Maximum PC Sub-$100 Headphone Roundup

[David Tucker]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/who_makes_best_100_earbuds_we_review_six_pair' target='_blank'>http://www.maximumpc.com/article/fe...review_six_pair</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"If you&rsquo;re at all serious about the sound you feed your head, you&rsquo;ve already replaced whatever craptastic headphones (aka earbuds, earphones, or in-ear monitors) came in the box with your digital media player of choice. Now you&rsquo;re ready for another upgrade, and with the economy in turn-around mode, you can afford to splurge just a bit." </em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/wpt/auto/1277378720.usr307.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></p><p>Maximum PC has done <a href="http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/who_makes_best_100_earbuds_we_review_six_pair" target="_blank">a review of six pairs of sub-$100 earbuds</a>. I highly recommend reading the review and if you still use the cheapo earbuds that came with your MP3 player of choice, consider upgrading if you care at all about the sound quality of your music. It's the best thing you can do for your musical enjoyment after upgrading to a Zune.</p><p>We've done some reviews here of some really nice Shure earphones like the <a href="http://www.digitalhomethoughts.com/news/show/98235/shure-s-se530-sound-isolating-earphones-with-pth-option.html" target="_blank">SE530</a>&nbsp;and <a href="http://www.digitalhomethoughts.com/news/show/95195/shure-se210-earphones-pure-audio-delight.html" target="_blank">SE210</a>&nbsp;and I still think if you really want to truly experience your music the way it was meant to be heard, you should step up to some high end cans. If you're not convinced yet at least do yourself a favor and get a mid-level set of earphones.</p><p>My first 'nice' headphones were in this price range from Sennheiser and opened me up to a whole new musical experience. So go read all the reviews and then think about it!</p>

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

You'd be amazed at what the first $50-100 can get you. After that it's just diminishing returns; ditch those stock earbuds!

[David Tucker]

I need to do a review of this range of earphones myself but my personal experience is that the returns aren't THAT diminishing ;) Maybe not as big as a jump but that's because the stock phones are utter crap to begin with. Once you start up the ladder I feel you get a pretty linear return. The SE530s, for instance, are insanely expensive but compared to my SE210s they feature 3 drivers.

As great as my 210s are, its physically impossible for them to create the sort of sound that the 530s do. And the biggest difference between the next 'level' of in ear headphones is that the sub-$100 range is still using dynamic drivers. The next level will get you balanced armature and its really a pretty good step up in clarity. BA drivers really do a great job of sharp sound reproduction.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Hmm, I personally don't like Shure's lower range of the lineup. Dynamic drivers can be pretty good if tuned right. Like I mentioned before, I got UE's Triple.fi 10 cheap from the Amazon Christmas sale of '09 and having heard it, there's no way I'd have bought it at normal price, and they're also suppose to be pretty good as well.

[David Tucker]

Well clearly everyone has different musical preferences ;) We can both at least agree that people need to go upgrade from stock!