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There are many other aspects of good headphones than just sound quality. Like your cheap ones certainly don't have ANC which can be a dealbreaker. Other import

There are many other aspects of good headphones than just sound quality. Like your cheap ones certainly don't have ANC which can be a dealbreaker. Other important things are responsive touch control, good set of microphones, app with equalizer, ear detection, wearing comfort... For my main use case (podcasts), the sound quality is actually the least important aspect of headphones.

k8svet 3y ago
Well the pair I have have quite decent ANC. Frankly, earbuds are in the consumer device category where a loooot of people fall for brands and hype. The only criticism that holds is that these have touchy touch controls, but for a cost savings of $120, and that being the only compromise for me, it's a no-brainer. This blog is invaluable. I bought a number of the sub-$50 pairs a couple years back, and compared them against my favorite wired IEMs. They're not the same of course, but damn good for the money. https://www.scarbir.com/guide/best-sounding-wireless-earphones-50-dollar https://www.scarbir.com/guide/best-sounding-wireless-earphon... I wear them 6+ hours a day, or did when the battery was in better health. If you skim the reviews, you'll see that there are a number of them that have good frequency response, comfort, multi-point. ANC is more or less table stakes, from what I can tell. Etc. Things change fast, you really don't have to spend $100 to get decent earbuds. Hell, even the Galaxy Buds FE, which are very well reviewed can be had for $70USD. EDIT: Actually, the very latest blog post is pretty descriptive of this: https://www.scarbir.com/tws/cheapest-airpods-like-earbuds-aliexpress https://www.scarbir.com/tws/cheapest-airpods-like-earbuds-al... (One of the top on the list the successor to the pair I've been rocking since 2022.)
- The_Colonel 3y ago
  > Well the pair I have have quite decent ANC. Without mentioning the model I have to believe you, although at least where I live, you can't get ANC earbuds for $30 today, let alone 2 years ago. > Things change fast, you really don't have to spend $100 to get decent earbuds. It's a matter of what you value. I use my earbuds every day, and good ergonomics is something I'm willing to pay a bit more. I was recently researching headphones and there was always some ergonomic compromise. It might be a good value if price is an important concern for you, but it's just not worth to compromise in this aspect for me.

k8svet 3y ago

Well the pair I have have quite decent ANC. Frankly, earbuds are in the consumer device category where a loooot of people fall for brands and hype. The only criticism that holds is that these have touchy touch controls, but for a cost savings of $120, and that being the only compromise for me, it's a no-brainer. This blog is invaluable. I bought a number of the sub-$50 pairs a couple years back, and compared them against my favorite wired IEMs. They're not the same of course, but damn good for the money. https://www.scarbir.com/guide/best-sounding-wireless-earphones-50-dollar https://www.scarbir.com/guide/best-sounding-wireless-earphon... I wear them 6+ hours a day, or did when the battery was in better health. If you skim the reviews, you'll see that there are a number of them that have good frequency response, comfort, multi-point. ANC is more or less table stakes, from what I can tell. Etc. Things change fast, you really don't have to spend $100 to get decent earbuds. Hell, even the Galaxy Buds FE, which are very well reviewed can be had for $70USD. EDIT: Actually, the very latest blog post is pretty descriptive of this: https://www.scarbir.com/tws/cheapest-airpods-like-earbuds-aliexpress https://www.scarbir.com/tws/cheapest-airpods-like-earbuds-al... (One of the top on the list the successor to the pair I've been rocking since 2022.)

The_Colonel 3y ago
> Well the pair I have have quite decent ANC. Without mentioning the model I have to believe you, although at least where I live, you can't get ANC earbuds for $30 today, let alone 2 years ago. > Things change fast, you really don't have to spend $100 to get decent earbuds. It's a matter of what you value. I use my earbuds every day, and good ergonomics is something I'm willing to pay a bit more. I was recently researching headphones and there was always some ergonomic compromise. It might be a good value if price is an important concern for you, but it's just not worth to compromise in this aspect for me.