Back to Headphone Reviews Index

Ipod Ipod Ipod

Headphone Recommendations for

Ipod, MP3 or portable players

by Bill Keyser

Some time ago we noticed a surge in our sales of Grado SR80 Cans! Seems some forums for the iPod were discussing and recommending them as a great sounding headphone to connect up to their new, small music machines! And it's obvious to us why. The Grado is fairly easily driven by portables and is the best sounding headphone we've heard under $100!  The following recommendations are our favorite headphones for portables based primarily on "sound quality" and type of use.  More formal reviews of many of these headphones can be found elsewhere here at GoodCans.com, but in this fast paced world we live in, we know many of us go directly to the "conclusions" or "summary"anyway... so here it is!

Ear Clip Headphones

Koss KSC75 - The earbuds that come with the iPod and many MP3 players are OK sounding.  But for $20 you can get a huge improvement  in sound quality over those earbuds!  The KSC-75  from Koss is an evolution from an old audiophile favorite, (the KSC35).  Ear clip headphones eliminate the headband and use a clip to hold the headphones up to the ears, (FYI, the clip for the KSC75 is much improved over the old plastic clip that came on the 35... it's now more like the end of an arm from eyeglasses).  Once you get the hang of putting them on, they actually stay on pretty good.  And portable wise, this is about as small as you can get and still get full headphone sound!  If you are the proud owner of a new iPod or MP3 player, you owe it to yourself to at least try to improve the sound quality by upgrading from your ear buds... and at $20, it's hard to go wrong with the KSC75!  It's very close to the Portapro's below, just a slight bit less bass.

FYI.... Most headphones mentioned here can be purchased at "Listening Station Headphones."  Here's a link:  Listening Station Headphones

Streetstyle Headphones

A few years ago, behind the head headbands started getting popular.  Like the above Ear Clip design, you can get a fairly sizable transducer for fuller sound on a headphone that can be used with hats and stays on well for most active uses.

iGrado - While there are many entries these days in this catagory including some from Sony, Koss, Sennheiser, etc., Grado, a company more known as an audiophile headphone company, now offers the iGrado!  Given the popularity of the iPod these days,  Grado decided to put the transducers used in their highly touted SR60's, into a street style headphone.  The design is nice in the way the transducers are placed in a housing that is not that much larger than the transducer itself. And the back side has a metal grill with holes to allow for airflow. Yes, these are "Open" headphones. Sound leaks in and out, (not for use in libraries or other quiet public locations). FYI... given that the body doesn't have as much airspace behind the transducers as the mid-sized SR60's, the sound of the iGrado isn't quite as big. The SR60's do still have more depth than the iGrado, but, compared to the standard streetstyle headphones from other lesser manufacturers, the iGrado's offer good sound quality close to that of a full sized Grado!  Available in Black or White and sells for $49.

Standard Portable Headphones

Koss Portapro - For well over a decade our favorite headphone for sound quality under $50 has been this headphone meant for portable use and thus good for connecting to most portable players. The Koss Portapro, (not to be confused with the Sportapro which doesn't sound quite as good), offers good detail in all areas; highs, mids and bass. In addition to great sound quality for a portable headphone, it’s light in weight, comfortable, and collapsible. We've sold and listened to this headphone since the late 80's... it's got a long proven track record!  Note: Sennheiser has  more recently come out with a competing, foldable portable, the PX100. Actually, it's a good headphone and if the Koss PortaPro didn't exist, we'd recommend it. But, we do still like the PortaPro slightly more than the PX-100.

Mid Sized Headphones

Grado SR60 and SR80 - Hands down, these are our favorite headphones! Why! Because the price/performance ratio is about the highest we have found. Compared to the average, under $50 closed package, department store headphone; the detail offered by these Grados is a huge, noticeable improvement!  No, these are not necessarily portable sized Cans. They're what we call mid-sized headphones. But, the earpieces rotate 360 degrees and can therefore be stowed flat, (fits in between clothes in a suitcase whereas other folding headphone types that collapse into a ball like configuration are somewhat difficult to pack). FYI, the SR60's are good....they've won praise from many audiophile reviewers. But for many, the extra bass and detail that the SR80 has to offer is worth the step up. Words of caution: Some MP3 players and files don't offer all that great of sound and it's possible a headphone with detail as good as the Grado's might reveal the flaws of your player or files!  Also, the Grado's are very "Open" headphones.  Not good for noisy environments... plus they leak sound out and others who are close by can hear their sound.

Noise Reduction Headphones

ANR (Active Noise Reduction) headphones don't really quite have the same sound quality as standard headphones, but if you travel a lot, they can come in handy in noisy environments, (especially airplanes).

Sennheiser PXC250 or PXC300 - These are our favorite ANR headphones.  There's some with slightly better noise reduction, but remember, we're into sound quality.  Good detail in the mids and highs. And the headphone itself is very light in weight and comfortable.  Plus it folds down nicely for storing. We’re happy with the build quality of the PXC250 and PXC300.  We can hear an improvement in sound quality when comparing the PXC 300 to the PXC250 without much effort. And yes, with the PXC300 it seems sound quality is as good or better than those over priced ANR Cans from the marketing giant!  So, if your primary time to listen to music is while you are traveling, this ANR headphone offers some quality sound. No, still not up to Grado standards, but remember, Grado's are "Open" headphones not good for airplane use.

IEM's - In Ear Monitors

Sometimes called "In-Ear Earphones" or Canal Phones.  IEM's are getting to be a pretty big category and we plan on covering these in a separate review.  They are popular because they are ultra-portable.  Can block outside noise quite well.  And some can sound pretty good, (though still not as full of a sound as most of the headphones above).  Prices range from less than $10 to Hundreds of Dollars!  As mentioned, sound quality can be good, but depends so much on how well they fit into your ear, (FYI, don't confuse IEM's with EarBuds... EarBuds just simply aren't very good because they don't fit the same from one ear to the next).  So unfortunately, an IEM that works well for one person may not work too well for the next.  Most IEM's do come with various different sizes of earpieces to try to accommodate.  Plus, we might mention some people HATE sticking these things deep into their ear canals and just can't get used to it.  Others seem to be perfectly happy with the fit and comfort?

As an introduction to In-Ear's we've been recommending the Sony EX51 for several years but more recently we've been liking the Denon AHC351 because it has slightly better sound quality and seems to fit a little better in the ear because it's stem is a bit smaller.  FYI, we have tried several cheap in-ears from department stores and have been very disappointed with their sound quality.

Copyright © 2004 - 2008 Bill Keyser and Listening Station, All Rights Reserved