Expensive headphones may be a wise investment for elite audiophiles. But for the rest of us鈥攖hose who appreciate high-quality sound but don't need the absolute best鈥攖here are聽plenty of affordable options.聽
To find the leading mid-range choices,聽we hit up our audiophile friends, consulted a range of online reviews, and tested a few ourselves. Here are the five that came out on top.
Skullycandy Sport Method Wireless ($60)聽

聽and the accompanying collar聽are designed to stay put even when you're sweating and聽bouncing around, making them ideal for the gym rat.聽You also get nine hours of battery life and a mic for phone calls.聽
Urbanears Plattan 2 ($50)聽

Designed in Sweden,聽the聽聽have a聽bass-heavy sound and a minimalist aesthetic. We also dig that you can daisy chain the聽Plattan聽2s聽and share music.
Waterfi SwimActive Waterproof Headphones ($50)聽

Built for swimmers, are waterproof down to 10 feet聽and are designed to hook into聽an iPod Shuffle that clips to your goggles. Bonus: the聽earbuds do a great job of keeping water out.聽
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC23BK ($70)聽

These buds, which are part of Audio Technica鈥檚聽 line,聽drown out the nearby ambient noise to create聽a better, cleaner聽listening experience. We particularly recommend them for commuters who have to sit on noisy buses or trains.聽聽
Plantronics BackBeat 500 ($80)

Bring these聽 on your next international flight. Thanks to memory foam pads, they're comfortable enough to wear for extended periods of time, plus they have an 18-hour battery life.