Quote:
Originally Posted by bossy22
I'm looking for a good set of headphones to listen to music. I don't want noise cancelling or a mic. Just listen to music, primarily rock. budget under $400. Any recommendations?
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What are you listening from and how much power does it have? An mp3 player/phone, a system with a DAC or amp, a receiver, a controller (console, roku etc.)?
Do you want open back or closed back? (sound isolation, or allow a little bit of ambient noise for a bigger sound stage)
Do you need mobility (ie: Walking around)? Or will you just be using it while in a sitting type application (ie: desk or chair)?
In a car, would you tweak the balance (ie: Treble/Bass) to get the sound you like? If yes, do you leave it on neutral or do you +/- treble and bass?
Do you have any other experience with headphones that give insight on your preference?
I assume you want "tin can" wired headphones, not IEM or wireless with all the extra stuff (which great options can still be found in your budget at similar prices to wired headphones).
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Honestly speaking, I think you'll have many great options in the $200-300 range. I've owned the AKG 701, Sennheiser HD595, Beyerdynamic DT 770 pro and 990 pro and all at around $200-300 are great in their own way. For me personally, I use the 990 pro as a "baseline", but also when I need to have open back to hear my kids whining at night.
Headphones go on sale! Use a price tracker to see what a good price is and perhaps wait for a sale depending on how deeply those discounts go. Sennheiser is one that I recall kinda has some crazier sales discounts up to 30% at times or around $60-80 off. 10-20% on the others are still close to $30-60 off. I usually use Camelcamelcamel as a price tracker for Amazon.
I use my Audio Technica in a more analytical or immersive application for listening, movies etc. But sometimes when I don't want to be bombarded with sound, I go back to the DT990. Basically I have two sets of headphones that are different that can round each other out in an overall experience depending on my mood and I love this set up. Depending on how you like to listen, maybe pushing your full $400 budget to $450 or $500, to grab a pair of headphones isn't a bad idea.
Good pairing combos closer to a $500 budget would be:
DT770 pro + HD599 (Closed warm + Open neutral)
DT990 pro + ATH-M50x (Open warm + Closed clear)
DT990 pro + AKG 701/702 (Open warm + Open clear)
DT770 pro + ATH M50x (Closed warm + Closed clear)
I own a pair of $1000+ headphones and while I love the extra sound, TBH, the vast majority of people cannot hear a difference from these premium headphones mentioned above and below. I only rarely run into media where I realize these headphones are producing a background sound at lower volumes that the others aren't producing well. You wouldn't hear that sound unless you are cranking up the volume to levels that would make you deaf in short order. But these sounds are kinda innocuous like bird chirps in the background, differentiating the different drums with higher accuracy and stuff like that. Nothing primary. Just things that almost feel like an easter egg.
Soundstage is another that you may notice on certain higher end headphones. A wider soundstage is great for stuff that feels like it's supposed to be in a big room (bigger stage). That's like the live concert recordings, concerts, cathedrals, orchestras etc. type sound. It sounds "airy". But sometimes you don't need as big of a sound stage for things like recording studio versions of songs and small intimate area live recordings like a cafe or jam session.
But that being said, for some, less is more. Some headphones will make people feel "tired" due to the extra clarity or over focus on a range. For me, I still own the HD595, DT990 pro and an ATH headphone. I will bounce around between open back, closed back depending on if I'm listening to certain music or in a certain way or if I'm plugging the headphones to the receiver to watch a movie vs plugging into my PS5 controller.
You can also play with the equalizer with whatever you're using to listen to to also tweak the sound, but it only goes so far because of what the capabilities of the headphones are. So unfortunately, you're not going to be able to use the equalizer to go from a warm tone set of headphones to something studio clarity level. You can however use it to slightly play with the balance to match your personal preferences and you might be able to play with the sound stage to widen or make it more intimate. I occasionally do this on my receiver for movies, games and depending on the style of music for curiosity sake. I could technically also use this if I didn't want to be overloaded on sound clarity, but it's easier to just quickly unplug a headphone for the other that is more preferrable in that situation.
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For rock... I think the DT990 pro mentioned earlier is a good recommendation. It's a little bit warmer and focuses on mid/low tones which works well with rock. This one is an open back headphone. Some of the lows might feel like they aren't as distinct due to the open back, if that's the case, do closed back.
https://www.amazon.ca/beyerdynamic-9...9a9930752&th=1
For closed back, the DT770 pro is a good option, similar but slightly warmer range than the 990 pro.
https://www.amazon.ca/Beyerdynamic-D...9a9930752&th=1
You're probably aiming at the 32 or 80 ohm version unless you have a full pre amp post amp set up to really let a 250 ohm version do its thing.
Heavier bass focus type headphones are typically Sony. Some complain there's too much bass making it hard to focus on the other ranges, but unlike certain other headphones (ie: Beats), IMO the Sony still retains refined sound in the mid and high even with that heavy bass. Some people like that a lot. Some do not when they go into audiophile quality stuff. However, I will say that lots of the stuff out there seems to be engineered to be a bit bass heavy lately and a clubbing music type sound and the Sony would excel at this.
https://www.amazon.ca/Sony-MDR1AM2-R...%2C124&sr=8-28
But if you're not interested in focusing on the mid and bass, then something that focuses other other balances can be...
Audio Technica ATH M50x. Supposed to focus on mid/highs. May not be desired for those who like low and bass. These are supposed to be consider "clear".
https://www.amazon.ca/Audio-Technica...s%2C135&sr=8-2
AKG 701/702 I think are similar ranges to ATH M50x. Again these are "clear" but they're open back vs closed.
https://www.amazon.ca/AKG-701-Headph...b-f959a9930752
Sennheiser HD600. Should be more neutral and balanced to low/mid/high. Open back.
https://www.amazon.ca/Sennheiser-Dyn...s%2C140&sr=8-1
Sennheiser HD 599. Should be similar to the above with very little noticeable differences other than perhaps build quality. Open back. IIRC, Sennheiser has a bit of a wider soundstage than DT990.
https://www.amazon.ca/Sennheiser-HD-...s%2C149&sr=8-5