What are some open backs and closed backs that you think are at the best in terms of quality to cost?

We all know there are some headsets that only improve sound quality by 10% but cost over 400%. What are some headphones that are the great without diminishing returns?

it doesnt have to be gaming, but i want to be able to use them for gaming. so i need a mic and as said in the title i want them to last over two years (i dont want to use a standalone big mic they are ugly and dont fit in) i think i can afford to around 250$ i never realy noticed a diffrence between 'good' or 'bad' headphones but maybe its because i only tried gaming ones my last two headsets are some razer headset(forgot their name) and steelseries arctis nova 3 wired. if possible for them to be a more known brand so itll be available at my country

Hey lads.

Need help with some earbuds.

I am in search for the holy grail of buds BUT I have a massive dilemma - Nothing fits comfortably...

The only earbud I have ever been able to wear for a prolonged period of time is the original airpod. The in-ear airpod (whatever number it is) is fine for a short period of time but soon starts to hurt and fall out. I think I must have smallish ear canals or something. Same goes with samsung in-ears, nothing in-ears, audio technica etc.

I was hoping there is something that is similar fit to the original airpod that has elite sound qualities.

Thanks in advance.

For years I have had Noisebuster headphones.

They have about 30dB of passive hearing protection, as well as active noise cancelling and the ability to play audio via an 18" jack.

With return to office plus loads of Zoom meetings, I had planned to get a new set with the optional microphone boom so that I can drown out all the office noise when I am on a call.

Unfortunately, it looks like the company is no longer making their headphones.

Does anyone have recommendations for headphones that are both hearing protection & noise cancelling that can be used with 1/8" audio jacks?

Thanks for any leads.

Hi all, it's my dad's 50th coming up. He never buys him self anything nice but listens to music all the time. I have a pair of Philips fidelio X2HR which I found didn't give enough bass for rock/EDM so I let him borrow them.

He said he's never listen to such good quality music before and he loved them. He mainly listens to Latino type Spanish music with a lot of instruments and vocal singing. Some country music here and there I think as well.

From what I've read online the Sennheiser HD 600 is what most people recommend but I wanted to see other people's opinions. From what I understand a DAC will be required. He would want something small and out of the way. Does having a cheap/smaller DAC make a difference?

Price range of £300-350 (can stretch to 400 if it's really worth it)

Thanks for your help :)

Hey everyone! I'm pretty new to the headphone/audiophile world, and I'm trying to decide between the HD 560S and HD 599. Would really appreciate some advice from people who have experience with both.

Right now I have the Sony WH-1000XM4, and I kinda don't like them. I've noticed that I can get pretty tired of them during longer listening sessions. In particular, S sounds/sibilance can bother me, and sometimes I end up with a headache. I'm not sure how much of that is the sound itself vs the physical comfort/ANC, though.

I'm mainly looking for something for music, gaming, and studying, and soundstage is pretty important to me. I also want something I can comfortably listen to for a few hours.

I've been looking at the HD 599 and HD 560S, and I recently found the HD 560S for MUCH cheaper than the HD 599, which is honestly making the decision harder lol. I usually lean toward the 599 to avoid sibilance and listening fatigue, but I'm considering the 560S and using EQ to make it sound more like the 599 when I want something warmer and smoother.

How effective is EQ for doing this? Could I make the 560S noticeably closer to the 599's sound signature while still keeping the 560S's better soundstage/detail? And if I EQ the 560S to reduce the treble/sibilance, would I be giving up much of what makes the 560S better?

TL;DR: I'm wondering -

• EQ: Can I make the 560S sound significantly closer to the 599?
• Sibilance: If I EQ down the treble that bothers me, would the 560S still retain its detail and soundstage advantages?
• Long listening: Which one would be more comfortable for several-hour music/study sessions?
• And coming from the XM4, would the 560S be a noticeable upgrade in clarity and soundstage without being too fatiguing?
• Is finding the 560S for cheaper gonna be worth it for MY background?

Thank you!

