No upgrade required: MP3 players with earbuds worth keeping

Donald Bell, Senior Editor August 18, 2008

If the amount of white earbuds I see each day are any indication, few people upgrade from the stock headphones that come with their MP3 players. Whether it's the status symbol of iPod ownership or consumer pockets pinched hard by gadget addiction, the droves of people out there with inferior earbuds are enough to keep me up at night.

On the chance that our national obsession with bundled earbuds is really a subconscious protest against paying extra for quality that should come standard, we've rounded up five MP3 players that don't skimp on extras.

Microsoft, Creative, and Philips all offer in-canal earbuds with their higher-end models of MP3 players. These in-canal style 'buds include various sizes of earpieces to ensure a firm fit in your ears and offer an improved frequency response.

The king of bundled headphones is Sony, who could have filled this entire list with their Walkman line of MP3 players. Instead of turning this into a Sony love letter, we've only included their most notable examples. The Sony Walkman NWZ-S718F includes active noise-canceling earphones that work so well, we gave them an Editors' Choice award. If you're looking to jump into wireless audio with both feet, the Sony Walkman NWZ-A828K Bluetooth MP3 player comes bundled with high-quality in-canal earbuds and a pair of attractive Bluetooth on-ear headphones.

More Resources

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Editors' top earbuds,

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