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Replacing Cheap Headphones

Most people have no idea how good headphones can sound because the only headphone experiences they’ve had are with the earphone junk that comes with portable players or with the simply disgraceful, so-called headphones provided by the airlines. You can get WAAY better headphone listening than that! It does take spending a tiny bit of money, but your head will thank you endlessly.

At the very lowest end of the inexpensive price spectrum are the 'earbuds'. Because the fit is so hit-and-miss we don’t really like to recommend them much. The comfort and audio performance of earbuds is also so darn variable that it’s very hard to know what they’ll sound like in your particular ears -- we’ll give it a shot though..... The old Sony EX71 and E888 were commonly recommended earbuds in the earphone world, and we’ll add that the recently upgraded-version Apple iPod earbuds are passable, too. We’ve found the very inexpensive Sennheiser MX 300 are likely every bit as good as the aformentioned buds given their ridiculously low price. New serious contenders for 'Best Earbuds Ever' are the Yuin PK1 and PK2 models which are certainly quite pricey but sound extremely impressive in what has previously been a very ho-hum area of headphones.

Some folks want cheap headphones with a headband design that goes around the back of the neck, called the 'Neckband' or sometimes the "Street-Style" design. The Sennheiser PMX-40 looks good, but it doesn’t actually sound as keen as it looks. Try the PMX-60 instead for slightly better sound quality in a neckband 'phone. We also quite liked the now-discontinued Koss KSC-55; it sounded terrific, but was only modestly comfortable for some listeners. The Koss Sporta Pro has a convertible headband that can go around the back of your neck if so desired and they sound slightly better than some of the others mentioned above... Sadly, they are U-G-L-Y and the fit issues are also, er, slightly odd for many wearers.

We occassionally prefer to steer folks in the direction of "clip-on" headphones instead of the neckband type. They usually end up being more appropiate for certain listening uses & settings; Clip-on style headphones can be quite handy for many exercise and active-use applications plus young folks like the fact they fit under beanies, rad skullcaps, and sport helmets. At HeadRoom we think the Koss KSC-75 is likely the hands-down 'clip-on' headphone choice. They sound quite good, are easy to put on, relatively comfortable to wear, and look...well, a little weird.... Oh heck, three out of four ain’t bad!

The formerly-ignored category of small, portable (folding) headphones is really heating up lately and a number of the big players have joined in with the traditional offerings from Koss. The Koss Porta Pro [NOT to be confused with the Koss 'Sporta Pro' model!] is a great little can; we’ve recommended it for years. And it continues to be (by a VERY small margin) perhaps the best-sounding of the bunch that follows... The Sennheiser PX100 is not quite as well-extended at the extremes of the sonic spectrum, but easily wins the ergonomics/comfort/looks race against the Porta Pro hands down. Getting a seal on the PX200 isn’t easy for some wearers, but these cans will attenuate the noisy outside world and they sound pretty good, too -- if you can get them to fit properly. At even lower pricepoints, which is fairly amazing all by itself, AKG offers the K27I, K-26p, and K-24p. The now-discontinued K24P isn’t nearly as refined-sounding as the PX100, but at almost half the price it might be a consideration for listeners on a super-tight budget. The also-discontinued AKG K26P [new AKG 24/26 models on the way soon!] was a bit bigger & punchier in the bass than any of any of the above 'phones, and in a nicely full-sounding way. It was probably a little rolled-off in the treble range for some but it is a great rock/rap/funk/modern-produced music sort of headphone! And given the fact that it was a sealed makes it all the better for a traveling/commuting, ambient noise-blocking pair of little cans. The mid-sized & non-folding Sennheiser HD202 is another amazing rock-bottom-priced consideration; the HD202's incredible price vs audio performance ratio is shocking. Really, all the headphones mentioned here are superb value-heavy purchases.

HeadRoom listening tests for the category of "Sealed Full-Size Headphones Under $50" used to begin with a mass employee exodus to the water cooler/ "Hey, Who's-Up-For-Frisbee?" stampede. Its no wonder; cheap, big sealed headphones used to be wretched, mercilessly resonating garbage cans of abject horror. Thankfully, there are some fine headphones populating this category nowadays. Sealed/closed headphones are always the toughest to get sounding right, but beyerdynamic in Germany have done it well for a long time and their simple beyerdynamic DT231-Galactic has been a steady favorite of ours, especially for its crisp, articulate treble ranges and lightweight, comfortable fit. At less than half the price, the also rather plain-jane looking but amazingly good-sounding Sennheiser HD201 is another standout, value-loaded buy. Not only is the HD201 a nice gift for friends & family, it’s a perfect headphone for business applications (museums, schools, waiting rooms, gyms and dentists chairs for example). Other sub-$80 sealed headphones worthy of note are the Sennheiser EH 150, HD 212 Pro, and HD 202 (which, once again, are particularly good for such little cash).

But probably the big mack-daddy of portable player headphone upgrades is the venerable Grado SR60. At a bargain $69 bucks, it still reigns supreme in delicious sound quality available under that magic $100 mark. If you are looking to get into a nearly 'high-end' sound experience for the least possible expenditure, this is probably it. Granted, their styling is best described as “ultimate old school”, but these basic cans have been wowing music lovers for well over a decade now.

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