Quite true. In this case, though, I first learned of these el-cheapo wonders from various review sites.
C|NET (for one example):
$6 in-ear headphones you won’t regret
The Good The Panasonic ErgoFit RP-HJE120 Earbud Headphones are really inexpensive and sound decent for their measly price. They also offer a comfortable fit.
The Bad The thin cord has a tendency to tangle easily (especially if you stick the headphones in a pocket). They don’t seem incredibly durable, and there’s no integrated microphone for cell phone calls.
They won’t cure cancer or beat out your Beyerdynamic T90s, and for @JeffL the tangly cord is maybe a deal-breaker. But they’re dirt cheap and they sound pretty decent.
I really like the Yurbuds 200, which have a pretty sturdy cord, and also have magnet’s on the back of the earbuds themselves to keep them together and help (somewhat) to prevent tangling. They’re wirecutter’s top pick for (deep breath) unsealed-under-50-dollar-exercise-headphones, which is pretty specific, but it means they aren’t total garbage, at least. They’re under $20 on Amazon.
I don’t care so much about audio quality per se, my primary criteria was that they sound good enough to not hurt my ears and that they stay in my ears during my short bike commute, and they do that well. They don’t have a mic/remote control, which I prefer since I don’t find one especially useful. They are fairly large (my wife can’t fit them in her ears), but they’re comfortable for me. They also survived a trip through our washing machine, which is neat.
I have a pair of these that I wear to the gym. They have a no-tangle cord and it has the microphone thingy attached to the wire. However it does not have volume control but that never bothered me.
They come with a number of different rubber ear plugs that you have to try on to find the perfect fit. For me I use the largest ones and they do a great job of blocking out the gym’s music. No more Nickelback!
