

Ask HN: Any Headphone Recommendations For Around $100 US? - sant0sk1

Hey all.<p>My wife and I decided that for our anniversary this year we'd both get $100 to spend on whatever we want. I've wanted a nice set of headphones to use when coding/mowing/etc, but have yet to purchase any because I do not know which to buy.<p>A couple of guidelines: I like noise canceling, but that usually pumps up the price and I hate when headphones require an extra battery. I usually prefer over-the-ear headphones to earbuds, but I won't rule earbuds out.<p>Kind of an oddball question, I know, but the fact is that I respect you all's opinions quite highly especially when it comes to which tech to buy.<p>I appreciate any assistance you might provide!
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pedoh
I went to an audiologist and paid $100 to have molds of my ears taken. A week
later, I had a set of ear plugs with filters in them to block out most
frequencies. I bought them for flying, and now that I have them, I would
rather miss my flight than fly without them. If you're just looking for the
noise silencing aspect of headphones, I'd highly recommend a custom plug.

For music, I have a pair of Shure E2Cs. They not only block out sound really
well, but in my opinion produce very good sound. One big advantage of in-ear
design like this is that you can significantly lower the volume of your sound
source, which will keep your ears happy and healthy. But not everyone feels
comfortable with the in-ear style. When I bought the Shures they were @100;
today the Shure SE210s are available for $100, but I don't know their product
line very well, so I don't know the difference, say, between the SE210s and
the cheaper SE110s.

Also note that with most of the in-ear headphones, you can take them to an
audiologist and get custom plugs made, as well. It's probably not worth it to
buy a $100 set of headphones and then pay an extra $100 to get custom molds,
but if I were purchasing a higher end set of Shures (or a similar product from
Westone or Etymotic), I'd get the molds.

------
drewcrawford
Former sound engineer here.

The best large diaphragm in your price range is the Sony MDR-7506. It's a
stunning headphone for the price. Almost every professional recording studio I
know has a couple from that product line on hand.

As others have pointed out, there are a couple of good earbuds in your price
range, but this runs against your preference. Earbud sound depends a great
deal on fit, and it's harder (==$$$$) to get good bass reproduction on
something that small than it is to get it on an overear pair.

~~~
karanbhangui
Agreed. I was living in California for the past 4 months and picked up these
for $99 bucks on Amazon. Came the next day. My friend bought some expensive
$300+ noise canceling Bose ones. I think placebo effect made them sound
marginally better than my already awesome headphones. After about a month, i
listened to his again and there was distortion or some lack of clarity in the
sound. To this day, my Sony MDR-7506 Professionals have served me very very
well. Crisp, true sound.

~~~
karanbhangui
[http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Professional-Diaphragm-
He...](http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Professional-Diaphragm-
Headphone/dp/B000AJIF4E)

Seems to be even cheaper now, sitting at around 80 bucks.

------
Apreche
Etymotic ER-6i will hit your price exactly, but you can find them for less if
you look hard enough.

They are earbuds, but they are amazing. They don't noise cancel, they noise
isloate. I wear them in NYC, and whether it's a loud subway, a bus, or a
jackhammer, I can keep the volume way low, and still hear the music. It's also
great for your long term hearing health since you will keep the volume way
low. Before I got them my iPod was at 75% volume. With them, anything over 25%
is too loud. Perfect for mowing the lawn, though.

There is one con with these and that is they are fragile. The buds themselves
will never have a problem, it's the cord and TRS conenctor. They will break at
some point, but Etymotic is very good about giving you an RMA
repair/replacement even after warranty is expired. I got tired of that,
though, and I soldered on my own connector that was far more durable.

~~~
sounddust
I love Etymotics, and I would recommend also considering the more recent HF5
earbuds. You can often find them for $99, and they have the same drivers that
are found in their $200+ ER-4Ps. I think the HF5s have a more clear and
accurate sound (although they do produce slightly less bass).

------
_delirium
I like the Grado Sr-60 or Sr-80, but two caveats: 1) they're open-backed, so
not great in noisy environments; and 2) they tend not to be as well-regarded
for classical music.

