How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-20 · 6 min read · Independent comparison
• Avid Education AE-36-GR — biggest strength: A genuine boom microphone on a single TRRS 3.5mm plug, plus a chew-resistant braided nylon cord and wipe-down leatherette earpads. It's a headset, not just headphones.
• Avid Education AE-36-GR — biggest trade-off: It's wired only, has no noise control, and its on-ear plastic build and green color read as school equipment rather than personal style.
• ELECDER i45 — biggest strength: A 40mm dynamic driver in a lightweight, foldable frame with a 1.5m cord — easy to pack, easy to carry, and styled for kids and teens.
• ELECDER i45 — biggest trade-off: It has no microphone at all. It's listening only, so it can't handle classes, calls, or any two-way audio.
• Pick Avid Education AE-36-GR if you need a microphone, a cord that survives a backpack, and earpads you can wipe clean.
• Pick ELECDER i45 if you want simple, portable headphones for music, videos, and airplane use.
The AE-36-GR is designed around one clear idea: a headset that survives a classroom. The single 3.5mm TRRS plug carries both the speakers and the microphone through one jack, which is exactly what you want on Chromebooks, iPads, tablets, and newer laptops that have just one port. No splitter, no adapter hunting. Plug in and you're talking.
The durability choices are the real story. The 6-foot cord is braided nylon, which the spec sheet describes as chew resistant — a detail that only makes sense if you've ever watched a kid gnaw on a cable during a lesson. The leatherette earpads are permanent and wipe-down clean, so a shared headset doesn't stay grimy. The padded headband adjusts, the frame weighs about 105 grams, and the 32-ohm impedance and 20 Hz–20 kHz frequency range mean it plays nicely with the low-power headphone outputs on tablets and laptops.
Who should buy it: parents whose kids do remote classes, schools and libraries equipping carts of devices, and anyone who needs a working mic on a single-jack machine. Who should skip it: if you want wireless freedom, this is a wired headset — and the spec sheet lists no active noise cancellation. It's also plainly a school-green utility product, so if style matters more than function, look elsewhere.
The i45 is a straightforward pair of on-ear wired headphones for kids, teens, and casual listeners. The headline spec is the 40mm dynamic driver, which is a meaningfully large driver for this category — it's what gives the i45 its fuller low end and clear midrange for music, videos, and games. Sensitivity is rated at 95 dB with a 20 Hz–20,000 Hz range, so it gets loud enough from a phone or laptop without an amp.
The design is all about portability. It folds down to roughly 6 × 4.53 × 2.87 inches, which slips into a backpack pocket or a seat-back pouch on a plane. The padded ear cushions and adjustable slider fit a range of head sizes, and ELECDER recommends it for kids over 8, with the adjustable band letting adults wear it too. The 1.5m cord is a sensible length for a desk or a tray table. Sound isolation is listed as passive — it blocks some background noise, but it is not active noise cancellation.
Who should buy it: a kid or teen who needs their own headphones for school, travel, or home listening, and wants something light they can fold up. Who should skip it: anyone who needs to talk. There is no microphone on the i45, and no inline volume control — you adjust volume from the device. If you need a mic for class or calls, this isn't the one.
• Best for two-way audio (classes, calls, video meetings) → Avid Education AE-36-GR. It has a boom microphone; the i45 has none.
• Best for portability and travel → ELECDER i45. It folds to a compact size and weighs a fraction of a full-size headset, so it disappears into a bag.
• Best for music and media listening → ELECDER i45. The 40mm driver is the larger, more music-focused design here.
• Best for shared or hygienic use → Avid Education AE-36-GR. Pads that wipe down matter when a device is passed between students.
• Best for a younger kid's own pair → ELECDER i45. The foldable, lightweight build and kid-friendly sizing suit personal use.
• Best for single-jack tablets and laptops → Avid Education AE-36-GR. The single TRRS plug carries both audio and mic through one port.
• If you're torn on cost → check the current price on Amazon for both. They sit in different tiers of the market, and the right call depends on whether you need a mic or just headphones.
My Verdict
In my opinion, the Avid Education AE-36-GR is the safer buy for most people searching this comparison, because a microphone is the one feature you cannot work around. If you're buying for school, remote learning, or any situation where the person needs to speak and be heard, the i45 simply can't do the job. I'd only pick the ELECDER i45 if the use case is purely listening — music, movies, and travel — and portability matters more than a mic. If that's you, the foldable i45 is the better fit. For everyone else, the AE-36-GR's durable cord, washable pads, and single-plug headset design make it the more useful tool.
No. The i45 is a listening-only headphone with a 3.5mm aux jack and no built-in mic. If you need to talk on calls or in class, you'll want a headset like the Avid AE-36-GR instead.
Yes. It uses a single 3.5mm TRRS plug that carries both audio and microphone, so it works with devices that have one combined headphone jack, including Chromebooks, iPads, tablets, and newer laptops. Devices without a 3.5mm jack will need an adapter.
The ELECDER i45 is aimed at kids over 8 and up, with an adjustable band and a lightweight foldable frame. The Avid AE-36-GR is described as suitable for all ages and is more about durability and classroom use than being a kid's personal pair.
Neither has active noise cancellation. The Avid AE-36-GR lists no noise control, and the ELECDER i45 uses passive sound isolation, which only reduces some background noise.
The ELECDER i45, clearly. It folds to a compact size and is far easier to pack. The Avid AE-36-GR is a wired classroom headset that isn't designed for stowing in a bag.
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