Inexpensive headphones / in-ear phones

PhilD

PhilD

Messages
1,473
Location
W. Yorks
It had to happen sometime: finally sat on my ancient Pioneer headphones.

Are there stand-out value inexpensive cans or in-ear phones anyone knows of please? 3.5 mm plug. Thanks.
 
Senheiser CX300

http://www.whathifi.com/review/sennheiser-cx-300-ii

Search around, should be able to get them for £30

Best 30 quid I have spent in a long time ;)
 
Sennheiser are very good. I have the cx500 which were about £45 seven or eight years ago and despite heavy use for most of those years when travelling they still work perfectly. The cx300 have a good rep
 
If you don't mind looking a bit retro the Koss portapro are an excellent buy.
A bit less bite up top and a bit more bottom end work great with the compressed sound from ipods.
Really nice sound for the price.
 
jaycey said:
Senheiser CX300

http://www.whathifi.com/review/sennheiser-cx-300-ii

Search around, should be able to get them for £30

Best 30 quid I have spent in a long time ;)
Click to expand...

Agreed they were my headphones for ages until I got them caught and ripped the wire.
 
I also have a pair of Beyerdynamic for £100. Superb sound but with careful daily use I had them replaced under warranty after eight months as the left earpiece stopped working.
Sennheiser are a good choice if you want reliability as well as sound quality for the money. Just watch out for fakes on auction sites
 
https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/thursday-5th-june/product-detail/ps/p/premium-earphones/

Might be worth a try, you never know! :icon_razz:
 
mattyb240 said:
Agreed they were my headphones for ages until I got them caught and ripped the wire.
Click to expand...

Sennheisers all sound great IMO when they work, but their cabling is just designed to break and are quite fragile. I've had a few pairs in different models and prices, from $50 buds to $300 cans. All suffered the same fate with breaks in the cables, including the cans blowing a channel.

Buds are hard to recommend because the sound is driven by the shape and size of your ear canal. For me Skullcandy's inked are a good sounding bud for $20 that are pretty durable (mine have been through the wash and dry cycle a few times).

For cans - someone mentioned Koss which has a great sounding phone, ugly as a stick, but decently priced - and could fair well against some low to mid range Grados. My trusty reliable Sony MDR-V6 Monitors are great and highly recommended for price and sound. Not sure what their current numbering system is, however I've seen they are still sold, despite being renumbered for close to 20 years with only slight design changes.
 
^ thanks, hadn't heard of Skullcandy before. They seem to be very good value, though the name is pretty irritating :).

At the moment I'm torn between risking the price of a London pint on the Aldi ones or feeling very secure spending £25 on the Soundmagic E10. They are supposed to have particularly durable cables which sounds like it might give them an edge over the Sennheisers.
 
PhilD said:
^ thanks, hadn't heard of Skullcandy before. They seem to be very good value, though the name is pretty irritating :).

At the moment I'm torn between risking the price of a London pint on the Aldi ones or feeling very secure spending £25 on the Soundmagic E10. They are supposed to have particularly durable cables which sounds like it might give them an edge over the Sennheisers.
Click to expand...
IMO it would depend on the purpose. I've probably got no less than 5 - 6 sets of headphones all with a designated purpose.

Generally they fall in to following categories:
Working outdoors in the yard: cheap buds like Skullcandy.
Workout: Shure EC-3 buds.
Jet travel : Sony NC-120? closed ear with noise cancellation
Turboprop travel: Shure EC-3 buds (active cancellation doesn't work!)
Office Work in active environment (subject to interruptions): Sennheiser open ear.
Quiet Work: Sony w/ NC or my MDR-V6.

Sounds like you have a short list. If it's your only pair - get a decent pair that you won't be too upset if they break. If it's just an extra pair - spend according to the abuse and budget they'll receive. IMO - until you start spending >$75 (~£40 I'm estimating from my last trip over the pond) sound quality doesn't change much from $20 - $75; pretty much all same specs - you're paying for fit and a marketing dept. Even then, if you're over 35 yrs old - the odds are against you if your hearing is still good enough to appreciate the pricier pairs.

TLDR; if you can hear the mosquito ringtones - a high range pair is still worth a listen.

Good luck - and may your hearing loss be minimal!
 
A UK based company called ei8htball produce some remarkable in ear headphones for roughly £25.
I prefer them to my Bose, sennheiser and Beats in ear headphones. The reviews suggest I'm not alone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom