What I Like

These are not recommendations. Do you want earphones for your mobile or a computer? That will be quiet on the bus, or splash‐proof? And you may have differences about quality of music reproduction.

That said, at the time of writing, this is what I use for my own listening, or turn to. If someone asked me to pick audio for them, I wouldn’t choose these—they are unlikely to work for others.

Finally, I’m not big on the way different items work together (‘synergy’). But I agree that some items work better together. That’s why some of the items listed below are amplifier/earphone combinations.

Anyway, if you’re still interested…

Primark 238808 £4

Wish I’d known about these at the time of the story. You can get the Primark 238808 anywhere. Long as you’re not interested in ‘bass’, they’re good. Quiet though. If you’re on an Apple device try an Apple Adaptor. For Android? I don’t know.

Sony MDR‐EX155AP/Not‐VE Avani, £17/£8

The most recent entry on this list. The Not VE Avani is not something you can pick up on a wet afternoon in a shopping mall. The Sony MDR‐EX155AP is. Together they may be the least glamorous replay possible, an anti‐statement, like wearing black jeans. You wear those because you got bigger concerns.

SoundMAGIC EP30/Meisu amp, £14/£22

The not‐easy‐to‐buy Meisu amp is erratic and depends on the driving device. And it’s hard, maybe impossible, to buy EP30s. And EP30’s are earbuds, so not for everyone. Personally, once I heard this I listened to nothing much else. Forever. For here springs forth magic.

JCAlly EP09/DAC Fever, £30/£21

The DAC Fever amplifier will not work on a phone. And you are happy to own a replay device that needs 10hrs to get going and will forever feel like it’s falling out of your ears. So you can’t move your head while listening. And the foams fall off anyway. But who cares about phonecalls?

Sony MDR‐EX15LP/E1DA D, £10/£97

Probably the most extreme demonstration of the 1970–1980’s HiFi notion that after the signal is corrupted, there is no rescue—so spend on source then amp. Yeh, an E1DA D, which may not work on computers and by design will not work microphones. That’s not the full story here—the MDR‐EX15LP is not Hi‐Fi, but engineered to play whatever you throw at it. And what I throw at it… sometimes I wonder if I like it because it sounds sometimes like a PA system.