Gadgetory

if you like music one of the best simplest upgrades for your smartphone is a new pair of headphones but don't spend too much on them just like umbrellas or sunglasses you don't really buy headphones so much as you rent them from the universe doll bell and in this top five I'm going to tell you the best values and headphones price under $50 handpicked by executive editor David Carr Noi and for the sake of this list I'm going to order them by price well start the list off with the cheapest pair at number five the Panasonic Peugeot fit you're not going to find a better pair of headphones for under ten dollars they come in more colors than skittles and they're lightweight in your design helps to block out a little bit of noise now I wouldn't say they're super durable for six dollars why not buy a handful of these just to keep a few spares around now if you can spend a little more check out its cousin the RP HJ e 355 closer to $20 but you get better design and sound quality on par with anything in that 40 to 50 dollar range at number four the JVC Flatts a proper pair of headphones that can be snapped up for around 15 bucks padded your cups and a design that as the name implies folds down flat for easy travel no innovative microphone or carrying case but you get a detailed sound and a comfy lightweight design for a great price you can get a few color options if you're feeling sassy coming in at number three emo she me throw $30 gets you some in ear headphones with some real style and an integrated microphone for taking calls now the remotes just a single button for answering calls there's no volume rocker but that's better than anything else on this list good sound for the price and in my opinion the aluminum design is really pretty cool looking and there's a few cool color options too at number 2 Panasonic our PhD x7 $40 guess you in some retro-styled over ear headphones do a great job keeping out noise and keeping your music in there like a little sonic cocoon that looks like they fell off the set of madmen a great choice if you're looking for headphones for listening to music at work without disturbing people in the next cubicle as you listen to Pharrell's happy on repeat and cry into your spreadsheet wondering how your life got off track great headphones which brings us to the number one pair of headphones at just under $50 audio technica ath m30 a momentary steal as Audio Technica is phasing this model out in favor of the new $70 M 30x which as far as we can tell is virtually identical to the m30 no built-in mic no colors and the cord is long like a good pair of hi-fi headphones they sound great though and arguably offer better low-end than anything else on this list comfortable over ear design padded headband and extremely sturdy construction it's another great option for work or home but probably not the sort of thing you want to go jogging around with still a great value so there you have it 5 headphones for under $50 with options for everyone head over to cnet.com / - for all our latest reviews as well as our headphone buying guide and for more top 5s from me top 5 cnet.com I'm Donnell Bell thanks for watching