For the past few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time checking out the Edifier H850 over-ear headphones and the H210 in-ear headphones. Both sit comfortably in the mid to mid-low price point for headphones. The H850 are available at amazon.com for around $50. The H210s are currently $10.99, down from the usual price of $19.99 on Amazon.
The thing that surprised me about both of these products, given their prices, was the decent sound I got from them. The H850s, while certainly not the kind of super high-end over-ears we used for mixing, give a pretty good sound for a price that’s considerably lower than those other headphones. They’re also comfortable and come with a replaceable cable (unfortunately designed so you have to buy another one from Edifier and not just put in your own), a solid positive for someone like me who has replaced more headphones for cable shorts than any other reason.
Likewise, the H210s have the same level of comfort you expect from most in-ear headphones and pack quite a bit more base and depth in the sound than other headphones at the price point. Different, however, from competitors like Skullcandy, the H210s don’t boost bass to the detriment of all sound. The sound coming from the earbuds sounded balanced, just featuring more bass than I was accustomed to getting from earbuds.
My only complaints with these headphones are that they don’t come with any controls, something I’d grown used to my headphones having. This isn’t a big deal when I’m using the H850s to isolate sound while I work at my computer, but it’s a minor irritation when I’m using either pair with a pocketed smartphone.
Overall, if you’re looking for a good pair of headphones on a budget, the Edifiers are a solid choice. Either for in-ear or over-ear, they provide a surprisingly solid sound for the price point.
