I'm straying off the beaten path here with a (tiny) review of (headphones), instead of the usual mp4 players, so I dont know if that's acceptable. But I know there are people interested in buying good cheap phones, and I just received a darn good pair today....
They are the Sennheiser MX400's, they cost me $1.99US (less than the price of a Big Mac), and only $2.50 to ship to Canada from
ELECTRONUUS, a seller on eBay. That's $4.50 total, less than the price of the sales tax on a pair of what are normally considered "cheap budget earbuds of half decent quality".
Having educated myself on fake Sennheisers, and knowing the proliference of MX400/MX500 fakes on eBay, I figured just by the price alone, I was buying fakes. (Can you tell I was buying them for someone else?). But for the price, I wasn't going to complain to the seller if they were. When I saw they came in a plastic bag and not in the plastic carrying case like in the photo on the ad (which I just read says "For illustrative purposes"!), I was convinced these were fakes. There was no instructions or warranty. They hve the Sennheiser name and model no. stamped on the earpieces. The jack was not goldplated and the cord is 40" (which means its really meant for a player you wear around your neck). According to this guy's guide, that means it fails 4 of the 6 conditions for being true Senn's:
http://reviews.ebay.com/How-to-spot-...00000001458264
SOUND:
Now getting beyond the question of whether they're fakes, when I tried them, it was clear these were worth much more than $4.50 shipped! They produced music that at least in some ways, was better than what I could remember hearing from my Koss Sportapro (headphones), which cost a lot more (I did not do any direct comparisons though). I used Destiny's Child "Bills, Bills, Bills" as a test. Sound was detailed, wide sounstage, extended highs (without being too agressive) and nicely balanced overall. Although the bass was good quality, they did not reproduce low bass notes, which is one reason why I say they have a pretty good balance, because the bass not being heavy, means it does not overwhelm the rest of the range. But bass freaks wont like 'em, I guess (unless you turn up the bass on your player, but that can add distortion).
The ad says that these were meant to be included as OEM's with other manufacturer's mp3 players. So I compared it to the earbuds that came with a Panasonic SV-MP010 that I received today. The Panasonics bud's look a lot nicer, but the MX400's sounded better. The Panny's sounded muddier, athough not that bad (much better than the ones you get with Chipods for example). I wondered why Panasonic couldn't just ask Sennheiser to make them in white, and replace their own buds for the MX400's, at the price they are selling at!
Do I think these Senn's are fakes? No. Because I can't imagine the real MX400's sounding better, even for the price they normally sell at (about $12-$20US).
COMFORT:
I only listened to them without the foamy ear pads (which will change the sound and comfort to some degree). They fit comfortably in my ear, and were lightweight (as they are all plastic). A plus: No silicone earbuds to lose!
So if you want good buds dirt cheap, nothing anywhere near this price can touch these phones! (Of course, there's always better if you're willing to spend more. I have some more earbuds on the way, so that may be a consideration for next time....).