Best cheap in-ear headphones 2018
Looking for the best pair of headphones on a budget? We're here to help
BARGAIN HUNT
The number one accessory for a phone or tablet is not a weird case that lets you watch Netflix with the screen on your belly. And it’s not a giant battery pack. It’s a decent pair of headphones. But if you just spent hundreds on a phone, there’s a good chance you don’t want to fork out similar money for a pair of Bose or Beats cans. So, we’ve rounded-up the best of the budget buds around to get you a sweet upgrade to the pairs once wedged in the darkest recesses of your phone’s cardboard box. We’ve classed ‘budget’ as under £50, but some of our favourites are much cheaper than that too.
BEYERDYNAMIC BYRON
Price: £45/$40 One of the better-known quotes of romantic poet and king dandy Lord Byron is “I awoke one morning and found myself famous.” Alas, that’s unlikely to happen to the Beyerdynamic Byron earphones, as you’re more likely to find them at a pro audio store than on the high street. It’s a shame, as these earphones have a sound we defy you not to like. The Byrons aren’t like some of the company’s studio headphones, designed for sound engineers or home studio buffs looking for extreme accuracy – they’re for everyday folk – but they do come with a shot of that Beyerdynamic special sauce. That means that they’re the truest-sounding earphones in this test, with great mid-range detail that outdoes long-term Stuff favourites the SoundMagic E10C.
SOUNDMAGIC E10C
Price: £30/$43.99 We’ve loved SoundMagic’s E10 earphones for years. They set up camp in our hearts and claimed squatters’ rights. The newest version, the SoundMagic E10C, add something missing from most budget earphones. They have a three-button remote that automatically switches its compatibility mode to work with just about every phone under the sun. Apart from new iPhones, of course, but that’s their problem. Sound per pound is the real reason to buy the SoundMagic E10Cs, though. They’re real crowd-pleasers, pairing chunky bass with good detail and enough restraint to make dance tracks sound fun rather than like your eardrums have been pinned to the bass bins of some dodgy club.
SONY MDR-EX450P
Price: £29.99 A few years ago all the big boys of audio used to cast their cheap earphones in plastic. But these days even Sony uses aluminium for entry-level sets such as the MDR-EX450P. These aren’t all-aluminium earpieces like the SoundMagic E10C, as the front parts are plastic, but they still look the part, don’t they? Just check out those shiny embossed concentric circles on the back of each bud. Natty. The Sony MDR-EX450Ps also have an oddly textured, slippy cable, that seems designed to avoid ending up in a tangled mess, and they also like bass more than most, delivering a thick, full sound signature with a fat low-end and mid-bass cushioning around the middle.
FIDUE A65
Price: £40/$64 The A65s sit towards the bottom end of its headphones range at £40/$64, but they have a style-conscious audience in mind. Their all-metal construction makes them look much more expensive than they are, with the bronze and silver brushed-aluminium finish complemented by the hint of bronze running through the cable. Behind those dashing good looks hides an 8mm titanium driver, which proves itself to be rather talented indeed. The A65s have found a good balance to their sound. No part of the frequency range takes the limelight from anywhere else, working together nicely to produce a fairly neutral response to most types of music. That doesn’t mean they’re boring though – quite the opposite.
PHILIPS SHE9105
Price: £16.99/$28 If your budget doesn’t quite stretch to £50/$70, you can’t do much better than the Philips SHE9105 headphones. They’re tiny little no-nonsense IEMs that can be found for under £20/$30, and will get you a big upgrade over most bundled trash buds. They’re pretty funky-looking too. While they’re not all-metal earphones, the shiny parts of the shell are real aluminium. Right at the back there’s a weave-effect plastic end piece that hides a little bass port. It needs one of these because the Philips SHE9105’s drivers are tiddly little 8.6mm things. Despite the port, bass is still the one main weakness of the Philips SHE9105, though: if you want your grime bass drops to shake your cranium, you won’t get that here. But you do get very clean and clear sound, with less audio clutter than bassier pairs.
ROCK JAW ALFA GENUS
Price: £44.99 Now here’s something a little different. These in-ears let you tune their sound. We’ve not seen that on a pair of budget in-ears before. It works with a series of interchangeable filters. Take off the rubber ear tips: the bit behind can unscrew, ready to be replaced with one of two other sets in the box. The changes are drastic. By default, there’s a lot of bass. It’s a little fat, but still with decent punch. The next filter goes for the other extreme, cutting out nearly all the bass, which leads to a detailed but harsh sound. The third filter strikes a nice balance – it does still lean a little towards the treble but it’s definitely the best sound in our book.
URBANISTA BERLIN
Price: £39/$30 Some wireless headphones cost £100/$100 more than their wired brothers, so the fact that you can get a pair of wireless earphones this cheap is a bit of an eye-opener. The Urbanista Berlins are likely to be plenty of people’s first experience with wireless headphones – but will they put people off trying again? Well, these aren’t a conventional wireless pair. They’re more like a pocket-money take on Apple’s AirPods, because they don’t use rubbery tips. Instead the earpiece itself rests against your ear. There’s a little rubbery skin for each to make sure the hard plastic doesn’t batter your ear cartilage too much. Make sure you’re ready for this harder feel, though, and that this kind of earphone doesn’t block out that much sound. Wear them on the train and you’ll have to crank up the volume.
SOL REPUBLIC RELAYS SPORT
Price: £20/$15 The Sol Republic Relays Sport are sporty earphones good enough, and cheap enough, to be considered a decent buy even if you have no intention of going out for a run with them. Their sporty angle stems from the bright colours they come soaked in — blue and a limey green — and the rubbery ‘wheel’ that sits around each earpiece. The idea is this adds a bit of friction, teaming-up with the silicone tips to stop the Relays Sport from jumping out of your ears. They won’t add that much stability for all ears, mind. The Sol Republic Relays Sport are also water resistant, which is handy if you are going to use these for exercise rather than just listening to a few tunes on the way to work.
