• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Good headphones/earbuds?

GoldenEye Samurai

Gold Member
I’m looking for a good, comfortable pair of headphones/earbuds that aren’t going to break the bank. What do you have and/or what do you recommend?
 

down 2 orth

Member
I just bought a pair of JVC bluetooth sweatproof earbuds for $25. I guess they're going out on clearance now, because some websites are selling them for $400-$1000 plus. Whatever the case, it's the best purchase I've made in a long time.
 

Gamerguy84

Member
I wanted a cheapy pair for the gym. I bought these Tozo T6 wireless and they are actually amazing.

$45 on Amazon. Lots of bass and the touch, tap functions work well
 

deafmedal

Member
For over ear in the $100 range I’d say something like Sony MDR-7506 or Sennheiser HD 280, I found both fine for that price point. For a bit more some beyerdynamic DT 770 are fantastic.

I don’t have much experience with cheaper earbuds, currently rocking Power Beats Pros (or whatever they’re called) and they’re fine for what they are- sound is alright but the convenience factor is fantastic when paired with a fruit phone.

My main set of over ears are beyerdynamic 880 and they are wonderful. I’d like to try some Focals at some point too but it’ll be a while before I grab another fucking pair of headphones!
 
I have sony mdr zx110

wh2-mdrzx110-pc_02.jpg


Extremely cheap and good audio quality and comfortable! I recommend it if you want something cheap.
 

navii

My fantasy is that my girlfriend was actually a young high school girl.
I hear these are good.


I personally wasn't a fan of their looks. But they have a long battery life. Which is great for wireless earbuds.

I had Treblab X5 which I thought were decent. But they have poor battery life... And also seem to be sold out.

At the moment I'm using Noble Audio Falcons and I'm underwhelmed. I wish I got the Creative Labs pair instead.
 

Kev Kev

Member
I wanted a cheapy pair for the gym. I bought these Tozo T6 wireless and they are actually amazing.

$45 on Amazon. Lots of bass and the touch, tap functions work well
ive owned several pairs of $40-$60 ear buds i got off amazon. theyve all worked and sounded great, and were very comfortable. ive always preached that headphones/earbuds are waaaaaayyy too expensive in the market rn, and bc its such a trend right now to have headphones on or ear buds in (or just dangling around your neckto look cool, that that is why we are seeing insane prices on these phones/buds). consumer grade tech like that has no busniess being so expensive. maybe they sound better, sure im not saying they dont, but its no where near worth the price tags, nor is it practical for someone to need there music to be that high quality when theyre just using it to go for a run or to look trendy

but to each his own. im not getting into that argument again. whenever i do people come at me like i just punched their infant

for OP, id suggest just cruising amazon for some cheap wireless earbuds. ENACFIRE enrolled me into a review program where they give me several pairs of free ear buds and theyve all been great and are in the $50- to $60 range. perfect low budget buds.
 
Last edited:

deafmedal

Member
maybe they sound better, sure im not saying they dont, but its no where near worth the price tags
Depends on how much you value music. I agree about some consumer grade stuff being expensive just for the sake of it but a great pair of phones have phenomenal build quality and create a fantastic sound stage with a 3D like quality. You could be intimately familiar with an album and hear things you’ve never heard. There is a point of diminishing returns once you get into the upper echelon of audiophile gear but there is absolutely a difference between price points in the sub $500-1k range.

That said, if you don’t know any better it most likely makes zero difference, just buy something cheap heh. Horrible, expensive hole to wander down 😂
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
What is your budget? I have no clue what break the bank means to you.
Additionally, do you prefer on-ear, over-ear, IEM?
What are you using them for? Gaming, movies, music?
 

navii

My fantasy is that my girlfriend was actually a young high school girl.
The creative buds I mentioned above seem to have a sale on them.
 

Yams

Member
Grado's SR80e, is the best pair of headphones you can buy for less than $100. The only downside is that they use an open-air design, so they aren't really ideal for the bus or other public spaces. People will hear the music leaking from the speakers. The SR60's are also great and are even cheaper.

If you want an over-ear option, the Audio Technica ATH-M40x are also quite good if you can find them for less than $100.

