Travelling in a vehicle? Or waiting for someone somewhere? Or just want to kill time? Music, my dear, awaits you. You take out your phone but you don’t want everyone else to listen to what you are going to play. Right? Imagine your phone speaker playing the song “Lagaye jab tu lipistick” in public. Embarrassing, huh? Here is when you miss your self-respect and your earphones the most. Don’t you?
To overcome this humiliation, you tend to buy earphones which are not only cheap in price but also are cheap for the sound they produce, which definitely is not what your playlist deserves.
Over the ear Headphones are a big deal to handle especially when you are travelling. So, In-ear headphones are the clear choice over the over the ear headphones.
Thus, starting with the last in the list and going up the ladder, here is a list of top 5 In-ear Headphones which can make your pockets empty because you can’t have just one. Choose wisely!
5) AUDIO TECHNICA ATH-CLR100
Audio Technica is not a new company when it comes to developing high end, perfect sounding Over the Ear Headphones and In-Ear Headphones which are studio producers’ obvious choice while at work.
1. Design and Comfort:
- Comfortable long-wearing design makes uninterrupted music play possible.
- Ergonomic styling makes it look beautiful.
- Quite Sturdy.
2. Accessories:
- A literature stating information about the product
- 2 extra pairs of silicon ear tips, small and large size.
- Audio Technica is too generous to provide a cord wrap to prevent your headphones from any sort of physical damages.
3. Sound Quality:
- With crystal clear sound and bass, it offers detailed sound signature.
- Highs and mids are well balanced with lows, a bit recessed making it a no-no for heavy bass lovers. They are not premium but certainly can give you the idea how rest of their line-up is going to sound.
4. Price: INR 500-650/- *
With so much to get at such price is hard to digest and thus, demands your money.
RATING: 3.9/5
4) COWON EM1
Cowon is a South Korean company with not so many earphone models to offer but despite this fact, they bring to us this amazing sounding and looking In-Ear Monitors (IEM), EM1, with and without mic.
With both below INR 1000 mark, this is the only product in this list with in-line mic.
1. Design and Comfort:
- With 1.2 m flat cables, the issue of IEMs getting tangled is forgone.
- Comes with a standard 3.5 mm gold plated headphone jack.
- Solid, tough and long lasting build.
2. Accessories:
- It is accompanied with 2 extra pairs of silicon tips but with no carry case, it is a bit of a disappointment.
3. Sound Quality:
- Heavy bass lovers look for something else as this one is a bit recessed when it comes to lows.
- Highs and mids are mind-blowing.
4. Price:
Without mic – INR 600-700/- *
With mic – INR 900-1000/- *
So if, along with brilliant sound quality, flat cables and the mic feature is considered, this product is a steal at the price it comes.
RATING: 3.9/5
3) SENNHEISER CX 180 STREET II
This list would have looked incomplete had it got no Sennheiser product. That being said, CX 180 Street II IEMs are the very basic yet powerful ones which offers us with optimal listening comfort.
1. Design and Comfort:
- Innovative finger contoured housing design which can amaze anyone
- Fails miserably when it comes to the cable quality. You cannot go rough with them as they do not have thick wires.
- Sits comfortably in ears even after long hours.
2. Accessories:
- 2 extra pairs of silicone ear tips
- With no carry case included in the package, you will have to be extra careful while having them on the go.
3. Sound Quality:
- Frequency response ranges from 20Hz-20 KHz
- Precise mids and highs and well balanced and crisp lows.
- Bass is not heavy or overpowering but is quite noticeable. All these things are possible because it minimizes the ambient noise so that one can get an enriched music listening experience.
4.Price: INR 800-900/-
Owning Sennheiser product in this very price range is unbelievable. Go, grab one now.
RATING: 4.3/5
Deep bass is what the packing says and they weren’t joking while mentioning it. Creative is yet another company on this list many listeners might not be aware of. With over 7 years since this product first came out in market, it is quite a badass IEM beating every other IEM at this price and also some at higher price.
1.Design and Comfort:
- The Ergonomic styling helps to prevent background noises hamper the music listening.
- With snugly fit, music can be enjoyed with much more clarity than before.
2. Accessories:
- 3 pairs of silicone ear buds one pair each of sizes Small, Medium and Large.
- No carry case provided.
3.Sound Quality:
- Frequency response ranges from 6Hz-23 KHz.
- With 9mm Neodymium magnet driver size, it offers heavy and deep bass accompanied with sparking and clear highs and mids.
- Lower the Low frequency, better the bass response you get. And that is what Creative aimed at proving with this little beast.
4. Price:
INR 600-700/- *
Buy them before they all are sold out.
RATING: 4.6/5
1) SOUNDMAGIC ES18
Creative Ep 630 would have got away taking this sweet number 1 spot but thank me for stumbling upon this little masterpiece by SoundMAGIC. It was quite tough for these to climb up the ladder to this position because all others are also bang for your bucks. But powered with thumping bass and clarity unmatched, they sound phenomenal and became the obvious choice for the best position.
1.Design and Comfort:
- 2 extra pairs of silicone ear tips
- A standard 3.5 mm gold plated L-shaped headphone jack.
- With thin wires, durability is one serious thing to take into consideration.
2. Accessories:
- 2 extra pairs of silicone ear tips.
- A pull draw string carry case to keep headphones safe.
3.Sound Quality:
- Everything from lows to mids and to highs, everything is perfect and is surely the one for aural nirvana.
- They are not premium but with frequency response ranging from 15Hz-22 KHz and a 10mm Neodymium magnet driver making it even better, they are bound to give orgasms to your ears.
4. Price:
INR 500-700/- *
Have them and you won’t regret investing your money into them.
RATING: 5/5
*price differs with different color variants.
So, to conclude, IEM are silent yet powerful friend of every music listener. But choose wisely before you buy them. But don’t expose your earphones to any white/pink noise just to loosen up the driver to make them sound great. Instead, listen to music through them on daily basis and observe the change as it happens. Don’t make your earphones sit idle. They too have a life.
– Aayush Gupta
