Karlston Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 The Best Headphones for $100 or Less You could probably fill one of the empty football stadiums with all the cheap headphones out there. We're here to help you pick the right pair. Here at WIRED, it's part of our job to listen to music all day, often on exceedingly fancy and bonkers-expensive headphones. We have playlists for testing bass, for assessing detail, for dance parties—we get way into it. You might think reviewing cheaper headphones would be a chore, but it's actually really exciting. We find real joy searching for good headphones and earbuds with price tags between $5 and $100. It's where the competition is stiffest! Our work isn't done, either. Etailers are overflowing with cheap, awful headphones, so we'll keep listening and updating this list as we try the ever-expanding options. Now fire up your favorite playlist, count your pennies, and take a peak below. We've sifted through dozens of terrible cheap headphones to find the true gold. Be sure to check out our many other buying guides, including the Best Wireless Headphones and Best Wireless Workout Headphones. Updated for July 2020: We've added the JLab Go Air, Sony MDR-7506, and noted some alternative picks that we also like. If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more. Photograph: 1More Best Wirefree Earbuds 1More Stylish True Wireless We’ve tried gobs of expensive, uncomfortable wirefree earbuds from big-name brands since Apple’s AirPods began dominating the market in 2016, but the best pair we’ve tried is from a company you may not have heard of: 1More. The small audio brand’s second-generation wirefree earbuds boast an AirPod-beating 6.5 hours of battery life, the AptX Bluetooth codec for higher-quality audio, and an assortment of comfortable ear tips that all but guarantee a good fit. Soft silicone ear fins help them nestle into even the tiniest ears, making these a great pair for those who can’t ever seem to find the right fit. Plus, with four colors (pink, green, gold, and black) to choose from, they're also a little more "Stylish" than those white AirPods. Looking for a different, still awesome, pair? Check out the original Samsung Galaxy Buds (8/10, WIRED Recommends), which are now cheaper than ever and boast many of the same great features—plus a wireless charging case. $100 $80 at Amazon $100 at Best Buy Photograph: Sennheiser Best Wireless Headphones Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT Sennheiser's design for these wireless headphones is short on elegance; they're about as black, matte, and plastic as you can get. They're also bulky, which means they aren't the best for long (socially distanced) walks around town. But if you need a pair of sound-isolating over-ear cans that keep you grooving for more than a day, these are stellar. You get a lot for the money: 25 hours of battery life, easy-to-use controls, travel-friendly folding headband hinges, a two-year warranty, and most important, crisp and clear audio with really outstanding bass. These are our favorites in this category for the price. Read our review here. Interested in slightly higher-quality audio and a little more silence? Check out the newer Sennheiser HD 4.5BTNC (a little over $100), which come with AptX capability for better fidelity and rudimentary noise-canceling for screaming toddlers. $100 at Amazon $100 $80 at Best Buy Photograph: Fiio Best In-Ear Monitors Fiio FA1 With a sleek, 3D-printed design and a braided cable that runs around your ears instead of below them, Fiio’s FA1 makes you look and feel like your favorite pop star on stage. The around-the-ear cable design means that putting them in takes a bit longer than more traditional earbuds, but you’re rewarded with some of the most balanced, detailed sound that we’ve ever heard for a single Benjamin. Fiio is best known for making expensive, audiophile-grade headphones and digital music players, and much of what we love about the FA1 is borrowed from its more expensive siblings. The ergonomic outer section of the headphones hides custom-made balanced armature drivers, which provide clear highs and controlled bass response, and built-in MMCX terminations on each earbud mean you can quickly and easily replace the cable if it ever wears out. They even come with an included hardshell case—a rarity at this price. $85 at Amazon Photograph: Sony Best for Content Creators Sony MDR7506 If you're a music producer, podcaster, or streamer, you need a good pair of over-ear headphones to monitor yourself with. The classic Sony MDR-7506 are just what you need. They've got great-sounding 40-mm dynamic drivers, and the cozy earpads help eliminate bleed into any nearby mics. Looking for something a bit sleeker? There are also great options from several other audio brands. Personal favorites include these from AKG and Sennheiser. As a general rule, you can trust any company that also makes studio microphones (Shure, AKG, Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, etc.) to know what it's doing with studio-style headphones. $98 at Amazon $100 at B&H Photograph: Grado Best for Audiophiles Grado SR80E The open-backed Grado SR80E won’t cover up your coworker’s clacky mechanical keyboard, but it will deliver the widest, most open soundstage you’ll find for under $100. Handmade in Brooklyn, the headphones feature a simple, tried-and-tested design. Instead of investing in looks, Grado invested where it matters: excellent-quality guts. The custom-made dynamic drivers inside the SR80E reproduce our favorite music with an energetic, lifelike