01.Introduction
We review 27 headphones and five earphones, priced from $30 to $279.
Whether you see them as accessories or just want to listen to music, earphones and headphones are an essential part of portable sound. In this test we’ve looked at a selection of earphones which sit inside your ear, and standard headphones, which should be capable of producing better sound than the other types.
Through our rigorous testing, we reveal which headphones and earphones:
- Have the best sound quality
- Are the most comfortable (including wearing glasses)
- Are the easiest to use.
- Leak the most sound
- Are the most efficient.
On this page
For more information about sound, see Phones and mobile devices.
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Brands tested
Headphones
- AKG K 340
- AKG K 518 LE
- AKG Q 460 black
- Bose AE2
- Creative Aurvana Live
- ifrogz EarPollution Nerve Pipes (A)
- JVC HA-S600-B
- Koss Stratus
- Monster Beats solo
- Panasonic RP-DJ600 (A)
- Panasonic RP-DJS400
- Panasonic RP-HTX7
- Philips SHL5800 (A)
- Philips SHO880I (A)
- Philips SHO9560 (A)
- Pioneer HDJ-500
- Pioneer SE-MJ151 (A)
- Pioneer SE-MJ31
- Scullcandy HESH
- Scullcandy Lowrider
- Sennheiser HD228
- Sennheiser HD448
- Sony MDR-ZX500
- Sony MDR-ZX700
- Urbanz Block BG (A)
- WESC Conga (A)
- WESC Oboe
Earphones
- AKG Q350
- Bose MIE2i
- Philips SHE9000 (A)
- Sennheiser CX880i
- Sony MDR-EX310LP
(A) This model is not sold in Australian retail stores, but may be available via the internet.
How we test
Comfort
The following areas of comfort are appraised by three testers at 10 and 30 minute intervals, both wearing glasses and without them.
- Fit and stability of the headphone
- Pressure of the headphone on ears and/or head
- Heat accumulation
- Subjective weight of the headphone
During use the headphone is checked for any interaction with clothing, such as cable friction noise. Also the length of cables is taken into account where applicable.
Ease of use
The following areas of ease of use are appraised by three testers:
- Using the device buttons
- Storing
- Cleaning
- Quality of left-right inscription
- Using the device buttons
- Sharp edges or other problematic parts
Technical tests
The following technical tests are performed where appropriate:
- Noise reduction in passive mode (isolation). This is done across frequencies from 50Hz to 10kHz, as well as an A weighted reading.
- Sound leakage is measured by producing a sound pressure of 90dB in an artificial test head (HATS). A reading is taken at 0.3M from the head.
- Efficiency is measured according to the European Standard DIN EN 50322-2. This standard requires a maximum sound pressure level of 100 dB(A) with the maximum allowed output voltage of the player of 150 mV. There are players available on market that exceed this level and others which only have output voltages of 20-30 mV.
Sound quality
Three experienced listeners appraise each headphone for use with the following pieces of music played from a CD player via a headphone distribution amplifier:
- Classic music: Händel - Mariengesänge - Sophie von Otter, Burmester-CD II
- Jazz: Miles Davis - Freddie Freeloader - Kind of Blue
- Pop / Rock: Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the way - Stadium Arcadium
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