Earphones: Ratings of Sources
Total of 25 Sources
For an explanation of how we rank reviews, see our ratings criteria page.
Best 5 Headphones
by Jasmine France
Our Assessment
CNET's Jasmine France lists her five top choices of headphones of various types. Reviews on CNET have good uniformity of testing, with comparisons often made to other models. Shure SE530 in-ear headphones have stellar sound quality, while the Audeo Perfect Fit Earphones with Microphone have balanced audio and a good fit. A separate list is maintained for top earbud choices.
How to Buy the Right Headphones
by Tim Gideon
Our Assessment
This buying guide describes different types of headphones and earphones and offers general advice; links to individual reviews are included. Review quality has improved over the years, and most reviews from the last few years compare models to others. The expensive Shure E500PTH (now the Shure SE530) win the Editors' Choice award for in-canal earphones.
Reviews: Headphones and Earphones
by Editors of iLounge.com
Our Assessment
iLounge.com reviews iPod and iPhone accessories, including headphones and earphones. Writeups by editor-in-chief Jeremy Horwitz are detailed, though some older reviews are less so, and site navigation is… difficult at times. Reviewers take looks and sound quality into consideration. Several models get an A rating, including the Etymotic ER-4P and ER-6i, and Shure's SE530. All are rated highly for sound quality and comfort.
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Reviews: Hardware: Headphones
by Editors of GoodGearGuide.com
Our Assessment
While not all earphones and earbuds rated on this Australian site are available to American consumers, many are, and Good Gear Guide editors offer a good assessment of sound quality, comfort and value in their reviews. They're impressed with the noise isolation and clarity of the Etymotic ER-6i in-ear headphones.
Top 5 Headphones
by David Ramli
Our Assessment
Good Gear Guide lists their top five headphones by category, with links to full reviews. The Ultimate Ears TripleFi are named the best in-ear headphones, with a more detailed sound signature and less bass-heavy performance than Shure's competing E500 series.
6. Which? (UK)
As of May 2009
Headphones
by Editors of Which?
Our Assessment
This British consumer magazine and website rates 79 headphones (a few of which are Bluetooth models), choosing 12 as Best Buys. Their listening panel rates sound quality, sound leakage, comfort, fit, ease… of use and noise-canceling abilities (if applicable). The highest-scoring earphones, the Sennheiser CX 400, scores well below full-sized headphones based on these criteria. The Etymotic ER-6i, which gets good reviews elsewhere, appears on a Don't Buy list, with evidence that this is because testers had difficulties getting a proper fit. Reviewers are overall disappointed with sound quality in earphones and earbuds.
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Group Test: iPod Upgrade Earphones
by Alex Rothwell
Our Assessment
British site AVReview conducts a round-up of six earphones, giving each a rating out of 10. While the Eymotic ER-4P scores very well for sound quality, reviewer Alex Rothwell says that when fit is taken into account as well, the Jays q-Jays have a slight edge.
iPod Product Guide: Headphones
by Dan Frakes
Our Assessment
Macworld keeps a running list of headphones, with ratings and links to full reviews. Comparisons are frequently made, but sometimes you have to search to find the Editors' Choice picks because they're not marked on the ratings page. The Etymotic ER-6i outperforms other in-ear earphones. The site could be more up-to-date, as the latest review is from mid-2008.
Headphone Reviews
by Editors of Laptop Magazine
Our Assessment
Laptop Magazine reviews earphones and earbuds sporadically, and the quality of the reviews is variable. The Etymotic ER-6i gets an Editors' Choice award for comfort, clear sound and ability to block out ambient noise passively, while the Ultimate Ears SuperFi 4vi gets a nod for exceptional sound quality, its built-in attenuator and iPhone-compatible microphone.
10. Choice.com.au
Feb. 2009
Test: Noise Canceling Earphones
by Editors of Choice
Our Assessment
Similar to ConsumerReports.org in the U.S., this Australian site rigorously tests seven noise-canceling earphones. Editors give scores for ease of use, passive and active noise cancelation and sound quality. Only the new Panasonic RP-HC55 is found to cancel noise to a significant degree.
The Best Earphones for iPod and Other MP3 Players
by Editors of EarphoneSolutions.com
Our Assessment
EarphoneSolutions.com tests and sells earphones, ranking the best models. Grado headphones are used as reference, and all earphones are evaluated with an iPod. Site navigation can be tricky, and the thoroughness of reviews varies from model to model. The new Westone 3 earphones are named as top choice, with the older Shure SE 530 set coming in second.
Best Headphones - Review of the Top 10 Best Headphones
by Editors of HiFi Headphones
Our Assessment
British headphones sellers HiFi Headphones list their top 10 in-ear, on-ear and "hi-fi" (audiophile) headphones, with three or four models recommended in each category. Reviews of each earphone are only a few paragraphs, but situate each model well with respect to the competition.
Headphones Reviews
by Editors of What Hi-Fi?
