Thanks to Apple’s high profile acquisition of Beats Music and Beats Electronics, the humble head phone has been catapulted into the land of cool! A mere 3 years ago, the idea that these enormous, techni-coloured listening devices would be the next big thing would have seemed absurd. However, Dr Dre’s et al seem to be on every wannabe fashionistas’ Christmas list.
The competition as to who dominates the market has never been hotter. The big brands are vying to be the king of cool as the marketplace starts gearing up for the Christmas onslaught.
Below are the best of the best “cans” for the coolest sounds:
For the business traveller, who values the active noise-cancelling, Bose Noise Comfort 15 is definitely the king. The pure pleasure of being able to enjoy your own music on trains or in planes without the dreaded background hum have ensured that these headphones have been top of most corporate user’s list since their launch in 2012.
My father would turn in his grave if he knew I was about to recommend that someone pay £430 for a pair of over ear headphones – and much to Apple’s chagrin they are not from the Doc, they are far more exclusive than this, and in terms of music quality at all ranges of volume, the Shure SRH1540 are the only way to go – although there is one better – but we wanted to stay fairly realistic.
The real prize for pure, unadulterated cool will go to a modest looking pair of in-ear headphones, but don’t be fooled, the IE 800s by Sennheiser prove that if you want perfection, you will need to pay the price. At £600 a pair, that perfection certainly doesn’t come cheap.
Sorry, we just couldn’t resist – the ultimate headphones on the market are the Grado PS1000e, and they are not even wireless! The entry price for a pair of Grado’s is almost £600 (these are £1,550+ depending on where you shop) and is the beloved of those who really know their music.
Never heard of Grado Headphones? Let’s put it this way, if Grado were a sports car company they would only be sold in H.R. Owen (the exclusive dealership for Ferraris, Lamborghinis and the like) that are quite simply “that cool”.
For those on a more modest budget why not visit the range at Curry’s. Their website www.currys.co.uk has a variety of headphones you can browse through, priced from between £3.99 – £360.00. Now one of these should be ideal for Christmas – and just the right level of cool for you or your loved ones!