Happy Fourth from everyone at Ars! While the American half of the staff takes a much-need vacation over the next two days, we thought this would be a good time to share our personal picks for a very important piece of everyday tech: our headphones. Ars' staff is never lacking in opinions, and our preferences range from earbuds (to keep us tethered to our smartphones and subscription-music apps) to giant cans (because we want the right combination of sound and comfort while rocking out or getting our online-gaming frag on).

This isn't a scientific "best headphones of all time" list by any stretch. This is the gear we each use in our day-to-day lives, and we look forward to hearing your own picks as well. Without further ado: let's get canned!

KSC-32i FitClips, Koss: $14 (~£20 and hard to find in the UK)







If I were to get a company logo tattooed on my body, I would probably get Koss's name etched onto my bicep. That is how much I love the Wisconsin company's line of activewear headphones and earbuds. I've relied on them as my go-to line since moving to Seattle in 2007. No, really: I still have the Amazon order for my first, $13.42 pair of KSC-75s. I was dead-broke and desperate for decent-sounding headphones that I could wear on my bike and on the bus. I picked them because earbuds always pop out of my ears and these funky over-ear clip-ons sounded so damned good for the price.

Eventually, I graduated to the superior KSC-35s, which use nearly identical drivers but have a more comfortable aluminum framing. They cost a little more, but I found my headphone use shifting as I got older and sought a more gym-friendly solution. My favorite Koss clip-ons use foam padding, but I sweat like a monster. So while I loved the sound quality, I wanted more breathability. I'd tested some wireless earbuds with a small flap of plastic meant to hold them in place, but nothing ever held up to my sweat... until I found that friggin' Koss had rolled out a new line of earbuds with rubbery ear-clip supports.

Koss's FitClips fit amazingly, sound solid, and happen to be dirt-cheap at only $15. I love how the rubber clips flex and fit around the outsides of my ears. The buds pop perfectly into my ear canals and deliver more-than-serviceable highs, mids, and lows. I feel safe declaring that they offer more comfort and sound quality than Apple's default offering. And because they fit so snugly, they actually hold up decently as a noise-canceling option in a pinch, should I choose not to pack my bulky Bose QuietComfort cans for a flight. (However, if you're looking to nap on a plane, you'd be crazy not to invest in the current, top-notch QC line.)

Even better, Koss is cool about your buds and headphones breaking or wearing out. Their lifetime warranty means you can mail a busted pair to Koss's Wisconsin HQ with a $6 check attached to get a no-questions-asked replacement for most of their offerings. Koss is boss, y'all. (Personal bias: the KSC32i FitClips come in neon green and dark blue, which match the Seattle Seahawks's colors. Sea! Hawks!)

—Sam Machkovech, Culture Reporter





G633 headphones, Logitech: $135 / £85

I'm not an avid headset-wearer when I play video games, but I wanted a half-decent set of mic-equipped headphones and found these on sale a while back. I'd read reviews that these cans are too quiet and do a bad job of placing sounds across the ears, but my experience with the G633s couldn't be further from those complaints. These things get loud. While I don't really buy into the fake-surround effect on headphones, I've never been bothered by how these cans direct me towards enemy fire in online games, whether playing audio back in surround mode or just plain-old stereo. Plus, they're mighty fine for frequency reproduction and use a very comfortable foam-padding, should you just want a danged good pair of music headphones.

—S.M.

iPhone stock earbuds, Apple: Free (or $569/£400 and up depending on how you look at it)

Honestly, besides the stock Apple earbuds, I haven't found a good, inexpensive, portable set of earbuds with an in-line mic that don't fall out of my ears. Sure, I have a nice set of cans for serious listening (Sony MDR-7506s, of course) but they're too bulky to go anywhere with me. The earbuds are constantly in my pocket—if you see me out and about I'm probably listening to some podcasts (or Blue Scholars) on my bike. The only problem with these is that they tend to wear out after a few months: I go through like two or three a year. I already have a new spare pair ready to go on my desk when these conk out.

—Cyrus Farivar, Senior Business Editor

HD 558s, Sennheiser: $98 / £110

In 2008, the Sennheiser HD 555s were among the top go-to recommendations for entry-level “good” cans from the sound obsessives over at head-fi.org. I got a pair for a little over $100, and I’ve been happy with them ever since.

