Hello, and welcome to one more installment of Engadget Laboratories. This time around we’re taking a pseudo scientific investigate sub-$100 earbuds. We’ve all been caught out, headphoneless, and eager to put some tunes in our ears. So, the question is, what exactly do you get in your money while you stumble right into a Best Buy and pick up whatever happens to be hanging at the shelves? Clearly you’re trading convenience for selection if you happen to shuffle right into a big box shop to your audio needs, but that does not necessarily mean it’s best to just grab the least expensive thing hanging by the register, or the costliest for that matter. We randomly selected four sets of phones, at four different price points, and put it to a bunch of average Joes and Janes to determine in the event that they could actually tell the variation between a $100 pair of buds and a $10 pair (while blindfolded and trapped inside a booth).
The experiment
We sent our crack team of researchers out to the closest Best Buy, they usually emerged with a sack of earbuds and, most significantly, the receipt (our budget wouldn’t even let us buy new lab coats finally the blood, sweat, and poo we spilled in our last experiment ). a gaggle of 4 individuals were ushered into our testing facility, treated to a musical selection, and asked to rate the sound quality of every of set of headphones, on a scale of 1 to 10. The test was performed blindfolded and without knowing how much the buds cost. For every evaluation we put our victims subjects inside a booth. Said contraption was not sound proof, nor would we’d like it to be (sound isolation is a crucial test criteria), we just did it ’cause it gave the impression of it might be fun.
The $10 pair – Philips earbud headphones
These basic buds probably don’t offer any advantage over those that came packaged together with your last iPod — unless you happen to essentially just like the color black. In case you are not an extremely demanding listener, like David who awarded this set an eight, you’ll be able to find they get the job done just fine. However the truth is, at this price point, you can be coping with tinny sound, poor fit, and little within the way of tangible sound isolation. Two of our testers gave this actual model a six, while Jason gave it just a one. Will the sound you get for a Jefferson be passable? Sure — but chances are high you would not need to make these your day after day pair of headphones. Even at top volumes, which can potentially blow less durable drivers like these 13.5mm ones, loud conversations should be audible over your tunes and if you’ve gotten smaller ears, good luck getting these one-size-fits-all earbuds to remain in place.
Total score: 21 out of 40
The $25 pair – iFrogz EarPollution Ozone
Stepping up a notch won’t actually offer much of an improvement over cheaper options. The representative $25 set we tested from iFrogz didn’t fair far better than the Philips, and our subject Donna found them to be vastly inferior, giving them just a two. Though, Jason thought these buds were far better, rating them an eight. The drivers inside the EarPollutions are small, only 9mm, but a tube feeding the sound into your ears improves bass response and sound isolation, allowing you to listen to more of your music. The additional $15 also buys you a couple of nice extras like foam (or rubber in terms of the iFrogz) earpieces that improve fit and block out external noise in addition to a microphone to be used as a wired headset. However, David was unable to tell apart between the sound of our first two units and Chris actually thought the Philips were marginally better. Evidently the additional cash for this level of earbud is primarily buying you a touch better design, but not necessarily better sound.
Total score: 23 out of 40
The $45 pair – Kicker Premium earbud headphones
With the jump as much as $45 our tester Donna remained unimpressed, awarding the Kickers just a two but, overall the company’s “premium” earbuds fared better with our testers. The marginally larger 10mm drivers produced a broader range of frequencies and deeper bass than the cheaper models. Similarly, the Kickers were the primary buds we encountered with a really adjustable fit. Throughout the package were three different sets of silicone tips and one pair of froth ones that might fit almost any ears. In addition they sport a thicker-gauge, cloth covered wire that, while not exactly “tangle-free,” is unquestionably less prone to finish up a knotted ball. The Kickers are a bit of more gimmicky than another headphones on this budget from companies like Sennheiser (which offer a fair wider frequency response) but are still well reviewed. The $40-50 range is where you eventually start seeing significant return on your audio dollar in terms of sound quality and that they often offer a lot more within the way of sound isolation.
Total score: 27 out of 40
The $100 pair – Bose IE2 audio headphones
Probably the most recognizable name at the shelves while you hit the $100 mark is maybe Bose, followed closely by Monster’s Beats. Either one of these makers share something in common besides cost — they’re pretty universally reviled by audio purists. However, the most important jump in perceived quality came with move to those somewhat strange looking buds — scoring a couple of tens and a nine. Only Chris didn’t take care of the IE2s, giving them only a three. In point of fact, with Bose and Monster, you’re paying almost as much for fancy marketing and “proprietary technologies” as you’re for actual quality. That does not mean you are not getting an outstanding sounding pair of ear-speakers though. You’re getting larger, higher-quality drivers and far better sound isolation if you hit this budget, even from a somewhat disdained brand like Bose. In the event you consider yourself a more serious listener with a distaste for the over-emphasized low-end of Bose and Monster there are comparably priced, but more balanced sounding buds from the likes of Shure and Sennheiser that typically sneak into large electronics chains. Some even pack higher impedance 20-ohm drivers.
Total score: 32 out of 40
Wrap-up
0 If you walk right into a big box store your options would be fairly limited but, unless you are looking for a toss away pair of buds only for the afternoon, it’s well worth the extra few bucks for a tight set of headphones. We probably did not have to inform you this but, the more you pay for earbuds, the higher they sound as a general rule. Now, that does not mean it’s essential slap a Benjamin at the counter, it just means you have to search for a basic features like sound-isolating tips and regulate frequency response (most will list the variability at the packaging). Having a broader response or higher SPL (also known as sensitivity) doesn’t necessarily equal higher-quality, however it is an invaluable indicator, and beware of marketing schemes — Dr. Dre doesn’t put his name on a couple of headphones without cost. Ultimately though, as you will discover by the sometimes wildly varying scores, earbud preference is basically an individual decision suffering from everything from ear size to how much bass you like in your face.
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