enclosed headphones

The first pair, within a week I was getting a snapping popping sound everytime I would move around, I finally tracked it down to a part of the cord in the middle, it was like the wire was broken, and everytime I would move that part the static would start. Amazon fortunatley took them back and sent me a new pair. The next pair I purchased the piece that goes over your ear broke off after a week, again I called Amazon and they took them back. They recomended I try Sony, Sennheiser, or Koss. I chose the Koss KSC50 because they had a ton of good reviews, over 80, and Koss offers a lifetime warranty on all of their headphones.

I love these headphones they are the most comfortable headphones out there they are so comfortable i forget that im wearing them exept for the crystal clear quality of sound and the self retractable cord can impress all your friends my only complaint is that on high volumes the headphones get a little fuzzy and some one was able to steal the clips off the top of them and the pad fall off and need to be put back on occasionally

Had to sing the praises of this headphone set.

Let me first say that I'm not one of these guys who spends $100-$200 on a pair of studio-quality closed-ear headphones. I need to use them while walking to work, sitting at my desk killing time, and working out or running. I'm also scared to invest that kind of cash, as I seem to go through sets a few times a year, and they all end with 90-day warranties.

I am, however, [particular] in my pre-purchase research of anything gadgety, surfing [every site possible] to get the best of the best.

My previous set (Sony MDR-Q33), did me well for sound quality and ok for comfort (it's a band-less clip-on-ear style, which I've grown fond of for its versatility). Alas, eventually the cord threaded away, and the right speaker kicked out.

Thus my mission was to find a similar clip-on-ear style set, at a low price but with extra durability and top-notch sound (for the < $100 price range). Enter the Panasonic RP-HS71.

For those of you trying to figure out what's what in headphones, ignore all the glitz and simply focus on the three important benchmarks that should be listed automatically in the headphone spec's:
-Impedance (smaller, < 40ohms, values are better, as higher values require more electrical energy to drive sound)
-Sensitivity (larger, > 100db, values are better, as lower values mean decreased ability to deliver full sound at high volumes)
-Frequency Response (broad range, 20Hz-20kHz or broader, is better, as narrow range means some sounds cannot accurately be reproduced)

These factors set apart the men from the boys. They're why if care about sound quality, you don't buy Koss or Jensen, and why you do buy Sony, Panasonic, or Sennheiser.

So now you can see why the ~$14.99 Panasonic RP-HS71 should catch your eye...
-Impedance 20 ohms
-Sensitivity: 108db/mW (better than even most mid-range Sonys)
-Frequency Response: 14Hz-24kHz (again, better than even most mid-range Sonys)

The Sound is rich and full, as I tested everything from Jimmy Van M's Bedrock, to Rage Against The Machine, to Sarah McLachlan.

Best yet, upon actually trying these bad boys out, not only are they a bit more comfortable in terms of a snap mechanism (instead of the spring-loaded ones the Sonys have) to hold them to your ears securely, but this particular model has a great integrated spring-loaded retractable plug-in mechanism for winding up the cord when not being used. I'm hoping this means a longer overall life for this pair, since it's going to be much less likely to suffer the frayed-cord death of my old Sonys.

This model's a bit tough to find these days because it's discontinued, but definitely worth tracking down because for some reason it's the only Panasonic model with the retractable cord.