DOWN TO THE WIRE

Wireless headphones are basking in the limelight but, when it comes to sound quality, a cable makes all the difference

- 

There’s no denying

it; wireless headphones are all the rage these days. Whether it is premium over-ears or budget buds, cable-free devices seem to be all but ubiquitous. And with good reason. Apart from the convenience of not having to worry about a cable, wearers can enjoy good-quality sound along with a raft of other treats such as noise cancelling and lengthy battery life.

But that is not the whole story. Buck for buck, you will almost always enjoy better sound quality from a pair of wired headphones than from the wireless variety. In some cases you will even need to pay twice as much for your cable-free cans to get sonic equivalence. In a world where perceived convenience often holds sway over outright quality, that fact often gets overlooked; but for those of us who care about music as food for the soul rather than just a pleasant distraction, it is of critical importance.

Then there’s the advantage that wired headphones have over their wireless cousins when it comes to using domestic hi-fi kit. Not many home systems have a Bluetooth output, so in that scenario wireless headphones are largely redundant.

True, many smartphones lack the 3.5mm output needed for listening to wired headphones on the go, but adding a compact, affordable DAC such as the Audioquest DragonFly not only solves that problem, it also boosts sound quality still further.

So, to bring them out of the shadows, here’s our round-up of quality affordable wired headphones, ranging from AKG’s remarkable K92 to the excellent Meze Audi 99 Classics. Our advice? Follow these leads.

AKG K92
AKG strikes gold with these great value headphones