I saw this post and wanted to ask the opposite. What are some items that really aren’t worth paying the expensive version for? Preferably more extreme or unexpected examples.
I saw this post and wanted to ask the opposite. What are some items that really aren’t worth paying the expensive version for? Preferably more extreme or unexpected examples.
Headphones/ear buds. It really comes down to your use case. If you listen to podcasts and audiobooks 90% of the time then you only need good enough which is typically around $40.
I can’t go back to cheap headphones, really. It makes a BIG difference.
If you listen in noisy environments, I’d bet active-noise cancellation is good for your hearing though
Personally I had way too many quality issues at that price range. An earbud would be randomly quieter than the other, the battery of an earbud would die, the Bluetooth would suck, or they would be unusable for phone calls. I bought refurbished $100-something headphones for $70 and haven’t needed to buy any more since.
Ooof, I dunno… You can probably get by with cheap headphones, but they’re probably one of the objects you’ll spend the most time with and a good set can really make a difference. Good noise cancelling is essentially a requirement for me to live.
I have multiple LG HB800 Bluetooth headsets that you wear around your neck. 50 backs a piece, great noise cancelling , great sound, and 5 years on and they’re still running for a complete day.
Last year bought a set of Sony Bluetooth earbuds, we’re reviewed everywhere as the best at 350 dollars. They have half the volume, half the time I can’t hear people on calls, the noise cancellation was shit, and battery life new was about 4-5 hours, and now after a bit over a year, battery life is 5 minutes so I can throw them away.
No way. I got a pair of Phillips Fidelio open cans, and they are absolutely incredible.
For podcasts and audiobooks and even incidental music listening $10 panasonic buds go the distance for me.
When I’m sitting down to enjoy music at home, then it’s the $80 sony studio monitors. Still excellent value.
Give me my headphone socket back, phone makers :(
Yup, really wanted ANC ones for on the train and very happy with my €50 Edifiers. Sound fine and the ANC is good. Watched tons of reviews on XM5s and Bose QCs which only seem to offer meaningless improvements.
I do also own good cans and DAC for when I’m at home, but paying over €300 euros for something you’ll only use in noisy environments and fussing over audio quality you won’t be able to optimally enjoy anyways is silly.
I’m admittedly not a huge audiophile, and these days I don’t have many uses for earbuds or headphones in my daily life, but while $40 or so earbuds used to serve me just fine sound-wise, but I went through a lot of them. My earbuds lived a rough life, getting mangled up in my pockets, bags, the occasional trip through the washing machine, etc.
Then I got a pair of Shure earbuds after doing a bit of searching around for the most indestructible ones. I didn’t get their highest -end model, I think they ran me about $100, but they’ve held up for like a decade at this point. Part of it is probably that I’m a bit more careful with them than I was with cheaper buds, but they’ve still seen plenty of abuse and neglect.
They don’t get much use anymore since my phone doesn’t have a headphone jack, but I’m pretty sure I can buy a Bluetooth adapter or USB cable and slap it on them if I felt the need because the cable is replaceable, which is nice.
I haven’t gone earbud shopping in a decade so I can’t really say if their quality has held up, or if there are better options today. I haven’t quite gotten onboard with Bluetooth buds yet, so I can’t really comment on them.
I never had expensive headphones, but I had gaming headsets, which are not cheap here, and they are mostly bad. Now I use IEMs because there’s a lot of really cheap options that are great.