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Headphones for Exercise

No pain, no gain...or so the saying goes. However, people do put on a pair of headphones to add a little pleasure to the pain mix. There are a couple of things you’ve got to get right for this application: First, the headphones have to stay securely on your head as you are moving around, then they’ve got to survive all the sweating. Probably the most important thing to remember, though, is that your ability to remain aware of everything going on around you is severely limited by headphone listening. Be extremely careful if you are running, skiing, or skating with headphones on. Riding a bicycle in traffic with headphones is really not a good idea at all and is basically a recipe for disaster.

Most ear canal headphones (ECHs) work well while exercising, but they can cause lost awareness of what’s going on around you due to their total isolation ability. But in the gym that could be just what you want. Rest assured, sweat doesn’t get into your ear canal behind the earpieces very easily and, if it does, a quick wipe of the earpieces & inside your ear with a tissue usually does the trick making you good to go again. Keep in mind that ECHs do sometimes tend to amplify the sound of your heartbeat and of your feet pounding the treadmill but we’ve found the best choices for minimizing that "cable microphonics" phenomenon are either the Sennheiser CX300 and the better-sounding CX500 'hybrid' ECH/earbuds or the excellent Shure SE310 ECH. We'll add that Shure has released a varied 'SE' line of ECHs that are great for gym work and can also do double-duty for frequent travelers seeking excellent noise-blocking and audiophilic commuters wanting superb sound quality.

A lot of thrilling indoor/outdoor activity these days goes well with a sport helmet. We’d like to suggest the Koss KSC75 'clip-on' headphones. These are dandy cans for sk8ers, climbers, skiers, and boarders of all types (not surf boarders though!). They work well under a beanie, turban, or skullcap, too. The cost is low on these and Koss has a nice lifetime guarantee, so if you wreck them you can easily get them replaced.

For something a little more secure but not stuck into your ear canal or clipped onto your earlobes, have a look at the Koss Porta Pro. These are, by a small margin, the best sounding little cans of their type, so you’ll likely love the sound - if not necessarily their looks. Like all Koss headphones, they also come with a lifetime warranty so if you tangle yourself up in the stair-stepper or take a header off the recumbent bike, you can send them in for free repair or replacement. Similar cans like the Sennheiser PX100 and PX200 and the sealed-back AKG K81dj work really quite fine as well for exercise. 'Neckband' designs featuring the band looping behind the neck -- sometimes called 'Street-Style' -- are also popular amongst gym rats & active types. The i-Grado and the Sennheiser PMX100 are likely the best neckband headphones for this application.

Finally, don't forget to check out our Obic Exercise Belt, a comfortable way to carry your Mp3 /iPod and one of our 'Mobile' line headphone amps -- like the Total Airhead or the Total Bithead -- at the gym or while jogging around the neighborhood. These little portable HeadRoom built-in-the-USA headphone amps run forever off four AAA batteries and will fully maximize the musical clarity and sonic detail resolution of any quality headphone.

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