Don’t get yourself all tangled up, now. Not every decent pair of headphones to garner attention these days is wireless. You’re in good company among lots of folks who prefer a pair of wires dangling down from their earlobes, sprouting an umbilical cord of sonic bliss between noggin and device.Gamers, audiophiles, those nostalgic for the old days of their youth, and those nostalgic for days that predated their own lives (anemoia). All have solid reasons for not just refusing to cut the cord, but for seeking it out and cherishing it.The best wired headphones and earbudsMost Affordable Audiophile Earbuds: Sennheiser IE 200Great All-Purpose Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 770 ProGamer’s Trophy Option: HyperX Cloud IIIHandmade Retro Style: Grado SR325xClassic Apple Earbuds: Apple EarPodsEarbuds That Stay Put for Workouts: JBL Endurance Run 2For Monster Sound: Fosi Audio i5what i looked forGiven the breadth of purposes for headphones and earbuds—gaming, studio/podcast recording, serious music listening, portability, working out—I couldn’t test all the best wired devices personally. Lock me in a room for a couple of months and maybe I could emerge shaggy and with blown-out eardrums, but with lots and lots of opinions, too. So I looked at customer reviews, not just on retailers but on forums dedicated to audiophiles and regular consumers for testimonials on reliability, comfort, and audio quality. Then I dug into manufacturer-provided specifications to size up performance claims and feature sets, such as active noise cancellation (ANC), driver size, connector types, and support for lossless audio formats.Most Affordable Audiophile Earbuds: Sennheiser IE 200(opens in a new window)SennheiserIE 200(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)Available at WalmartBuy Now(opens in a new window)Truly high-end audiophile earbuds can reach well toward $1,000, and when you begin approaching silly-high money like that, I’d try to tilt you toward an over-the-ear pair of headphones instead of earbuds. The Sennheiser IE 200, though, are a notable step up in audio quality from budget earbuds like the Apple EarBuds and JBL Endurance Run 2.Users say they’re comfortable to wear for long periods of time, too. The braided cable is a nice touch, even if it doesn’t have any real impact beyond looking and feeling nice. You can even detach the cable from the earbuds, which is somewhat novel. It’s not the biggest deal, but when you’re putting away the earbuds for transport, you could detach the cord to roll it up into a loop so that the whole thing doesn’t tangle. Just don’t lose the earbuds, because they don’t come with a case like most pairs of wireless earbuds.One minor hiccup is that they only come with a 3.5mm headphone jack. There’s no USB plug of any kind. That’s a bit of an issue because most phones and computers these days don’t come with a headphone jack. You shouldn’t let that keep you from the IE 200 if they sound otherwise right for you. You can buy a 3.5mm jack-to-USB-C adapter for $10.Great All-Purpose Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro(opens in a new window)BeyerdynamicDT 770 Pro(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)Available at WalmartBuy Now(opens in a new window)These are studio reference monitor headphones, but folks who’ve used them for music listening say they sound better and more balanced than a lot of the competition around the DT 770 Pro’s $200 mark. Beyerdynamic has a reputation for sounding bright in its higher frequencies (treble), but reports say the DT 770 Pro aren’t all that bright, given the brand name slapped on their sides.They don’t have ANC, but because they have closed-back earcups they’ll do a better job at blocking surrounding environmental noise than either open-back headphones or earbuds. For $200 they hit the mark as a good-sounding pair of all-purpose headphones that won’t leak sound and annoy the people around you (like open-back headphones), and they won’t break your bank, either.Gamer’s Trophy Option: HyperX Cloud III(opens in a new window)HyperXCloud III(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)Available at WalmartBuy Now(opens in a new window)Cruise the internet for testimonials of HyperX’s headphones, and it won’t be long before you run into mention of their legendary comfort. Memory foam earcups and a headband that doesn’t squeeze the head like a lemon make them ultra comfy for long gaming sessions.Competitive gamers sometimes tend toward HyperX’s Cloud Alpha, which costs only $9 more. Its dual-chamber, 50mm drivers separate bass frequencies from mids and trebles more effectively than the Cloud III. So why do I give the Cloud III the nod?It lets you connect to your device through a 3.5mm audio jack, just like the Cloud Alpha, but it also offers a far more convenient USB-C plug. Most devices these days don’t come with a headphone jack. All come with a USB-C port. The Cloud III also offers DTS surround sound. For all but the hardcore gamers who want that separation of frequencies from the dual-chamber drivers, the Cloud III is the more convenient option.Handmade Retro Style: Grado SR325x(opens in a new window)GradoSR325x(opens in a new window)Available at Grado LabsBuy Now(opens in a new window)Brooklyn-based Grado Labs specializes in open-back, over-the-ear headphones for audiophiles who want the purest sound possible. Their headphones, continuously updated but maintaining a now-classic aesthetic, make musical accuracy paramount by using premium internal materials, such as high-purity copper wiring. Each pair of Grado headphones are still hand-assembled in Brooklyn. Without a doubt that’s why the SR325x cost a tidy bundle at $350.Choosing the SR325x over the $125 SR80x, you gain aluminum ear cups instead of plastic and real leather on the headband instead of the synthetic stuff. Is it worth it when the SR80x packs the same hardware inside the earcups (drivers, pads, and gimbal architecture)? It only really differs in how the SR325x was tuned to better take advantage of the metal earcups’ acoustics, but if you’re already paying a premium for the Grados’ superior construction, you may as well go whole hog and get the leather-and-aluminum version.Classic Apple Earbuds: Apple EarPods(opens in a new window)AppleEarPods(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)Available at WalmartBuy Now(opens in a new window)You’d be forgiven for letting your jaw hit your lap upon discovering that Apple still makes these. The wireless AirPods have hogged all the attention since launching in December 2016. But Apple still makes their classic wired earbuds. Apple made the blessedly wise decision to