Best in-ear headphones: budget and premium

[What Hi-Fi?]

Swap your freebie buds out for a better pair of in-ear headphones. Pick from wired, wireless and noise-cancelling options.

Best in-ear headphones: budget and premium : Read more

 

[Kuala]

So I should believe in author's expertness when he thinks earbuds and iems are the same thing...
I'm outta here...

 

[JoaoCarlos]

Almost every single one has 5 stars. How are we supposed to pick one?

 

[Blasterinn]

I could probably name 10 iem's that are better, cheaper and better looking than many of those you mentioned.
This is more like "The big label consumers list for the uninformed from the uninformed"
Sorry to rain on you but this is just supermarket stuff alot of the time.

 

[brettone2002]

You forgot the B&O e8 third generation. 107, 109db sensitivity (higher than any I've seen in buds), longer battery life, bluetooth 5.1, far better than anything mentioned here - what gives? lol

 

[brettone2002]

You also listed some with wire lol - not in 2021

 

[bristollinnet]

What would we all do without What Earbuds...

 

[musicphile]

You also listed some with wire lol - not in 2021

The sentiment is true and very unfortunate. Lately only manufacturers in China, and a few smaller ones in the West, seem to be putting sound quality first and produce wired IEMs, some even with balanced inputs. The bigger manufacturers are bluetoothing everything. The irony is that any wired headphone can turn into wireless very easily but the opposite is impossible - the Chinese get it.

 

[Salty Maud]

You also listed some with wire lol - not in 2021

Yes in 2022. Wireless is a convenience feature for use on the go, I'm looking for quality for stationary home use. As much as I love my LCD-2C, I'm looking for something lighter for casual use and possibly gaming.

 

[Bamabams80HD]

You also listed some with wire lol - not in 2021

You do realize this is an audiophile site, right? Bluetooth doesn't support lossless audio....you can't find a pair of bluetooth headphones that can produce the same quality of sound as wired.

 

[Navanski]

You do realize this is an audiophile site, right? Bluetooth doesn't support lossless audio....you can't find a pair of bluetooth headphones that can produce the same quality of sound as wired.

I can't fault your logic. However to presume that this is an audiophile site I think is a mistake. Time and time again lists of the 'best' devices are produced by this site which are, in reality, very little to do with audio fidelity. There is very little variety - it seems to always be the same old brands. If one was being cynical one might suspect that brown envelopes are involved.