A pair of exercise-oriented earphones only need to do a few things well in order to be a success.
First, they need to serve up a brain-rattling amount of bass without swamping out the rest of the audio you’re listening to: sometimes a little extra thump is exactly what’s needed to power yourself to the end of a particularly grueling workout.
Second, they need to be resilient enough to survive your workout: moisture and salt can both be hard on electronics, so a pair of workout cans have to be water resistant, if not waterproof. This makes it possible for them to not only stand up to sweat, but also a quick dunk underneath of a tap to clean them off after exercise so that they’re fresh and ready for your next swole-seeking adventure. If your earphones can’t master this latter feat, they’d best be inexpensive because, sooner or later, your sweat is going to kill them dead.
