These are a MUST HAVE - replace your foam ear buds today!

I really like these ear buds, I listen to my MP3 player on a daily basis, for 3-4 hours at a stretch, comfort is a BIG deal to me, no matter how great ear buds sound, if they hurt your ears, you will not enjoy using them. These combine great sound with great comfort so I get the best of both worlds.

I work for a major electronics superstore, Best Buy, I am in merchandising, so I get to see, touch and try out all the products that come through the store, I bought these several months ago and I have been more than pleased with them. The part of the ear bud that goes into your ear is made of silicon, the silicon part is removable (and washable), and it makes for a great fit and extreme comfort in extended use. It creates a seal in your ear canal and that helps give you superior sound. You get 2 different sizes of the silicon covers, so they will fit most people's ears. The package promises that you will get virtual surround sound, and I don't know how they do it, but you do get a surround sound feel with these, in fact if you cover the outside of the ear buds, it dampens the sound, so some of the sound must come out the sides and back, but it's not loud enough for anyone else to hear. It gives you great range too (16Hz - 22kHz), you hear the highs and lows of the songs with great clarity. For a great pic of the ear buds, go here:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=cat13506&type=page&skuId=7444571&productId=1124432966251&viewtype=largeFrontView&h=387
Be sure to copy the entire link, or you can use:
http://tinyurl.com/ruojx

These are excellent for anyone who needs to hear what is going on around them WHILE hearing their music or other audio, these do not "seal" out the rest of the world. This is great for joggers, cyclists, anyone who needs to hear the what is going on around them. You still get great sound though, but if you want to seal out the world around you, then you might want to consider getting a different set of earbuds.

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Here are the specs:

Product Details
Product Height 6"
Product Width 4.5"
Product Weight 2.6 oz.
Product Depth 1.5"
Headphone Type Dynamic
Headphone Style Ear buds
Water-Resistant No
Noise Canceling No
Magnet Type Neodymium
Frequency Response 16Hz - 22kHz
Sensitivity/SPL 106dB
Impedance 16 ohms
Ear Cushions Rubber
Connector 3.5mm (1/8") gold-plated stereo plug
Cord Length 4'
Coil Cord No
Folding No

Reflected-speaker design delivers virtual surround sound

15mm speaker elements for improved sound quality

Flexi-grip connection protects cable from damage

Asymmetric cabling system provides you with comfort and convenience for extended listening

24K gold-plated 3.5mm stereo mini plug ensures exceptional connection for enhanced sound performance

Sensitivity: 106dB

Impedance: 16 ohms

Flexible molded-rubber carrying case stores and protects headphones when not in use
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The cord is plenty long enough, I wear mine at work (I listen before the store opens, I am there for 4 hours before the store opens), I still want to keep it discrete so I bring the cord under my shirt, up through my collar, there is plenty of cord left over, in fact I have to tuck the excess into my pants. The cord is strong too, it's slightly stiffer then the other ear bud cords I have felt, this should help make it last longer. The plug has a 90-degree turn on it, and it's quite well made.

The only con I can think of is they aren't comfortable to wear in bed, I have some hypnosis MP3s that I like to listen to when I am going to sleep, if I use these ear buds, and I lay on my side, the ear that is on my pillow gets a slightly muffled sound because of the virtual surround sound part, also the part of the ear bud that doesn't go into your ear is wide, and it is not comfortable to lay on, if you lay on your back to go to sleep, this will not be an issue for you.

I recently purchased some more expensive ear buds (Sony brand), they sound good, but not as good as the Philips ear buds, the Sony ones are more comfortable for sleeping, so I'll continue using the Philips ones for daily use, and use the Sony ones for sleeping.

I did note that the Philips ear buds do really give a virtual surround effect, the sound seems bigger, I'm not referring to volume, it's like the sound is coming from outside the ear buds.

For the price, they are well worth the money, and do sound better than the higher priced ear buds I have tried. These are a great replacement for the ear buds that come with most MP3 players, even the most expensive MP3 players (think iPod) tend to give you those cheap, uncomfortable, foam covered ear buds that give you mediocre sound at best.

The Philips ear buds give you a choice of white or black ear buds, the white ones are obviously a match for the ever-popular white iPods. I have had both colors, I started out with the white ones, but as soon as we started stocking the black ones, I gave my white ones to my sister and I got the black ones, it matched my uniform at work much better (at my store, the merch team wears black jeans and black t-shirts). Other than the color, they are identical. The ear buds come with a case and extra silicon covers.

The case was pretty useless for me, but fun to play with for a while, though I suspect they would come in handy if you are going to store yours in a purse or bag, it would keep the cord from getting tangled. The silicon covers are easy to keep clean, much better than the foam covers that come with other ear buds.