What Are Your Budget Earphones and Headphones?

iridiumstem on 02/12/2014 - 09:09

Seeing at how much variations on budget constraint people have on the headphones/earphones, I am curious on people's "budget" headphones and earphones. What are your relatively cheap headphones/earphones that you know or have that has decent quality? Of course the term budget is very subjective so I am expecting a lot of different answers on this.

For example, for me I used to use PortaPro with KSC75 units after my PortaPro broke down. KSC75 was around $15 and I was fairly surprised by the combination.

For earphones, I used to stick to Logitech UE200, they were sturdy enough for me to use without worrying too much about damaging them. Also I found the sound quality to be reasonable at the price level. Though, I was at place where no cheap brands, such as Astrotec, Brainwavz etc etc, were available so I am not too sure how UE200 and PortaPro fair against those.

Anyway, that's me. What are your budget earphones/headphones?

Electrical & Electronics Earphones Headphones

Comments

  • donga100 on 02/12/2014 - 09:17
    +1

    $33 Sony MDR-V55 headphones. Free Samsung earphones that came with a mobile phone a few years ago but looking to upgrade to Plantronics Backbeat Go/2 or similar when the price is right.

  • Wagzy on 02/12/2014 - 09:40

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/171519

    There's a large post on here already about this topic.

    • iridiumstem on 02/12/2014 - 10:20

      That thread is about how much people are willing to spend on headphones. I am asking what's people's cheap headphones/earpohnes that they recommend/like.

      • Wagzy on 02/12/2014 - 21:44

        Ah right. My mistake.

  • IIGnomeII on 02/12/2014 - 10:25

    I just picked up a set of Panasonic RP-TCM125E in ear headphones and I would recommend these to everyone now. They are really comfortable in the ear, light, seal very well and the sound is great.

    The best part being that they cost under $30! I picked mine up from Dick Smith in a sale for $18 but I am sure that there are other places online to grab them.

    For headphones I use a set of Philips bluetooth headphones which I used every day until the pads wore through and they had great sound, with the added bonus of being able to control the music and calls.

  • Eivad on 02/12/2014 - 11:01

    MEElectronics A161P is my current set of budget IEMs (previously UE Super.fi 4s). The noise isolation isn't good enough to block out airplane noise (even with comply tips), so I use it on trains and buses. The sound quality isn't good enough to listen at home either, where I replace them with a set of over-ears or TBA IEMs.

    But they're cheap and durable, which is why I like them!

    PS: OP, the UE 200s are terrible! If you can, find yourself a set of Metro.fi 170s or 220s (now discontinued) - those have great sound for the price!

    • iridiumstem on 02/12/2014 - 12:21

      I was using UE200 because I needed something that was sturdy and relatively decent. Though, I actually liked UE200 a little, I had little choices on my earphones because I never had more than 3 days to get anything for like 2 years. I got it for like 10 bucks and the sound quality wasn't that bad.

      Though, if my new ttod t1e breaks down, I might hunt those down :D

  • eneloopy on 02/12/2014 - 12:59

    You get so much bang for your buck with a pair of Sennheiser 518s ($125 no amp required) that I don't see any point in spending any less. 95% as good as 598's which are regarded as one of the best headphones period, with lots of people preferring their sound signature to HD600s/HD650s. I've owned all the other headphones in this budget (M50s etc) and this is miles ahead.

    • iridiumstem on 02/12/2014 - 13:15

      Sounds nice… Is it open like HD600? I've heard people telling me that HD598s are really decent for their price… So 518 must be amazing :P

  • rompastompa on 02/12/2014 - 13:16
    +1

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/67532

    Still going strong ;)

    • iridiumstem on 02/12/2014 - 14:43
      +1

      That looks amazing for its price. Why was I not introduced to Ozbargain earlier? :(

  • LYRICALRAVER on 02/12/2014 - 20:22

    anyone know how good Skullcandy head/earphones are? i'm looking at the Bluedio headphones now. i bought a Wicked Audio headphones, they were allright but i accidentally snapped it. Supposed says "Lifetime Warranty" but too lazy/can't be bothered sending in for a new one, there's some address in the UK. on the box. So what is the best 'cheap' brand? and whats' the middle ground for head/earphones?? looking to buy some soon thanks

    • iridiumstem on 03/12/2014 - 03:47
      +1

      Hmmm, I've heard that after Skullcandy have acquired a sound engineer, or something like that, from Beyerdynamic, they have gotten better… Bass is not taking over everything apparently. Though that said, it's something I've heard from forums when people were recommending Skullcandy Aviator and Smoking Buds 2 or something like that. Not sure about the exact models and stuff, but that's what I vaguely remember.

      Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic at least make headphones worth their price, IMO. Also if your middle ground headphone/earphone is around $100~200, I've seen so many people recommending ATH-M50x, CAL and CAL 2. Though my experience in that price range is limited at best, so please bear that in mind.

      Also, it really does depend on what sort of sound you like. If you like bassy one or V sounded one, flat ones would sound boring.

  • rompastompa on 03/12/2014 - 13:37

    Here you go, AznMitch.
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/172959

  • roadsign on 03/12/2014 - 14:08

    I fine that budget generally implies portable. In that case, I liked the Aiaiai Tracks; lightweight, portable and disassemblable. The sound quality is high, but unfortunately the frequency profile isn't flat. In fact, it's rather 'punchy', with a stronger bass. I found this was fine on-the-go, making then rather fun headphones.

    http://headphones.com.au/psingle?productID=509

  • Hotdogs on 06/12/2014 - 01:14

    phillips SHE3500 + fiio e06 sounds pretty amazing together.

    i also use plantronics backbeat go 1 for outdoors and lg tone hbs730 with my computer

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