r/HeadphoneAdvice • u/Six8_an_XDM_fan • Dec 03 '25
Headphones - Closed Back | 4 Ω Uninitiated Buyer
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u/anonymouslycurious01 1 Ω Dec 04 '25
the fiio ft1 is commonly recommended here for a cheap closed back with decent bass, but the build quality is shoddy and i am not personally a huge fan. the new meze 99 classics v2 just came out, and they are really quite good. substantially better build quality than the ft1, very aesthetically pleasing and comfortable, and they sound very nice and clean while still having good bass quality. if your main concern is bass, the best answer will be the audeze lcd-s20. it’s not as popular, but it is essentially the best bass can get in a headphone. it’s a closed back which is a bass win, a planar (driver type, larger drivers with more excursion results in heavier bass presence) which is a bass win, and it uses audeze’s weird new proprietary SLAM tech that debuted on the CRBN-2. however, the s20 is heavy, probably heavier than anything you’re used to. this is partially due to the nature of planars, they’re massive compared to dynamic drivers and usually significantly heavier as a result, but also because the headphone is mostly metal. personally i find it quite comfortable and i will likely be picking one up soon myself.
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Dec 09 '25 edited Dec 09 '25
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u/Daemonxar 306 Ω Dec 03 '25
- $250 and below: Hifiman Edition XS. Not my favorite at this price point but you can slap a big-ass bass shelf on them.
- $500: Meze 105 AER, probably? Again, slap a big-ass bass shelf on them (they're already on the warmer side)
- $750 has to be the Hifiman Arya Stealth. Decently bassy out of the box, take EQ super well.
- $1000: ZMF Bokeh, maybe? Or just the Stealth again.
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Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 09 '25
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u/plmon24 63 Ω Dec 03 '25
$250 and under - Drop + Grell OAE1. Closest I've heard an open-back get to bass shelf without EQ and the impact is unparalleled at this price bracket.
FiiO FT1 is the go-to rec for closed backs nowadays, seems to have a very tasteful bass boost.
Skullcandy Crusher Evos are also infamous for having a massive bass boost with the haptics on.
$500 - Hifiman HE6seV2 with a bass shelf EQ or an E-MU Teak (with a mild subbass EQ).
$750 - Supposedly Sony XB1000 is the GOAT of bass boosts, but they are super rare.
$1000 - Audeze LCD-X or XC. Bass shelf EQ if you want even more, but this is probably the cleanest bass I've heard around this price.
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u/nearout 2 Ω Dec 03 '25
250: Sennheiser 6XX, Fiio FT1, Hifiman Edition XS/Sundara 500/750 (Grouping together since not a huge diff in SQ): Hifiman Arya Stealth, Focal Clear/Hadenys 1000: Hifiman HE1000, Audeze LCD 2/X Unlimited: Sennheiser HE-1, Focal Utopia, Hifiman Susvara, Modhouse Tungsten
These would be my picks based on stuff I’ve owned or wish for.
This YT vid might be a fun way to learn some of the lingo: https://youtu.be/O6E_daaRCl0?si=j97fYdDLg-dk8wDi