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I've been using Pioneer headphones for years now, however there is a few things that bug me: Soundprofile: I love how it sounds when listening to music, but since they have quite strong lows, I feel like I'm having a harder time hearing steps, shots, etc. in games. Closed back: I tend to mumble / slur words a bit when I can't hear myself talking. Pressure: I wear glassed and the Pioneers get quite uncomfortable a couple hours into a gaming session. So now I am looking for good headphones around the $100 / 100€ mark that have a more neutral sound and are open back and comfortable to wear. On reddit, many people are recommending the Philips SHP9500 as a good value choice, however that one is not available in Germany. Do you have any other recommendations for me?

So I'm planning on getting a new pair of headphones for primarily sound design and gaming but I have trouble deciding if I should pick open back or closed back headphones. The headphones I have in mind are the Beyerdynamic Dt 700 Pro X and the Dt 900 Pro X. What are the differences between open back and closed back, which type would you choose and why?

Been looking for high quality and affordable (~< €200) headphones for quite a while, but with specific features such as: - Absolutely no leather or pleather that disintegrates over time - Breathable fabric cushions - Spacious fit around the ears - Don't create bad pressure points My ears start to hurt and sweat a lot after prolonged wear, so soft earpads and minimal weight is definitely a must. Don't need perfect seal, noise cancelling or any of that. I'm willing to give up some sound quality for better ergonomics and build quality. I also prefer flat neutral sound that works for everything from gaming to professional creative work. Most of the Sennheiser HD series seem to fit the requirements and I often see them highly recommended. The biggest potential issue I see with open backs is that I use a condenser mic for VoIP, gaming and streaming, and leakage is a concern since my current HyperX Cloud Alpha sometimes leaks mids and treble at high volume (which I have set very rarely). I'm open to hearing a second opinion on that. Right now I can get the HD 560S for ~$160/€150 from local retailers or the new HD 6XX for ~$230/€215 from drop.com. Prices are converted at the time of writing. Are these good value and is it worth the extra ~$70/€65 for the HD 6XX? If there are other options available in Europe around that price that fit the requirements I'll consider them too.

Hello comunity, the reason i ask this question is: I actually own a pair of sennheiser 6xx and im really happy with its performance. But my house most of the time is quite noisy. So i have to use the 6xx at very high volume so i wont be distracted by ambient noise. ( besides the open back design is leaking a lot of my sound) So i want to buy the astro a50 gen 4 or something similar ( doesnt matter if the ofered alternative is wired) because i need a closed back design so i wont get too distracted by noisy ambient sound. But i dont want to sacrifice too much sound quality of the 6xx. PD: i have big head and big ears. So i need something similar to the astro a50 gen 4

Heya! I am on the look out for a new Headset for myself and would love to get suggestions as im not really sure what to use/search for. At home i am used to my Philips Fidelio X2HR/00 and their open back design. Currently i am using the Sony WH-1000XM4 at work and such for being wireless. But lately i have more the need for open back headphones as for their easier listening to my surroundings. The Sony doesnt really satisfy me with their way of letting me listening to my surroundings though. Im mostly listening to Electr/Electro Swing and some Podcasts while im walking around with my Headphones. Location wise im from Germany and have no real budget right now :D Thank you for helping out! K~

What are the most comfortable open back headphones? Thanks!

So I totally missed the massdrop 6xx thing and I'm super bummed about it. I'm in the market for a (first time buyer in this category) bang-for-the-buck headphone and need some assistance. I do not have a DAC, but I will be purchasing one in the future, so something that has a low enough impedance that my maximus 8 gene could power but high enough that it would shine once plugged into a DAC would be preferred. A couple things that I need in the headset are: 1.) sub 250 USD 2.) open backed (I very much prefer the sound experience and its purely for home use) 3.) over the ear 4.) not look like a thumbless blind man assembled them thanks in advance helping me lighten my wallet <3

So I'm looking for some entry level audiophile grade headphones. I've been looking at the beyerdynamic dt 990 pro 250 ohm's and the monoprice m565 but I know that this community has many audio enthusiasts. I would like to know what other good options there are out there.

