Ask Engadget: Best headphones for the extreme sports enthusiast?
By Darren Murph 
posted September 10th 2009 9:41PM
posted September 10th 2009 9:41PM
"I'm looking for a pair of quality headphones that aren't seemingly made of glass. The issue is I'm an avid BMXer which causes me to frequently bash on any type of technology that joins me for my daily riding. I've been through the higher quality headsets in the Skullcandy line as these are supposed to be built for "abuse," which is disgustingly laughable. I cant wear earbuds or canal buds, as my large ears seem to have a repelling property upon anything that sits in them. Wired or Bluetooth doesn't really matter, but I need something that can hold up to taking a few hits every now and again. I'm trying to keep 'em under $150. Thanks!"We have all ideas at least a few readers get out of the house every now and then (don't let us down here, okay?) and jump on the bike / board / etc., so hopefully those who abuse their cans in a similar fashion can explain which ones hold up. And... go!
Those black ones.
Skullcandy is pretty cheap and has some pretty sick headphones that last. VMODA also has a great product that can perform and wont break easily.
Hoary for reading the whole post!
You mean whory?
the best thing to pop music through on a bmx bike is definitely blutooth headphones as there are no wires to catch on anything and ruin the headphones, not sure if you got a player with built in blutooth
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665095522
or an ipod but heres something
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665274947
Considering that the first product you linked got a rating of 1.5 on Sony's own site, I probably wouldn't recommend it.
I own Skullcandy Skull-crushers and they have held up fairly well and the audio reproduction is fairly good, but the thing that sold me on them is the fact that Skullcandy will replace your SKs or any of their headphones if they break for free! Granted if you have thrown them in a lawn mower or sat on them, THEN you are elgible for a half off coupon on any of their headphones..sweet deal if you ask me! My SKs have busted four times now(my head is a little too wide for them...lol) and evry time they break i send them in and skullcandy has me a new pair in about two weeks, free of charge!(except the shipping to them....which isnt all that much...)!
Bob, how can you recommend something that has broken on you four times? Surely product satisfaction in a lasting product would be what is being sought here.
People still recommend the 360, plenty of people have had 4 fail.
I've used Koss cheap ones with foam buds and they form to your ear, not like the rubbery ones. I think they go for about $25 and I ride everyday and they usually last about a year or more. Just make sure to squeeze the foam real hard and then shove them in your ear. They have great sound for being so cheap
Skullcandy HESH headphones are reasonable and have an outstanding warranty..lifetime. :)
you should look at senheiser. they are really good products and they have exxcelent durability and extremely good sound quality. just look em up and you'll see. they're mostly over the head headphones but i think they have other models out there too. i personally have the Senheiser HD 500 series which i use for daily workouts and trust me, they have saved me from many a goose egg. i take 'em on trips and throw 'em around everywhere. they are amazing. i totaly recomemnd them
oh, and mine were only 50 bucks on amazon.
I have a nice $34 pair that I replaced my broken iPod headphones with. Great quality, moisture resistant, clashing lime green color. Granted the little replaceable ring came off one day, but it still works with out and stays in just as well, being they're the "sports" edition. I've swung my head around [past waist height....don't ask] and they've stayed in my ear. Now for durability, I'm not to sure, I'm not much of an out doors man, but they seem high grade for the $34 price tag.
And here is my magical MX 85:
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/private_headphones_sport-line_502539
Sony S2 Sports Behind the neck are the best. They stay ON no matter what happens, sounds GREAT, are durable (mine have lasted 2 years so far and no signs of wear, and I bang them around alot), and cost $24.00. If you feed the wire under your shirt you shouldn't have a problem with it. Love em. I use my skullcandy ones when I'm walking around the city, but never for sports.
x2 on that.
If you want higher end, I have beat the tar out of my B&O A8's, and they keep ticking. Really though, when skiing/biking etc, wind noise more or less voids the sound quality improvements. I'd rather frag a $30 pair of headphones than some Bang & Olufsen goodness...
+1 to this, I use these daily and tend to treat them like crap (throw them around, accidentally stepped on, etc.) and they still keep on working, plus they sound descent. Can't really beat it for the price
Definitely the Sony's. They're not expensive and they're just awesome. I've scoured the market for years convinced there were headphones that were better (because in technology, there's always something better, right?) but I've spent 4 times the retail cost and gone through all manner of "sport" headphones, buds, etc. Nothing fits as comfortably or as securely as these.
to be honest if youre looking to spend a little bit of money on a set of nice headphones you know wont fall out...the best route to go is medical.
hit up 'the google' or your local yellow pages and search for local audiologists (the ear/sound doctors). send them an email or just call and say you want to get prices on how much it would cost for them to make a set of 3.5mm headphones with the earbuds molded precisely to your own ears.
its nothing out of the ordinary, people do it all the time and hey, they get paid to create devices that wont fall out of peoples ears so they can hear better so why not utilize these guys in making a good set of headphones. i paid $75 for mine. i have weird shaped ears and buds always fall out. until i had a set molded to the exact dimensions of my own ear.
worth it!
