Headphones: Reviews

Which? magazine: Britain's Which? magazine tests 56 headphones in their latest roundup, with the Grado SR80i headphones coming out on top.

What Hi-Fi?: British audiophile magazine What Hi-Fi? takes a brief look at the Grado SR80i headphones, giving them a maximum 5-star rating.

ConsumerReports.org: ConsumerReports.org tests and ranks a variety of stereo and noise-canceling headphones, including the Grado SR80i.

HeadRoom: The editors at HeadRoom recommend using an amplifier with the Grado SR80i headphones, noting that it causes the sound to "snap into sharp focus." The headphones have "very good dynamics with quite punchy base response and clean-sounding mids and highs." Customer reviews are equally complimentary, averaging 4.5 out of 5 stars.

HomeTheaterReview.com: Jerry Del Colliano awards the Grado SR80i headphones 4.5 out of 5 stars in performance, value and overall.

Amazon.com: Grado's SR80i headphones get about 300 customer reviews at Amazon.com, and an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5.

CNET: The Koss PortaPro headphones get an Editors' Choice award and 4 out of 5 stars at CNET nearly 25 years after their initial release.

Head-Fi.org: Head-Fi user "Whenesday" posts a detailed, extensive review of the 25th Anniversary edition of the Koss PortaPro headphones, which are only cosmetically different from the standard model.

HeadRoom: The Koss PortaPro headphones have the "best sound quality in the category/price," write the editors of HeadRoom.

Amazon.com: Amazon.com has more than 950 user reviews of the Koss PortaPro headphones, with the earliest dating back to 1999.

AudioReview.com: Like Amazon.com, AudioReview.com collects ratings from users of audio products, though their respondents are from a number of countries.

PC World (Australia): Good Gear Guide's Andrew Kliem says the Koss KSC75s have "jaw-dropping sound for the price." He's impressed with the smoothness and detail across all ranges and says the headphones are comfortable, but adds that sound leakage is a problem.

Macworld: Dan Frakes says the Koss KSC75 headphones offer excellent sound with a design that's ideal for athletic use, awarding them 4 out of 5 mice.

HeadphoneReviews.org: A handful of reviewers give a surprisingly well-educated take on the Koss KSC75 headphones on this peer-review site, awarding a strictly average score (5 of a possible 10) but rating it a tremendous value (9 of 10). "These handle classical and most pop surprisingly well, but noisier music may make the KSC-75 sound scratchy," writes one reviewer, echoing the sentiments of most.

HeadRoom: HeadRoom, a retailer of headphones, puts the Koss KSC75 headphones in its top 10, and more than 20 customer reviews give the inexpensive headphones a surprisingly strong 4.5 out of 5 stars overall.

Amazon.com: Most of the 500-plus users who report on the Koss KSC75 headphones praise their sound and value.

PCMag.com: The Bose QuietComfort 15 headphones get an Editors' Choice award and 4 out of 5 stars from PCMag.com's Tim Gideon.

Laptop Magazine: Michael A. Prospero gives the Bose QuietComfort 15 headphones an Editors' Choice designation and 4 out of 5 stars in this review for Laptop Magazine.

What Hi-Fi?: British audiophile magazine What Hi-Fi? gives the Bose QuietComfort 15 headphones a 5-star rating in this short review.

Choice magazine: The Bose QuietComfort 15 headphones excel in Australian consumer magazine Choice's test of noise-canceling headphones.

ConsumerReports.org: ConsumerReports.org tests and ranks a variety of noise-canceling headphones, including the Bose QuietComfort 15.

CNET: CNET praises the styling, bass response and comfort of the Sennheiser HD 650.

PCMag.com: The Sennheiser HD 650 receives an Editors' Choice award and 5 out of 5 stars for clean, rich sound.

Amazon.com: Of the 80-plus reviews on Amazon.com, the majority of users give a perfect 5-star rating to the Sennheiser HD 650 headphones.

AudioReview.com: The 20 or so users who have posted reviews here thus far agree that the Sennheiser HD 650 headphones excel in sound quality.

OnHeadphones.com: Though it's named an Editor's Choice here, this brief and somewhat superficial review admits that the Sennheiser HD 650 headphones are not a good choice for the casual listener thanks to their price.

TechRadar.com: Richard Black awards the Sennheiser HD 650 headphones a 5 out of 5 star rating, calling the sound excellent, with little distortion and great detail, though not as flashy at high and low frequencies.