Earphones for IPod/IPad

[Flight]

The price range for earphones is crazy! I found earphones or earbuds from $15 to $150. Is price really a determiner of quality?

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

My ears may not be as in tune as others, I got some cool looking orange ones for like $7 at Walmart and I like them just fine. I can't tell any difference between the Walmart ones and the ones that came with the iPhone.

 

[MineMail]

Five Below has tons of headphones for $5. They work fine and most come with different-sized earbuds so you can get them to fit really well.

 

[consumermonkey]

The only way to go is to "Try before you buy"

I have had cheap ones that sounded good, more expensive ones that were poor.

It is a very subjective mater.

 

[Flight]

Ok, thanks! Looks like I can save a bundle of money by not going with price as the deciding factor in quality.

 

[rock_doctor]

Skull Candy ear buds from ebay. SC sells direct from the factory (ebay user ID is Skull Candy) so you are getting genuine buds and imho they are the best buds i have ever used. I have two sets now... You can get good ones for $9.99 and the upper end ones run $15 and then run up into the 50-60 range for super high end ear phones. I use to spend $100 or more for ear phones now i just use my SCs.

 

[DawnM]

There is an ebay seller who sells the older model of Apple earbuds for $7.99 including shipping. I have now bought 4 from him. They are official Apple products, just not the latest model.

My kids kept fighting over them so I just bought each kid his own.

 

[wekhogan]

The $100 and over ones usually have some noise canceling capabilities. The Dr Dre Beats are expensive, but the sound is Awesome. I think you can get perfectly acceptable sound from the cheaper headphones, but there is a def quality drop compared to the really expensive ones.

 

[MineMail]

I guess it depends on how much you're into hearing every nuance of a song. I don't need to hear that much detail, so I don't spend a ton of money on iPod headphones. My criteria is that they are comfortable, reliable and stay in when I am at the gym.

Given how poorly my kids care for their headphones, they can buy the $5 ones rather than the pricey ones. (I stopped buying them headphones after they split the cords all the way down on their first pair.)

 

[djm99]

I buy mine off Ebay. Often times I buy them in lots of 10. Earphones break too easy with family so I refuse to spend lots of money on those. I do have a few good stereo headphones, but even those are knock offs - purchased from eBay.

 

[DizzyStitch]

I look at the ohms rating. Some are so low that you need to turn your volume up most of the way to hear. I have found very good ones this way at 5 Below. I am thinking that I only buy the ones rated at 32 ohms. And I never have to turn them up real loud to get very good sound.

 

[sksjasams]

You will need to decide what style you want too...the post kind that actually stick into your ears or the round kind that sit in the ear opening.

My DS needed a new pair and he was looking at expensive ones (around $30). I thought that was too much to spend and I prefer that he gets the round kind that sit in the ear opening rather than the post kind.

I got him these:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sony-MDR-E829V-Stereo-Ear-Phones-with-In-Cord-Volume-Control/13904746

It looks like they are out of stock now, but I'm sure they are available other places too.
He wanted ones that had the in-cord volume control. So far he is happy with them and he is even using the easy wind up case they came with. The case works great to prevent tangles/knots.

You would hate to spend a lot and then have them be uncomfortable or not stay in your ears.

 

[tasha99]

I can't say for expensive headphones because I've never had any. I HAVE found price to be a determining factor between cheap $5 headphones and more midpriced ones around $20. The $5 ones I've purchased have worked, but they sounded tinny to me. I usually buy jvc marshmallow earbuds.

 

[hopemax]

My husband goes through earbuds like they were water. After, him going through 4 sets of apple ones in an 8 month period, I checked the Black Friday sales and stocked up. The first time I bought $5 Sony ones from Kmart and they lasted a long time. However, my husband was given a set of Skull Candy and now prefers those. But I still do the same thing, check Black Friday sales and then buy a bunch of them.

 

[dizbee]

my theory is that the more expensive, the more likely to lose or break. i can't tell the difference between $15 buds and $150. and if i bought the $150, i'd lose them. if you're listening to the symphony orchesta, maybe, but for pop-rap-r&b in the car or on a plane, i don't need $150.

 

[bookgirl]

I have the Studio Beats by Dre. Ridiculously expensive but they are large enough to fit over my ear and the sound is awesome (noise canceling). They are great for the plane/car trips or when I'm home on the ipad or computer. They are really big so they are not very carry around worthy.

I cannot tolerate earbuds for long periods as they hurt. I found some 'buds' that have a earpiece that fits over your ear and around it like an earpiece on glasses. They are small and fit in a purse and because of the earpiece they don't have to wedge in my ear just sit against it. So far they have done well enough, though they have no noise cancelling and I can hear tons of background noise.