Welcome to blog post 31! Today I wanted to talk to you all about headphones. We all use them or have done in the past and if anyone is struggling to find a pair for the right price and quality. Then here is my top 5 list of well known brands of headphones that might help you out! I had this post ready for May, but having lots of other people come to me and ask if I could review their music. Now I have room to share this with you, enjoy!
Before I get into this top 5 I wanted to just clear a few things up too. I wanted to do well known brands too that you can find in your local HMV/Currys/Dixons etc instead of choosing brands that are outlet only. This is my personal top 5 choice and I'm only looking at over the ear headphones too. If you think I am wrong or have left out a significant brand then let me know in the comments! What's your top 5!?
Okay... lets get started!
5. Beats by Dr.Dre
Well, this brand had to be in the top 5 plainly for its popularity and probably nothing else. These headphones are everywhere and aren't actually that good for sound as they seem. Beats by Dr.Dre have been around now since 2006 and have evolved into quite a few different ranges.
I really don't understand the amount of hype for these. I think a lot of people now go for look rather than sound which is a shame, but I guess people are willing to pay for looks. These headphones have a price range of £150 - £390 which to me personally are extortionate prices. To get their lowest range of product is already more expensive then some of the better quality headphones at mid range produce...
So... in conclusion, you're paying a ton of money for something that looks great, but had incredibly shoddy sound. Thank god there is at least there's free shipping...enjoy!
(all ratings out of 5)
Cost - 2
Design - 5
Sound Quality - 3
4. Philips
The reason I chose Philips in this top 5 is because they actually offer a wide range for many customers. This is something that makes me wonder with such a diverse range of headphones for specific users...is there much difference?
Well for starters they have entered the realm of bluetooth which is a nice feature to have and shows the company is developing its headphone brands. They also have specific headphones for sports, bass lovers etc and all at a fairly low price. The price range starts from £15 - £120 and for those who don't have a lot of money, this is a great brand to use. If you wanted to go wireless or bluetooth, again its not that expensive coming in at around £60. Not only is it fairly cheap, but the sound isn't bad for what you're paying for either. In conclusion...a reasonably priced brand churning out a variety of headphones with some decent sound. Not bad!
Cost - 5
Design - 3
Sound Quality - 3
3. Sennheiser
Next we have the German headphone brand Sennheiser. This brand was a close second, but there are some reasons as to why this came in at number 3 and not 2. Sennheiser offer a quite large range of products and try go that extra mile to appeal to the customer. The first thing I wanted to touch on was the price range because you can't get a bigger price range than this...ready?
Price range: £24.99 - £999.99!?
Yes that's right, you can get some 'cheapy' headphones, or if you're hella rich, why not grab some German hand assembled HD 800's! This is the descrition for the 800's is "These headphones are top-of-the line audio technology at its finest. Hand assembled in Germany with top quality materials and using the largest transducers ever, these provide an unmatched natural listening experience." At that bloody price I hope so too!!This is what I meant by them going the distance. They have a nice range with decent sound at around the £160 mark, but I still feel you're not getting enough for what you pay for. Every time I go to put on Sennheiser headphones, something's not right, the sound is a little muffled or the positioning on my ears isn't that comfortable. I'm trying the mid range headphones out too, not the cheap ones too! The fact that you have to spend more for design too is a little bit cheeky because the £24 ones don't look that great, but then again, its what you pay for.
In conclusion, Sennheiser have got the ingredients to be a great headphone brand. they are already pretty popular and have a great sound, but there is something not quite right that I hope they can fix soon.
Cost - 4
Design - 3.5 (4.5 for more expensive brands)
Sound Quality - 3.5
2. Sony
Sony own a wide range of different products including headphones and range from wireless to bluetooth. The money they earn from their other products such as TV's and sound systems gives them the tools to make some great pairs of headphones. They offer a nice range of headphones that look great and have a nice quality even at £25 a pair.
Its great to see Sony investing in making their cheaper products looking as nice as the £100 + pairs. Obviously quality is different, but to the untrained eye, you can't tell the difference. Although you can grab some snazzy wireless headphones with a wireless transmission for £99 which is a fantastic deal. The price range is from £25 - £449.00 and on their website each set has got great reviews.
Cost- 4
Design - 3.5
Sound Quality - 3.5
1. Bose
Now, anyone who knows me personally knows that I am a massive Bose nerd. I love their products and their headphone quality is insane for the price you get them at. Whilst Im writing this, I am using my Bose AE2 headphones that cost £120. Now...that does seem like a lot but hear me out.
I bought them because I heard so much about their sound quality and how comfy they are. When I'm writing my blog I sometimes forget they're on my head, they're so damn comfy. These are the lower ranged headphones too, so the price doesn't really help, but you definitely get what you pay for! Although they don't look the best which puts quite a few people off, they make it up in sound... by a mile.
The sound quality is insane, you can hear everything with the slight noise cancellation in them which gives your ears a real treat in hearing everything in the track. I heard one of my favourite tracks the other day by Frank Turner and noticed a little shaker in the background and someone talking that wouldn't of been picked up with cheaper headphones. They can give you the raw power from the music too, so if its a rock song, it'll deliver the power to your ears!
Now these headphones are the lower part of the range, but the range doesn't go to extortionate heights like Sennheiser. I tried out the latest noise cancelling headphones the 'QuietComfort 3'. To which you put them on and you can hear around you, until you flick a little button (baring in mind I was in a bustling airport) and I couldn't hear anything outside and I had no music on. I was blown away by how they can do that and the sound quality was to die for, although at £300 you'd expect to get the best price!
In conclusion if you want fairly expensive headphones that you can rely on and get what you pay for. Then I would recommend Bose because they do at 2 year warranty on their headphones and then for mine when I took it back (4 days before the warranty was up) they gave me an extra year on the replaced ones.
Cost - 3.5
Design - 4.5
Sound Quality - 5*
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| Bose AE2 Headphones |
Let me know what your Top 5 headphone brands are in the comments below or tweet me them! I look forward to seeing your choices!
Thanks for reading and until next time
Lewis
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