Photo: dreamstime.com
Photo: dreamstime.com

The last time I walked into a store to look for earbuds, I turned right around and walked out. The shelves upon shelves of different buds and headphones to compare felt just too overwhelming. I felt like I needed at least half a day to go through them, question the sales person and try them all before I could even think about making a decision.

Choosing which headphones to buy isn’t just a question of cost. That’s the most obvious, of course. Most of us can’t justify spending thousands on the best, nor do we want to pick up the cheapest. Most consumers are looking to buy equipment that falls somewhere in the middle. If you’re a DJ, though, you’re going to want to up your budget. You, of all people, will need the best headphones that you can afford.

Price is one consideration. But quality is another, and sometimes the two aren’t evenly matched. It’s entirely possible to spend loads of money on a brand that does a lot of advertising, convincing you of its awesome quality, only to find that the headphones fall apart really easily or are just not what you expected them to be.

Research is key. Don’t waste time staring at all the pretty packages in the store or relying on your cousin Pete’s review of a particular brand. Search the internet and read all you can about as many brands as possible.

To that end, edm.com has put together a list of 18 headphones that they’ve ranked according to audio quality. Let me say right now that you’re going to be surprised. At least I was. One company, in particular, that I thought, for sure, would come out near the top actually didn’t come out anywhere near the top.

Check it out here.