Why do people buy expensive earphones?!

Question

it is just personal taste? because i personally would not pay $100 for simply better sound quality.

music is music. and even if its bad sound quality, i still find it's the tune that is enjoyable and not that quality it's at.

or are there health reasons? (like that whole isolation thing so you will turn a lower volume)

but i dont like isolation because sometimes i like to be aware of the sounds around me (whether im on the street & honking car or talking to a friend)...

is it like a regular tv vs. hd tv? or what??

i could never understand!

Answer 1

its really like with everything else, the more you pay the more you get, expensive earphones tend to last a long time and the quality is def something you notice.

Answer 2

It is sound quality. And, probably personal taste too.

I have some expensive ones, and they're 100 times better than the white Apple earbuds.

Answer 3

well i have JVC earphones for about $15 and they work as good as the really expensive ones for my ipod. sound quality is important to me or the song isnt the same. also i dont wanna be deaf form those cheap ones they give me a headache too from the bad sound quality.

Answer 4

The expensive headphones cancel out noise.  Essentially, they have a microphone, and any outside sound, they generate sounds that will "cancel out" the noise the microphones pick up.  So, all you hear is the music, and nothing else.

People who really like them are people who listen to music in noisy environments, like on an airplane or train.  They want to escape from the noise of what is going on around them.  If you are listening to music to relax, most people find it more relaxing.

Having said that, I don't have $100 laying around for really good head phones.  I'd have to be pretty rich before I could justify $100 for headphones.

Answer 5

I would never pay 100 dollars for headphones, but i use skullcandy which ARE still a little pricey. They're pretty (not like it matters) plus they've got really amazing sound quality, and it blocks other sound. I'm not really sure about health reasons, i think people just may be concerned with the sound quality. I do understand the whole wanting to be aware of the surrounding sounds...but some people just may wanna listen to music. I personally get a little upset when people interupt me while in Music land :p.  

Answer 6

yes that is exactly it some people hate listening or seeing anything below their  standards i am happy if there isn't too much static  

but to each their own

Answer 7

Its just better. You hear the best possible music ever.

Answer 8

Some people like watching fuzzy noisy TVs too.  Some people don't mind that the photos they take are all blurry.  Or that their house is dirty.  

If you really like music, then you'll appreciate hearing ALL the music.  The best music of ANY genre has subtle harmonies, and the instruments and voices have additional harmonics and pitches that really come alive in good headphones.

I don't want to miss that!

Answer 9

because they don't have anything better to do with their money

Answer 10

see, this is the personal preference. Some people may just find the music they like because of the tune, but as some people are REALLY into music, they go for the best...why? well it's simple, because for example, Classical music. If you don't have high-end and extremely high sound quality exerting earphones, speakers, monitors, or headphones. Then you could never get the feeling with in the song. Even though you hear the tune, you can't feel and get the feeling of the song with cheap earphones that just play sound. Another Example, if you have a really nice vocal in a song, or a really powerful tune that's suppose to specially stand out in a song, you need proper and high quality earphones, speakers, monitors, or headphones to make these parts play their parts. If you just limit them to cheap earphones, they will always sound bland and disgusting in the song, and all the beautiful vocals are rendered meaningless and the powerful tune is rendered average and weak. That's the point, if you just play music in cheap earphones, you might as well only have one female singer and one male singer for all the female and male songs in the world, because you won't be able to tell the difference between an extremely talented and experienced, and beautiful singer and a shouter singer.

Hope this has helped.

Answer 11

It's really different strokes for different folks, but the sound quality difference is noticeable (like regular tv vs. hdtv as you mentioned).

For example, for people who are willing to pay a decent amount of money for earphones, there is a company called Ultimate Ears that makes earphones that are specifically designed for certain genres of music. They make pretty expensive products, but got their street cred by making ear monitors for all sorts of professional musicians to use on stage in order to block out the crowd noise and listen to the music that they're playing.

These types of earphones are obviously too rich for most people's blood (at around $250/pair), but the sound quality is really impressive, and you'Il end up hearing subtle parts of the music that you wouldn't have otherwise even known were there.

For example, even if you don't go for the ultra high end, you can still get the same benefit from noise reducing earphones or sound isolating earphones or headphones.  If you eliminate the ambient noise, you'll really be able to hear the guitar riffs and subtle vocal harmonies in the music more clearly.

There's a pretty decent guide of headphones at different price ranges (not everything that gives great music quality is above $100) at Where2BuyStuff.com.  Also, for fun, feel free to check out the Ultimate Ears site, it's pretty wild.

Answer 12

I used to say that until I got a pair of Koss earphones and then bose.... wow want a difference when listening to music. You just get lost in it.  

Answer 13

idk  100 bucks? better be some life warrty with high tech  more like allie tech

but zune headphones are worth there money i have to give it that