Sienhesser is obviously fantastic as well, but their product line doesn't really hit its stride until you reach into the higher price brackets.
 
I have a pair of these I use for music listening and mobile phone calls etc, they're great and never had an issue with the cable weakening or crackling like so many other earbuds I've owned. Solid performer for sound and mic that is reliable AF. Always with me when I travel for work, when we used to be able to travel without Covid.


product_detail_x1_desktop_MOMENTUM_In-Ear_Red_Sennheiser_01.jpg
 

Tesseract

Banned
i'm 9/11'ing your thread

wanting for a good pair of buds and over the ears

lay upon me some recs, good friends of the neogib
 
Airpod pros are legit. I use them while working in the shop. They are small enough that I can put ear muffs over them for extra protection when using loud tools. The transparency mode is awesome for running and mountain biking
 
all round, i use headphones for everything

I've got the Sennheiser ear buds pictured above, great for everything from clarity to bass and the carry case they come with. Only problem with them is lying down on the side of your head/pillow isn't really possible as they protrude a fair amount and become uncomfortable in your ear. Other than that one issue they're pretty fucking great.

As for over ear I use my Astro A10s for all rounders, wired but I'm mostly plugging them into my Xbox controller adapter. Solid for gaming (which is their biggest use for me), decent for movies, good for music but not incredible and can connect to a PC or Xbox just fine with mic functions working still etc. Nice boom mic mute feature to just flip up or down, easy volume adjustment inline and decent at blocking out of sound without having noise reduction/cancelling built in. They're also pretty cheap. If you want brilliant quality then I'm sure an audiophile on here will recommend far better quality with a higher price tag though.
 
Last edited:

GoldenEye Samurai

Gold Member
I’m bumping this because I am again in need of reccs. I was thinking about AirPods Pro 2, but I’d like to stay less than $200 if possible. One other pair I was heavily considering after watching Mike O’Brien’s reviews on YouTube is the Sennheiser Momentum 3’s. Not much cheaper than the AirPods Pro 2, but it’ll give me at least some wiggle room. But yeah, 2 years have passed since I started this thread. What new earbuds or headphones are you rocking or would you recommend for somebody like me? I’m very picky. I’d be mostly using them for music, possibly for movies/TV here and there, but mostly music is what I want them for.

I have an M2 11” iPad Pro and it’s got good speakers, but I am looking for earbuds or headphones in my price range of $200 or less that could give me a louder sound experience overall with some bass added in.

I forgot to mention a third pair I was eyeballing. The Beats Fit Pros.
 
Last edited:

QSD

Member
I have a pair of AKG headphones, they are meant for music production and IDK if AKG also do regular consumer headphones but these things are *ultra durable*, have had them for 15+ yrs, treated pretty roughly in some travel circumstances

Edit: also used to own a pair of Sennheisers that I was very happy with, very durable, clear-sounding phones which I used mainly for DJ'ing but they got lost/stolen one night at a warehouse gig which was a real pity.
 
Last edited:

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
I’m bumping this because I am again in need of reccs. I was thinking about AirPods Pro 2, but I’d like to stay less than $200 if possible. One other pair I was heavily considering after watching Mike O’Brien’s reviews on YouTube is the Sennheiser Momentum 3’s. Not much cheaper than the AirPods Pro 2, but it’ll give me at least some wiggle room. But yeah, 2 years have passed since I started this thread. What new earbuds or headphones are you rocking or would you recommend for somebody like me? I’m very picky. I’d be mostly using them for music, possibly for movies/TV here and there, but mostly music is what I want them for.

I have an M2 11” iPad Pro and it’s got good speakers, but I am looking for earbuds or headphones in my price range of $200 or less that could give me a louder sound experience overall with some bass added in.

I forgot to mention a third pair I was eyeballing. The Beats Fit Pros.
Do they need to be wireless?
 
Another wireless alternative that I recommend:
 
Last edited:

IDKFA

I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Wait a few months. Rumors are that Sony will be dropping the WF-XM5 earbuds this summer. These are the earbuds you want.
 
Top Bottom