Replacing Cheap Headphones
Most people have no idea how impressive headphones can sound because the only listening 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..... We'll state that the recently 'upgraded' version of Apple's iPod earbuds are passable given their basic design. We've found the very inexpensive Sennheiser MX 560 are likely superior to the aforementioned Apple buds given their better fit ergonomics & friendly low price. A very substantial sound quality upgrade can be had with the Denon C351 'hybrid' earbuds / ear canal headphones [ECHs] which are especially excellent audio performers given their bargain $50 price tag as are the Sennheiser CX300 hybrid earphones. The serious contenders for 'Best Earbuds Ever' are the Yuin PK1 and PK2 models which are a bit 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 sadly-discontinued Koss KSC-55 (pictured at right) was the likely reigning king of the category. Nowadays, the open-earcup design of the Grado Labs i-Grado is a well-made-in-the-USA 'neckband' model that looks pretty slick and sounds keen given the category limitations & handsomely low pricepoint. You may wish to consider the sealed-earcup design of the PMX-200 for slightly better ambient noise isolation in a neckband headphone.
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 open-earcup Sennheiser PX100 is not quite as well-extended at the extremes of the sonic spectrum, but easily wins the fit ergonomics/comfort/looks race against the Koss. At similar pricepoints, Austria's AKG Acoustics offers the K27i while Sennheiser has their recent Sennheiser HD218 model. In particular, the HD218 a great-sounding, very comfortable can and killer rock/rap/jazz/modern-music headphones. Plus its a sealed-earcup construction makes it all the better as a traveling/commuting, ambient noise-blocking pair of "mini" cans. The larger-sized, supra-aural, non-folding Sennheiser HD202 model is another amazing rock-bottom-priced consideration around $30 bucks; 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 Headphones Around $50" used to begin with a mass employee exodus to the water cooler/"Hey, Who's-Up-For-Frisbee?" stampede. Its no wonder; cheap 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 DT235 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 (pictured at left) 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 like museums, schools, waiting rooms, gyms, and dentist chairs. 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). Finally, if sound quality is your driving factor, the terrific-sounding, very comfortable Sennheiser HD228 is another extremely impresssive sounding sealed-back portable headphone priced nicely under $100.
But probably the big mack-daddy of portable headphone upgrades is the venerable open-earcup Grado SR60i made by Brooklyn's family-run Grado Labs shop. At a bargain $79 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.
