My Life

So around 3 or so months ago I purchased a set of Vsonic R02Pro2 canalphones. I had been using my Yuin PK3 earphones for a while before that with my 80Gb iPod and was very happy with the great sound they produced. But the problem came when I started work in the city and had to travel via train everyday.

I had noticed that I had to turn up the volume on my iPod to nearly 80% to receive a fairly descent sound due to the loud noise caused by the train and the people in it. And even then I could still hear everything around me. There was only one thing to do… purchase a set of canalphones.

Now I know some of you may think, “why not noise canceling earphones/headphones?”. Well I’ll tell you why or better yet I’ll point you to a great blog post from Marcus of Headphonic.

Did you know that Noise Isolating products work a lot better than Noise Cancelling products do?
For example: The Etymotic ER-6i offers up to 35dB of reduction of ambient noise levels, whereas the best Active models offer up to 20dB. Furthermore, noise Isolation blocks all kinds of sounds across a wide frequency range, whereas Active headphones only cancel out regular recurring background sound, like engine noise. ~ Extract from the blog

The real reason not to purchase noise canceling headphones is they cost a lot more for less. To put simply they only cancel around 15 – 20dB of noise, whereas canalphones can reach levels of up to ~40dB. And to continue with value for money another extract from the blog above:

In terms of value for money, when you buy a pair of Noise Isolating canalphones you get exactly what you pay for. So a pair that costs $200 sounds as good as most $200 headphones, a $50 pair sounds as good as $50 headphones and a $500 pair sounds as good as $500 headphones. You’re not paying for any extra technology.
On the other hand, when you buy Active noise cancelling headphones you’re paying for the extra technology, so a ~$250 pair of Active noise cancelling headphones does NOT compare in sound quality to standard models

At first I was reluctant to purchase canalphones because well… they look intrusive. You have to place them deep in your ears and for some people that may be an uncomfortable thought. When I first received my canalphones I had absolutely no problems with them. They fitted well and were 100 times more comfortable than my older Yuin PK3 earphones. The main reason for this is they are made from a soft rubber/foam that sits comfortably in your ear canal. Earphones sit just on the outside of your ear canal but are made from a hard plastic therefore after a long session your ears start to hurt from the hard inflexible earphone case.

Using the new canalphones on the train was magic. They isolate nearly all the noise on the train. I have my volume up half way and can barely hear anything on the train apart from very loud train noises. If I push the volume up just a notch, all noise disappears completely. I use my new canalphones at work and as a matter of fact I’m using them right now as I’m typing this.

Purchasing the canalphones has been one of the best things I’ve ever done.

Thanks,

Marat