Seconded to Sony sport headphones.
I would like to say, though, that they do *not* survive extreme bike rides. Been there, done that. Personally, I like to buy cheap ($20 or less) behind the head or behind the ear phones. When they break, I keep the good parts around ... and then when the next set breaks, I can often fix them with the spare parts. Soldering iron for the win.
Someone mentioned bluetooth instead of wired. I know the wires cause problems, but bluetooth headphones weigh more and can fall off and get run over more easily. Most cyclists use wired headphones and just run the wire under their shirt to keep it out of the way.
I have the jaybird audio jb200 and while they don't fit everyone's ears and don't have great bass, they are durable for me, water resistant, and bluetooth (good for ipod touch) so theyre great for in the gym.
~$129
You should definitely go bluetooth. I would say the motorola s9 hd's - I love them. However, they are said to have a bit of problems with sweat. If you are worried about this and are willing to pay about twice as much (S9HDs are about $60), then I would go with the Jaybird freedom bluetooth headphones.
SENNHEISER HD 280PRO ftw
Koss PortaPro
no questions asked.
http://gdgt.com/koss/portapro/
I found a called KOSS that I really like and I bought a pair called custom fits, because you can change the size of them to fit your canal, and they block out all other noise
No offence WinXP but being a bike rider he needs to be able to hear things around him.
Additionally I dont think that he wants to be an audiophile while riding his bike, but some strong sturdy earphones that sound good.
I have a set of shures that are for the right moments and a set of simple philips ones with the ear wrapping mold that sound great outdoors. They dont cancel out sound so as to impede perception yet still are lound and clear enough to enjoy what I'm listening to.
I would recommend any decent brand that has the ear wrap molding.
I have a pair of Shure SE210's. All of the Shure's come with changeable caps for the earbuds. I use the foam squishy ones (the same material as the squishy earplugs that expand in your ear). The foam achieves two purposes: 1)It blocks out nearly every external noise you can imagine 2)it also gives you somewhat of a custom fit for the headphones.
The only caveat is that they're designed to have the wire go up and loop around your ear. Then there's a sliding piece holding the individual wires together. You cinch that up under your chin and get a snug fit. If you're BMXing, you're probably wearing a helmet and may not be psyched about having the headphone wire tucked under your chinstrap.
As for pricing...funny thing...they go on sale sometimes, but are usually sold very near to MSRP everywhere. I ended up getting 20% off at an electronics chain that is in airports. Go figure...cheaper electronics in an airport, but it's true.
Won't stay on if you are doing anything active though.
I have gone through 8 pairs of shures. I run and lift with them, and after 3-4 months a pair gives out. I have several pairs and get them replaced pretty often. The sound quality is awesome, but I have yet to have a pair that has lasted more than 6 months of use.
If you wear a helmet I suggest the Nike/Phillips Flight HJ020 behind the neck head phones. I don't recommend them for hard riding with out the aid of the helmet straps. I especially like them over the ear for one of my helmets and for other helmets under the ear. The ability to run them to the ear ahead of the front strap then back to the ear lets me listen to music with all other sound pretty much drowned out. Wearing them just up aside the ear from the rear beneath the rear strap lets the speaker rest next to the ear allowing a lot of the surrounding sound to reach the ear. They are durable for the most part, every few months a pair will fail at the jack but I buy them in bulk and they become just a part of the riding kit that necessarily needs to be replaced from time to time. They are waterproof and durable to a degree none of the in-ear buds I have used are.
Another solution is to tape the earbuds, inears or whatever you want to call them is to tape them in position once they are in your ear. I'm serious, it should work perfectly fine for you, i've got the same problem with my ears repelling everything that goes in them. But give them some proper sports tape and they will stick in there...! Try it and see if it works for you. You have to tape them before you start sweating though.
Cheers
Chris
One word of advice... Do NOT get the V-Moda vibe. I have them and during any sort of athletic activity when they are bouncing around, due to the rubbery material that they are made of, you get "pulses" of sound that travel up the wire into your ear. It's difficult to explain, but anyone that owns a pair would know what I'm talking about.
I have some canal Sennheuser's that have gone through the laundry 3 times and still work perfectly. The canals would not work well for sports and I could see you having issues with keeping them in, therefore I would suggest either these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826106024
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826106242
Plus, they won't break the bank.
Motorola S9
The Motorola S9-HD bluetooth headset is pretty good. It's fairly durable, is sweat/water resistant, and doesn't fall off easily. Also the way it forms around the back of your neck keeps it pretty much out of the way of anything ever hitting it, and allows you to wear a helmet, if you do.
