Basic Anatomy

Before taking apart all three pairs, I thought I should do a little research to make sure I know what's inside .

Here's what every basic pair should have:

If you didn't notice, that is a picture of an earphone not an earbud, but almost all the parts are the same except the transparent plastic cone (not-needed) and the front case (modified). The most important item in the picture are the wires. The wires are probably the most problematic part of any pair of earbuds, earphones, or headphones, because they're usually the first part to break. There's either a complete lack of sound when music is playing or a shortage of sound just from one earbud.  The second most important part is the magnet, because the circuit board is on the other side of it. The circuit board determines the sound quality, which is definitely one of my main focuses.