[GL1TCH3D]

Honestly, the consensus on SOL here on Head-Fi isn't so negative. Their pricing is much more fair than their competitors, and the bass on their lower two models (at the very least, as these are the ones I've spent significant time with) isn't nearly as boomy and loose as, say Soul or Beats. The mids are a disappointment for sure, but much less so than a Solo.

I agree that they're better than the original beats solos but other than that they're horrendous.
I was gagging 3 seconds into a song wearing the lowest sol pair. I though maybe the more expensive one was better but NOPE. I was definitely wrong there.

 

[penmarker]

No doubt SOL Republics are bad.
 
I have no other description for them. They're just horrendous.

 

[paloalto00]

True, and most youtube reviewers don't really know what they're talking about (except a few). They spend more time describing the aesthetic, accessories, build of a headphone than describing the sound and comfort. Oh, and when it comes to the part to describe sound, all they say is "You'll hear things you've never heard before" and "Omg these sound so much better than Beats". We need more Head-Fi youtubers.

 
I'm guilty of that. I never officially released a review of any headphones, but when I won a pair of skullcandys I was so blown away by how different my music sounded. They definitely should add reviews with different music genres too; what sounds great for my music may not work for yours

 

[pro1137]

New headphone for me that has overtaken first place in this competition.

The Beacon Audio Orion.

Goodness, does it sound BAD. Absolutely no mids, bass is all mud, and treble is dark. 

 

[BestEarCN]

Sony x5/10 would be the worst I heard at bestbuy.

 

[HeretixAevum]

I don't know what the absolute worst headphone I've ever used is as (I would've used a ton of disgustingly bad stuff when I was kid without knowing better), but I can say since I've been audio aware (3ish years) these IEMs are the worst things I can remember.
 

 
They're free ones that come with Western Digital Hard Drives, they were a freebie given away at a LAN party I went to 12 months ago. They are baaaad. The most minimal bass imaginable, tinny, thin distant mids and a weak, unconvincing, essentially non-existent treble. Furthermore, they offer literally zero isolation (which is pretty impressive for an IEM), they look cheap and tacky and they're cheaply built. I will say one good thing that the comfort isn't actually too bad, but that's as far as the good extends.
 
They're free, so of course you can't expect much, but just thinking that somebody out there is actually using these makes me want to curl up in a corner and cry. They're even worse than the free airline in ears, which is saying something.

 

[pro1137]

  I don't know what the absolute worst headphone I've ever used is as (I would've used a ton of disgustingly bad stuff when I was kid without knowing better), but I can say since I've been audio aware (3ish years) these IEMs are the worst things I can remember.
 

 
They're free ones that come with Western Digital Hard Drives, they were a freebie given away at a LAN party I went to 12 months ago. They are baaaad. The most minimal bass imaginable, tinny, thin distant mids and a weak, unconvincing, essentially non-existent treble. Furthermore, they offer literally zero isolation (which is pretty impressive for an IEM), they look cheap and tacky and they're cheaply built. I will say one good thing that the comfort isn't actually too bad, but that's as far as the good extends.
 
They're free, so of course you can't expect much, but just thinking that somebody out there is actually using these makes me want to curl up in a corner and cry. They're even worse than the free airline in ears, which is saying something.

 
I honestly can say that I see multiple pairs of those a day. Different designs/colors, but the same headphone. It's atrocious.

 

[m4xwellmurd3r]

Thats right, I just joined because of this thread, that I read from start to finish at work.

The worst pair of headphones i wore were those crappy sony ones they packed with tape players amd cd players.

The next worse were some headphones my dad had possibly from the 80s, I dont remember the brand, koss maybe? They were white and were spring loaded. When not worn the two ears would roll up with the band. They were open air and the ears were a dome grill. They had no pads so were utterly painful and sounded like garbage.

Ironically, the only decent set of iem I owned were skull camdy smokin buds. Back when they were 30 bucks, and that 30 bucks got you the buds, 3 sets of pad things, and a really nice little plastic case for them all.
I got them for 10 bucks during xmas. They almost lasted a year before the wores broke. I think that was back in 06.

Next bad ones are a random pair of 30 dollar Maxell NC cans I got. The NC worked for background noise like the ac and stuff, but it also induced an annoying low pressure sensation in my head. Tue fact that it dropped the audio volume drastically didnt help. I ended up hacking off the medallion for the nc and batteries and made it a straight cord.

I own a set of audio technica ath-pro5v I got them almost 6 years ago, using them 6 hours a day 6 days a week for thebpast 2 years. Out of the box I HATED them. The pads were thin and made the drivers press against my ears painfully. I found my old pair of maxell headphones, ripped the pads off, and a little trimming later and I was wearing them for 12+ hours pain free.
Ive had to re solder the wire a dozen times, and finally I caved and added a radio shack jack to it. Besides that and the wires on the band breaking (more solder) from adjusting the straps too much theyve been nice.

They are by no means the best, but when I bought them I was looking for half way decent headphones that had a wide frequency response that wouldn't murder my pocket. So it was a toss up between 80 dollar audio technicas, or 150-200 dollar headphones.

Theyve developed a bit of a rattle in left ear when theres strong bass, I think from missing a screw.

I should mention, I remember using those pneumatic headphones they gave out on planes ages ago. I dont remember how they sounded, but I do faintly remember them sounding like having my head in a plastic bucket.

 

[inthearmsofrain]

some of the low end sonys are terrible

 

[Schokolade bar]

Honestly, for me it's probably the grado SR60 or stock T50rps. 

 

[pro1137]

  Honestly, for me it's probably the grado SR60 or stock T50rps. 

 
You've never been cursed by truly awful sound.

I envy you.

 

[HeretixAevum]

I honestly can say that I see multiple pairs of those a day. Different designs/colors, but the same headphone. It's atrocious.

I was talking on facebook with a friend at work once and we were swapping tracks to listen to, and he told me to listen to some particular dubstep song. He specifically said "It's so unsatisfying on these earphones though, there's no bass!" (He has Pioneer HDJ500s at home). I asked him what earphones and he told me "Some free ones that come with my harddrive"...

... Oh dear

 

[wafflezz]

   
You've never been cursed by truly awful sound.

I envy you.

 
I know right? Thankfully I've only really listened to 2 headphones that could be considered *bad*
those cheap little maxells(I forgot the model number, they must be discontinued)
And also I borrowed my roommate's beats solos because I wanted to listen to some bass heavy stuff...bad idea. BAD idea.
Literally they turned non bass notes into muddy flabby bass. Cymbal crashes were barely there.

 

[pro1137]

   
I know right? Thankfully I've only really listened to 2 headphones that could be considered *bad*
those cheap little maxells(I forgot the model number, they must be discontinued)
And also I borrowed my roommate's beats solos because I wanted to listen to some bass heavy stuff...bad idea. BAD idea.
Literally they turned non bass notes into muddy flabby bass. Cymbal crashes were barely there.

 
The things people listen with.. I've seen things like the Coby Jammerz (awful awful sound. Even for $5), generic 'ear budz' from the dollar store, and even.. the $1 buds that you can get at another dollar store. Albeit the Jammerz, from some awful fluke, sound the best out of all the extreme cheapos that I see people using.

Even seeing a $10 Sony in-ear makes me happy. 

 

[blueangel2323]

I actually still have a pair of Coby headphones from back in high school, those clamshell things that hook onto your ears. I dug them out a few months ago and the midrange was surprisingly decent, despite the fact that they had almost no bass or treble.