Earphone replacement suggestions

Hi all,

For listening to tunes on the go, I have an iRiver iFP-390T with a whopping 256MB. It's about 4 years old, but it suits me fine, and I have no immediate plans to replace it.

HOWEVER, the sweet Sennheiser earphones that came with it are rapidly deteriorating. Notably, the foamy covers on the headphones themselves have teared and even jumped off a few times. I've scurried around on the street like running after them. And, the wire connection where the two earphones come together to meet the main wire is fraying. Sadly, I don't think they have much time left.

I've searched high and low at iRiver's site, and on the web in general to find replacements, but I can even determine the exact model of the earphones. I could certainly do with a different make or model, which is equally comfortable to my ear, but all the offerings I see are safely enclosed in plastic packaging. Thus, I cannot try them out to feel if they will be comfortable. (Seems to me like buying a bike before taking it for a test ride.) I can't buy earphones without trying them first. How can people do this? They are all so different. I bought a cheap pair a year ago and they totally sucked. They wouldn't stay in my ears and the boost was lame. That's about $25 down the drain.

Any suggestions on how I can try before buying? And, also, suggestions on great earphones that are comfortable, sound good, and won't break the bank would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks!

I use Sony's Fontapid earphones (the ones with rubbery ends - 3 different sizes rubber inserts provided) and they not only fit snug, but also block out outside noise to a degree too. You should be able to pick one from any Saturn / Media Markt etc.

HTH

If you want some qualtiy sound go with the AKG in-ear phones. They are pretty comfortable, you dont get headaches after wearing them for a few hours

Anyways, why dont you just return the ones you dont like after trying them out at home?

Not sure where you can try them out first but I got a pair of Sennheiser earphones from Saturn on Kaufinger str.. they were about €25... I am sure there are loads of models, but Saturn seem to stock the brand...

You can prob. also just buy new foam covers at Saturn/MediaMart too..

i'd recommend the creative ep630, at €30 at Litec.

Thanks for the recommendations everyone. I picked up some Philips in-ear earphones yesterday and so far am quite pleased with them. Saturn had some in-ear types from AKG, Sony and Philips and they all seemed very similar but the AKG were more high-end and more than 70eur whereas the Philips were only 30eur, so I went with those.

On a side note, Saturn must be literally raking in the money. There were huge lines there and I literally waited about 20 minutes to pay!

AKG cost a little bit extra, but the sound quality is exceptionally good. If their smaller headphones have a quality comparable to their studio cans...anybody own in-ear AKGs?