Best headphones to get under 500

[cadabri]

I am looking to upgrade my desktop headset. I've been looking over the drop options, my one friend is saying that my best bet is to get the 6xxs, and that anything over wouldn't be really worth it. Is there anything better worth picking up? my top budget is about 500, including dac/amp. 

[Statik]

The 6xx and 58x are two of the best headsets, especially considering their price.

 

The big question is what are you using them for?

[cadabri]

Just now, Statik said:

The 6xx and 58x are two of the best headsets, especially considering their price.

 

The big question is what are you using them for?

Generally everything. Right now I have the Razer Nommo Pros and AKG k240. I do a lot of gaming so Id prefer them to stay comfortable over time, and obviously music

[Statik]

8 minutes ago, cadabri said:

Generally everything. Right now I have the Razer Nommo Pros and AKG k240. I do a lot of gaming so Id prefer them to stay comfortable over time, and obviously music

Audio is very specific. Especially when it comes to music. What type of music are listening to? What are you looking for? Something neutral, high end, low end, are you a bass head, etc?

[cadabri]

1 minute ago, Statik said:

Audio is very specific. Especially when it comes to music. What type of music are listening to? What are you looking for? Something neutral, high end, low end, are you a bass head, etc?

Generally EDM, but if I want stupid bass I have the speakers for that. I don't really have a particular lean for either way as far as I know yet

[Statik]

21 minutes ago, cadabri said:

Generally EDM, but if I want stupid bass I have the speakers for that. I don't really have a particular lean for either way as far as I know yet

Well from my understanding the 600 and 650s are great all around headphones, and will sound great, but they might be lacking in regards to EDM. You might want to consider something closed back?

 

I'd also suggest looking on the headphone advice sub reddit, or do some digging on the audiophile subreddit.

[rice guru]

On 5/8/2020 at 3:11 PM, cadabri said:

I am looking to upgrade my desktop headset. I've been looking over the drop options, my one friend is saying that my best bet is to get the 6xxs, and that anything over wouldn't be really worth it. Is there anything better worth picking up? my top budget is about 500, including dac/amp. 

for EDM I would generally ignore most senns. including the 650 and 600. the 660 and 58x for them is pretty decent but could still lack a desired amount of bass.  do you have any existing gear such as a DAC and AMP?

[cadabri]

20 hours ago, rice guru said:

for EDM I would generally ignore most beyers. including the 650 and 600. the 660 and 58x for them is pretty decent but could still lack a desired amount of bass.  do you have any existing gear such as a DAC and AMP?

I do not have any gear currently

[cadabri]

On 5/9/2020 at 12:28 AM, rice guru said:

for EDM I would generally ignore most beyers. including the 650 and 600. the 660 and 58x for them is pretty decent but could still lack a desired amount of bass.  do you have any existing gear such as a DAC and AMP?

 

On 5/8/2020 at 3:54 PM, Statik said:

Well from my understanding the 600 and 650s are great all around headphones, and will sound great, but they might be lacking in regards to EDM. You might want to consider something closed back?

 

I'd also suggest looking on the headphone advice sub reddit, or do some digging on the audiophile subreddit.

Would you then consider the 6xx a good headset for like studio monitors as a baseline? I do do some video editing and such, and I could use a balanced headset for that, so could it be a good idea to get the 6xx for a balanced level and another headset for bass specifically?

[Statik]

On 5/9/2020 at 12:28 AM, rice guru said:

for EDM I would generally ignore most beyers. including the 650 and 600. the 660 and 58x for them is pretty decent but could still lack a desired amount of bass.  do you have any existing gear such as a DAC and AMP?

How's your opinion on the 600 and 650 for hip hop? I think we've already discussed this before TBH, but I forget.

[rice guru]

4 hours ago, cadabri said:

 

Would you then consider the 6xx a good headset for like studio monitors as a baseline? I do do some video editing and such, and I could use a balanced headset for that, so could it be a good idea to get the 6xx for a balanced level and another headset for bass specifically?

6xx does pretty great as a studio monitor not the best though I definitely wouldnt use them for mixing they can be a bit too laid back for that to my ears. And going multiple headphones is a great idea I do that as well to cover different genres and use cases 

[rice guru]

1 minute ago, Statik said:

How's your opinion on the 600 and 650 for hip hop? I think we've already discussed this before TBH, but I forget.

The 660 and 58x and others  is much better for that purpose and generally don't even consider the 600 or 650 for any hip hop

[kokakolia]

For EDM get something planar like a HiFiman. Even the cheapest model won't disappoint. They're kinda heavy tho. 

[rice guru]

6 hours ago, kokakolia said:

For EDM get something planar like a HiFiman. Even the cheapest model won't disappoint. They're kinda heavy tho. 

I personally prefer closed back Dynamocs for edm  for more of that impact and bass slam but the quick planar driver is great if your trying to grasp detail in edm 

[kokakolia]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

I personally prefer closed back Dynamocs for edm  for more of that impact and bass slam but the quick planar driver is great if your trying to grasp detail in edm 

The quick planar driver is pure bliss with complex EDM tracks and fast metal. 

