Audio advice and discussions with audiophiles and professionals. Free discussion forums, open to all and frequented by industry experts. Ask questions and get advice on stereos, speakers, hi-end amplifiers, pre-amps, home theater, tube hi-fi, turntables, vinyl, tweaks, music, films, video, DVDs and more.
I'm sorry if this question sounds silly, but I'm really curious. A friend bragged about his new headphones earlier today. (I think I saw Samsung's name on it). It does look cool, but I'm wondering if the quality of the sound is that much different from standard, cheaper headphones.
Hi, Price is not really a good indicator of quality in headphones IMO. There are some guidelines though. If it is under say $50 the chances it will sound ok are small. At about $75-100 there are a number of pretty good phones. The thing to watch out for is hyped up ones with fancy brand names. Ones from established headphone companies will almost always give you better bang for the buck. At the high end (over say $500) most phones are quite good. They have what I would call different flavors and features but generally they fulfill the advertising specs. In between the $100 and $500 range it is a bit of a crap shoot. Many are pretty good, but a number sneak in with hype. Personally I use some rather low cost phones (just under $100). Sennheisers and vintage Koss ones. Are there better ones for sure, but these do it for me.
gofar99, thank you for the information. It seems tricky because people would check headphones from established brands first, knowing their quality. We automatically expect good quality because of their history. Personally I like trying new brands and find hidden gems, but I guess I'll need to search for reviews and personal experiences carefully.