Hi forum... Little background: I'm currently using a Siberia 350, which cable is getting broken ( Like it's getting splitted ). After I time using Headsets, I decided to switch into Headphones. What I require: Headphones that are better or equally as good as my Siberia 350 ( For the microphone I'll decide later, since I can use the one I currently have ). What I have on Scope: Philips SHP9500S - Which doesn't have Sound Isolation Beyerdynamic DT 770 Studio - But goes by MiniJack ( Which is not a bad thing... I think ) Could Anyone give me advice and better perspective? P.S.: Sorry if there was any part where my english was not that good, I'm not a native english speaker. Cheers from Spain ;).

I'm looking for something in an over-ear configuration with an open back and that's wireless. Does anyone have anything they would recommend?

I have a Yamaha ag06 and I'm looking for good open back headphones for leisure/Pc, I have no idea what can drive it, or what to headphones to get. In an ideal world, I would get the hd650 but I hear they require an amp and have power hungry. Would love to hear your advice.

Hi, been using the M50x for a long time now and I've been having issues with using it for long periods (8-12hrs at a time). Outer ear hurts since the driver casing presses against it. I bought the HPAEC840 cushions and got the velour HPAEC940 instead which ruins the sound for me, can't return though sadly. Same with the BrainWavz HM5, comfy but ruins the audio. So I'm looking for comfy open back headphones. I don't do professional audio editing but neutral sounding ones are best. (coming from the bass boosted M50x) Budget is $200, I've checked the Audio Boards' list and r/headphones google sites assistant, can't really figure out which one I want so keep the list simple if you have suggestions! Thanks

I'm thinking of upgrading my Sony RF985RK headphones. I won't need to buy an amp with the headphones (probably) as I've got a onkyo tx-nr414 (for my speakers) and u phoria umc202hd (for my mic). I'm thinking of either the beyerdynamic dt 990 pro or akg k701. Are there other headphones worth looking at?

I am looking for a good gaming headset or headphone with (mod)mic combination. I am kinda lost in all the different opinions. A lot of people seem to be recommending Cloud 2, but there are also alot of people claiming they are garbage compared to some headphones like m50. However M50 seems to have a bad soundstage which is not what you want when gaming. When it comes to wired vs wireless, quality is more important compared convenience to me. Seems to me wired>wireless in terms of audio quality. What i am looking for is a headset/headphone with fairly good bass and a good soundstage under € 200,-. I am mainly gaming and listening a lot of music in which i like a good bass. EDIT: i prefer over-ear cups and noise isolation. My previous headset was a Logitech G430 which broke. I was hoping you guys could help me out here.

The most I will spend is $125, I don't want to get a DAC. I just want an entry level open back, over the ear pair. Whats a fantastic pair of open back, over the ear headphones for the price?

Hey Guys. For a long time i was set on purchasing a pair of ATH-M50X headphones for my first high-end and overall premium experience setup. I've seen many reviews on those headphones celebrating them and congratulating those who bought them so i was extremely sure they would fit my needs to any extent possible. my high-end new setup will allow me to game with maximum graphics and an overall beautiful experience, i also am addicted to electronic music (Trap,Progressive House etc.) so i was definitely excited to get one of those over-ear premium headphones. But for the last 1-2 months i've been getting many bad reviews on them and so many people have told me to go open-back over-ear that i couldn't get the M50X and had to consider a different headset for myself. Many people recommended the Massdrop AKG K7XX headphones because of how comfortable they are (long use), Soundstage (Gaming - Movies) and decent Bass (EDM) but some people say they are definitely not be used for electronic music and streaming and more for some 5.1 gaming and clean accurate mixing-mastering. My question is are AKG K7XX compatible and sound good with electronic music ? and are they also good with my other uses (Gaming,Movies,Streaming,Comfort) ? Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions.

Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro or AKG K612 Pro? Backstory: Im having some difficulties pin pointing enemy footsteps in csgo with my HyperX Cloud (original), when the enemy comes close it sounds like they are just behind me even if they are in front of me. And Im getting really annoyed doubting that wherever i heard something behind me or not. TL;DR Sound positioning is piss poor on closed back headphones. So since Im considering a PC upgrade (ye, I still havent fucking bought the damn thing) i would like to upgrade my auditory experience as well...again (upgraded to HyperX Cloud from Siberia V2). Use: Replacement gaming headset (gonna put a modmic on it). After watching tek syndicate's video i got it down to the Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro and the AKG K612 Pro (but i will include prices for the HD558 as reference). Budget: 1000-1500kr (100-150€) Prices: Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro: 1395kr (140€) AKG K612 Pro: 1295kr (130€) Sennheiser HD558: 1290kr (130€) I have considered other headphones aswell like the Audio Technica ATH-AD700X, Sennheiser HD558, Sennheiser HD600 and the AKG K702 but most of them were to expensive but the exception was the HD558 but i heard they were overrated(?) and it has the identical price of the AKG K612 Pro.

All pictures taken with Lumia 950XL in a badly lit room. This is my first review btw so please forgive me for any mistakes. Also english is not my first language. So I browsed through the LTT audio subforum earlier this month and I saw @Kloaked thread asking about Status Audio headphones, specifically the SM-OB1. He ended up getting the Superlux HD681-Evo instead but my interest piqued with Status Audio offerings, especially with their price and the warranty they offered, so I ordered the SM-OB1 myself. I’ve never owned any open back headphones before and my daily driver is a pair of Shure SE215 LTD so it’ll be interesting to compare between these two. Owh, the price is £52.50 at time of purchase which is about $73 including shipping. (20% discount by using code on the website) (It shipped from UK btw) The packaging is really simple and it only comes with extra 1/4 inch adaptor. Build quality My first impression when I unboxed it was how noticeable the headphones weight was. Seriously it feels really solid and sturdy, reminds me of Shure SRH840 kind of sturdy. Weigh almost the same too. Headband is made out of metal with some kind of soft thin pvc layer covering the top part, and soft memory foam for padding. The ear cups are cloth (removable),deep (barely touching my somewhat small but protruding ears) and nicely padded, comfortable enough to be used while wearing glasses. The headband adjustment has a really satisfying click. Me wearing the headphones. The driver body has steel grill with plastic linings. I can't even tell which parts of it are metal or plastic just because it feels weighty and cold to touch. Can't say enough how sturdy the headphone is. Cable is thick, pretty long (around 3m I think) and non removable. The jack has metal body with a spring cable strain relief. Sound quality I only have the Shure SE215 LTD I own and some faint memory of testing Shure SRH840 and SRH1540 (my dream headphone) at Selfridges and various stores I can compare with/based on. First thing first, this thing leak sound like a proper open back headphones. I could place it flat on the table or hold the open rear side near to my ear and still be able to listen any songs played through it clearly. I'm not that well versed to describe the sound in audio terms but I can say that it sounds almost like my SE215 LTD and SRH1540 but with wider soundstage (obviously), bass are not as pronounced as SE215 but very well controlled (it'll still get boom boom enough if I crank up the volume), highs are a touch clearer/crisper than SE215 (which I find the SE215 somewhat lacking for my taste), and the mids are probably the same or just slightly recessed. But in my mind, the sound signature genuinely reminds me of SRH1540 but airier (correct me if I'm wrong). I listen to variety of songs but mostly rock genre. Here are some of the bands/singers I tested with the SM-OB1. Songs are either from my own high quality cd rip/digital download collection or Spotify Premium. Tested using ITunes and Spotify on RMBP. All eq are set to flat/off. Circa Survive (local) - If any of you ever listened to this band, they have a really complex instruments playing and with this headphone, I'm listening to instruments I've never really noticed before. Lifehouse (local) - Jason's Wade fantastic guitar sounded much crisper and his voice is also clearer. My favourite band btw. Sia (local) - It fells like she's singing straight into my soul. LOL. But seriously, listening to her older album 'We Are Born -2010' was a real joy as her unique raspy, high cute voice sounded much more mellow and natural and the bass in some of her more upbeat songs are really uplifting. Better than my SE215 for sure. The Corrs (spotify) - Had to use spotify because I couldn't play the flac files I own on ITunes, but I do know their unplugged album is really good and this time, it feels like I'm at the concert. Andrea's voice and Sharon's violin really came alive and I can clearly pickup the backing orchestra play too. Other bands tested: Third Eye Blind, Thornley, Switchfoot, Submersed, David Cook and many more. (non of the mainstream pop stuffs sorry) One thing I gotta say, even though it is an open back headphone, I'm surprised that it is not shy on bass when it needs to be but not too overwhelming either. In my opinion after 8 hours straight using it, I can safely say I prefer it more than my Shure SE215 LTD, BUT only for home listening in my totally quiet room. Conclusion £52.50 absolutely well spent even though it was an impulse buy. I think my desire to get the SRH1540 might finally start to wane off after getting this headphone (until I have the money to buy one because it's so expensive here LOL). Time will tell if the headphone build will last but I'm a really careful person anyway. I think this headphone is really good for the kind of music genres I listen to. I totally recommend anyone on budget and wanted to try open back headphones to try this pair. Feel free to ask me anything in the thread except technical audio stuffs. LOL Link to the website: http://thestatusaudio.com I would like to thank @Kloaked for bringing up the headphone brand in the forum (never heard of the brand ever prior to that) and I actually followed your review formatting so I hope you don't mind.