Oh yea, make sure u get the S9-HD, not the original S9, which was less water-resistant. Oh and also go wireless - you will no longer catch wires on shit and rip the earbuds out of your ears. It's so much less annoying.
Also, can anyone suggest the best earbuds for an active lifestyle??? I have some skullcandies that are good, but I'd like something better for when I work out at the gym.
I do cycling and jogging and was always bummed when the earbuds fell out of my ears when they got sweaty. I use Nike sports headphones now - they have a flexible bit that goes around your ear and keeps the speaker close to your earhole (or in it if you prefer). And they don't fall out.
I tuck the wire under my shirt.
When I was looking for headphones to wear for boxing training, specifically bag work and duck and weave drills, I needed a pair that would be light, stable, sturdy but not a big loss if they get broken. I settled on two ear clip style headphones after trying on lots
Sony MDRJ 10 (around $10)
These are pretty much my bread and butter workout pair. At the price point I'm surprised how the audio quality on these rival items into the $50 range. They admittedly do not have as punchy bass as VModa in the $20-50 price range but when the action is on all one really needs is the tunes cranked on high, which with its low impedance (16ohms if I remember correctly) allows a high volume even from a tiny mp3 player - I use a Shuffle 2G. And at $10 a pop at J&R here in NYC, I can have spares on hand without breaking the bank. No biggie if you run them over with your bike tire
Sennheiser OMX80 (around $55 64ohms impedance)
When I started to get more audiophile, I searched for a rugged better sounding set, and since I was not about to destroy my Audio Technica ATHSJ5s (these are amazing but import only) this is the one I settled on. I found the design a lot more comfortable than my MDRJ10's and easily trump them on sound quality, especially when dealing with the higher frequencies more prevalent in classical music.or jazz. The downsides I found were the comfy design sacrifices isolation and have a higher impedance. In practical terms, they don't block out the noise in a noisy gym or the subway and you have to crank up your player higher to hear it better.
Im thinking the clip design on these are worth a look for their stability. And being that they are both below the $150 target, having spares on hand is feasible. The only thing I couldn't find were workout headphones that could recreate bass well. At least before $60-80, only Koss headphones like the KSC75 are able to generate bass sounding notes, while a lot of other brands concentrate on the "thump" sensation of bass at the expense of the audio quality.
Jaybird JB200's. Takes a while to get the fit right, but have been great for me.
audio technica ath-anc7.
they're great with and without noise canceling.
phenomenal sound for their price(~$99)
rather durable considering they're for office or travel.
I'm an avid runner and mountain biker. By far the best pair of headphones to date are the Sony Active Style Model MDR-AS50G. Granted it took me 3 pairs to finally get a set to handle my profuse sweating when running 5 miles, but this set is bombproof plus they stay in your ears no matter what you're doing. I've had some hard landings while wearing these headphones and they still work like new. All for $50, its worth it....as long as you keep your receipt.
Nike flow sport headphones have worked well for me. They wrap around the ear and stay on well. They have held up well through my workouts.
No one seems to know the brand, but Airdrives Interactive are great headphones. They are around the ear and not only do they stick to your head like glue, but they are comfortable as all heck and in fact deliberately allow active people to hear the world around them so they arent surprised by honking trucks bearing down on them. Only $60 too.
Go find a video on youtube with someone demoing them, you will see what I mean.
See if you can track down a pair of these h2o audio behind-the-neck sweat/water resistant headphones that were on woot a while back: http://sellout.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=8449 ... They have silicon pads (but still comfy), sound decent, and best of all they've got a coiled cord that stays out of the way. They have a pretty flat profile too (might fit under a helmet.)
I ordered three (they were a buck each) and have yet to find a use for the other 2, so if you can find a pair I'd be happy to send one your way. Good luck on the hunt!
earinc.com
These are hands down the BEST earphones I've ever used.
Hmmm, if you insist on listening to music while on a bike just don't do it on a street. I'd be severely pissed if I had to scrape your scalp off my bumper because you couldn't hear my car.
> I've been through the higher quality headsets in the Skullcandy line
>> higher quality headsets in the Skullcandy line
>> higher quality Skullcandy
Related but different question... good iPhone microphone/headphones for running/biking? I fried the Apple mic with my sweat. Would like to be able to answer the phone if it rings while on a run.
I have a pair of Audio-Technica ath-es7's. I've ridden them while bike riding. They're beautiful, not fatiguing, well constructive, and sound amazing. They're semi open, so you will be able to hear noises that are critical to you as long as you listen at reasonable levels. I've ridden up to four miles in them in Chicago traffic.
They're probably the best sounding, most comfortable, and attractive pair of mobile headphones in a reasonable price range. You can listen at lower levels because they don't need to sound loud to sound superb.
They are obviously highly suggested by myself. :P