I think it’s also important to distinguish cheap in terms of price and quality. In terms of money I consider anything below $75 cheap especially if they are wireless and have anc. If they have poor sound and no features then I have no interest in them. A solid pair of headphones which I would consider cheap would be anything in these range of $100-150.
2 months ago | 4
Under $75 would be items that people won't be happy with over the long term.
2 months ago | 1
Once as a poor teen I asked the gentleman working at McDuff Electronics about a $20 pair of headphones and he said “Yeah they are $20 pair of headphones, they’re great”. Back then I thought that was a quality price. I was talking to one of my students several years back and we agreed $50 was a no go for headphones. I didn’t mention that I’d never bother with headphones that cheap lol.
2 months ago (edited) | 1
You have to come at this with a neutral bias, which can be hard to do after basically dedicating your life to this. As a person who cares for their sound quality and comfort and understands how drivers and soundstage works, I would say anything under $100 is considered “cheap.” But if you ask my dad or brother, who doesn’t care about any of that stuff and “just wants to listen to music,” even $30 is too expensive. So my answer: when asking the amateur DIY audiophile, they’re gonna be willing to spend a lot more money over the average consumer… and trust me, the average consumer is never going to share the same passion you do, so don’t even try to convince them that anything under $100 is cheap.
2 months ago | 0
If you are hands on and are willing to spend some time making your own pair is a viable and affordable option Dynamic drivers will cost you from $20-$50 and a headset using them will cost you $70-$300 Of course you still need/want and amplifier, wiring, noise cancellation, backing, and frame. In my scenario I’m luck to have been gifted airpods that I use out of the house and an old stand alone mic so I just have a bear bones headset but it’s a fun project.
2 months ago (edited) | 0
$50 is not cheap imo. Under 25 is cheap. I mean it feels better when you find something under 25 that could sell for 50. Like wired IEMS chifi.
2 months ago | 0
Considering I’ve tried every pair of headphones I could reasonably get under 300$ with a return window that was suitable, I love this category your describing because there are amazing finds in it! I am sensory challenged with ADHD, and my ears having extra connections into my sinuses (got all the weird genes 🧬), and so most high end headphones like Sony XM4/5, Bose Quiet Comfort, Sennheiser, make me have such a bad cabin pressure feeling I’m actually sick from it. In this category we have ANC that works, and no to low cabin pressure sensory drain, and even sometimes, a brand with enough passive isolation that it almost passes for low grade ANC (looking at you Bose Soundlink 2 Over Ears❤ - I’ve worn them so much over the last three years I’ve blown out the bass, Soundcore Space Ones were decent since the ANC was adjustable from “Ugh that makes me sick” to “Oh the world is just turned down about 10 clicks” but fail in plastic quality because they lived under my seat in the car in the winter as they fell out of a gym bag AND just by being in the Massachusetts cold of the car the plastic thermal cracked right at both hinges and was beyond repair and warranty, now we have AirPod Pros 2 which I have a love hate relationship with because price wise even though I’ve paid for AppleCare I’ve used said Apple care multiple times to the breakdown of it being about 100$ of price in product value over the time I’ve had them BUT I need ANC to sleep and the Pro’s rip the skin in my ears with the default tips, and I’ve tried LG for their UV Sanitizing ones and they were the only ones that came close before the Soundcore under 50$ options came to play. Their A30i and P30i are my favorites, REPLACING my AirPods because I wore out the ANC. I love them even more than the P3 flagship but their Liberty lines I can’t stand. I already funded their kickstarter for their Sleep 2 with ANC for side sleepers and I’m stoked it’s on its way! My biggest advice? Avoid 1More audio at all costs, it’s just trash, AND buy the CharJen silicone memory foam hybrid ear tips. The eartips add about 20~30% better passive isolation to ANC making even Soundcores p30i’s sound better than my AirPods all for under 75$
2 months ago | 1
SoundGuys
When one of my friends headphones broke, they asked me for recommendations. What I didn't realize at the moment was that my $75 recommendation would be met with "oh, that's too expensive for headphones" only for one of my friends to pipe up with, "Under $100 is cheap for headphones, isn't it?". Only to dive into discussing what 'cheap' would be for a pair of headphones, assuming they're wireless and have any level of noise cancellation, not expecting the best performance, only that it works.
At what price would you consider headphones "cheap"?
2 months ago | [YT] | 24