What are the best headphones that 45 bucks can get me?

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johnnq

[H]ard|Gawd
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dont want to spend more than 50 if i can help it. what are the best in-ear headphones that are available?
 
I personally don't have any experience with any of the lower headphones, but I used the guide over at head-fi.com to get a ballpark of similarly priced headphones as well as recommendations from their forums.

Head-Fi's Headphone Buyer's Guide
 
classical, rock, video games, i'd like them to do everything well, but be great for classical.
 
classical? hmmmm. well, the above suggestions, any of them, will be ok. I listen to bach fugues on the fx66s and they do fine.
 
Some of the more piercing highs seem to be one of the casualties of poor audio resolution, either by compression or by shoddy drivers. The JVCs are pretty good with this, for example Bach's BWV 1030 B minor Sonata. Other pieces like Mozart's Requiem Mass in D minor K. 626 with more midrange seem to do well, and even some pipe organ work. However, I don't really like them for some things (that you can't reasonably expect cheapo IEMs to do anyway...) like Tchaikovsky's cannons or more elaborate pipe organ pieces like Bach's Contrapuncti.

With a few possible exceptions, in-ear phones are going to suck for games compared to the alternatives. It will work, but depending on your expectations it may not be the most appropriate listening option there.
 
Koss PortaPros, or KTX-1, or the KSC-75 earclips, or Radio Shack Pro-35A, all using the same drivers, all with outstanding audio quality - refer that to HeadFi.org and do a search for PortaPro or KSC-75 and see how many hits you get.

That's under $50... above that, it depends on what you're interested in and other people will surely offer suggestions. I've got a pair of Sony V6 (originals with the wider and nearly flat response curve) and they are absolutely excellent for anything I monitor.
 
I believe the Zune ones are made by Sennheiser iirc... definitely seem to remember people telling me that on several occasions, but I hate those things for how they're shaped. True IEMs (In-Ear Monitors) or the more common phrase 'canal phones' are great things if you can find some that you're happy with. Audio hardware... there really isn't a "best" anything for every single person... our ears are too different for that to be possible.
 
For $45 don't get IEMs. You won't get the quality. Go for some Senn PX100s or Portapros or KSC75s
 
ashmedai said:
JVC FX33/34/66/etc or Senny CX300, apparently.
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I've had the Senheisser CX300 for about two years now, very happy with them, I paid close to $40 at the time, if not $40 (and there weren't very many other decent IEM options in the price range back then), but you can find 'em for like $25 now, or less with a rebate/upgrade promotion Senheisser is doing. I'm sure pricier $75+ IEMs would blow them away, but they're still leaps and bounds better than any pair of regular earbuds (and I tried dozens of 'em, waste of time/$).

I've got the mentioned Koss KSC-75 as well and they do sound excellent if you manage to get the fit just right, which is rather impossible w/the earclips imo... Under a hoodie or some other headband that presses them closer to your ears they work excellent. I use the CX300 most of the time simply because they're more portable, but if I'm walking around in the city (or I go skiing) I'll reach for the KSC-75 since being headphones they obviously don't block outside noise (don't wanna run into any cars/skiers now do I? :p ).
 
ashmedai said:
Thread already has numerous counterexamples, though?
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More like two... :p The CX300 and the JVC FX whatever, I think those are newer than the CX300, but from what I've seen at Head-fi.org they're both the most mentioned/recommended budget options still, FWIW.
 
The CX-300 has a j-cord, which I personally abhor. I'd probably go for the JVC Air Cushion / FX66 for about 20 bucks and change.
 
ashmedai said:
Thread already has numerous counterexamples, though?
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Well we are talking about IEMs as a requirement? If so, those buds that come with Sony Ericsson phones are also "IEM"s too, but there's not much quality.

If the OP is concerned about quality, at that price range nothing can beat those 3 headphones I suggested (and between those 3 they are neck to neck). I used to have a pair of KSC75s until they broke, and I replaced with recently with PX100s. Both have their flavors, and it is all about personal preference.

I also have a pair of UE super fi 5 pro's, which are about 4x price of a Senn PX100. But are they 4X better? No way. But I mainly use IEMs for work so I don't disturb others, so that's the requirement for me.
 
forsberg78 said:
But I mainly use IEMs for work so I don't disturb others, so that's the requirement for me.
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Oh man, you're supposed to say you want to seal yourself off from the rest of the craptastic world and enjoy your tunes... that's the primary benefit of true IEMs: they block out the world so you can go inside. Bleh. ;)
 
Joe Average said:
Oh man, you're supposed to say you want to seal yourself off from the rest of the craptastic world and enjoy your tunes... that's the primary benefit of true IEMs: they block out the world so you can go inside. Bleh. ;)
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same thing! =)
 
But yeah - very important with ashmedai said in post #9. All IEMs suck for gaming. Don't even think about it.
 
I use the buds that came w/my Sony Ericsson for sleeping when I'm traveling... I broke a few other earbuds/headphones by tangling the cord while I slept but since it's so short on those (they're meant to be used w/the mic adapter/cable) I just tuck the MP3 player under the pillow and any tug just pops 'em out. :p

IEM's main advantage is they're small/portable and they block outside noise (and don't leak any noise out), but if neither of those is a priority (or you can live with something slightly bulkier in your pocket/wherever) then definitely look into the other options mentioned here, particularly for any kind of gaming, even if it's on a PSP or w/e.
 
forsberg78 said:
But yeah - very important with ashmedai said in post #9. All IEMs suck for gaming. Don't even think about it.
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hmm but i used the apple headphones and didn't have any problems. i just want light in ear headphones or buds that will sound great for lots of music and will also work for games. lots of good feedback but i'm not sure which ones to go with. would like to spend 20-50 but i'll spend 50 if it's worth the money.

are there any good audio review sites to check out??
 
johnnq said:
hmm but i used the apple headphones and didn't have any problems. i just want light in ear headphones or buds that will sound great for lots of music and will also work for games. lots of good feedback but i'm not sure which ones to go with. would like to spend 20-50 but i'll spend 50 if it's worth the money.

are there any good audio review sites to check out??
Click to expand...

www.head-fi.org

more information than you will ever want to know!
 
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