Consumer Reports - Compare Headphone Brands

Headphones Buying Guide

Whether you want to listen to music or movies without disturbing others, get the best out of your MP3 player, or drown out background noise while exercising, there's a set of headphones for you. You can buy a portable pair for $10 or spend up to $500 for headphones with active noise-reduction technology.

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Brands

Among the leading brands of after-market headphones are Bose, JVC, Koss, Panasonic, Philips, and Sony. Most models cost from $10 to more than $600. This guide will help you to compare headphones by brand.

Altec Lansing

Altec Lansing sells headphones in all product categories and in all price ranges.

Apple

Apple sells low-cost and medium-priced headphones to accompany its iPod and iPhone products.

Audio-Technica

Audio-technica manufactures headphones in most categories in mid-to-high price ranges.

Audiovox

Audiovox offers headphones under several brands, including Audiovox, Advent, RCA, Jensen, Acoustic Research, and others. The prices throughout those brands vary from value to high.

Bose

While Bose's best-known headphones are noise-canceling models, it now makes several types, including earphones. Products are usually in the higher price range.

Coby

Coby is a value brand that is widely distributed through almost all retailers of consumer electronics.

Creative

Perhaps best known for its computer speakers and portable audio players, Creative manufactures headphones in all categories at all price ranges.

Denon

The Denon brand offers a full line of headphones in all categories, and its products are mid- to high-priced.

Etymotic

Etymotic's specialty is in-ear headphones. These products are in the higher price ranges.

Grado

Grado is known for its pro and mid- to high-end at-home headphones. Grado has recently introduced a "street style" around the neck product as it begins to move into the portable market, and now has several "i" models designed for use with iPods as well as in the home.

Insignia

Insignia is Best Buy’s electronics house brand, exclusively sold by the retailer. Insignia’s products are positioned as a "value" line, offering customers a decent amount of features at a very modest price.

JBL

JBL, a brand of Harmon International (Harman-Kardon, Infinity, Lexicon, and Mark Levinson), makes mid-priced to moderately expensive ear buds, insert, and over-the-ear style headphones. The company partnered with women's surfwear company Roxy for a stylish, colorful line of JBL/Roxy Reference over-ear models.

JVC

JVC offers headphone products in all categories in the low to mid-price range. The company has merged with Kenwood, known for its automotive entertainment products.

Koss

Koss is an established headphone brand that offers a complete line of products with prices from the low to mid-price range.

Monster

The well-known cable manufacturer Monster has mid- to high-priced headphones in the in-ear, on-ear and over-ear categories. It also has a professional line of headphones. The company recently collaborated with Interscope Records to produce a line of artist-endorsed headphones, including Beats by Dr. Dre and Heartbeats by Lady Gaga.

Panasonic

Panasonic headphones cover all categories. They are competitively priced and widely available.

Philips

Philips has a large line of audio accessory products, including headphones in the low-to-mid-price range in all categories. The company has a joint venture with Nike to market Nike-Philips-brand sports headphones.

Sennheiser

Sennheiser is a respected professional audio brand with a wide assortment of consumer headphones in all styles and price points, ranging from inexpensive in-ear models to expensive audiophile headsets.

Shure

Like Sennheiser, Shure is a respected professional audio brand that offers a wide range of consumer headphone products, especially a line of earphones with middle-to-higher prices.

Skullcandy

Skullcandy is a relatively new company established in 2003. Its products have become very popular, with trendy designs that cover all categories of headphones at low-to-mid prices.