[ilikepooters]

I know we strive for the best in sound quality, but in looking for that alot of people around here must have come across some of the worst sounding equipment too.
 
iPod earbuds don't count, or the Dre Beats, they're too commercial, and that dead old horse has been flogged and turned into glue ages ago 

 
 
So spill the beans, what's the worst headphone you've ever had the displeasure of putting on/in/around your ears?

 

[Dubstep Girl]

a pair of earbuds i got on a long bus trip in mexico. comparable to the airplane earbuds, they suck. they where all plastic (imagine the cheapest dollar store plastic you can think of the kind that really crappy stuff is made of) , a very very thin cable which you can easily rip to pieces with your hands, and of course, a cheap metal plug. i actually used them to replace my old ibuds when those broke.
 
all in all they sounded terrible but i didn't know at the time. they where naturally distorted with muddy sound and would distort badly with any female vocals, bass was very weak and basically nonexistant, mids where recessed and highs where shrill, tinny, and worse than ibuds.
 
 

 

[fabio-fi]

Skullcandy hp's. They look nice, but the sound quality is not nice. 

 

[Elysian]

The Zalman ZM-RS6F makes everything sound like it's being transmitted by string into a tin can contained inside a rusty oil drum.

 

[Hexidecimal]

Probably the iBuds that come with any iPod.
 
*cue 400 BEATS LOLZ posts*

 

[buffalowings]

1964 ears quads for $500, sounded worse than a pair of $60 monster turbines that sounded horribly muddy compared to the coppers 

 

[Arbite]

Quote:

Probably the iBuds that come with any iPod.
 
*cue 400 BEATS LOLZ posts*

 
Clearly didn't read OP's post.
 
 
 
For me it would probably be the earbuds that I got on a Virgin Blue flight. Sounded like someone was screaming in my ear.
 
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
AD700.
 
Come at me bro's.
 
Ok, ok, a little more serious, and less culturally biased response, a pair of JVC flatties from the 90's that came with a CD player. Easily the most awful thing I've listened to.
 
Very best,

 

[Hexidecimal]

Ha! You're right, I totally missed that line. My bad. 

 In that case, I had a couple of sets of panasonic earbuds that I can't remember the model on that were comfortable, but sounded awful. 
 
Quote:

 
Clearly didn't read OP's post.
 
 
 
For me it would probably be the earbuds that I got on a Virgin Blue flight. Sounded like someone was screaming in my ear.
 
 

 

 

[fabio-fi]

 
Quote:

Heya,
 
AD700.
 
Come at me bro's.
 
Very best,

After reading your posts about em, i knew that. 

 

 

[wind016]

I like Ipod earbuds, but I like earbuds in general.
 
Worst headphone ever heard for me is the Grado SR325i.

 

[Parall3l]

For me, it would be a friends Sony earbuds. It gave me a better definition the term "MUDDY". The comfort was also horrible.

 

[Byakushiki]

Hmm. That's a tough one. The Solos don't count, though they almost killed my head to just put on (they're that uncomfortable).
So...Let's see...Probably those older Altec Backbeat106's. They had bass, but I remember it being quite muddy. Could've done worse at that point though, since they were my first IEMs and not quite garbage. So I haven't experienced truly bad sound to my ears through a headphone quite yet?

 

[SLaRe]

They should be the Monster Beats Pro, due to the excessive reverb, superpowered bass, nonexisting mids and trash-like trebel, though the aluminium and leather construction was pretty good. They are seconded by Audio Technica ATH-A900, which is one of the worst headphones I've ever tried and then the supercongested Sennheiser HD25-I, the awfully dark AIAIAI TMA-1, and the unbalanced B&W P5.
 
That is my Top 5 list for supposedly "good" headphones that people like, but I do not. I´m skipping all the crap of Skullcandy, Urban Ears, etc..

 

[MegaMushroom]

A set of Phillips clip-ons... Didn't sound too terrible, but they are the most uncomfortable cans I've ever worn... Almost as bad as those headphone we wore back in elementary school.