~~~
mattrepl
Seconded, I've owned both SR-60 and SR-80 headphones and love them. They are
open-backed so would not work well for mowing, but they're fine if you're in a
lab or airport.

I'd suggest earplugs over headphones for mowing, unless you're trying to lose
your hearing (or have a really quiet mower). =)

------
peterlada
Sennheiser HD280pro. Nice sound, and completely sealed. A dream to use on
planes. -32dB isolation is more than what Bose promises with noise
cancellation. I've seen them around 80 on sale.

~~~
seanb
I code almost all day wearing a pair of these. Without music playing, they
mostly block out a conversation on the other side of the room. With music, the
outside world is nonexistent. The biggest downside is a weak plastic headband
casing. There's a strong metal band inside, but the plastic casing will
eventually crack (it happens to most owners -- might be dependent on head
size). That said, I wrapped mine with clear packing tape a couple years ago
and they've been fine since. They're comfortable enough to wear for an hour or
two on, 15 minutes off, repeat.

Another great sounding set is the Audio-Technica ATH-M50. I bought my brother
a pair for $100 new on eBay. They're more durable than the HD280s, and fold up
better for portability.

Avoid the HD202 unless you have small ears. Also avoid anything from Grado;
they're totally open (lots of sound leaks in and out), and are mostly
appropriate for rock (they have a very "colorful" sound -- not at all faithful
to the source material). Don't go anywhere near Bose. You'll get a lot better
sound for a hell of a lot cheaper from just about anything made by Sennheiser,
Audio-Technica, Beyerdynamic or AKG.

This is a great source for info: <http://www.head-fi.org/forum/> Try not to
get too sucked into the hi-fi tomfoolery though, for $100 you can get a great
set of cans, and a laptop or mp3 player will be a sufficient driver. A lot of
the higher-end gear will require an amp to sound decent, and there's some
wickedly diminishing returns once you pass the $100-200 point. There are a lot
of conflicting reviews on that site, but there's seems to be a general
consensus about certain models (the ATH-M50 is widely respected, for example).

[For the best noise blocking (aside from in-ear), you want a set of closed
"circumaural" (around the ear) headphones. Open-back cans don't block any
external sound, so you have to crank up the volume to drown it out.]

~~~
seanb
Another headphone to consider is the AKG K81 DJ, for around $60-80. It's a
closed supra-aural design (sits on your ear). I haven't tried them personally,
but I've heard they sound fantastic.

------
wdewind
Shure SRH750DJ headphones. They are a little more expensive than you are
looking for, but they are over the ear and provide great isolation (Just as
good as in ear headphones for sure). The sound quality, especially bass
response, just absolutely destroys in ear buds (and I had more expensive Shure
in ear buds before that).

Stay away from anything by Sennheiser or Bose. Bose is crap, and Sennheisers
are nice, but just overpriced. For comparison, my Shures plugged directly into
iPod (shitty built in preamp) vs. Sennheiser HD650s ($500 headphones) WITH a
$275 preamp (so my $140 setup vs an $800 setup), my Shures won by a slight
margin.

If not these, anything Shure.

------
hop
I got Senneiser HD 202 over the ear headphones and they sound phenominal and
block outside really well. I was skeptical b/c they are only $30 at Amazon,
but have 4.5/5 stars with 1000+ reviews. You could get three pairs!

~~~
cyanbane
I have a pair HDR 65s that I have had for about 3 or 4 years. Amazing
headphones. +1 for Sennheiser.

------
lukeqsee
I use Shure SE110s and love them, great noise blocking. I describe them as
earplugs with crazy good speakers. I purchased them for ~$100. However, they
are earbuds and the way you wear them tends to rub on the back of your ear at
times, definitely not a deal breaker. I wear them at least 2 hours a day, and
that's my only complaint.

~~~
sant0sk1
Interesting. Like I said I'm not dead set against earbuds, especially if they
come alongside a great recommendation. I'll look at these, thanks!

~~~
dualboot
+1 for quality earbuds.

The noise isolation alone an in-ear headphone can provide gives them a major
leg up.

There are some great ones out there (like the Shure.)

