What happened to L-jacks and J-cords?

[Sykes]

Hello guys,

I'm shopping for some cheap (~20 €) earphones with noise blocking for outside use. There's quite a lot of options in this price range - a-jays, Soundmagic etc etc. However, pretty much all of these have straight jacks and symmetric Y-cords.

My player doesn't have the phone jack on the top or bottom and I wear it in my pockets, so an L-jack is way more practical. As for asymmetrical cords, I find them ingenious - when not using the phones for a while, they can just rest behind the neck, no need to pack them away. I know, it's not for everyone (and too many people don't know what's it for), but I'm sure I'm not the last person on Earth who likes this feature. The same goes for L-jack.

Well, instead of choosing between a dozen of good models and several brands, I'm pretty much stuck with one choice - Philips, which at least makes some L-jacked phones. Well, there's also Sennheiser, even with J-cords, but Sennys are waaay overpriced in this part of the world, only CX150 remains cheap. And CX150's cords, while asymmetric, are too microphonic and fall apart pretty soon, so I wouldn't pick them for outside use anyway.

What happened? 10 years ago, only the cheapest, worst earphones were equipped with a straight jack. And the choice of cables were at least 70/30 in favor of the asymmetrical sort. Is everyone trying to mimic the 'fruit company', or do people really hate these two features?

Anyone knows of some cheap earphones, which sound at least like Sansa Clip+ stocks (I found those quite OK, but need more noise blocking), have some basic build quality, L-jack and J-cable?

(And sorry if it sounds like a rant... Although it is.)

[CrowdAds]

[Syndrome]

Audiophiles that wear khaki slacks and talk in a nasal voice happened. Its sad I know.

[Sykes]

Sorry but I really don't understand that answer... Not even if it's supposed to be ironic or fully serious.

[mbamg]

Originally Posted by Sykes

Sorry but I really don't understand that answer... Not even if it's supposed to be ironic or fully serious.

There's more 45 degree angle plugs today, so perhaps that may work as a compromise. There are the Sony MDR EX series (I had the EX32s with an L-jack and a J-cord, which I came to hate), but I wouldn't recommend any of them <$50 street price. My first-gen CX300s also have a L-jack and a J-cord. Isolation is average, but I got them for $20 from J&R when they were clearing the inventory to make way for the CX300-IIs.

Also at this price range you can't really find IEMs that isolate well. Keep in mind that J-cords increase the chance of microphonics in all IEMs. I stopped walking around with my EX32s and CX300s because the microphonics were unbearable.

And BTW, Syndrome meant Dr. Dre.

[Sykes]

Well, Sony and Philips are what I wanted to avoid, especially when it meant paying more to get the same quality. For now, I just ordered Meelectronics M2 - 15 eur including shipping from US (cheaper then from UK, much cheaper than from other locations). No J-cord, but over the ear will have to work I guess. And it seems to have a decent cable, unlike most phones in the price range. And an L-jack. I'll have to do.

Indeed, I should have asked 'what happened to decent build quality'? I know earphones were never much, but...

And I still don't understand the Dr. Dre reference

[El C]

Originally Posted by Sykes

Well, Sony and Philips are what I wanted to avoid, especially when it meant paying more to get the same quality. For now, I just ordered Meelectronics M2 - 15 eur including shipping from US (cheaper then from UK, much cheaper than from other locations). No J-cord, but over the ear will have to work I guess. And it seems to have a decent cable, unlike most phones in the price range. And an L-jack. I'll have to do.

Indeed, I should have asked 'what happened to decent build quality'? I know earphones were never much, but...

And I still don't understand the Dr. Dre reference

I guess companies have begun designing products to become old/break down within a few years as to get people to buy a new product.

I do miss the L-jacks but not the J-cord that much. Over the ear + down the shirt solves most microphonic problems for me.

[mbamg]

Originally Posted by Sykes

Well, Sony and Philips are what I wanted to avoid, especially when it meant paying more to get the same quality. For now, I just ordered Meelectronics M2 - 15 eur including shipping from US (cheaper then from UK, much cheaper than from other locations). No J-cord, but over the ear will have to work I guess. And it seems to have a decent cable, unlike most phones in the price range. And an L-jack. I'll have to do.

Indeed, I should have asked 'what happened to decent build quality'? I know earphones were never much, but...

And I still don't understand the Dr. Dre reference

Beats by Dr. Dre headphones sold by Monster. They're supposedly tuned according to Dre's specifications, but they don't even work that well with rap and hip-hop. Perhaps it's because you don't live in North America but over here kids go crazy over any product that celebrities promote, which I find disgusting.

And yes, Syndrome was referring more to sound quality than cord jacks in his remark.