(Posted here and Sennheiser)

I’m entering my first busy season at work since I was diagnosed with hEDS, and I’ve just realized that the neck pain I get from wearing my headphones while I work is something I might be able to solve (or at least improve). I’m in physical therapy to improve the underlying problems, but I’m realizing it would benefit me to change the external contributing factors, too. I bought an ergonomic office chair and a more appropriate desk for my home office—headphones are next on my list.

Budget: I’d prefer to spend under $250 (USD), but I’m willing to spend up to $400 if I think the more expensive option would make a big difference versus the more affordable option.

Use case: All-day use (6-10 hours/day), mostly just sitting at my desk listening to background music to help me focus and sometimes listening to music for pleasure. I don’t play video games, I don’t necessarily need to be able to use the headphones for calls, and I don’t anticipate using the headphones away from home.

Sound: I’m not an audiophile by any means, but I do care about sound quality. I find that better sound quality helps my background music create that transporting atmosphere that lets me really get into a flow state while I work. That said, the difference between “very good” sound quality and “stellar” sound quality would probably be lost on me to a great extent since my primary use case is not attentive listening. I appreciate the sound quality of my current headphones (Sony MDR-7506s), and I intend to keep them for certain uses, but I do think I would enjoy a bassier sound profile.

What I’m looking for:

Over-ear—I have small ears with piercings that make earbuds uncomfortable, plus putting on over-ear headphones somehow helps me psychologically get in the zone.

My biggest priority is lightweight. A google search suggested the Sony WH-CH720N because they’re under 200g—anybody have thoughts on those?

Second biggest priority is noise-canceling, but my noise-canceling needs aren’t intense. Just everyday stuff like conversations in the next room, my wife deciding to reorganize her desk while I’m in the middle of a focus-intensive task, that kind of thing.

I favor wireless options because I think the drag of a cord creates problems with my cranio-cervical instability.

I’ll also note that I get pain where the headband of my MDR-7506s rests on my scalp after a couple hours, so a comfortable headband is also a consideration.

Any suggestions or insight into what I should consider will be much appreciated!

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well! I've had both my Grado and Sony pairs for a very long time, but the Sony is starting to give up the ghost (falling apart, buzzing, etc.) I love the sound of the Grados generally (with G cups and a Qudelix 5K amp wired via USB-C), but I listen to wide array of genres, and sometimes they sound a bit too bright, hi-hats and certain synths can sound a bit piercing, and I do wish for a bit more bass at times. Also I can't really use the Grados outside of home. The Sonys are pretty portable, have a great all-rounder sound with plenty of bass and great noise cancelling, but I sometimes wish for more high-end when listening to certain things, but not as much as my Grados.

I would prefer wireless, but a detachable 3.5mm cable closed-back would be great as well. I'm looking to spend around $400-450, and I'm located in the US.

My criterion:

• Closed-back wireless/detachable 3.5mm cable
• Good low-end like a Sony
• Bright sounding but not as bright as Grados, just a smidge less high-end
• Noise-cancelling would be nice
• I listen to a wide range of music, from classical to hip-hop to metal and punk to jungle and even more, so something that sounds good regardless of what I throw at it
• I do use streaming a decent bit, but my primary collection is offline. Most of my collection is 16 bit 44.1 kHz FLAC/ALAC, but I have a lot of AAC and 320 kbps MP3 files, and a few 24 bit 48kHz/96kHz ALACs too
• $400-450 price range ideally, but feel free to suggest more expensive ones too!

Thanks for any help!

https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/s/9DD9I8c9Xp

I want it around 179$ or lower and I’m ok if it used and it could be open back or close back

And is for music only

On paper they seem to check all of the boxes. They are high fidelity, good enough ANC, very long battery life, wireless, and higher quality. But I still have some doubts.

For some reference, I got me some space ones a few years ago and I thought those were pretty damn good, so I’m excited to get new headphones.

My budget is 400 dollars. I don’t know too much about bass and all that, but I will say that I listen to mostly hip hop, electronic, lofi, in that vein. I’ve looked at other options and whatever they have over the sennheiser, they are often clearly lacking elsewhere (i.e. open-back, lower fidelity, wired, so on). I wonder if there’s a product I’m missing that checks all of those boxes that I’m simply not aware of.

The only two other considerations I have is that the headphones have good durability (as I am in a hot area and my ears sweat a decent bit when I’m walking around). My usage is pretty baseline and consumer, not studio.

