Buying The Right Apple iPod Headphones, A Shopping Guide

The vast selection of headphones on the internet can be quite intimidating to a new shopper.  We have to contend with flashy product packaging, varying prices and of course styling to find the headphone that works best.  On Amazon.com you will find many listings for headphones but no one has ever really put them to the test by discussing their performance while listening to popular music on the Apple iPhone.   For this guide, I used a few tracks from The Fame by Lady Gaga and The Fame Monster By Lady Gaga since both these CD’s have a wide range of sound that will push the limits of what these headphones can do.

JVC HA-S150 headset

You will immediately notice that some of the deep bass line of Poker Face by Lady Gaga is missing if you use these headphones.  They do have a decent upper frequency response with a well rounded mid-range.

These headphones are very lightweight and ideally suited for use with the Apple iPod.  I have also used the JVC HA-S150 Headset with the Nintendo DSi to play Fieldrunners DSIware.

Koss UR15C Headphones

Looking at these Koss headphones, you would think that they can deliver amazing sound but you would be wrong.  The drivers or speakers do very little with bass response while listening to the song Bad Romance by Lady Gaga.  Their treble range is not very pronounced as well which results in an overall subpar performance considering their large size.

I recommend using Koss UR 15C headphones as ear muffs.

Sony MDR-V150 Headphones

My favorite non-powered headphones are the Sony MDR-V150 because of their ability to reproduce a full sound range in such a small profile.  I can occasionally catch a few flat sections of music because they tend to miss the especially low frequency ranges.

I recommend these for playing video games in a car or just listening to tunes at the office.  The cord on these headphones is rather long so I can plug it into my computer at work and still wear them while sitting in my chair.

Beats By Dr. Dre by Monster Cable

First, you can expect to find a great bass response from these headphones with crisp highs.  The ear muffs have approximately 1” worth of foam to keep the sound within your ears.  The best part is that these headphones have noise cancellation so you can hear all the subtle qualities of Summerboy by Lady Gaga.

Beats By Dr. Dre also make a great birthday present because they come in a box that folds open.  Inside you will find the headphones, batteries, cables for Apple iPod and Phillips GoGear Vibe SA1VBE. 

Summary

Choosing the right headphones is also about portability and comfort.  You should consider whether the heavy profile of Beats By Dr. Dre by Monster Cable will really suit you before buying them.  In a busy office situation, you may find that the Sony MDR-V150 heaphones work best because they do not interfere with your daily life as much as their better counterpart.  To save the most money, yet still get a good set of headphones, I would recommend buying the Koss UR15C headphones.