Determining Earphone Compatibility

Is there a certain specification or requirement to look for when selecting earphones/earbuds that will be compatible with the Clip Zip player?

I want to upgrade to a better fitting/performing pair of earphones but need to make sure what I buy is compatible.

Thanks.

Ed

Hopefully one of the headphone “wonks” out there will get back to you–you also can place a posting at the anythingbutipod.com forum.  As a general matter, “mainstream” headphones–including quality headphones–do just fine on the Clips.

Mmmm, that’s not true. I’ve just receive my Clip Zip… and my Sennheiser earphone which was marvelous with my Fuze+ (unfortunately dead last week ) is just awful with the Clip Zip. Ed, pay attention to impedance (it seems that it is 1 ohm for the Clip Zip, and… 16 for my earphone.)

The Sandisk players seem to work best with headphones or earphones that are between 16 and 32 ohms and at least 96db/mw. Headphones over 32 ohms but less than 64 ohms may be okay if they are more than 102 db/mw, although headphones like the 63 ohm Sony MDR-V6, and 60 Ohm Koss Portapro don’t seem to be at their best when plugged into the Clip+ or Clip Zip directly, and would benefit from a headphone amp(even one  like the small and inexpensive Fiio E6) being used inbetween them. Imo though it is generally best to stick with headphones or earphones between 16 and 32 ohms, and ideally over 100 db/mw(although ones as low as 96 ohms might be good). I suggest avoiding headphones lower than 96 db/mw, especially if they are over 32 ohms(or else you can use these lower efficiency or higher impedance headphones if you use an external headphone amp. Even the $25 Fiio E6 will support most headphones up to around 150 ohms, and many 300 ohm ones as well). if you try to use a headphone that isn’t really suitable without an external amp you might not get enough volume, or you might have to have the player volume set at maximum all the time to get a decent amount of volume, and the sound quality might also suffer.

The Sandisk players seem to work best with headphones or earphones that are between 16 and 32 ohms and at least 96db/mw. Headphones over 32 ohms but less than 64 ohms may be okay if they are more than 100 db/mw, although headphones like the 63 ohm Sony MDR-V6, and 60 Ohm Koss Portapro don’t seem to be at their best when plugged into the Clip+ or Clip Zip directly, and would benefit from a headphone amp(even one  like the small and inexpensive Fiio E6) being used inbetween them. Imo though it is generally best to stick with headphones or earphones between 16 and 32 ohms or so(this doesn’t mean that a 33 or 36 ohm headphone is bad, it is just that the greater it is over 32 ohms the more you should be leery of it for use with a Sandisk player without using an external amp, especially if it efficiency (db/mw) is not over 100. ). I suggest avoiding headphones lower than 96 db/mw, especially if they are over 32 ohms(or else you can use these lower efficiency or higher impedance headphones if you use an external headphone amp. Even the $25 Fiio E6 will support most headphones up to around 150 ohms, and many 300 ohm ones as well). if you try to use a headphone that isn’t really suitable without an external amp you might not get enough volume, or you might have to have the player volume set at maximum all the time to get a decent amount of volume, and the sound quality might also suffer.

I want to buy Sennheiser’s OCX 685i earbuds, but there is an Amazon review that says “Everything was fine except they will not work with my Sansa Clip+ MP3 player due to the way they arewired (plug)”. Can you verify this and explain why in more detail? I don’t want to make the purchase if they do not work with my primary device.

Standard phones with a standard plug, albeit wired with a remote control–perhaps it’s just the remote that doesn’t work (the Clips don’t work with digital remotes)?

Update:  I just tried my Clip with an Apple remote-control-wired set of phones, and while the remote doesn’t do anything, the phones play just fine. 

I have Beats earbuds with remote on the left wire and none of the functions work with my Sandisk Clip Sport Plus.  I like the Sandisk player but am not about to give up a good set of earbuds like Beats.  And the volume buttons on the side of the Sandisk are pretty hard to press, especially if you’re in the middle of running.