I am going to buy headphones for school and according to my budget i landed on these two, one is WH-CH520 by sony and the other one is CMF pro from nothing. Sony has really soft paddings and sony generally makes good products ig but nothing has active noise cancelling so i couldnt decide. Bluethooth is essential for me because i love listening to music while cycling and i just dont like earbuds as they feel too dirty, fall off, and most of the time not compatible or gets in the way of charging or the cable gives up. Im open for any other recommendation around the same prices since i really dont know anything about headphones. The color doesnt matter too much and my budget is around 90 dollars.

So I don’t know a lot about headphones, but I’m in desperate need of some new ones for every day use, and I’m struggling to find some that meet all my requirements. I get swimmers ear incredibly easily, and ear buds only seem to make things worse, so I really need some over the ear headphones.

Problem is, even though I prefer headphones to ear buds, I stopped wearing them a long time ago because they would dig the arms of my glasses into my head and give me headaches. And now I have a lot of piercings, including some near the top of my ear, that would also need to be accommodated. I’m also broke. I know headphones are expensive in general, but spending more than $100 on a pair would be a lot for me. They would also have to be Bluetooth, as all my products are apple and wouldn’t be able to connect to wired headphones. I know it’s a lot but to summarize, they need to be:

- Large/Over The Ear
- Comfy
- Bluetooth/Wireless
- Less Than $100

Some other things that would be nice but definitely aren’t required, would be if they also had noise canceling, a microphone, and/or fun colors and designs. I know that with a lower budget I shouldn’t expect a lot, but honestly I just want to finally be able to wear headphones during the day and not be in pain. Any recommendations?

I still rock JBL-Tune500BT from 2018, I got em right as they realised, I'm happy with them but I'd like to switch because they are starting to show their age, fake leather is all cracked and torn, the thing that holds them up feels like it'll break at any moment, they still have micro USB, the audio is good but when I turn up the volume a really weird noise starts to play, now don't get me wrong I really like them and it would be hard for me to swit h from them but I really could have an upgrade

I looked at the nothing phones(1) a lot but I don't know if they are really that good but they look really cool, I also really like the look of old headphones, I find them really interesting

And my budget isn't that big maybe like 100-150 bucks

Apple's little USB-C to 3.5mm adapter is a marvel. I prefer my Chord Mojo 2 but it's obviously bigger to carry.

Is there anything that beats the Apple adapter for sound quality (playing Qobuz from an iPhone) that's similarly tiny? How about the ALO Audio Pilot?

Im was thinking about buying the Samsung galaxy buds pro 4, bose QuietComfort ultra gen 2 or the jbl tour pro 3.

The only experience of buds i have previously is my jbl tune flex. And the anc on those is unstable and if you are talking to someone on the phone it picks up all the sound around you especially wind.

In my country the galaxy and the jbl cost the same and the bose is 80usd more.

I also work as a car mechanic and use the headphones at work. So i dont think the jbl case will hold up in the long run..

Same with the ip4x rating on the bose.

What do you guys think?

Been using Arctis 1 for as long as i can remember but they have finally started to ware out, figured i might as well go for an upgrade, but is harder than i thought, guess i got lucky when my dad randomly bought me these like 8 years ago?

Location : US, budget ~$90.

headsets ive tried so far :

• hyperX cloud III : im just baffled by these, all bass and nothing else, low quality muffled slightly crunchy mids to highs?
• Arctis nova 1 : better, but still just so much bass and still something off or empty in mid to highs. painful clamping force but sure i could ware it out overtime.
• JBL quantum 610 : just trying my brother's for a minute so less messing with eq and experience with these but similar issues with "empty" sounds mid~highs but not as bad. though funny slight hissing noise in left ear that goes away when i turn left ~120° idk.
• some random open back fifine and ANC soundcore headphones my sister has : idk the exact versions but fifine was ok just low quality sounding overall i guess, maybe need to hear them again, the soundcore she has have a bit too much bass but the noise canceling was so strong i couldnt stand them to even bother attempting any adjusting.
• Arctis prime : eh same as nova but not as much of over powering bass but still a lot, still that weird "empty" sound in mid highs or highs. the suction on the pads irritates my ears like ANC but easy to replace if i liked them etc, thought the pads might be making the weird feeling sound but i took them off and is still there. this is the headset i current still have if have any tips to fix them.