They’re “open-back,” meaning that sound can leak in and out. That's not something you want to wear on the train, but for home applications, their design lets music sound less canned and more natural—like you’re sitting in a room with the music as opposed to the sound being pumped directly into your skull. Their circumaural (over-ear) design ensures maximum comfort for long listening sessions.

I've never felt the need to upgrade to a higher-grade model, though I did do the infamous HD 555 mod, effectively converting my set to perform like the more expensive 595s. They’ve sprouted a cosmetic hairline crack on both sides of their casing over the years, but other than that, they’ve held up exceptionally well. The 555s are no longer being sold, but I recently purchased their present-day successor, the HD 558s, for my wife. She had been regularly yoinking my 555s; now I’m just annoyed that her headphones sound even better than mine.

—Aaron Zimmerman, Copyeditor





When it comes to audio, it’s all about picking the right tool for the job. Like Cyrus, I stick to Apple’s earbuds while walking around with my iPhone because they fit my ears. Plus I live in NYC, so I need the combination of semi-okay sound, headphones I won’t cry over if they’re stolen/lost, and the ability to also hear street noise to STAY ALERT.

Since I edit audio and video, I always use the studio standard Sony MDR-7506’s. I'm on my third pair and fourth foam/leather pad replacement. They handle the best range of voice mix for documentary, film, and even most music mixes.

However, when I pound my electronic Roland V-Drums, the MDR-7506s tested a bit weak in the bass department. So did Grado's SR60e cans, which are more suited to quieter jazz and classical listening. Surprisingly I’ve stuck with a cheapo pair of Samson CH70s for my drums because they can handle bass through splash without losing range. They also sit small on my ears so they don’t hinder my thrash.

—Jennifer Hahn, Video Producer/Editor

Generic earbuds, Philips: Uh... three-fitty? (We really don't know.)

I don't really have a preferred pair of headphones. I lose them and break them too often to consider investing in something nice. Currently I use generic purple earbuds made by Phillips. I bought them in a Walgreens in San Francisco when I realized I had a phone call later in the day and couldn't find my previous headphones in my bag. I later found those headphones at the bottom of my bag, go figure. But I lost them again a few months after that.

These are actually pretty uncomfortable to wear. The ear pieces are slightly too big for my ears. But they're not so uncomfortable that I've been moved to get a new pair. For a while, I had some with a "tangle resistant" cord—that was pretty nice to have and I've long thought about getting some more like that. But for now, this is how I listen to podcasts while I walk the dog.

—Megan Geuss, Staff Editor





QuietComfort 20 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones, Bose: $300 / £220 (same price for Android version / UK)

I spend a lot of time in the air, and airplane cabins have become much more hospitable since I got a pair of Bose’s QC20 noise-cancelling earbuds. They’re comfortable, the battery life is easily good enough for a transatlantic flight, and they sound alright to me. The only real problem is remembering not to leave them lying around the house, lest Nigel, Eater of Cables, happens to discover them and chews his way through several hundred dollars-worth of wires.

—Jonathan Gitlin, Automotive Editor

ATH PRO5MS, Audio-Technica: $79 / Hard to find in the UK

OK, I’ll be honest. The main reason I bought these headphones a few years ago is because they’re camouflage. Yes, that’s right. Good for late night music without disturbing the rest of the house.

Did I mention they're camo?

—Jonathan Gitlin, Automotive Editor

Level Over Bluetooth headphones, Samsung: $299 / Hard to find in the UK

I dropped serious coin on the speaker system for my home office, so when I rock out, everyone in the house hears it. That’s not a problem when the kids are at school and the wife is at work, but there are times when I’m the only one who needs to hear Big Star or Small Black (usually late at night). So I bought myself a pair of Samsung Level Over Bluetooth headphones.

My other use case for headphones is when I’m flying. There’s nothing like slipping on a set of noise-cancelling headphones at takeoff and whiling away the flight watching a movie or listening to music. Having the drone of the engines muted almost makes me forget that I’m crammed into a small seat with not enough legroom in a metal tube hurtling through the sky. Almost.

The Level Over cans sound at least as good as my older pair of Audio Technica wired noise-cancelling headphones, and they have the advantage of being wireless. Pairing is super easy, and the side of the headphone is touch sensitive. That allows me to change the volume or move a track forward or backward with a swiping motion. They’re also comfortable. In contrast with previous headphones I’ve owned, I can wear these for hours at a time without my right ear (it's always my right ear for some reason) getting sore.

