Are the $100 Bose ear buds worth it?

Yes Bose is good, but they are just going to be covered in earwax later on. There goes your $100

Yes! Seriously, Bose puts some good stuff. If you want to go all nuts with an expensive audio purchase, you can get the noise canceling headphones for $300. They sound incredible but then again… $300.

Seems to me that it depends on what you care about.

Just like spending $1500 on a computer is worth it for gamers, 3d modelers, video editors, etc. but isn’t worth it to people who just browse the net.

I certainly wouldn’t spend $100, or probably even $50 on earbuds.

To me? Not even close. To you? That’s your decision.

I buy imitation/knock-offs at focalprice.com. I found that link at an audiophile website; the posters there were comparing them to the their $100—$300 headphones and they were all shocked at how good the cheaps ones sounded. The sound quality of their headsets seem to be close to the real thing, though they don’t last as long. But at $15—$30, who cares? Buy another pair!

I bought a pair of imitation Creative e630’s (I think) and they were the best earbuds I’ve ever owned. The left one stopped working around 9 months later, but it wasn’t a big loss; I only paid $5!

I would buy them, quality is better than quantity.

The higher end headphones that have noise cancellation are absolutely worth it because the strain on your ears is less when you’re not trying to turn up your iPod to compete with all the background noise.

I’m sorry to raise a dissenting voice, but among the audiophiles I know, the expression has always been “No highs, no lows: Bose.” The new Apple earbuds at a list price of $79 are superior to the Bose product, and there are several price points of Shure which are superior also.

I can’t imagine wanting noise-canceling headphones. I would hate to be that cut-off from my surroundings, from dangers, from people trying to get my attention, to interesting things I might miss, everything; certainly never while moving about. Much of the time I only have one earbud in just so I have some situational awareness. But that’s just me, the most casual of casual listeners.

@drdoombot how’s about a link to that audiophile website? Comparison could help muchly!

@reactor5 Unfortunately, I don’t remember the audiophile site. Only the link for cheap earbuds stuck with me. Sorry.

@drdoombot still, pretty sweet.

Whether the quality is necessary would also depend on what sort of file you are listening to. I have heard that the compression used to create the smaller MP3 type file takes out the highs and lows anyhow. So the expensive ones probably wouldn’t make a big difference.

I have some noise reduction ear buds. I use them when I fly to drown out the noise of the plane.

I know where my hearing starts to roll off. Do you? If you’ve been listening to head-banging stuff for years you’ve lost your high-end anyway. Check it out.
Several years ago I had my ears flushed by me doc for a medical reasons. That did more than any headphones could.
I figure it’s a waste to buy more than you can use.