~~~
pstinnett
+1 for Shure SE110's. I prefer to listen to music from speakers, but late at
night when I'm getting into a project I use the SE110's and really enjoy them.
My ears don't really get 'fatigued' from wearing them for long periods of time
like some other headphones I've used.

------
larrywright
I bought a pair of Shure SRH440 over the ear headphones six months ago, and
have been extremely happy with them. I bought them based primarily on the
Amazon reviews which frequently said they sounded as good as headphones
costing 3 times as much. They're studio headphones, block sound really well
(though they're not noise cancelling) and the sound quality is amazing for the
price. They were $95 when I bought them (list is $125), but when I just
checked Amazon, they're down to under $70.

[http://www.shure.com/americas/products/earphones-
headphones/...](http://www.shure.com/americas/products/earphones-
headphones/headphones/srh440-professional-studio-headphones)

~~~
davemo
I just bought these the other day, highly recommended. The bass is punchy and
full, the highs are crystal clear the only complaint I have is that the mids
aren't as good as they could be. However, for the price and the quality of
construction they are a great deal :)

------
jjburka
I recently got a pair of MetroFit 220 by LE which can be found for around 80$.
([http://www.ultimateears.com/_ultimateears/store/products/met...](http://www.ultimateears.com/_ultimateears/store/products/metrofi220.php))
Which I like alot. They are buds, put they come with 3 plastic ear pieces of
different sizes so you should be able to make them fit. I got these over an
active noise canceling one since all the noise canceling ones I have used (and
it could just be the ones I used) seem to let out alot of noise when noise
canceling.

------
ihartley
I have a pair of Grado SR225s that are fantastic, but they're only good when
I'm at my desk. For travelling I used to have a pair of Bose QC2s that I got
as a gift. Due to the terrible head strap design they broke after 2 years of
moderate use. I now have a pair of Audio Technica ANC7Bs that are exactly the
same as the Bose, and have a better strap, that I picked up for $140, and
they're down to $120 now on Amazon. Apparently the first version of the
headphones was so similar to the Bose QCs that they got sued and had to change
them slightly.

------
crocowhile
I have these guys:

[http://www.amazon.com/AKG-Acoustics-K-240-Studio-
Headphones/...](http://www.amazon.com/AKG-Acoustics-K-240-Studio-
Headphones/dp/B0001ARCFA/ref=pd_cp_MI_1)

they are wonderful. Great sound and very comfortable. You could keep them on
all day and ears won't hurt.

------
Rust
Another sound engineer weighing in - AKG makes some great headphones. You'd be
hard-pressed to find a studio without at least a few pairs of AKG 240's
hanging around. I suspect they're a bit over $100 regularly priced, but a good
sale should get them closer to your budget.

I love my 240s...

------
nihar
I've been using the TripleFi 10vi from Ultimate Ears (<http://is.gd/cpZjf>)
and they're superb... currently they're priced around $200 but Amazon seems to
have deals where they halve the price now and then so keep a look for that...

------
fintler
Here's a relatively recent article with a summary of in-ear headphones....

[http://gizmodo.com/5033455/ultimate-cut+the+crap-in+ear-
head...](http://gizmodo.com/5033455/ultimate-cut+the+crap-in+ear-headphone-
battlemodo)

/edit to fix the link

------
karatchov
>My wife and I decided that for our anniversary this year we'd >both get $100
to spend on whatever we want.

No offense, but do you have to wait for a year to get to spend 100$ for
whatever you want ? Man, you make me feel bad.

------
desigooner
Ultimate Ears SuperFi 3 Studio Noise Isolating Earphones

<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000B5XU06>

------
AdamN
I like my Sennheiser HD595

~~~
AdamN
I should add that these are non-noise canceling and aren't great with lots of
noise. Look for closed headphones if you want noise blocking (but not noise
canceling).

------
aqa2
audio-technica ATH-M20 ; < $30. Buy 2 or 3.

------
gregking
in-ear: Klipsch s4i: control iphone too.

<http://www.klipsch.com/na-en/products/image-s4i-similar/>

