Under $100 headphones

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Under $100 headphones

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

2802 posts

Uber Geek

#618464 2-May-2012 17:38

Sennheiser PMX-60's ftw. (~$70) They're light, comfortable and for the price the sound quality is excellent. Plus they don't look dorky.

The HD202/HD212's are good if you like listening to bass-heavy music. JB HiFi had the 202's on special recently for $49 recently. For that price they're a steal, but I found them too bass-heavy.

The HD280 Pro's are brilliant if you've got a spare $250, or can use eBay, and don't want to use them in a portable fashion. They've been making the same model for around 10 years and there's a good reason, they're great sounding, reliable headphones. But not cheap.

The HD201's are quite good if you want some more substantial "portable" headphones. They're circum-aural (over-ear) so you can turn them up fairly loud without annoying other people too much. For $60 they're good value.

I bought a pair of Logitech "Ultimate Ears" earbuds a while back and was surprised how good they sounded. $60 iirc.

SoundMagic also make some rather nice basic phones, pretty much only available via the internet though.

I keep going back to the PMX60's though for portable use. Getting hard to find though unfortunately.

@KnightNZ

michaelmurfy

meow
13240 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#618465 2-May-2012 17:43

qwerty7: ok well i was reluctant to spend more. I am either going to do it one way or the other I am either buying cheap headphones for $16-30 or good ones i will still have in 5 years for $100 - 200

If i spent more they would have to sound really good.

This song has a really low end bass beat all the way through it which you can only slightly hear with standard ipod headphones unless you push them into your ears with your fingers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2OCSWF7sAw

I have read about the hd 201 poor low end bass performance and am wondering if the philips sph-2000 would even pick it up considering they are half the price of the hd201

I have got a pair of HD435's of which I have had for about 5yrs now, and that song sounds awesome on them, spent about $160 on them but never regretted that.

How I see it, if you spend little you can expect little performance out of some brands of headphones, I find Phillips headphones are pretty good if you want bang for your buck or if you want bass you're looking at spending about $130 - $160 on a pair of Sennheisers.

Quality wise though, I have always been one for doing it right the first time, I wanted bass and that's why I got the HD435's (you can buy them here - currently $153.28) but those headphones are ideal with listening to heavy bass such as Dubstep or House / Techno of which I mostly do.

If you're listening to something not so heavy on the bass, but still want decent sound head over to the EH150's which are $81.73 Here or even the HD212's which depending on where you get them from are still a decent pair of headphones, the bass is not as heavy as the HD435's but at least they are a bit easier on your pocket.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by subscribing.
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

alasta

6702 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#618480 2-May-2012 17:52

Build quality is also an important issue to consider. Many years ago I used to pay $50 for cheap 'mainstream brand' headphones which would typically last between six and twelve months under my normal use. Eventually I bought a pair of Sennheiser PX200s for about $180 which I used for five years and only replaced them because I wanted noise cancelling.

So, the Sennheisers were not only vastly superior in audio quality, but they were actually cheaper in the long term despite the higher upfront cost.

mattwnz

20141 posts

Uber Geek

#618482 2-May-2012 17:57

ArcticSilver: After reading all this I have to jump in and say - Just because they are cheap doesnt mean they arnt good!

Phillips are EXTREMELY under rated when it comes to headphones.

The Philips shp-2000's are a absolute STEAL for $16, where is this from?

I think harvey normans have them for $14, reduced from $50. They do feel a bit flimsy though, but I guess you get what you pay for.

Hobchild

623 posts

Ultimate Geek

#618485 2-May-2012 18:04

mattwnz:
ArcticSilver: After reading all this I have to jump in and say - Just because they are cheap doesnt mean they arnt good!

Phillips are EXTREMELY under rated when it comes to headphones.

The Philips shp-2000's are a absolute STEAL for $16, where is this from?

I think harvey normans have them for $14, reduced from $50. They do feel a bit flimsy though, but I guess you get what you pay for.

Lol I think you should read the OP's last post.

Great price IMO, I've spent more at KFC.

mattRSK

822 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#618492 2-May-2012 18:27

Bit late to this thread but here is my 2c anyway. I bought some Sennheiser HD218 because they are incredibly comfortable. I can wear them all day at uni while doing assignments. Not a bad price either, $79 when I got them.

http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=407828

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#618563 2-May-2012 20:08

when buying headphones shouldn't you need to check the impedance rating as the 32Ohm philips needs a lot of power to drive it and i doubt your ipod could handle that at loud volumes ... the higher the impedance the lower the power requirements but i'm not familiar with how high is adequate for phones, ipods etc without the needs for an amp

32ohms = fine with iPod's etc.

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

Batman

Mad Scientist
29760 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#618571 2-May-2012 20:26

i lie down alot and am thinking about ear buds.

i first learnt about earbuds when my samsung galaxy s2 arrived and got (what i thought was ) superior sound comapred to wife iphone 4 ear phones ... WOW

now i'm looking at meelectronics a151 for AUD79 (going to gold coast for first holiday in 5 years!) - apparently "balanced" buds. what is armature???

anything better than these, and how does the sound compare to say philips sph9000?

qwerty7

434 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#636179 5-Jun-2012 16:41

The Philips sph-2000 are now $14 ! at Harvey Norman (original rrp $49.95). I have had them for a month or so now and I am happy with them. My only grizzle is they get a bit sore on the top of the head after an hour, just move them a little and it is all good. I guess you could put some sort of padding on them if you wanted. $14 is a steal for anyone who is interested!

Johnnyrs

18 posts

Geek

#642690 18-Jun-2012 17:59

paulspain: Try the Sennheiser HD202 (or HD201). Can both be had for under $50 currently - likely the best at that price point.

I bought the HD202s a week a go for just under $50 at PBtech and found them great. Bit bassy when I listened to music on the phone, but turning off the phone's bass boost sorted that. They sound great on music from the laptop - better than I expected for the price.

Jaxson

8041 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#652791 9-Jul-2012 10:37

Hey,

Just thought I'd point out these prices at the mo, seing as I'm looking at them myself now:

$39 Sennheiser Headphones, model SNHD202-II
http://www.noelleeming.co.nz/shop/product-view.ep?pID=104749

$16 Philips Full Can Headphones, model SHP2000
http://www.harveynorman.co.nz/philips-full-can-headphones.html

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#652801 9-Jul-2012 10:51

I have a RHA SA-850 here (over $100) and a RHA MA-350 (under $100) and they are both incredible. The SA-850 is very light (105 grams) even though is an earphone. The MA-350 is almost weightless, built in aluminium.

You should try those - I will post about them soon.