After a 1 meter fall to the floor, one side of my generic Sony-headphones-that-came-with-some-portable-CD-player stopped emitting sound. The wiring looks okay, so I think there's no much to do but get new ones. Which leads to the question, how does one pick decent cheap headphones? Generic cheapos don't come with specs...

Can anyone recommend a course of action? :)

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphon...koss-ksc-55.php

I just got a pair of these. Very good sound quality for 20 USD, in my opinion. You may not like the street style design, though.

Also, these are supposed to be goodn's:
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphon...iser-hd-201.php
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphon...koss-ksc-75.php (I'd get these over the 55's posted above me)
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphon...ss-portapro.php
And these might be a bit much, but are supposed to be great cheap-er headphones.
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphon...akg-k-81-dj.php


My phones are $300 so $60 is pretty cheap!!

These are very good for the money. Had mine and use them everyday walking, riding in my truck, ...wherever Always have trouble with pressure on my ears or too much enclosure thus heat. These are open and light and sound good for cheapies.

cheers,
herefornow

I like the Sennheiser MX400s that I got on Amazon.com Marketplace for under $2.

Another vote for the Koss KSC-75 headphones! Whilst they're cheap to buy, they're certainly not low quality audio devices.

I had Koss KSC-35 headphones for about three years before I got a pair of the 75s (I wanted something that 'felt' more durable than the 35s, which the 75s appear to be). They have the same drivers so the audio output is potentially the same (they 'fit' slightly differently, and the fit of headphones matters a lot).

During the time I've had the 35s and the 75s, about a dozen other people I know have bought them as well after trying out my headphones.

As they are un-joined, ear-wrapping units, they may not be to your liking, but try a pair on if you can.

I had a pair of Koss "backphones" for portable use a couple years ago (can't remember if they were 55s or something else), and I didn't like them very much. The sound was good, but the comfort was not. They're not adjustable at all, so if your head is the wrong size they won't fit quite right. I'm an average guy, I don't have a big melon head or anything, but they felt too small for me. YMMV.

On the other hand, I'm starting to get tired of the weird feeling my ears get after wearing earbuds for more than an hour at a time. I guess there's no such thing as the perfect portable headphone.

I've always used Sony headphones that are under $20 USD for the reason being I'll end up breaking them at some point so why waste money on something expensive. To be honest I can't hear a difference using inexpensive headphones and those which are more costly say $100+ USD.

Theres tons of good ear buds for less then 30. I'd recommend them for portable use.

MX500s, EP-630s, EX71s, etc.

Thanks for the suggestions so far!

Though, this is not what I'd define "extra-low-end" or "generic cheapos", just "cheaper branded". :)

Part of the problem is that things cost here more. I'm looking to minimize the costs also because better headphones may not currently help much when my soundcard (a CT4830), as of late, is clipping (How could that happen? Or maybe it's some mysterious driver issue...)

* What do you think of in-ear (like the MX400) vs. standard? This type always looks to me like something that couldn't possibly reproduce much low frequency.

* How's KOSS in general? I never thought much of them.

* And what do you think of the likes of Panasonic RPHT21, RPHT40 or RPHG10?

Considering the prices I found after a quick look, the HD 201 may be somewhat interesting, but they also look hot and not good for extended use (like a 10 hour session).

You cannot get any extra-low-end then the earbuds that come with the iPod.

The cheapest iPod I see here goes for 90$, so that's a bit high. How are the the earbuds, BTW? :)

Horrible comes to mind about the earbuds. Harsh, bassless, not comfortable in my ears. Would be better to no include them and take the cost off the iPod.

Does that apply to ALL earbuds or only the iPod ones?

Still trying to decide if earbuds (i.e., in-ear) are the way to go or something more... external.

I own a pair of these koss ear buds

http://www.koss.com/koss/kossweb.nsf/p?ope...&pc^eb^PLUG



The bass is good, and is very comfortable in my ear, unlike those that came with my sandisk mp3 player.
I have a slight hearing loss in 1 ear, with these it still comes through very clear.