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

18 points by sant0sk1 ↗ HN
Hey all.

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.

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.

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.

I appreciate any assistance you might provide!

40 comments

[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 87.2 ms ] thread
_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). =)

joe_bleau
I love my Grado SR-125s. Even more after switching to the yellow foam Senn earpads.
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.
fintler
+1 for the SE110s, I'm wearing them right now. I haven't had any problems with wearing them for 5+ hours straight.

Just keep in mind that if you're in an office, people will end up needing to touch you to get your attention. You really can't hear anything if music is playing.

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).
lukeqsee
From a quick price check, these sit around $150.
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).
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.
m0shen
These are my personal favorite. The only thing I don't like about them is the curly cord.
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.
wmblaettler
+1 for Sennheiser HD 280 Pros. I love these headphones. Treated myself to them this past Christmas. They do block out outside noise, so much so I sometimes don't realize if my desk phone is ringing -- but that's a good thing when I am focused on coding anyway. The sound quality is outstanding as well!
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.
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.

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/...

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...) 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.
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.

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.

pie
I came here to say this too. Other headphones have come and gone, but I always have a pair of MDR-7506 around. They are incredibly sturdy and well designed, and while they may shape the sound slightly, are very detailed (including decent bass) even at low volumes.
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.
deutronium
Forgive my ignorance, but is it necessary to use an amp with these or is an mp3 player itself able to drive them?
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...
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...

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