How Hard Could It Be – Buying Headphones

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato

I’m not one to normally quote the Ancient Greeks. But this one particularly caught my notice. Music is indeed a gift, first created by a cacophony of grunts around a campfire, and later supplemented by instruments and the combination of languages. I myself listen to a wide variety of genres. To better experience my music, I recently felt the need to splurge and purchase a set of Headphones. I had undergone such an undertakings before, and like those times, I was overcome with a similar feeling of exasperation. Find below a brief description of why. Slight technobabble follows that.

With a rise in technological advancements, more and more individuals are connecting to the internet. Shopping sites like Amazon and Flipkart, which make life so much more easy are flooded with buyers from across the globe. This is obviously a great thing, but has led to certain…issues as well. By issues of course, I refer to the vast plethora of people’s opinions. Never have I seen a larger spectrum of opinions than in the comments section of a shopping site. It is fairly common to discover “rave” reviews for a object, while simultaneously also viewing a review that calls it absolute garbage. I could have easily neglected these, and made a choice based purely on the specifications provided. But it is not in human nature to completely ignore the experiences of others.

In my search for a suitable headphones, I stumbled upon many such contrasting views, which made choosing one infinitely harder. Truth be told, I was considering ordering multiple headphones because of my confusion. Brandwise, I was looking majorly at Sony, Bose, Phillips, and Panasonic. Pretty soon, I stopped looking at Bose due to a lack of money. Sony was a close contender, until I saw that most of their models were “Extra-Bass”. As I mentioned before, I listen to a wide variety of songs, including old Hindi. My parents would have definitely given me up for adoption if I had started listening to Hindi songs with Extra-Bass. So even being a cheaper option, it dropped out of consideration. However, people who like that feature should consider the MDRZX310 or MDR-XB550AP models, which are definitely top-tier, and not particularly heavy(~180 grams) either. Phillips as a brand is not as well known for the music systems, but I still kept an eye out for any deals. Their wireless headphone line, as well as that of Panasonic is quite good I admit, but bluetooth always seems to drain batteries fast.

Increasingly distressed at not being able to spend my dwindling pocket money on unnecessary expenses, a pair of JBL headphones caught my eye – the JBL-T450 On-Ear Headphones with Mic. Foldable, with non-tangling wires, and with a decent price(Rs. 1842/-), I cross-checked it with Quora.

The reviews were not as contrasting as other model and brands, so it was a promising choice. It was a choice that paid off pretty well. I am now an owner of said model for the past 3 months, and I’ve got to say, no complaints as of yet.

Onkar Date

A 3rd year Bioengineering student, I write when I am extremely moved by world events. A lover of most fandoms and anime, I'd like to consider myself very well-read. @onkar_date