with just the earphones on with no music and block out noise. But you don't have to turn things around you nearly all the way down with these.
Perhaps the one area where these buds really do stand out is how they fit on earphones and remain in your ear. They are very snug but not uncomfortable. You don't have to keep pushing them in your ears like you do even with earphones that do kind of fit your ears, i.e. the Philips Virtual Surround Sound buds I have. I haven't tried to exercise with these in yet, but I have no doubt they would stay in. This is, by far, the best thing about these earbuds. Second best thing is how they don't seem to leak what you're listening to anywhere near the same degree as earbuds and headphones normally do, even if you're playing something pretty loud. Third is how they come in tiny ziplock-like bags, so you can use those to take them with you or to put them up when you're not using them...which makes it easy to keep up with them, keep them from getting on dirty surfaces, etc.
Bottom line: If the main reason you're looking to buy these is struggling with traditional earbuds staying in your ears, you should definitely get these. If you're VERY serious about great sound quality/bass, I'd stick with headphones. As someone who is somewhat particular about how great phones sound, I would use these on the go, at work/when I just want to have "background" music playing, working out and things like that, but not when I really want to sit and hear music at its best. For noise canceling, I'd say it depends on how much noise you're trying to cancel out. Maybe for normal noise levels, these are just fine.
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I have now tried these with the Zune earphones, and I like these even better with those than with iPod earphones, particularly with the iTouch EQ on "R&B." The sound has a bit more clarity.
16 of 17 found the following review helpful:
 Has potential! Feb 26, 2009
By N. MacLean Miller
I noticed a lot of reviews talking about how these are just too big for their ears but I thought maybe they just have oddly small ears. well after ordering them I realized they were right. The larger size that comes is WAY to big almost as if it's for a giants ears! The smaller size is still too big but I can make it work if I JAM them into my ear really hard, if I do this they do sound pretty nice and they stay in better than without but my ears start to kill after a while. I went to the manufacturers website to see if I could replace them for a size smaller but they don't even make any other sizes, once they decide to make just one size smaller I'll give this product a 4 maybe even 5 stars but until then they're just not usable!
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Shuffle on down! Mar 20, 2009
By Michael D. Kastler
"Host of TechTalk on WRLR 98.3 FM! http://techtalk.wrlr.fm"
Like many people, I do a lot of things with my iPod, so finding good headphones that are comfortable and practical is very important to me. During a given week I'll be working out, running, biking, on a plane, and sitting around with some `bud' or other stuck in my ear. The standard earbuds that come from Apple and you can get cheaply everywhere just don't cut it in my opinion - they aren't the right size, they move around or fall out, and tend to trap bubbles of sweat in your ear canal when they do stay in if you're working out.
So I was very interested when I heard about Acoustibuds - if it would be possible have a low-cost way of improving the standard bud setup I'd be all for it! These attachments are definitely an improvement on your basic buds, and while I can't whole-heartedly endorse them for everyone, I think they are a particularly good solution for a specific user; particularly anyone who is not satisfied with the earphones included in the new Apple Shuffle, which basically force you to use their buds.
So what are these things anyways? Simply, they are small, grooved rubber cones with the large end just big enough to slip over the round end of your bud, and the small end positioned to pump sound into your ear canal. They are easy to install and use, but make sure you get the right size (mine were a little too big, which made them a touch uncomfortable). Once attached, pull your earlobe and push these gently down into your ear canal, twisting a little to get good placement. After some experimentation and adaptation, I found them surprisingly comfortable. The sound quality with the caps was noticeably improved as well - perhaps due to the fact that less of the audio was being lost to the ambient air with the loose fit a standard bud gives.
I did however have some difficulty with the buds staying in place. That may have been because my ear canal is a bit smaller than most, but getting them positioned properly seemed to be a little hit or miss, and it was really frustrating if after all of that someone would come along and want to talk to me, or I jostled them in just the wrong way and had to pull them out and start over again. To be fair, it was still an improvement over your standard buds, and this is probably just a good warning about getting the right size again! I got a 6, but think a size 5 would have been more comfortable.
Bottom line - if you have a new iShuffle and don't want to pay $50 - $100 to get an adapter or other way of breaking the bud habit, these Acoustibuds a great solution. If you've got a bunch of buds hanging around, or want to quickly adjust (and make sanitary) the ones you use on a plane, these are great . If you're looking for something specifically for jogging or something, you may want to pay a bit more for one of the headsets designed specifically for exercising.
techtalk.wrlr.fm
15 of 18 found the following review helpful:
HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT Jan 28, 2009
By Ary R. Mize
"Lance"
I was looking forward to getting these as typical earbuds will not stay in my ears when simply walking. My review is as follows (and my ears are hurting as I write this):
1. They should tell you that there is a "5" and "6", which in theory would suggest that there is a "1" through "4"; however, this maker of this product has such a poorly designed website, you can't even be sure about their product offerings.
2. the smaller "5" is still too big
3. If you like listening to your music through what seems to be a "sock", then this product is for you!! It definitely deadens the sound. It makes up for it a little bit by blocking out most outside noise, but the quality of what's being pumped in is less-than-impressive.
4. If you don't mind ear-fatigue within 15 minutes, then these are for you!!
As disappointed as I am to say it, this is a STRONG "Do NOT Buy!". I will try to return them if at all possible. Otherwise, they're going in the TRASH. That's correct...they're that bad.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent Product! Nov 03, 2008
By William P. Dani
"Bill Dani"
The ACOUSTIBUDS are a really unique product. They not only keep the ear buds in my ears, but they make them sound 150% better. They also extend my iPod battery life because I can now listen to music at roughly 1/4 the volume needed before I had the ACOUSTIBUDS adapters. I am now hearing more accurate and complete sound throughout low, mid and high frequency ranges. It is hard to believe that something so seemingly simple could make such a meaningful impact in so many different ways.
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