begin offering them with a USB-C connector instead of the old proprietary Lightning connector that’s fast disappearing.There’s more value here for Apple users. The EarBuds will work with Android, Windows, and Linux devices, but they’ll integrate the most seamlessly and thoroughly with Apple devices. Picking up an incoming call and chatting to the Siri voice assistant is surprisingly easy when your EarBuds are connected to an Apple phone, computer, or tablet.These aren’t cushy like the rubber-cushioned AirPods Pro, but for an all-plastic earbud wedged into the ear canal they’re surprisingly comfortable. The EarPods still have the simple, slim control built into one of the wires, which lets you change the volume, skip or rewind songs, and answer or end phone calls. All for $19, too.Earbuds That Stay Put for Workouts: JBL Endurance Run 2(opens in a new window)JBLEndurance Run 2(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)Costing just a buck more than the Apple EarBuds at $20, JBL’s Endurance Run 2 are more platform agnostic than the Apple-oriented ‘buds. They’re also designed to stay put in the ear more so than the somewhat slippery, all-plastic EarBuds.JBL calls it the FlipHook; a configurable piece that lets you wear the Endurance Run 2 behind your ear for even more security so that they won’t fall out while you go on a run or ride the stationary bike. You also can just wear them in your ears like a regular earbud when you’re not jostling and bouncing all over the gym.They’re also rubberized, which helps with retention inside the ear and plays at least some role in sealing against the ear canal. That blocks out more environmental noise compared to an all-plastic earbud like the Apple EarBuds, too.For Monster Sound: Fosi Audio i5(opens in a new window)FosiAudio i5(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)Everything about the Fosi Audio i5 is big. Enormous 97mm planar drivers, enormous power requirements, and an enormous price at $560, although for what you’re getting with the Audio i5, the price tag is lower than most other planar-driver headphones.First off, you won’t be taking these headphones with you to the gym or on the plane. Forget trying to use them plugged into an iPad or a phone. You could probably get them to work by plugging them into a laptop, but you wouldn’t be reaching the headphones’ performance potential. You need a separate headphone amp, like the Fosi Audio K7 DAC ($200), as a middleman. So you plug the headphones into the headphone amp, and then you plug the headphone amp’s power supply into a wall outlet and its USB cable into your computer.Most consumer headphones, even those marketed to audiophiles (like the Grado SR325x), have dynamic drivers that use a coil to push a cone within the earcups, which in turn produces the audio. Planar magnetic drivers instead pulse electricity through a thin membrane within the earcups that moves the membrane’s entire surface at once, enabling faster response times and lower distortion. If you want a serious step up in audio quality from the other options on this list, the Fosi Audio i5 are one of the more affordable entryways into planar-driver headphones.do you need earbuds or headphones?Headphones or earbuds. It’s the biggest choice to make, and the first one you’re likely to make. Headphones tend to provide superior audio quality because they pack larger drivers and more complicated electronics at the cost of being far bulkier. You can tuck a pair of earbuds into a pocket for easy carrying anywhere. You’ll need to hold onto those headphones or sling them around the back of your neck if you don’t have a bag with you.Most of the headphones I’ve used over the years tend to cause discomfort after a while, both from headbands that squeeze the earcups tightly and from the earcups making my ears sweltering and sweaty.Once you settle on over-the-ear headphones, the choice splinters again into whether you want closed-back or open-back headphones. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. In the simplest terms, closed-back headphones prioritize blocking outside noise and not subjecting the people near you to hearing your audio leak out of the headphones, and open-back headphones prioritize the most accurate-sounding audio. Check out this explainer for more in-depth info.why wired instead of wireless?I won’t libel wireless headphones and earbuds. They have their uses for those who don’t want to be constantly untangling cords or feeling encumbered during active pursuits by dangling wires, such as when working out. But aside from the purely cultural, aesthetic reasons for the resurgence among younger generations for wired devices—a retro throwback—wired headphones and earbuds still have advantages over their wireless counterparts.The largest point in wired headphones’ and earbuds’ win column is that it’s the choice for those who want to listen to lossless audio formats. That’s the audiophile’s choice for digital music files that haven’t had any part of their data deleted in order to lessen their file sizes. Wireless headphones and earbuds mostly connect via Bluetooth, which doesn’t allow for lossless audio listening. You have to use lossy formats that compromise on sound quality. The exception is aptX Lossless over Bluetooth, but few devices support that anyway.Wired headphones, in particular, are lighter than their wireless counterparts because they don’t pack a bulky battery. You never need to charge wired headphones because they run off the connected device’s power supply. The downside is that they’ll suck the power from your device when it’s not plugged into a wall outlet.When you’re at home on your laptop, it doesn’t matter that your wired headphones are slurping electricity through it because you can just plug it into the wall. Both headphones and laptop will run indefinitely. Out and about, though, your headphones will drain your tablet’s or smartphone’s precious battery more quickly, and no smartphone truly offers that much battery life to begin with.the bottom lineChoosing a pair of wired headphones or earbuds broadcasts one of a few things about you; maybe several of them at once. Perhaps you’re rebelling against the crushing efficiency and conformity of wireless earbuds’ omnipresence. Maybe you’re sick of popping earbuds into your ears only to find that the internal batteries are dead because you haven’t charged them.Manufacturers are just as committed to developing wired headphones and earbuds as they continue pushing wireless devices. So whatever your reasons, you’ve got plenty of choices.The post Best Wired Headphones and Earbuds for People Who Hate Charging Everything appeared first on VICE.