shopping for headphones

December 26, 2005 10:42 AM

can you recommend headphones (over the head) under $50 from amazon?

lookin for some headphones (sick of the earbuds) i'm sharing a room with some blokes and they can be quite noisy (snore or get up at all hours of day)

posted by kewlio to Shopping (16 answers total)

I have the Sennheiser PX 100 headphones and they're easily the best I've ever heard. They're not enclosed, so people around you will hear them if you listen loudly, but it sounds like you don't care about that.
posted by knave at 10:44 AM on December 26, 2005

I bought these 5-6 years ago and they're still pretty good for the price (back then, I think I paid $40 for them).

These days, I usually listen with a pair of $80 Grado SR80s, and they sound great, but they're bad at keeping the sound in -- the open air design means someone sitting next to you can hear pretty much everything you're listening to.
posted by mathowie at 11:14 AM on December 26, 2005

I use Sennheiser EH-2270s that I bought from an Amazon merchant about 3 years ago. I love them. I think they were more around the $80 range. The big thing with them though is GIGO... there's a massive difference in quality from listening to output from my computer's soundcard (every range is clear, bass is booming) and my portable CD player (upper & lower are fuzzy, bass is either nonexistant or cracking).
posted by devilsbrigade at 11:28 AM on December 26, 2005

I bought the Sennheiser HD-202 headphones a few years ago for $30. For under $30 they deliver amazing sound quality.
posted by camworld at 11:45 AM on December 26, 2005

I have the Sennheiser PX 100 headphones and they're easily the best I've ever heard. They're not enclosed, so people around you will hear them if you listen loudly, but it sounds like you don't care about that.

I have the same ones. I recently purchased them and I love them. I listen to my music somewhat loudly occasionally, but I don't think the music leaks too much even though they're not enclosed.
posted by Uncle Glendinning at 11:59 AM on December 26, 2005

Grado.

Bar none.
posted by five fresh fish at 12:08 PM on December 26, 2005

Yup Grado SR60s at ~$70. I have some. Be warned that they come with a long (6'?) thick cord not too suitable for walking around with DAPs.
posted by carter at 12:17 PM on December 26, 2005

Second the HD-202s.. for $21 on amazon, they're awesome. OK soundproofing too, though I use mine in an office setting.
posted by mrg at 1:44 PM on December 26, 2005

The Grado SR60s are the best headphone bargain around. You can get better ones but these are entry level audiophile quality for not much money. Nothing in that price range will compare that I know of. Good headphones will make a difference. However, if you want to block out room noise, you might want to consider a closed air type which seals around your ears and blocks out the sound from around you. The Sony MDR-V600s are available from Amazon for $72. They have a pretty good reputation, but I haven't heard them myself.
posted by caddis at 1:54 PM on December 26, 2005

I have the MDR-V600s that I bought from Amazon when I had a $30 gift certificate. I'm pleased with them, though I don't consider myself to be terribly sensitive to minute audio details, and I often listen to unrealiable source material (audio that is not only compressed, but poorly encoded, streamed, etc.)...in fact, probably not uncommonly, I've never listened through them to anything that claims as good a frequency range as the headphones themselves. The closed ear design makes them pretty good for hearing in loud environments and keeps from disturbing those around you in quiet ones.
Out of your price range I know, but since they were brought up....
posted by bigmike at 4:22 PM on December 26, 2005

I bought the Sennheiser PX 200 headphones three years ago from Amazon and love them. Very good sound quality. I use them on my daily commute to work. They fold up for easy storage in my backpack.

If you want noise-canceling headphones try Sennheiser PXC-250s.

Before buying my Sennheisers I bought the Grado SR 60s since they did get great reviews. However, I found them to be incredibly uncomfortable on the ears after about 1/2 hour so I returned them.
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 4:35 PM on December 26, 2005

You need to decide which kind of headphones you want.

• tiny and in-ear (aka sports headphones, still got band over head, $40 max)
• over ear, lets in outside sound (and lets music out)
• over ear, seals off outside sounds (and seals in music)

The disadvantage of the last one is that you can't hear things like the phone ringing, courier knocking, coworker yelling, etc. Plus they're usually heavier.
posted by intermod at 9:01 PM on December 26, 2005

Can't recommend anything at your price.
At ~$200+, there's nothing better than the Etymotics E4P or E4S.
posted by NucleophilicAttack at 9:35 PM on December 26, 2005

Philips HP170s. 20 bucks at Fry's electronics. They'll smoke the lower end Sonys and Seinnheisers - I've used both of the models linked in this thread - and they compete with the 120 dollar "Pro DJ" folding model Sonys in the metal shells. Check out the epinions reviews.

I use 'em for DJing and home recording, as well as listening. They handle broad spectrum sound, dynamic sounds, and loud volumes well. Best 20 bucks I ever spent on a pair of 'phones. They're pretty crisp and dry. Responsive. Deep bass, clean and clear mids with sharp but not overdone trebles.

They're apparently a "best kept secret" in the cheap headphone genre.
posted by loquacious at 5:20 AM on December 27, 2005

Response by poster: i ended up getting the sennheiser hd202, fit my price budget and amazon requirement (wanted free shipping), thx everyone

so far so good, cord on these are always so long, comfort is ok

thx everyone
posted by kewlio at 10:44 AM on January 4, 2006

Response by poster: they ended up being too tight, im not sure any of these headphones (cans?) are suitable for me.. returned them
posted by kewlio at 6:48 PM on January 5, 2006