Our Assessment
British audio enthusiast magazine What Hi-Fi? has up-to-date reviews of many types of audio equipment, including earphones. Reviews are of varying length, but are generally brief and undated. A Best Buys section lists top models in various categories of earphones, although little evidence aside from star ratings is given for why the recommended earphones and earbuds are the best.
Earphones Roundup Review
by Stuart Andrews
Our Assessment
TrustedReviews.com is a U.K.-based website that reviews a wide variety of electronics and technology. Earphones are occasionally reviewed in their MP3 section, but the selection is too sparse to be able to compare models effectively. In this roundup, only three earbud headphones -- the Denon AH-C252, Ultimate Ears MetroFi 2, Sony MDR-EX300SL -- are evaluated, and no clear winner is picked.
Replacement iPhone Earphones on Test
by Alex Watson
Our Assessment
Bit-Tech conducts a roundup review of headphones for use with Apple's iPhone, including half a dozen earphones. General audio performance is critiqued, as well as voice quality; in particular, in one test,… Alex Watson hears an infamous (though faint) expletive halfway through the Beatles' "Hey Jude." The Etymotic hf2 and V-Moda Vibe II score highest, the former for performance, the latter for value.
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Headphone Reviews
by Martin SŠgmŸller
Our Assessment
AnythingButiPod.com discusses MP3 players and accessories, reviewing about a dozen earphones and headphones over the past two years. Despite the narrow range, reviewer Martin SŠgmŸller writes very… omprehensive evaluations of earphones and earbuds, critiquing accessories, design, build, specifications and sound. Geared toward audiophiles, the reviews reference many other models at the top end of the market.
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17. Consumer magazine
March 18, 2009
Noise Canceling Headphones
by Editors of Consumer magazine
Our Assessment
This New Zealand-based consumer site tests five noise-canceling earphones under controlled conditions. They evaluate noise-cancelation ability, sound quality, comfort and ease of use. The top two picks are New Zealand brand Blackbox's C14 model, and the Panasonic RP-HC55. Audio-Technica and Sony earphones tested poorly.
Earphone Reviews
by Editors of OnHeadphones.com
Our Assessment
This website gives ratings with pros, cons and a bottom-line summation. Editors' Choice designations don't appear on summary pages; you have to pull up the full review to know if a model got picked. The… Shure SE530 gets an Editors' Choice rating for its balanced sound, while the Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5 Pro gets the same for its reference-quality sound. However, the site does not appear to have been updated since December 2007.
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Headphones
by Contributors to Amazon.com
Our Assessment
Earphones are a popular item, and some models get hundreds of user reviews on Amazon.com. However, with so many options and so many given top ratings, it's hard to say which set rises to the top. Still, this is a great place to spot complaints, such as persistent issues with comfort or build quality. It's also a good place to look for reviews on products with a lot of press hype.
Headphones
by Contributors to AudioReview.com
Our Assessment
This website, which is popular among audiophiles, invites user ratings. Older headphone and earphone models receive more reviews, but top picks change frequently here as more reviews are added. Some reviews are more helpful than others, especially those that include comparisons to other earbuds. Users here often echo pros and cons discussed at Amazon.com.
Our Headphone Recommendations
by Users of HeadphoneReviews.org
Our Assessment
HeadphoneReviews is another audiophile review site, with users submitting write-ups and ratings for earphones and earbuds. Recommendations are given for each category of headphones, but these are sometimes based on just one review, and without more comparative testing, it is difficult to tell which earbuds are better.
22. ConsumerReports.org
Not Dated
Headphones
by Editors of ConsumerReports.org
Our Assessment
ConsumerReports.org covers earphones as part of more general reporting on headphones. Ratings evaluate sound quality, sensitivity, and, in the case of noise-canceling models, isolation. There's scant… explanation of the earphones themselves. Furthermore, only a few models covered, so the field is too narrow to make that selection meaningful, and earphones seem to be evaluated side-by-side with headphones.
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Headphones and Headsets
by Editors of Tech2.com
Our Assessment
This Indian technology news and review site is quite up-to-date, but the blog-style reviews are very short. A few entries are comparative, but most reviews neglect to position the models under discussion with respect to other competing models, and no ratings are provided.
HeadRoom's Top Ten Headphones
by Editors of HeadRoom
Our Assessment
Although HeadRoom only rates headphones it sells, editors give useful overviews based on technical testing (though they tend to push other products they sell like amplifiers and cables). The Shure SE530 is their in-ear headphones choice.
Less Noise, More Solitude: Travel-friendly Earbuds and Headphones
by Blaine Flamig
Our Assessment
This article focuses on five travel-friendly headphones and earphones. Unfortunately, Blaine Flamig doesn't pick a favorite and simply highlights the headphones' strong and weak points. He admits the Shure… E530 in-ear phones are expensive, but worth the price for remarkable sound and noise isolation. The Klipsch Custom-2 are impressive for fit and value, and the Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 Pro have exceptional detail and are comfortable, despite a bulky design and stiff gel earpieces.
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