Before we begin, the first thing you have to do is toss whatever pair of headphones or earbuds came with your phone or MP3 player.  I am not sure why they even come with those now a days because the quality provided is nonexistent. The complimentary headphones sound like you are listening to music down the hallway! Whether you choose headphones or ear buds, consider investing in a medium to high quality pair, trust us it is well worth it.

Star your struggle by deciding which product path you are going to travel down.

Earbuds:

Earbuds are the top choice for people who have minimal space, but still listen to music. The advantage is you don’t have a bulky pair of headphones laying around in your prime real estate. The high-quality earbuds, like SoundMAGIC E10 or Brainwavz S0 come with a case to store the earbuds and to keep the cord untangled. This prevents them from getting ruined or from dirt entering the ear pod. Earbuds are excellent on a smaller budget primarily due to the fact that there is stiff competition in the $50 to $100 dollar price range for this type of product.

Every cheap earbud I have purchased (I’m looking at you Apple), has had significant failure points always starting with the the earbud not fitting properly into my ear. This leads to my ears hurting or me breaking the cheap plastic casing on the earbud.  You get what you pay for.

Headphones:

Headphones are great for enjoying music while you in a static place, or out for a leisure walk. Many people think these would be difficult outdoors, but they can be very comfortable when you wrap them around your neck. I have noticed that with headphones I am always able to enjoy the deeper bass noises as well as the higher treble noises.  The main pinching point I find with headphones is that I always over spend on a quality pair. A $100 pair of headphones easily outperforms Sony’s $200 earbuds.  That being said, the headphones can be bulky, take up a ridiculous amount of space in a gym bag, and are not the best for working out or running.

Conclusion:

Whenever I go out to purchase a quality pair of headphones I am always drawn to the headphones with noise canceling technology, until I see the price. Coming back into reality I will always look for Sony MRD-1000X or the Razer Kraken headphones. These both have spongy earmuffs to block out any external sound and also insulate your music from other people around you.

If earbuds are more your style, which is the case for me when I workout definitely search for the Brainwavz S0 earbuds. Both of these brands fit comfortably in my ear and will not come out when I am out for a run or dancing by myself in the kitchen.