Me And My Music: The Best Headphones Out There

By Olua

I’ll be honest; there’s nothing I enjoy more than just lounging in my room with my playlist eternally on shuffle, nodding along to Red Hot Chili Peppers while doing whatever else happens to only have half my attention.

But at home, I can’t exactly play “Suck My Kiss” with my mom right downstairs, and my roommate doesn’t exactly always wanna hear “The Mean Kitty Song”. Thankfully, someone out there sympathized with the plight of music lovers who wanted to keep music to themselves and gave the public headphones starting way back in the 1930′s.

Of course, there are hundreds of thousands of options when it comes to headphones. You want something good, but you may not necessarily want to pay a lot – and even if you do, you don’t want to give away a hundred bucks for headphones that aren’t worth it. I’ve gone through my fair share, and I’m gonna recommend four models, all of which I’ve owned or at least used. I promise one of them are just the pair for you, and all of them are infinitely better than the crap you got with your iPod.

Sennheiser eH 150: The clunky over-the-head headphones that you used in computer lab have come a long way. I own a pair of these guys right now, and they’re my most comfortable pair. I also got them for a steal of about $10, since they were refurbished. (Quickie tip: Don’t be afraid of refurbished headphones, or refurbished anything for that matter. They broke, sure, but the company has been extra-careful to make sure they won’t broke again. It’s like the difference between getting a purebred dog and a mutt; sure, purebreds are gorgeous, but have a ton of genetic kinks; mutts are a little scruffy but are way healthier.)

They aren’t as crisp as a few of the others, but I could wear them for hours without my ears aching or my head thumping. The bass is amazing, and the wire is long enough that you can plug it into your tower or just tuck it into your pocket. They can also handle a good beating, which is important for me. These babies retail at around $20, and I score ‘em 8/10.

Sennheiser HD-595: I know this is the second Sennheiser, but they just make amazing over-the-head headphones, and these babies are FLAWLESS. A friend of mine owns a pair, and I’m just amazed at the quality. They are crisp and melodic during instrumentals, then deep and booming during rock ballads. They’re also outrageously comfortable and, unlike the eH 150′s, don’t make your ears sweaty when you’re running up and down stairs or chillin’ on the porch on a hot summer’s day.

They too can handle a little roughness, but be careful with them just in case. The reason why my friend owns a pair and I do not is that they are a bit to expensive for my budget, retailing around $200. But are they worth it? Hell yes. They score an easy 10/10.

JBuds: Man, I MISS my JBuds. Writing this kind of makes me want to buy a new pair. In-ears don’t have the clunkiness that over-the-heads do, and while I think over-the-heads are usually better sounding, buds are definitely catching up. They’re pretty damn crisp, and the bass isn’t half bad for this style. It comes with three different bud sizes for people with differently shaped ear canals, and are shockingly comfortable.

They can slip a bit if you’re being overly active, but I didn’t have that problem too much. I used these a lot while I went walking or was in the gym and pretty much loved them to death. They served me well for a good two and a half or three years until I accidentally yanked the wire right out of the buds. They also took one hell of a beating, and you just can’t lose with a retail price of about $20. I score them a 8/10.

Etymotic ER-4P: Okay, I know these guys are weird looking, but bare with me; they’re pretty freaking amazing. They come in a case with all kinds of little technical things along with them (that I know I will probably never use, since I’m just not that much of an audiophile). They also have three different sized eartips, and you can push them in as far as you’d like.

My mother has a pair that she pretty much never used for fear that she’ll break them – which is funny, because they don’t seem very breakable to me. The sound is impeccable and makes pretty much any genre sound amazing.

The only issue I have with these guys is that they aren’t very good for being active; if you’re walking around or something, the sound of the wires brushing against pretty much anything travels right through to your earbuds. It’s not loud: just irritating after a while. These guys retail at a fairly pricey at $170, but if you’re a real audiophile, trust me, they’re worth it. 9/10.

“But Olua,” you say, “I don’t like any of the headphones you’ve mentioned.” That’s okay. I’m not hurt at all. There are plenty of ways to do good headphone research. Sites like Squidoo are awesome places to find reviews and recommendations for just about everything, headphones included.

Headphonereviews.org is a site that has just that, and they have a really great chart that rates stuff like bass, sound quality, and portability. Amazon.com’s review system is also pretty damn good, and you can really judge a product from the things people have said about it – and remember, the more reviews, the better.

For someone who’s as big as a music dork as I am, headphones are pretty important things to have. Hopefully I’ve helped out a fellow music-loving girl.

Now, off to listen to some Pink Floyd.