Best wired in-ear headphones for a great listening experience whatever your budget

I love reviewing ear-things (yes, that’s the actual technical name for all things headphone, earphone and earbud) for a variety of reasons, principal amongst them being that I simply love music.

But coming a ridiculously close second is the fact that I also have an unquestionably legitimate reason to ignore all other audio around me. The insistence of phones, the interruption of doorbells, the general incessance of others, all can (and have to) be aurally overlooked when it comes to lending your ear to the latest and greatest in-ear headphones.

Which is precisely what I have been up to of late. And in keeping with my recent reviews of the coolest sounding cans, I’ve gone full wired with this lot. Why? Because as advanced as wireless audio options have become, you simply cannot beat the sound quality of a pair of perfectly fitting wired sound-wranglers that have been unerringly engineered for your ears.

And I have several such examples right here, each of which have intimately explored my ear canals and been subjected to a wide range of musical stylings, from rock to pop to hip hop, and from classical to soul to sophisti-pop, with many other sound sorts sandwiched in between.

Want to know my thoughts? Well, you’ve read this far; you may as well carry on.

Best wired in-ear headphones at a glance

• Best for outstanding innovation in the arena of personal audio: Flare Audio E-Prototype - £199.96, Flare Audio
• Best for big sound, bargain price: Sennheiser IE 200 - £129.99, Amazon
• Best for expert audio and idyllic isolation: Shure AONIC 3 sound isolating headphones - £147, Amazon
• Best for simply sublime sound: Shure AONIC 4 sound isolating headphones - £195, Amazon
• Best for hi-res music for less moolah: 1MORE Quad Driver headphones - £119, Amazon
• Best for impressive, affordable audio: JLab JBuds Pro - £8.99, Argos
• - £25, Sony