These Are The Worst Headphones You Can Buy, According To Consumer Reports
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A bad pair of headphones is a nuisance in more ways than one. Poor sound quality can make it grating to listen to your favorite songs and podcasts, while lackluster battery life may end your listening sessions sooner than expected. With hundreds of headphone brands on the market at any given time, there are bound to be a few duds, and according to Consumer Reports (CR), the worst of them all are the V-Moda M-200 ANC Professional Studio Headphones.
Terrible sound quality and an uncomfortable design were the leading detractors, with CR experts going as far as to describe their listening experience as, "somewhere between a bad telephone connection and a plastic cup against the wall[.]" We should also mention that the M-200 has a $385 list price, and has been on the market for close to five years (they sold for $500 when first released).
Praise for the V-Moda M-200 wasn't much better over on Amazon. While the cans scored a 3.8 out of 5 stars, a thorough one-star review matched CR's disdain for the M-200's sound quality and drew attention to a number of other flaws, including shallow ear cups and stiff-feeling buttons. Other one-star reviewers shared similar complaints, and even a five-star review mentioned voice distortion when using the M-200's *Boom Pro and built-in mic.
Consumer Reports reported on a few other pairs of headphones that missed the mark
The V-Moda M-200 aren't the only bad pair of headphones that CR critiqued. The publication reported poor sound quality for both the Onn Over-Ear Headphones ($53) and Monoprice Hi-Fi On-Ear Headphones ($23). It's also worth mentioning that CR gave the Skullcandy Riff On-Ear Wired Headphones ($22) a low score for owner satisfaction.
On the one hand, those three products are priced much lower than the V-200 M-200, so one could argue that you get what you pay for. But it's still jarring to see headphones priced at the premium tier (the M-200) flagged for the kinds of issues and disappointments more in line with entry-level technology.
That said, CR doesn't just highlight the headphones you should avoid; the publication also has a list of the best noise-canceling headphones, where excellent products like the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e are spotlighted. CR also put together a list of the best headphones to buy your audiophile friends.