Nicole Recommends: Inexpensive Headphones
Update: I’ve removed the Sony DR-ZX701IP. The right ear went out after about six months of office use. Unacceptable.
I am not an audiophile by any stretch of the imagination. I can’t fine tune my stereo, I don’t can’t match tones, and I certainly don’t know pitch. However, I do know when something sounds awful. And cheap headphones sound awful, and are often uncomfortable.
It’s hard to know what to buy though. Audio equipment is so much a marketing game. Price doesn’t necessarily mean quality. Monster Beats will set you back $150 for the earbuds, and $300 for the studio over-ear style. But the sound quality reviews on Head-Fi.org, an audiophile headphone review site, are mediocre at best.
Over the years I’ve tried a lot of bad headphones. More pairs of sub-$20 earbuds than I can count. Flimsy on ear styles because they were around. Whatever came with whatever device I was using. But over the past few years I’ve realized there are really good headphones in the sub $100 range that not only sound better, but are more comfortable and last more than six months. If you’re looking to upgrade, I highly recommend checking these out.
Earbuds
I had given up on earbuds when I bought my first pair of S3s a couple of years ago. I have small ears, so most all of them feel uncomfortable. On the insistence of my husband though, I gave them a shot. (They were also on sale for $20 on Black Friday which didn’t hurt). They blew me away.
The Klipsch S3s came with three different sizes of tips, and one of those sets was even a different shape. This made them comfortable. They stay in when I run. They aren’t noise canceling, but they are isolating enough that they block out most office noise even without listening to music. My first pair lasted two years (a record for me), they’d likely still be working if my dog hadn’t ate them.
I’ve since upgraded to the Klipsch S4i (another sale, this time they were $50). My audiophile husband originally bought them for himself, but couldn’t tell a sound difference between the S4 and the S3. He let me have them since they have controls designed to work with iPhone and he has an Android phone. Klipsch does make the S4a for Android users, but they weren’t on sale that day.
Klipsch S3 earbuds have an MSRP of $49.99, but they always seem to be on Amazon for $30 or less. The S4i and S4a models MSRP at $99.99.
Over Ear Headphones
The Panasonic RP-HTX7 headphones were my first pair of nice over the ear headphones. And I’m not going to lie, I was attracted to the cute retro styling. The reviews were a solid average (which meant they’d be at least an upgrade to my $20 Sony’s), and the price was right.
They don’t sound as good as the Sony DR-ZX701IP listed above, but they aren’t terrible. Strongly average is an accurate description. But the looks are amazing. They look like a cute, smaller version of 1970’s headphones and I loved them for that. They’re four years old and still work well, but the padding around the cans is starting to flake off so it was time to retire them.
Panasonic RP-HTX7 headphones MSRP at $59.99, but are often sub-$40 on Amazon depending on color.
The Headphones My Husband Loves
I’m including the Sony MDR7506 headphones, I’m sorry studio monitors, because if I don’t I will never hear the end of it from my husband. He is an audiophile, and extremely picky about what headphones he’ll use. I think it was physically painful for him to buy me the above two over the ear headphones. He wanted me to get the same Sony MDR7506 that he has. He has had his pair for years. He used to mix audio at concerts and these were his go-to. He still uses them on a nearly daily basis.
The reason I don’t want them is they look like studio monitors. They’re bulky, and in my opinion, a bit heavy. But they do sound incredible. They’re another pair that’s technically not sub $100 headphones, they MSRP at $130, but I’ve never seen them over $100 on Amazon.
I have Sony or Skullcandy ear-buds. My main set is a Sony set with a built-in mic for my smartphone. I use this for cycling and walking. I have around 8+ sets by Skullcandy as various backups so I always have a set somewhere. I also have several nice Sony “Over Ear” models for home and my travel bag. I have an old Bose set which rocks but it is going to cost me almost $50 just to replace the foam. LOL.