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I'm looking for an inexpensive (under $50) pair of over-the-ear headphones. I want decent sound quality, good comfort, NOT bass heavy, no celebrity endorsements. I currently use a vintage set of Pioneer SE-205s. They sound great to my ear, but they are skull crushers (not in a good way). Also, the cord causes a crackly sound when moved too much, so they're showing their age.

 

A friend let me borrow his Sennheiser HD 202. They push way too much bass and barely go over the ear. Closer to on ear. Another guy let me borrow his ATH-M30fs. They're not bad, a little bass heavy, pretty comfortable.

 

These aren't deal breakers, but other things that might be nice: Portability (fold up), detachable cord, long, thick-gauge cord, no "Y" cords.

 

Any suggestions at all would be great. Please and thank you.

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This is exactly what you're looking for right here:

 

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?p_id=8323&seq=1&format=2

 

Do a Google search on the reviews of these things.

These actually look pretty interesting. I have a nice cord I could use as a replacement too. Just in case these were too cheap or whatever. I'm intrigued despite the name of the product being Monoprice, lol. Would you recommend these?

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These actually look pretty interesting. I have a nice cord I could use as a replacement too. Just in case these were too cheap or whatever. I'm intrigued despite the name of the product being Monoprice, lol. Would you recommend these?

 

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57337747-47/how-good-can-$21.59-headphones-be/

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/608453/monoprice-dj-headphones-8323-review

 

I don't own them but I've read plenty of testimonials of those that rave about them on other message boards.  Hell, for that price, why the fuck not???

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Thinking pretty serious about the Monoprice 8323s. Unfortunately they are pretty ugly. This shouldn't really be a concern, but I'm a graphic designer so aesthetics are important to me - I appreciate well designed products. Any simple physical mods to do?

 

They will be used primarily for home listening, but perhaps the occasional long trip. Or maybe yard work. Ya think these will be too clunky for outside work? I'm wondering if they'll get sweaty and nasty in the heat. Maybe a second set of in ear phones for working?

 

I may be over thinking this.

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Thinking pretty serious about the Monoprice 8323s. Unfortunately they are pretty ugly. This shouldn't really be a concern, but I'm a graphic designer so aesthetics are important to me - I appreciate well designed products. Any simple physical mods to do?

 

They will be used primarily for home listening, but perhaps the occasional long trip. Or maybe yard work. Ya think these will be too clunky for outside work? I'm wondering if they'll get sweaty and nasty in the heat. Maybe a second set of in ear phones for working?

 

I may be over thinking this.

 

My personal opinion is that when it comes to sound, aesthetics should ultimately hold very very little bearing (they're on your head where you cant see them anyways).  I'd buy pink headphones with unicorn stickers on it, if you told me they were easily the best set of $50 cans money would buy.  If you want the best of both worlds, you're probably gonna need to up your budget, IMO.  For outside labor work, most over-the-ear headphones are going to get sweaty, I'd go with some noise cancelling earbuds instead to dedicate to those times.  Then again, you could probably buy both these headphones and a pair of relatively-reasonable earbuds for $50.

 

Maybe these earbuds would do the trick?  Seem to get decent ratings and they're only $12.  Plus you would combo shipping costs by buying both through Monoprice.

 

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10823&cs_id=1082303&p_id=9397&seq=1&format=4#feedback

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For under $50, you're never gonna get "world beater headphones".  From everything I've read, the 8323's are the closest you're gonna get for under $50.  Since they're so damn cheap, you can buy both over-the-ear and earbuds and STILL be under budget.  To me, this is literally a no-brainer if I were in your situation with that tight of a budget.

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For under $50, you're never gonna get "world beater headphones".  From everything I've read, the 8323's are the closest you're gonna get for under $50.  Since they're so damn cheap, you can buy both over-the-ear and earbuds and STILL be under budget.  To me, this is literally a no-brainer if I were in your situation with that tight of a budget.

 

You must work for Monoprice. =)

 

No matter. You've sold me. I'm going to save a bit more and get both. Under $45 shipped straight from Monoprice.

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You must work for Monoprice. =)

 

No matter. You've sold me. I'm going to save a bit more and get both. Under $45 shipped straight from Monoprice.

 

I do not and like I've said earlier I've never owned or even tried a pair.  This is purely my recommendation based off a ton of reviews I've investigated on these things.  Plus the fact that it's so damn cheap, it seems like little to no risk for me.  

 

It's really hard to get everything you want in a pair of headphones for under $50 so when I read the overwhelmingly positive reviews on these at $22, I couldn't really believe what I was reading.  I had a $100 budget so I went with the Alessandro MS-1's instead, but if I only had $50 to work with, I will guarantee you, these would be the ones I'd be buying.

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my roommate just picked up a pair of these and had me try them. said they were the best headphone's he's ever tried (wasn't expecting much).

 

i was shocked at how good they sound considering they were $25.

 

I would say hold out for something in a higher price range, but if you absolutely need some headphones right now, these will give you bang for your buck. they honestly sound better than some $150+ headphones I've had over the years. Especially for vinyl.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-202-Professional-Headphones/dp/B003LPTAYI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364936939&sr=8-1&keywords=sennheiser

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I do not and like I've said earlier I've never owned or even tried a pair.  This is purely my recommendation based off a ton of reviews I've investigated on these things.  Plus the fact that it's so damn cheap, it seems like little to no risk for me.  

 

It's really hard to get everything you want in a pair of headphones for under $50 so when I read the overwhelmingly positive reviews on these at $22, I couldn't really believe what I was reading.  I had a $100 budget so I went with the Alessandro MS-1's instead, but if I only had $50 to work with, I will guarantee you, these would be the ones I'd be buying.

 

I've done quite a bit of research and it looks like, with my budget, I can't do any better than the Monoprice 8323 and the 9397. When payday rolls around next week, I'll be adding to cart.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Alright. I got my new headphones. So far, so good. The Monoprice 8323 are outstanding. I actually can't believe how good they do sound. I haven't had a chance to really burn them in and give them the full test, but they are pretty great out of the box. They were $20.88 from Monoprice.

 

I also got a set of 9397s ($11.52) and they are pretty good too. I'm having trouble with the fit, but I'll work it out.

 

I'll keep you all posted as I go, because I know you wait with bated breath. 

 

Thanx to timbrh2001 for the recommendation. 

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