NHT Sportsbuds Water-Resistant in-Ear Monitor Headphones with in-Line Controls

Not good for running unfortunately. Coming from a huge fan of NHT's value bookshelf speakers, my expectations and hopes were not appropriate. As a runner, sport earphones need to be comfortable in the ear, light, and able to resist sweat. I was unable to find a tip that fit comfortably. I tried all three tip sizes with and without the accompanied clear ear stays. With the best fitting tip and ear stay in, I ran twice to test them out. I kept feeling like I needed to push the buds in to get the optimal sound. While I never felt like the buds would come out, they just weren't comfortable due to the heavy weight of the ear buds and cord. While the quality of sound and material were quality for the price, these Sportsbuds are not optimal for medium to high intensity sporting endevours and just don't cut it. Disappointed enough to send them back. I will stick with Bose SoundSport in-ear headphones (as long as I don't send through the laundry again..)

I've been a big fan of NHT since I bought my first set of speakers from them in January 1998. I still use them every day in my home theater set up. They are outstanding speakers, being solidly built and also sounding great. I periodically check out their new speakers, as well as checking eBay for more like mine. I had, however, never heard any of their headphones. Being such a fan of their products, I was happy to accept a sample of these at a discount in exchange for me taking the time to evaluate them and share my experience with you in the hopes that it can help you in your shopping.My bottom line - I was initially disappointed in the plastic construction of the earbuds because it's not what I expected from NHT, and I thought that it was difficult to get the earbuds to stay in the position that gave me a good bass response. However, I eventually tried out every single one of the included tips and then discovered the magic. :) These things have extremely good bass response once you find that fit, assuming that the different sizes will work for you like they did for me. The sound quality is extremely good, but the plastic construction might put you off.A note on the included tips. There are three pairs of black tips (the "Comply S-series tips" in the product description) that fit on the ends just like shown in the product image, with each pair being a different size. There are also three pairs of different sized white tips ("silicone tips" in the description) that have extensions that sit inside of your ear to help keep the earbuds secured in place. The black tips can be used on their own, but the white tips are actually used with the black tips. To use the white ones, you first pull the black tip off of the end, slip the white tip over the end, and the put the black tip back on. There are no instructions or diagrams, but the way to fit the white tips on will be obvious if you get these because there is a notch in one portion of the cup area that fits perfectly over the wire coming out of the earbud if you put it on correctly. It wasn't obvious to me at first that the white tips are in addition to the black tips and not used alone until I started putting them on, then it was pretty obvious.They arrive with the "medium" sized black tips in place, with the other black tips and white tips in bags. Because the medium ones weren't giving me a good fit and seemed too large, I switched to the small tips. I found the high-end frequencies to be great, but there was a distinct lack of low end response unless I pushed the earbuds up against my ears with my fingers and held them there. This lasted for a while until I, even though I had assumed it would be the wrong direction to go, tried the large tips. Eureka! All of a sudden, they fit much better and the bass response was incredibly strong. Almost too strong, actually, so I played around a bit more with the placement. I finally learned just how to get them put in for a great response. I said all of that because I hope that you don't give up on these like I almost did, but instead just immediately try out all of the different sized tips to see which ones work the best. Probably common sense, but I'll never claim that is my strong suit. :)Once I got the fit dialed in, I just sat in my chair and enjoyed the music. With some headphones, I find myself thinking about how to review them and how I'm going to explain some aspect of them. With these, I just sat there and enjoyed them - and that's because the sound was so pleasing. Again, it might take a little effort/practice to get the right balance between high frequency response and low frequency response, as I found that ear placement that gave great response on one took away from the other. However, once you find it, these really do sound awesome.I haven't used the mic, yet, as I don't tend to use headphones for talking on the phone. I have used the mic button to pause/play music, though, and it works great for that. I do wish that the mic wasn't there, honestly, as the additional contact on the 3.5mm jack makes these not work properly with two of my headphone amps. They do work great with all of my other headphone jacks, though, including (of course) those on my phones.I think that these will be my go-to set the next time that I fly. The large tips block out a lot of ambient noise (which you may or may not want, such as if you're jogging), and these things can play darn loud if you want that.I personally think that these are a solid four stars, with the fifth star being taken away because (a) the plastic construction, while being great in making them lighter weight, feels a little cheap to me at the current $80 price, and (b) I wish it was easier to get great high and low frequency response at the same time.When I got these, they were selling for $100. I'm really happy to see the current price be lower at $80, as I thought $100 was too high. I'm ultimately quite happy with the sound, but I admit that I'd probably be willing to pay $50-$60 for these. I'm glad that I got a discount, though, because it allowed me to try them out and share my opinions with you. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment, and I'll respond as quickly as I can. Thanks!

NHT sent me a pair of these as a replacement to my defective NHT SuperBuds. First, I would like to say that NHT customer service was an absolute pleasure to work with - they sent me these with very few questions asked about my original SuperBuds. I just mailed in my old headphones and they sent me these.I have yet to extensively use them, but I will say that they fit very comfortably. They are also more snug and form-fitting than the original SuperBuds. Sound quality is still great. I listen to a wide variety of music, but these offer excellent range while blocking outside noise.I would strongly suggest purchasing these from NHT - quality is great, but I would like to highlight that the customer service was one of the best experiences I have ever had. NHT certainly cares and rewards its returning customers - if you have any issues with their products, make sure you reach out to them! Thanks for the great experience Bob from NHT!

I'm four days into my ownership of the NHT Sportsbuds, and I have nothing but good things to say about them. I spent a few minutes finding the best fit, including the extra white silicone tips. Once I did find that fit, not only did I decide that these were some of the most comfortable headphones I'd ever tried on, but the sound was something special. I browsed my hip-hop, jazz, and electronic music library, and across the board I found that these headphones highlighted the bass with just the right balance and excellent treble clarity and vibrance. The microphone works great, and the action button is very comfortable and easy to use. Although other reviewers have mentioned the finish of the headphones as a negative point, I actually find it's finish to be both classy and solid. Excellent set of headphones, even better customer service. Highly recommended.

Finally, sports buds that stay in place while vigorously exercising and sweating. I wore them during a four hour workout of hauling sand and rocks. They did not fall out! The in-line control was great for taking phone calls or just pausing the music. I have recommended them to friends.

These ear buds sound awesomeit is like having your NHT home system on the road with you