My current daily driver headphones are a pair of Focal Spirit Ones. They sound really good but because of their closed back design they hurt my head after wearing them for extended periods of time. Any suggestions for a good set of open back headphones? Preferably under 200 dollars. Thanks. http://www.focal.com/en/mobile-headphones/510-spirit-one-s.html

Hey guys first time poster, so I'd like to know what some of the best sub 100$ headphones are. I much prefer over ear, and would really appreciate some suggestions! Thanks in advance Karpath

Hey everyone, I was looking at improving the audio quality of my setup, right now I am using a pair of Kingston Hyper-X Cloud's with my ASUS Maximus Ranger's built in audio. Before that, I tried a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50's, but found the sound quality to be really mediocre and didn't live up at all to the massive M50 hype. I would like some open back headphones that are £150 or under, possibly a teeny tiny bit more if they are really worth it. I'm also looking at the Modmic 4.0 as a replacement to my Cloud's built in mic. Before that I used the Zalman clip on mic which I found to be absolutely awful to use - clunky, sounded rubbish, and broke relatively quickly. Desktop mics, unless really good quality for the money, are not preferred as they would pick up my brown switches too much. The main pair of headphones I've had my eye on are the Sennheiser HD 558's, as well as the Audio Technica ATH-AD700X's (currently low on stock and quite overpriced on Amazon). The main uses for these headphones would be gaming, talking to people online, and listening to music (if it helps, genres I listen to are are mostly Progressive Rock and 80's Rock/Pop, stuff like Genesis, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, etc.). Would I need any kind of AMP/DAC to go with it? I'm happy to buy one in addition but I'm not going to spend more than the headphone's price on one - main ones I was looking at were the FiiO E10K (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LP3AMC2) and Syba USB AMP/DAC (amazon.co.uk/dp/B009WN7QT4). So, can anyone advice me of any other recommendations on a £150 and under headphones, recommentations on a mic, and if I would need an AMP/DAC and which one. Also let me know if I would just be wasting my money on the whole thing and the Clouds would sound about the same. Thanks in advance

I bought a pair of Audio Technica ATH M20x's little over a week ago that replaced my old Sennheiser HD-202s. I did look around for the Superlux HD668b's (as recommended by tek syndicate) but they weren't available in my region. After i saw the Samson SR850s on sale and did a little bit of digging, i found they were a re-brand of the aforementioned '668bs. They are currently available for far cheaper than the m20x's, Which ones sound better? (objectively) and is returning/selling my m20x's a good idea?