Best Headphones for Under $75

[zflauaus]

Ahhh.... I have some sad news. The ever-relevant I'm-15-and-my-parents-get-a-say-in-what-I-buy-even-with-my-own-money has come into play. I highly doubt my parents would let me spend $100 on headphones. So I'm a dropping it to the $75 budget range.

So, what do y'all think of the Sennheiser CX300?

 

[mulletman13]

I haven't had any experience with those Senns, but they are a Class A company (like most headphone companies are).

You may want to take a trip over to the head-fi.org classifieds -- people are ALWAYS selling some earphones for about $60/65 or so. They may be used, but come with a ton of extra ear tips, so no need to worry about it.

Or check head-fi for reviews of other phones... a great community there.

 

[Sesshi]

So, what do y'all think of the Sennheiser CX300?

As I recommended, I think it's one of the better in-ear phones you can buy for the money. It's musically better than the Etymotic phones, but you don't get the feeling of singular clarity that the ER-6i gives you - that is, unless you have an EQ onboard your player which can cut all the bass and really push up all the trebles on the CX300 (because that's what the Etymotics sound like ).

It has acceptable isolation from outside sounds, something that the Etymotic / Shures do definitely win on. The isolation of the Etymotic (with the expensive-to-replace foam tips, and you will have to replace them on a fairly regular basis) is awesome in particular.

The CX300 is one of the better built versions of the low-end in-earphones. I thinl all that plus the two-year warranty for someone whose hard on phones would be a good deal.

 

[zflauaus]

As I recommended, I think it's one of the better in-ear phones you can buy for the money. It's musically better than the Etymotic phones, but you don't get the feeling of singular clarity that the ER-6i gives you - that is, unless you have an EQ onboard your player which can cut all the bass and really push up all the trebles on the CX300 (because that's what the Etymotics sound like ).

It has acceptable isolation from outside sounds, something that the Etymotic / Shures do definitely win on. The isolation of the Etymotic (with the expensive-to-replace foam tips, and you will have to replace them on a fairly regular basis) is awesome in particular.

The CX300 is one of the better built versions of the low-end in-earphones. I thinl all that plus the two-year warranty for someone whose hard on phones would be a good deal.

Sounds like the CX300 are so far the winner. I will seriously look into these. Thanks.

 

[Vanilla]

Well just to add my two pennies worth...I have recently replaced my Shure e2c's with a pair of AKG K27's and they are very, very nice.

I liked the e2c's - great sound - but I got an ear infection which really shook me up and I did find it a pain having to reseat them whenever I needed to talk to someone etc.

The K27's have excellent base, great all round sound, have a volume slider on the headphone wire (which is handy when needing to quickly listen to something external), are quite small, can be folded and are a good price. Apple stores sell them so if one is near by I'd recommend checking them out.

Vanilla

 

[mulletman13]

Never never never buy headphones at the Apple store. You will get raped.

 

[Vanilla]

Never never never buy headphones at the Apple store. You will get raped.

Well personally after buying my headphones from the London store my homour remained intact and the price I paid - £39.95 - appears comparable to most stores during a quick google search before I went to the store, plus I got the convenience of trying them first and wearing them as I walked out the store.

Vanilla

 

[Flyinace2000]

I saw this thread and came in here just to make the same recommendation.

Grado SR-60 cannot be beat. Astonishing quality. It's so pleasant to listen to my music on headphones now. I know headphones are amazing when I attach them to my Yamaha digital piano and can hear all 88 notes in complete clarity. These headphones are worth hundreds of $$. Buy them from headphone.com for $69.

I'm not affiliated with them in any way, I just like spreading the word about a great product

I second this. Except that i would spen a little more and get the SR-80's. They cost a little more ($85) but have a better bass response is a little better. They are by far the best headphones under $100.
http://www.gradolabs.com/product_pages/sr80.htm

 

[kondspi]

Radioshack Pro 35 Titanium...
Audiophile quality... $40 on sale.

 

[dogbone]

Dude, you can buy the Koss Porta Pros for US$39 including first class delivery from eBay.

In fact I can have them delivered to Australia for less than half the price I paid for my first pair of Porta Pros 18 fracking years ago.

The Porta Pros sound is so good that it makes a $4 radio sound good. They are the most supremely comfortable headphones due to the way they remove all pressure from your ears, and the tight clean bass is unbelievable. They also come with a *genuine* lifetime warrantee.

 

[oliverlubin]

Etymotic ER6i

another vote for the Etymotic ER6i. Worth the $80-90 (depending on when/where you buy them). Had the ER6 (stolen) and now the ER6i and these are even better.

FWIW, i tried the new apple headphones and was pleasantly surprised. very comfortable and good clarity. not nearly as prone to falling out as the old ones and for $30 are not bad way to go if you're on a budget. go to the apple store near you and try them out.

the other potential option is the new ultimate ear metro.fi 2 that iLounge just posted about recently.

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipod/review/ultimate-ears-metrofi-2-earphones/