The quality of music is very important to people, and with large record sales from Monster’s ever popular Beats it’s obvious that consumers spend a lot on their headphones. Over hyped or over priced, new headphones try to compete every year trying to be the best. West Side Stories breaks down the best headphones for you.
1) Solo Beats By Dre (by monster)
Description: The Solo Beats are solid, built, on-ear headphones with soft mesh pads on the ears. The look of Beats is smooth and mainstream, giving a quality feel to them. The head strap, though unpadded, is mid tension, so you can comfortably wear them for hours, without any sound bleeding through. With detachable cables cord length is never an issue. The headphones collapse and also rest very fashionably on your shoulders.
What we like: Beats perform best in Hip Hop, Rap and Dubstep, as the headphones do a good job of balancing treble and bass.
What we don’t like: acoustic or “softer” bands. Rock and Punk were shaky especially when it leans more toward hardcore screamo. The vocals are drowned out by the instrumentals and most iPod equalizers fail to make the balance just right, giving either too strong or weak of tremble giving a distant aspect to the music.
Cost: $199.95
Overall: Beats are good quality headphones for a majority of popular genres of music. With custom colors and different bass mm sizes the quality of the Beats will always be good. With a price sticker in the hundreds, this headphone is an expensive buy, but perfect for those who desire style as much as quality.
9.5 out of 10
2) 50mm Low Riders by Skull Candy
Description: Cheap, portable and good sound quality, are the low riders summed up in a few words. Low Riders are on ear, very low tension collapsible headphones with leather like padding. The Low Rider is a very skeleton like headphone, emphasizing portability and a skater style of fashion. The padded head strap fits comfortably on most any head, with a break point right down the middle that goes unnoticed till storage.
What we like: Low Riders are well rounded headphones, allowing enjoyable listening experience for all genres but lack the crystal clear sounds of more expensive counter parts. Despite that “Have Faith in Me” by A Day To Remember was edgy and balanced the guitar and drums well. These headphones are more designed for the on the go person who doesn’t like sticking ear buds in.
What we don’t like: These headphones are well maid, the headphones feel cheep. The headphones feel like they collapse on themselves like a rag doll and clunk around when you set them up to listen to. Resting them on our shoulders is fine, however sometimes the hinge on the head strap pinches the back of your neck, making for a few annoying moments. The Lowrider is not the headphones for people who want to feel every beat, with literally no kick, these are for travel.
Cost: $30.00
Overall: Low Riders are affordable on almost any paycheck. They are good for all kinds of music but lack the extra kick most bass junkies look for. Low Riders come in 2 different mm bass sizes and many different color schemes. These affordable headphones are a great Christmas present that don’t break the bank and deliver good sound quality.
8.5 Out of 10
3) Wicked Audio Reverbs 2.0 by Empire
Description: Wicked is better known in Illinois and is where a lot of Wicked sales are hosted. The headphones are huge and bulky looking, with a 70mm bass. Uncollapsible and with a stereo adaptor given in the box these headphones are meant to be played on max volume. These over the ear headphones provide ground shaking deep bass in beautiful surround sound.
What we like: Reverbs are 20Hz-20,000Hz capable headphones that only care about quality. The headphones are so loud that to prevent hearing loss it is highly recommended having ear plugs in, while you blast the bass. Every kind of music plays clearly when using normal equalizer on an iPod but Rap is the Wicked Audio Reverb 2.0’s ace in the hole. The bass literally shakes ears as the subwoofer bounces back and forth. Reverbs aren’t meant to be fashionable but to be the best sounding headphones out on the market. The price is, well Wicked at $30 for brand new 2.0 Reverbs.
What we dislike: Look, Wickeds are by far the most ugly looking headphones on the market. Their size makes portability difficult. The long cord gives you 3 feet more cord then you really need and comes off of both ear pads instead of the ever popular left one only. The also feel cheaply made, giving potential buyers doubt in the product.
Cost: $35.00
Overall: These headphones are ugly but give some of the best quality music for an affordable price that is unreal. Reverbs might spark complaints from neighbors might happen, but that’s the price you pay for incredible sound. Reverbs catapult music like never heard before. So be warned, Reverbs may shake your reality.
9.5 Out of 10
4) Dog Ears by Kono Audio
Description: Dog ears are the most underground headphones on the market, these on ear headphones are nicknamed Dog Ears due to the high tension head strap which after a while gives a clap effect to the ears forcing them down like a dog. Dog Ears are flexible and make you feel safe about throwing them around. They are made and are padded around the whole head strap by adding a plastic resting guard. This rest is very easily on the shoulders allowing easy portability it also feels like a feather compared to its competitors.
What we dislike: the quality is basic, and the simplistic patterns on the side aren’t too appealing. The padding around the ear can wear if they get wet, and deform oddly. The extension cord is flimsy and can easily get caught.
Cost: $10.00
Overall: Dog Ears are the most affordable and durable of its kind. These headphones are great if you need one pair of good headphones and don’t care weather or not they’re what everyone else has. Dog Ears are far from the best quality but the cost more then makes up for it.
5) DJ PRO 200 Seterophones by Koss
Description: Made by a local Milwaukee company these headphones are solidly built, over the ear, noise-isolating studio headphones that drown out sound around. It comes in a carrying case with it’s 8 ft stereo cable and the traditional 4 ft iPod cord that lets you to change volume and pause the song. The headphones run a stereo cord out of the left headphone while the right ear can control between Stereo and Mono sound quality with a flick of the switch.
What we like: The DJ Pro look smooth and feel nice to hold. they have rotating metal earpads for a maximum comfort and sound quality. The audio is clear with perfect balance between bass and tremble. Normal equalizer has never sounded so good with headphones, these won’t shake with the slightest bass but once you get them up to max the abilities of these headphones never fail to impress. The option of switching out cords is always cool. The coiled stereo cord is nice and solid and with the extreme amount of use never seem to stretch out.
What we don’t like: The spun metal ear pads look nice but very easily get dirty and you can see finger prints from every time you try them on. Something also noticed quality from the cords. The iPod cord seems to have a slightly louder max volume then the coiled studio cord, While the studio cord delivers the clearer sound of the two, people who like their volume at max might notice this.
Cost:$129.99
Overall: Koss Dj Pro 200 provide crystal clear sound and are durable. These headphones have the ability to have interchangeable allowing for length, weight and type of the cord to be 100% customizable. Apart from the smugges that will show these headphones are for people who want to strengthen their music without breaking the bank. These headphones aren’t base heavy, so for some who like shake these are a more balanced headset allowing for layers of sound.
