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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a plain, adult-size folding headphone built for shared listening systems, choose Williams AV Sound HED 021; if you need a kid-safe, wired, light-up on-ear headphone for a child, choose iClever Kids Headphones LED.
• Williams AV Sound HED 021 — biggest strength: it folds down for storage, runs a 32 Ω mono driver, and is sized for adults. Its replaceable earpads and the availability of sanitary covers are the real point here — this is equipment you maintain, not replace.
• Williams AV Sound HED 021 — biggest trade-off: it's mono, not stereo, and it has no kid-specific volume limit, no microphone, and no fun factor whatsoever. It's a tool.
• iClever Kids Headphones LED — biggest strength: a hard 85 dBA volume ceiling, a wired 3.5 mm connection that works with tablets and school devices, foldable cups, and a design built to survive being dropped.
• iClever Kids Headphones LED — biggest trade-off: it's an on-ear kids' headphone with no active noise control, so it won't isolate well in loud places, and the appeal is very much aimed at children.
• Who each pick is for: the Williams AV HED 021 is for classrooms, clinics, tour groups, and adult listening systems where hygiene and durability matter. The iClever is for a child who wants headphones for school, travel, or a tablet.
This is a folding headphone in the most literal sense of the word. It's adult-sized, it collapses for storage, and it runs a 32 Ω mono driver. Mono matters: this is a single-channel listening device, not a music headphone. If you plug it into something and expect a wide stereo mix, you're using the wrong tool.
The detail that tells you what this product actually is: you can buy replacement sanitary covers, and the earpads themselves are replaceable (HED 023, HED 023-100). That's not a consumer convenience feature. That's a maintenance feature. It signals the headphone is meant to be handed from one person to the next — in a classroom listening station, an audiology or hearing-assistance setting, a tour group, a language lab, or any place where headphones get shared and need to be kept clean between users.
So who should buy it? Someone outfitting a set of these for a facility, or replacing one unit in a system that already uses this model. It's also a reasonable pick for an adult who wants a simple, lightweight, foldable headphone for spoken-word or mono listening and doesn't care about looks or stereo imaging. It's rated for mild, low-gain hearing loss use, which narrows the audience further — this is assistive-leaning equipment, not a general-purpose music headphone.
iClever Kids Headphones LED: Who It's For
The iClever Kids Headphones LED is the opposite philosophy: it exists to be safe, comfortable, and genuinely appealing to a small human. The headline feature is the 85 dBA volume limit — the second-generation Safe Volume design, intended to be safe across long daily listening sessions. There's no volume knob to defeat it, no app to override it. It just caps out.
Around that, iClever built a headphone a kid actually wants to wear. The cat-ear shapes light up with RGB, and the ear shells and headband carry printed patterns. The ear cushions are pillow-soft, the ear cups swivel through 110°, and the headband adjusts, so it fits a range of head shapes rather than one. It's on-ear, made from ABS with leather ear cushions, and it's foldable — which is the practical bit, because these will live in a backpack.
Inside, a 40 mm dynamic driver handles the audio, tuned for balanced mids and clear highs. The connection is wired 3.5 mm, which is the sensible choice for kids: no pairing, no charging, no Bluetooth battery to run flat in the middle of a car ride. Plug it into a tablet, an iPad, a school Chromebook, or a seat-back screen on a plane and it works immediately. Materials are BPA- and heavy-metal-free, and it comes with a 12-month warranty.
The honest trade-off: there's no noise control at all. On-ear cushions on a child's head block very little of a plane cabin or a busy classroom. It won't help a kid focus by silencing the world — it just plays their audio at a safe level. And the design is unapologetically for children; an adult or teen won't want to wear it.
Buy it if you have a child roughly in the early-grade years who needs wired headphones for school, travel, or a tablet. Skip it if you need isolation, stereo imaging for critical listening, or anything an adult would wear in public.
• Best for protecting a child's hearing → iClever Kids Headphones LED. The 85 dBA limit is the whole point.
• Best for shared or institutional use → Williams AV Sound HED 021. Replaceable pads and available sanitary covers make hygiene practical.
• Best for a child's comfort over long trips → iClever Kids Headphones LED. Pillow-soft cushions, 110° swivel cups, and an adjustable headband.
• Best for stereo music listening → iClever Kids Headphones LED. It's stereo; the Williams AV HED 021 is mono by design.
• Best for adult fit → Williams AV Sound HED 021. It's explicitly adult-sized.
• Best for durability against drops and bends → iClever Kids Headphones LED. The reinforced headband is built to take twisting and falls.
• Best for device compatibility with no setup → iClever Kids Headphones LED. Wired 3.5 mm works with tablets, iPads, and school devices instantly.
• Best for a facility replacing a single broken unit → Williams AV Sound HED 021. Matching an existing system matters more than features here.
In my opinion these two products barely compete, because they're aimed at different buyers. If a child is going to wear the headphones, I'd buy the iClever Kids Headphones LED — the 85 dBA cap, the comfort, the foldable build, and the wired simplicity are exactly what a parent should want. If you're equipping or maintaining a shared listening setup for adults, I'd buy the Williams AV Sound HED 021, because replaceable earpads and sanitary covers are features you'll actually use. Pick by who's wearing them, not by which one sounds more impressive on paper. And check the current price on Amazon before you commit — both are inexpensive categories, but the numbers move.
are on ear headphones good
Yes, for the right job. On-ear headphones like the iClever Kids Headphones LED sit on the ear rather than around it, which keeps them lighter and more portable — good for kids and travel. The trade-off is less isolation from outside noise, since the cushions don't seal around the ear. The Williams AV Sound HED 021 is also an on-ear folding design, but sized for adults and mono.
what are the best open ear headphones
Neither of these is an open-ear headphone, so I won't pretend otherwise. Open-ear models rest outside the ear canal entirely and let ambient sound in by design. The iClever is an on-ear kids' headphone and the Williams AV HED 021 is an on-ear adult folding headphone — both sit against the ear. If open-ear is a hard requirement, look at that category instead.
which are the best over the ear headphones
Over-ear means the cushions surround the ear, and neither model here is over-ear — both are on-ear. If you specifically want over-ear, you need a different product. Between these two, the iClever Kids Headphones LED is closer to that feel thanks to its pillow-soft cushions, but its ear placement is still listed as on-ear.
what are the best over the ear headphones to buy
For a child, I'd point to the iClever Kids Headphones LED: 85 dBA limited volume, 40 mm drivers, foldable, wired, and comfortable for long wear. For an adult in a shared listening or assistive setting, I'd point to the Williams AV Sound HED 021, where replaceable pads and sanitary covers matter more than sound signature. Which one is "best" depends entirely on who's wearing it.
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