[tdockweiler]

Here's something different. Highly rated headphones I absolutely hated in every way:
 
ESW9a (Mids. What mids? Too warm and too much bass bleed)
D1100 - First headphone that made me shout obscenities with disgust. I rarely swear too.
Grado SR-325i - Painful treble, but they deserve a second chance, but it'll never happen. Will try 225 instead.
HD-497 - my longest owned headphone and I hate every rotten thing about them.

 

[sidel]

The earbuds archos bundles with their media players.  These things make free in-flight earbuds sound good in comparison.

 

[kiteki]

 
1. earbuds that came with my awesome Sanyo PCDP player, still have them somewhere, man they sounded like listening to a grasshopper or something.
 
2. AKG k701.
 
 

 

[kingtz]

JVC Marshmallows.
 
- weak treble
-bloated bass that craps on the already muddy mids
 
I don't know how I ever listened to these.

 

[alv4426]

I tired listening to some old Sony earbuds that had blown up. not a good idea

 

[Uncle Erik]

The Bose Triport.

My first encounter was at the Apple Store. I was thinking, 'how bad could they be?'

The first pair was awful. I started thinking, well, someone must have abused or broken them. Second pair, hmm, someone must have broken these, too. Third pair, my word, maybe these are truly awful.

So I went to the Bose Store in the same mall. Confirmed: the Triports truly suck.

The other headphone horror was the K-701, except I actually bought them. The plasticky vocals drove me up the wall. I tried them with seven or eight amps (and good ones, too) but they always sounded "off." I went to meets and listened to other pairs; all of them had the same problem. Yes, even with a variety of amps. I had them for over two years, they were tried many times and ended up in the closet with a cloud of hate over them.

For the record, AKG used to be my favorite manufacturer. K-1000, K-501, K-240DF, K-340, I loved them all. That the K-701 sucked hurt and I felt betrayed. I've been expecting AKG to correct course. No, they bring out celebriphones. My faith is gone. I'm a fan of Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic and Audez'e now. Similarly, I've lost faith in Grado. The PS-1000 is wholly uninspiring. No, it doesn't offend or delight. It's more like a very expensive saltine cracker. Not worth it and I question the judgment of marketing a very, very ordinary product as something special. I might pay $300 for one just to have around, but it probably wouldn't be listened to very often.

 

[Gwarmi]

Sennheiser HD 515 & HD 201.
 
Thankfully found someone ignorant and deaf enough to buy the HD 515.
I still feel guilty about that.
 
Binned the HD 201, that thing was just good for one thing. Landfill.
 
 

 

[Thermionic]

 
I think the worst headphones I ever heard were a pair of Telephonics TDH49’s. These were quite common as a reference phone in the world of audiology, and I think they were also used by the American military. Terrible out of a (pro) walkman.
 
The other very disappointing phone I borrowed one weekend (from the Bayer rep) was a pair of  the famous DT48’s. While I know there is quite a following for these in some areas of this forum, there was just no contest with a pair of Stax SR5’s I was using at the time. Shame because I could have got them for a good price, though I admit that the headphone output of the amp I was using might not have been an ideal match.
 

 

[Canadian411]

I have to say Dr. Beats headphones with respect to the price/value.

 

[firev1]

Those unknown earbuds that came with cheap radios in the past i guess. But for headphones, its some pair that my parents received when they bought a massage chair. Absolutely terrible.

 

[tdockweiler]

 
Quote:

The Bose Triport.

My first encounter was at the Apple Store. I was thinking, 'how bad could they be?'

The first pair was awful. I started thinking, well, someone must have abused or broken them. Second pair, hmm, someone must have broken these, too. Third pair, my word, maybe these are truly awful.

So I went to the Bose Store in the same mall. Confirmed: the Triports truly suck.

 
Gotta love people who only judge a headphone based on a store demo..to me there is just so much wrong with this. It's pretty much like not even hearing them.
I heard the plasticky sound on the K701, but it's not on the K702. Maybe you need to try the K702 again at a meet? You make the plasticky sound out to be like 10x worse than it really is.
 

 

[JamesMcProgger]

Sony V150 - even for the price one could do much much better.
ATH M50 - overrated hipped FOTM'd... it is not bad, but some people around here think is the second comming of Jebus.
a lot of earbuds.

 

[warubozu]

Bose Triport, had a pair on loan to me for a period of 4 months. I decided to borrow a pair from my cousin to see what the negative fuss about them was all about. I soon found out that with the price Bose charges for them compared to other cans out there with better sound and build quality makes them one of the worst set of cans I've placed on my ears.
 
Sony MDR-CD770, a vintage Sony that sounds nothing like it's vintage bretherens. Narrow soundstage with no depth and no bass along with a headband that is made with a thick slab of rubber which seems to weigh like a ton on your head. What was I thinking when I decided to pull the trigger on a pair I'll never know.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Bose Triport, had a pair on loan to for a period of 4 months. I decided to borrow a pair from my cousin to see what the negative fuss about them was all about. I soon found out that with the price Bose charges for them compared to other cans out there with better sound and build quality makes them one of the worst set of cans I've placed on my ears.

Yes, the Triport AE1 sounds more like a good $60-70 headphone. If you view them as a $150 headphone then almost anyone would be disappointed. What's funny is that many people just lump them in together with the Monster/Skullcandy stuff and bash them without even bothering to describe why they didn't like them. They wouldn't even have a clue what it's sound signature even is!  The AE1 is actually quite balanced sounding without any bloated bass. It does have a little too much treble for me. I got a pair for $40 and I gave them to my mom as an upgrade to the (very good) Maxell DHP-II. Bose build quality is awful for $150. I can say for sure I'd take the AE1 over the Sony ZX700, Creative Aurvana Live or Kicker HP541 any day. I'm not a fan of the AE2 at all. Creative Aurvana Live is good, but I prefer less bass and more mids/treble. AE1 actually makes the ZX700 look dark in comparison!
 
Feel free to find another headphone that's as small and comfortable as the Triport AE1 and sounds even better unamped for under $70. Anyone? Only one that comes to mind is the Maxell DHP-II for $30. Everything else is too large. There is the MDR-7506, but it's comfort isn't as good.
 
Now I'm no bose lover, but 99% of Bose bashers haven't even tried them in their home and have even give them a chance. This is understandable since there is no way I'm paying $150 for an AE1. I did once, but it broke twice! Got a replacement on the first pair at least.
 
BTW if you all mention the Triport you should specify which version. The AE1 is quite good, but the AE2..not a fan.
 
 

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Sony V150 - even for the price one could do much much better.
ATH M50 - overrated hipped FOTM'd... it is not bad, but some people around here think is the second comming of Jebus.
a lot of earbuds.

It's been FOTM for about ...well since release. If you think that's the worst headphone you ever heard, you need to try more headphones