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BEST EARBUDS LESS THAN $50

Best Earbuds Less Than $50

How we do it:

12 people (4 females and 8 males) among employees, friends and family members, voted, on each price range, for the earphones that sounded and fitted their best. We limited the songs to 7: Cello Concerto in A Minor, Take Five (Dave Brubeck), It's a Beautiful Day (U2), Viva La Vida (Coldplay), Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash), One More Drink (Ludacris) and Iron Man (Black Sabbath). Each person could skip between any of those 7 songs with each earphone model on a given price range group of models. They had to listen to at least one time each song with each model before voting for their favorite model on each price range. Last Updated December 8th, 2009

Image S2 Headphones by Klipsch

Denon AH-C360 In-Ear Earphones

The Denon AH-C360 outperforms most Sennheiser earbuds up to $80. We also like the quality build and the fit, although not in par with the more expensive earphones, is also good for an earbud that sells for only $49. Sound quality is good but lacks detail in the mids when compared to higher rated earphones.

Denon AH-C252K Earbuds

Under $50, these are only surpassed by the Denon AH-C360 ($49). It's a big step up from the iPod earbuds and they sound very good for an earphone that sell for only $29. Construction is quite superior to everything we tested in this price range.

Sennheiser CX280 Ear-Canal Headphones with Volume Control and Nano 4th Generation Pouch

Models tested:

Shure SE530, SE530-PTH, SE420K, SE310, SE210K, SE115K, SCL2K, SCL3K, SCL4K, SCL5
Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5PRO, 3 STUDIO, 5EB, Triple-Fi 10PRO, Superfi 5, Superfi 4, UE 700, Metrofi 170, Metrofi 220, Metrofi 100, Metrofi 200, Metrofi 150
Westone 1, Westone 2, Westone 3, UM2, UM3X, UM1
Monster Turbine, Turbine Pro Gold, Turbine Pro Copper, Miles Davis, Lady Gaga, Dr. DRE Tour
Bose IE Earphones
Apple In-Ear Headphones
Qsound
Yuin PK2, PK3
iHarmonix Platinum
Lenntek Pro Series, Sonix 3
Maximo iMetal iM590
Etymotic ER4P, ER6i, HF2, HF5
Phiaton PS200
Grado GR8, iGi
Sennheiser CX200, CX300-II, CX400-II, CX380, IE6, IE7, IE8, MX85, PMX80, OMX80, MM 50 IP (MXW1 not tested)
V-Moda Vibe, Vibe II, Vibe Duo
Denon AHC751K, AHC710, AHC360, AHNC600, AHC551K, AHC452K, AHC252K
Skullcandy Titan, INK'D, Smokin' Buds
Audeo Phonak PFE112
AKG IP2
Sleek Audio SA6
Klipsch Image X5, Image X10, Custom 1, Custom 2, Custom 3, Image S4, Image S2
Sony MDR-EX38iP, MDR-EX56LP

Earphone Solutions

BEST EARBUDS LESS THAN $50

Best Earbuds Less Than $50

How we do it: