Headphones/earbuds

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Dannnnnnnnnn

Dannnnnnnnnn

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I'm looking for a decent set of headphones or earbuds (preferably the latter).

The major driving factor for me looking for a pair is a number of lengthy plane rides in the middle of the year. It's fair to say I'm not a fantastic flier, so a set that can at least somewhat drown out the cabin noise would be beneficial.

At the same time, though, if I'm spending decent money on a pair I'd prefer them to be useful in other situations. In particular, for hiking and other forms of exercise.

I'm aware that headphones are probably the best bet for the plane and earbuds for running, but I'd prefer not to have to buy both. As such, earbuds are my preference. However, I was looking at these for more active use - they're relatively cheap (but poor for noise cancelling purposes), so if there's a good set of noise-cancelling headphones for around the same price, I could be tempted to get both.

The Bose QuietComfort 20 seems to be the pick of the bunch, but borderline $400 is a bit more than I'm willing to spend. $250-$300 is probably my ceiling but if I can pull it off for $150 I'll be stoked.

Looking for decent noise cancelling, comfort and battery life above all, and will mostly be used with an iPhone. I'm not overly fussy with sound quality. Obviously it needs to be decent, but I'm not going to complain if it's not top of the line.

Any recommendations are welcome.
 
For a cheap set of noise cancelling you can get some sony ones for about 130-150 from jb. I've had a set for about 5 years. For the running ones id look at plantronics backbeat Bluetooth buds

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If you're looking to do it on a budget it might be worth looking at something with good isolation instead of noise cancelling. Otherwise if you're not fussed about sound there are a few options, you could get something like the Plantronics Backbeat Pro for travel, or something cheaper like the Audio Technica ANC50 or ANC70.

Earphones depend on if you care about wireless or not, but there's plenty of cheap Chi-Fi stuff out there that's pretty decent quality (eg. Mee Audio, VSonic, Alpha & Delta). Check out some reviews and see what suits you.
 

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If you want some decent headphones, Cassie knows where to get them
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I've got myself an Audio Technica M50. Have had it for 3 years now and always bring it on my travels, leave them on for the whole 7 hour flights. The earpiece has really soft padding so doesn't really get too uncomfortable after the 7 hours like some headphones do. They cancel out noise well (cannot hear the screaming babies, at all), the sound is phenomenal and you're getting better value than you're paying IMO. The downside is that they're bulky so really aren't practical for running or the gym.

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Gigantic said:
I've got myself an Audio Technica M50. Have had it for 3 years now and always bring it on my travels, leave them on for the whole 7 hour flights. The earpiece has really soft padding so doesn't really get too uncomfortable after the 7 hours like some headphones do. They cancel out noise well (cannot hear the screaming babies, at all), the sound is phenomenal and you're getting better value than you're paying IMO. The downside is that they're bulky so really aren't practical for running or the gym.

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Yeah I'm wearing the M50x right now (Matte Grey version), bought them because they're a good all rounder (portable, foldable, decent isolation, decent sound, removeable cable), with good bass. They've become my work headphones as they do a pretty good job at blocking out the loud chick behind me, and they do an reasonable job for long flights. Got tired of carting them to-and-from work so ended up getting some decent open-backed headphones for home, the Philips Fidelio X2.

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DO NOT GO NEAR SKULLCANDY

I bought a pair of wireless earbuds of theirs, based on them being sorta medium priced and having good reviews (i'd never heard of htem so looked up some reviews). OMG they are somewhere between the free headphones you get on planes and the free ones you get with mobile phones.

Audiotechnica are my favourite brand, but you pay for that quality.
 
theyellowsash said:
DO NOT GO NEAR SKULLCANDY

I bought a pair of wireless earbuds of theirs, based on them being sorta medium priced and having good reviews (i'd never heard of htem so looked up some reviews). OMG they are somewhere between the free headphones you get on planes and the free ones you get with mobile phones.

Audiotechnica are my favourite brand, but you pay for that quality.
Click to expand...

I think there are SOME Skullcandy products that are reasonable, but anything you're likely to pick up at your local JB Hifi would be overpriced rubbish. I picked up some AKG earbuds from JB a while back and they were rubbish, and AKG are a fairly well respected audio brand.

It's not hard to find Audio-Technica stuff on sale online, and even their regular price shits over what you're pay at most stores.
 
Decided a while back that I'd like a decent set of wireless buds and did some research. Settled on the Klipsch X12... all reviews reported excellent audio quality + has longer battery life than competitors. Placed an order online only to be told some weeks later that the X12's weren't going to be marketed in Australia. They can be ordered through Kogan/Dick Smith but given that company's reputation I steered well clear, and have since cooled on the idea.

Have a pair of (wired) Shure SE425's that do the job. They were the best available at their price point a couple of years ago. Other consumer-level brands that consistently review well are Sennheiser, Grado & AKG, although there are many other manufacturers capable of producing good models. The aforementioned Skullcandy, as well as Beats, trade heavily on image and are considered overpriced by serious enthusiasts. Bose also tend to be sneered at for their bass-hyped sound signature.

Anyway I'm just a novice and it's a curly and potentially very expensive hobby to get into, full of claims, counter-claims and angry debates! Best advice I can give is to trust your ears - if a cheap set sounds good to you, that's all that counts.

NB If you're spending a bit of money, the unwritten rule is that hi-fi stores (no, not JB Hi-Fi) will knock 10% off the advertised price if asked. Most will price-match with other reputable outlets. There's an art to it; staff in this industry can be a bit snobbish!
 

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Hi everyone,

Would anyone have any recommendations for a half decent pair of Wireless Headphones (Headphones not earbuds) I could use at the gym?

Preferably looking to spend under $100 unless it is exceptional value.

Unfortunately I don't really know a heap about audio so not 10)% sure where to look.
 
Bonz said:
Hi everyone,

Would anyone have any recommendations for a half decent pair of Wireless Headphones (Headphones not earbuds) I could use at the gym?

Preferably looking to spend under $100 unless it is exceptional value.

Unfortunately I don't really know a heap about audio so not 10)% sure where to look.
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You won't find much in that price range, this is an option if you're still looking
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/317200
 
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