They go for anywhere from $200-300, which is about twice what you’d pay for a pair of wired noise-cancelling headphones. But if you hate external noise as much as you hate wires, the extra cost is worth it.

—Eric Bangeman, Managing Editor

PC 363D headphones, Sennheiser: $170 / £180

The microphone in my old headset was giving up the ghost, so I was in the market for something else. As I listen to music and games through my headset, I looked through Wirecutter’s gaming headset recommendations and liked the description of the Sennheiser GAME ONE model. However, I also wanted a USB headset, as my USB ports are easier to get to, so I opted for the GAME ONE's close sibling, the PC 363D. The headset itself still uses dual 3.5mm jacks, but it comes with a little USB sound card thingy (which also supports Dolby Headphone for virtual 7.1 surround). List price is a rather steep $299.99, but I paid about half that on Amazon.

The new headset is much more comfortable than my old one, with delightfully soft cushioning on the earpieces. Even wearing it more or less non-stop for 8 hours, it remains comfortable. The microphone quality seems respectable, too. The mic is a little bulky, compared to the thin stalks on many other headsets. The mic sounds fine on Skype and in-game, which is what I need it for, and apparently it has noise cancellation. The sound quality is more than good enough, and it stays clear even at high volumes. I only bought these headphones last week, so it's a little early to say much about their robustness. But my early impressions of comfort and sound quality are positive; with Wirecutter endorsing their close relative, I’d tentatively recommend them to anyone in the market for a gaming-oriented headset.

—Peter Bright, Technology Editor



Mark Walton

UE 900 earbuds, Logitech: $270 / £280 on Amazon, but cheaper if you hunt around

I first heard about Ultimate Ears from a friend of mine who was in a band that had just been kitted out with professional in-ear molded monitors. He'd been using them on- and off-stage and had been raving about how good they sounded for months. The trouble was each set cost upwards of £600. At that point, I was using Sennheiser's CX300 earbuds, which—while not exactly what you'd call accurate—sounded great for the £30/$50 they cost.

At home, I was using Sony's legendary MDR-V6, with its crazy-rich mid-range, to pull together mixes late at night, while I used AKG's K550 for general listening. Both sounded far better than the Sennheisers, but I've never liked taking large cans on public transport, instead preferring the discrete look of earbuds. What to do, then, when you need fantastic earbuds without paying through the nose for custom monitors or something like Shure's SE846?

The answer came in the form of Ultimate Ears' UE 900 earbuds, which were based on the same tech used in the company's professional, in-ear monitors. At £300/$400, they weren't cheap, but they were a better value than anything else on the market.

The UE 900s use a quad-driver balanced armature setup, with two for the low-end, one for the mids, and one for the highs. I won't get into all the pros and cons of balanced armatures here, but unlike the dynamic drivers typically used in speakers and headphones that reproduce all frequencies, balanced armatures are tuned to very specific frequency ranges. The idea is that you get greater accuracy when you lump a few of them together with a well-designed crossover.

And, boy, do the UE 900s sound good. They're neither tuned flat like Etymotic's ER-4 nor are they bass-heavy and aggressively mid-scooped (read: awful) like a pair of Beats. They're what I'd call "lively," without being over-the-top in any frequency range and with a clarity that makes everything sound beautiful. Going from the Sennheisers to the UE900 was like lifting a layer of insulating foam from my head. All those little details in music—a stray brush stroke on a snare drum, the gentle tail of a reverb, or cough from a producer—are there in startling clarity without any harshness.

They fit well, too, provided you use the foam tips and are comfortable with a little twisting, and they insulate you from the outside world brilliantly. The removable cable (a must for me) makes the most common point of failure on headphones easily and cheaply replaceable. The only problem with the UE 900, apart from the price, is that you need to pump high quality music into them. You will hear the horrors of a 128K MP3 like never before with these things. You also need a decent headphone amplifier to get the best sound out of them, even with a generous 30 Ohms impedance.

I promise you, the UE 900s are worth the investment. They've been going strong for me for nearly four years. Your ears will thank me, even if your wallet won't.

—Mark Walton, Consumer Editor

Listing image by Mark Walton