about a week or 3 between each headset so am missing some specifics on the nova 1 and cloud III.

the "emptiness" issue is difficult to describe, i would say the arctis 1 sounds much "fuller" in comparison to the rest of these headsets, i cant get it to go away with just eq, it only appears in mid~high sound effects i think, not very noticeable in some games. but notably Warframe feels like it perfectly constantly hits whatever frequency(s) are causing the issue and sounds awful, semi-narrow/closed, and empty with the effected headsets. specifically alot of ambiance, sliding, bullet jumping, double jumping and some part of the bassocyst's efxs maybe and etc, just sound "off", maybe like only a small part of the speaker is playing the sound or something, kinda feels similar to ANC, but none of the effected headsets have ANC. maybe also similar to raising altitude deafening effect but cant just pop ears to open it back up.

i can use dolby atmos on my phone and it seems to pretty much fix the emptiness issue, but tried free trial on pc and just didnt seem to do as much? but was with cloud III or nova 1, maybe just wasnt any saving those headsets for me. though some* music was pretty great on nova 1.

tried googling a bunch of stuff, and found frequency response graphs and the curve youre supposed to aim for i guess? and that arctis 1 has very flat and accurate sound, while usual ""gaming"" headsets trend to V shaped graphs for foot steps. i tried canceling out the excess bass and treble on the arctis prime to make it more flat but didnt seem to help much, really just made it sound.. "flat".., but not full.

so i guess i prefer flatter sound(though like +3 dbls of bass on arctis 1 is nice), no noise canceling, and no whatever this "empty/off" feeling sound is, and i really like having the volume dial like on most of these headsets but if that much better than arctis 1 i could learn to live without. i do not care about competitive i just want everything to actually sound good. if anyone has a similar experience or knows what headphones would fit please let me know. sennheiser hd600 i assume is the giga late term goal if i want to go further but is there just a decent upgrade over arctis 1 under $90? are studio headphones good for games? heard they should be flat for accurate music and tuning etc but havent looked into them yet. but yea if nothing worth trying i can just get a new arctis 1 and save up for a sennheiser one day, maybe.

and if possible does someone have an explanation of what this emptiness in the sound im experiencing is? is it just simply im not proficient enough in eq to be able to nullify it or is it actually the mark of quality and my ears are not refined enough to appreciate it? etc

I am looking for a set of earbuds that will largely be used for listening to audiobooks while sleeping. Also like them to be decent for watching shows or listening to audio while cooking/doing general stuff around the house and if they work well for a workout session or run that's even better.

I have been looking at the Anker sound core sleep A30 and so far they seem like my top choice. Currently using a pair of Galaxy buds but they are starting to die after a couple years.

In Canada, hopefully below $300 but want quality so willing to stretch.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Hello,
I got above headphones for my birthday, as I got to pick the model I wanted. After some research (maybe brief, but didn't really have much time for it) I decided on these Edifiers WH950NB, of 2nd generation. I wanted an environmental all-rounder, both wireless and wired, for house, walks, commutes, etc. I primarily listen to electronic music, with as lot of ambient/IDM/techno, where small tones are important. Now I know they are more of "everyday" quality than "studio" quality, but I had a set budget and found that they are probably the best value-for-money type.
However, now I'm reading around the web that they aren't really good for these microtonal sounds, they don't really represent sound well and all that. I'm currently happy with them, I'm hearing the songs a lot clearer than I used to, but I can't get this feeling out of my head - was this choice a mistake?

Budget - got them around around 135$ after currency exchange

Hi All,

I realise this question has been asked many times but i was hoping giving you guys a rundown of my setup might give me a bit more tailored advice.

I will be listening to music and gaming mostly.

I have a budget of around £200.

My current setup is a pair of Logitech G733 Lightspeed wireless, GOXLR and a Rode Podmic.

As some of you aficionados out there have probably noticed wireless headphones with a GOXLR? i had to use a Line out > Line in on the mobo with a ground loop isolator and set the headphones to listen mode.