quality that draws you deep inside your tunes, often revealing details you’ve never heard before. Speaking of which, Zeppelin fans, have you ever noticed how squeaky John Bonham’s bass drum pedal is on "Since I’ve Been Loving You?" On the SR80E, you’ll never be able to unhear it again. $99 at Amazon Photograph: Creative Best Battery Life Creative Outlier Gold The Creative Outlier Gold are a truly special pair of wirefree earbuds when you consider the immense amount of battery life you get for the price. They offer an Airpod-slaughtering 14 hours of power when out of the charging case, which offers about 24 hours of extra juice. They've also got an IPX5 sweatproof rating and AptX and AAC support for high-quality wireless audio. Why aren't they at the top of this list? The fit, which—though comfortable enough—is not quite as cozy during longer listening sessions as the 1More Stylish. And they don't feel as sturdy. $80 $50 at Amazon $80 at Creative Photograph: Jaybird Best Banded Earbuds Jaybird Tarah Both of Jaybird's sub-$100 headphones, the Tarah and the X4, are excellent, durable, long-lived workout buds with fantastic sound quality. But if you don't need the X4's special, squishy Comply foam ear tips, the Tarah has everything you need at a sweet price. Soft earpieces (with wings!) fit securely out of the box, and they stayed put while our review team went trail running, rock climbing, and weight lifting. They weigh less than a half-ounce. Most wonderfully of all, you can tinker with EQ presets in the Jaybird app or create your own custom sound. We’ve been known to wear them absolutely everywhere, from the bus to the beach, and enjoy their impressive eight hours of battery life to the fullest. $100 $51 at Amazon $100 $51 at Best Buy $100 $50 at B&H Audio Photograph: JLab Audio Best Wirefree Buds Under $50 JLab Audio Go Air The JLab Go Air (8/10, WIRED Recommends) are legitimately good wireless earbuds, and not just for the price. They come with AirPod-matching five hours of battery life, AirPod-beating (!) sweatproofing, a tiny charging case with a built-in charging cable, and a very comfortable fit. It's not surprising that JLab makes our favorite cheap earbuds—they've been making some of the best affordable audio products on the market for years. Even for them, though, the Go Air feel like a triumph of performance for the money. The only downside? Then open-topped charging case, which can collect gunk in your pockets. The best part? At $30, compared to the nearly $150 you'll pay for AirPods, you don't have to worry too much about losing one. $30 at Amazon $30 at Best Buy Photograph: Audio Technica Best Corded Headphones Under $50 Audio-Technica ATH-M20X Monitor Headphones They’re plasticky, but if you’re not super hard on your headphones, the M20X easily competes with the larger, more robust M50X when it comes to sound quality. The M50X litter music and podcasting studios the world over, making these the perfect option for home creators or anyone who wants a pair of over-ear headphones that faithfully recreate their favorite tunes. They’re also lighter in the bass department than many headphones in this price range, which often boost the lows to impress untrained ears. You’ll be able to hear more of the detail in your favorite shreddy guitar solos, without that extra bass stomping all over them. $49 at Amazon $49 at Walmart $49 at B&H Audio Photograph: Shure Best Corded Earbuds Under $50 Shure SE-112GR OK, yes. They look like the same ugly earbuds that came with your first portable MP3 player, but what the Shure SE-112GR lacks in looks, it makes up for in sound quality. We’ve recommended various iterations of the SE-112 to friends and family since the iPod era. They’re small, comfy, and have surprisingly robust bass for headphones this small and cheap. They even come with foam ear tips that can block out up to 37 decibels of outside noise, making them great for coffee shop workers who want to tune out the multilevel marketing pitch going on at the table next door. $49 at Amazon $49 at B&H Audio Photograph: JBL Best Plug-In Buds Under $20 JBL Tune 210 Do you just need something cheap? We hear you. We read great things about JBL's low-priced plug-in earbuds, so we gave these a shot. They sound decent, and the flat cable rarely gets tangled and mitigates those distracting sounds when the cord rubs against your shirt. Our friends at the Wirecutter selected these as their top budget pick, and we agree. They're great for the price! Looking for something even cheaper? Check out these Panasonic ErgoFit earbuds, which sound better (and come in more colors!) than standard Apple earbuds, but cost half the price. $20 at Amazon $20 at Harman Audio Photograph: JLab Audio Best for Kids JLab Audio JBuddies Studio Bluetooth If you need an affordable pair of headphones to save your ears from another of your kids’ Frozen or Baby Shark marathons, the JLab Jbuddies are the best we’ve found. The colorful headphones are designed to limit sound to doctor-approved 85 decibels, so you won’t have to worry about ear damage. It also comes in many colors, so you always know whose are whose. We’ve squeezed them over our adult-sized heads to test sound quality, and we are happy to note that they offer balanced sound with well-defined bass. As far as we’re concerned, these are the best pick for tiny audiophiles in the making. (Check out our guide to kids travel tech for more recommendations.) The Best Headphones for $100 or Less Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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