Buyer's Guide: Ear Bud Headphones

The Facts 

Ear bud headphones are small in size and are placed directly outside the ear canal, without fully sealing your ear. 

Probably the most popular type of headphones, they are small, lightweight, can easily be transported, and are normally relatively cheap.  Ear bud headphones often get bundled for free with portable audio players, such as the Apple iPod. 

Ear bud headphones are not particularly efficient.  The fact that ear bud headphones fit loosely outside the ear canal means that some of the audio you are listening too gets lost and leaks to the outside world.  In addition sounds from the outside world also make it into your ear and competes with the signal from your audio player.

Due to their limitations ear bud headphones they are not able to deliver the same dynamic range that a sound isolating earphone is able to offer for a given volume level.  As a result you need to increase the volume to hear the audio clearly, which increases the risk of damage to your hearing and often causes distortion in the audio reproduction.

Our Opinion 

Compared to other types of headphone the humble ear bud does not normally offer good quality sound reproduction.  The way ear bud headphones sit in the outer ear means that the fit is often far from ideal, resulting in uncomfortable long term listening. 

The ear bud design may be a good option for a pair of sports headphones that is going to take some abuse, but you may want to think about a cheap pair of sound isolating earphones if you are keen to get the best audio quality for your money. 

Ear buds are fine as cheap replacements for bundled iPod headphones, but will normally not provide a significant upgrade in performance or comfort.

Browse our selection of Ear Bud Headphones