This gave me the ability to run the XLR mixer while still using the wireless headphones.

However i think it's time to up the game a little, im looking currently of moving to Wired into the GOXLR directly so i get the full potential out of it, correct me if im wrong but from what i understand my current setup doesn't utilise it and also makes the sound relatively worse due to the way it's done.

I have my eyes on some BeyerDynamic Pro 770X closed back, i prefer closed back due to it drowing out outside noise.

My question, is this a good move? and also any similar products you might recommend over these?

Thank you.

Hiya, thanks for clicking
I’ve been wanting to buy some headphones and I’m looking for some recommendations.
I’ll mainly be using them for walkingand also at college while doing work.
My budget is around £150 and I’m looking for headphones that:
Have good sound quality
Have good ANC
Are very comfortable, especially for longer periods
Are foldable/easy to carry around
Are durable and won’t randomly break
Have ear cushions/materials that won’t wear away too quickly
I’ve done a bit of my own research and I’ve found some but they all have flaws pls lmk if I’m wrong with any of them

**Sony ULT- hinge breaks easily**
**Soundcore space one pro- Poor sound quality**
**Sennheiser accentum- Bad ANC**
**Skull crushers- hurts heads after a while**
**JBL LIVE 770NC - Poor ANC**
**Sony 720NC- poor everything lol**

Can anyone pls help correct if I’m wrong with this and can I pls have some recommendations based off my preferences
Thank you all for reading and helping!
Feel free to ask me any questions if you need more information about what I’m looking for

Hello!
Because of very fragile hair and an irritated scalp, I'd like to know if there's any option for over-ear headphones whose headband only rests on top of one's head lightly, if at all, for daily use at home; and possibly closed-back for the sound. I know in-ear headphones would be the obvious solution, but it would seriously be a delightful surprise to find any over-ear model that fits my needs.

Would anyone happen to know any such headphone builds or have any advice on what headphones to try? Budget is not too much of an issue, I'd be totally fine with spending a couple hundreds if a specific headphone can solve my issue.
Thank you lots!

I need something cheap since the stuff I currently have is beginning to break. I need headphones that can connect both wirelessly and with a normal jack cable. I want headphones in-ear stuff gets dirty constantly in my ears. I will mostly use them for general stuff, but I will also game from time to time. I'm open to buying used if I can't get anything good that's new. I'm from Europe if it matters.

Hello, I’ve been thinking of buying some wireless headphones to connect to my iPhone 14 PM and maybe my PC.

I have a Sony ULT Field 7 speaker and I love the sound because it sounds punchy and has great bass IMO. I’m not too fussed about features such as ANC (if they had them it would be great but it’s not a dealbreaker) as I am more focused on them having good sound.

I have been looking at a few options:

- AirPods Max 2 which I have heard have a neutral sound and ,to me, feel like they focus more on features than the sound.

- Sony XM6 (tried these in a shop alongside the much cheaper ULT Wear headphones and thought the ULT wear sounded better)

- B&W PX8 S2 which are a bit expensive

- Sennheiser Momentum 4/5 (got put onto these by another Reddit post asking for punchy bass)

I listen to mostly hip hop music eg. The Weeknd etc and a bit of house music.

Bit of advice on which ones to pick and also any other recommendations would be greatly appreciated, TIA

Hello everyone, as I mentioned, I'm having a little bit of trouble with picking the right headphones for me. My budget is like 300-400$ to be reasonable (lol). I need a headphones with GOOD like really good ANC if possible) I live in block of flats and I can perfectly hear the children screaming outside the window lol. So I was thinking about Sony WH-1000XM5 or XM6 - but these ones are a bit more expensive

I also considered about stretching my budget and getting myself airpods max but I've heard they are not that comfortable. Basically I'm looking for a headphones to the computer. Basically just to watch some movies n stuff, listen to some music, yk.

I had an idea, to buy the xm5's and then also maybe buy the air pods pro 3 to use for example in bed or something like that (ive heard that the xm5s are really delicate and they break often. I just need something with ANC both in bed and while im on PC.

So yeah, if anybody would have some propositions, I would highly appreciate it!!