[cadabri]

16 hours ago, rice guru said:

6xx does pretty great as a studio monitor not the best though I definitely wouldnt use them for mixing they can be a bit too laid back for that to my ears. And going multiple headphones is a great idea I do that as well to cover different genres and use cases 

I don't know about neccicarily 'mixing' Just something good for video editing decently accurately. do you think the 6xx would be fine enough for gaming and everything else though? And just a dedicated for EDM?

[rice guru]

2 hours ago, cadabri said:

I don't know about neccicarily 'mixing' Just something good for video editing decently accurately. do you think the 6xx would be fine enough for gaming and everything else though? And just a dedicated for EDM?

I would be more comfortable reccomending the 58x as a all rounder as it is at least great for gaming and has a similar enough sound sig to the 6xx.   And has stock recent enough bass to be enjoyable for edm. In terms of performance in editing and production I rate them about the same. 

[cadabri]

45 minutes ago, rice guru said:

I would be more comfortable reccomending the 58x as a all rounder as it is at least great for gaming and has a similar enough sound sig to the 6xx.   And has stock recent enough bass to be enjoyable for edm. In terms of performance in editing and production I rate them about the same. 

Aren't the 6xxs just higher end versions of the 59x?

[rice guru]

43 minutes ago, cadabri said:

Aren't the 6xxs just higher end versions of the 59x?

Not the 58x is a re tuned version of the he 599 driver tuned to sound very close to the 660 so close in fact it's often called the budget 660. The 6xx is a 650 just rebranded and re titled. The 650 driver is a older but reliable driver. It has slightly better detail retention as the 58x but has less soundstage and much weaker imaging so technically worse for gaming. Italso has less bass leaning towards a slightly more neutral sound signature. But if you can afford to drop $500 and want a similar sound as  the 6xx or 650 I would personally buy the audio Technica r70x  it's basically sounds like the 650 but better has better detail,  clarity sounds better in the low end as well, and does a better job in the production end of things I feel.

[cadabri]

21 minutes ago, rice guru said:

Not the 58x is a re tuned version of the he 599 driver tuned to sound very close to the 660 so close in fact it's often called the budget 660. The 6xx is a 650 just rebranded and re titled. The 650 driver is a older but reliable driver. It has slightly better detail retention as the 58x but has less soundstage and much weaker imaging so technically worse for gaming. Italso has less bass leaning towards a slightly more neutral sound signature. But if you can afford to drop $500 and want a similar sound as  the 6xx or 650 I would personally buy the audio Technica r70x  it's basically sounds like the 650 but better has better detail,  clarity sounds better in the low end as well, and does a better job in the production end of things I feel.

Yeah, the r70x are a bit too expensive, especially if I am planning on getting two headphones plus amp and dac. I'm torn on which sennheiser to get though, after some research some people are saying that the 58x is more about the bass and lows, and has a bit more grain, while the 6xxs have higher detail in highs and such. I think If I plan on getting another bassey set of headphones, I may go with the 6xxs to cover more ground 

[rice guru]

15 minutes ago, cadabri said:

Yeah, the r70x are a bit too expensive, especially if I am planning on getting two headphones plus amp and dac. I'm torn on which sennheiser to get though, after some research some people are saying that the 58x is more about the bass and lows, and has a bit more grain, while the 6xxs have higher detail in highs and such. I think If I plan on getting another bassey set of headphones, I may go with the 6xxs to cover more ground 

Sure that's a pretty ok plan . Keep in mind I'm personally not the biggest fan of the 6xx anyway so I also have my biases. Also will have to reiterate the 6xx aren't that greatest for gaming and there are definitely other neutral cans like the dt 880 that does gaming much better and imo will do a better job at production work due to the less forgiving nature of it due to the more detail forward sound.

[cadabri]

18 minutes ago, rice guru said:

Sure that's a pretty ok plan . Keep in mind I'm personally not the biggest fan of the 6xx anyway so I also have my biases. Also will have to reiterate the 6xx aren't that greatest for gaming and there are definitely other neutral cans like the dt 880 that does gaming much better and imo will do a better job at production work due to the less forgiving nature of it due to the more detail forward sound.

Thanks! And which headphones would you reccomend for the EDM? What do you think of the Beyerdynamic DT 177X GO?

[rice guru]

1 minute ago, cadabri said:

Thanks! And which headphones would you reccomend for the EDM?

well depends on what your into for edm which is to me I like to use a more fun headphone for I quite like the fidelio x2 hr, lots of bass can be a bit muddy but really fun , the dt 770 is great for that as well lots of bass when needed nice amount of treble to make things really fun, meze 99 noir is also a good option. if you want more clarity and less fun the akg k371 is pretty good,  as brought up befor a planar like the he 4xx  is good really fast driver you get less impact but keepds things clean, if you want a fun planar you could go with an argonmk 3, a t60rp, or a dekoni blue.  

[cadabri]

4 minutes ago, rice guru said:

well depends on what your into for edm which is to me I like to use a more fun headphone for I quite like the fidelio x2 hr, lots of bass can be a bit muddy but really fun , the dt 770 is great for that as well lots of bass when needed nice amount of treble to make things really fun, meze 99 noir is also a good option. if you want more clarity and less fun the akg k371 is pretty good,  as brought up befor a planar like the he 4xx  is good really fast driver you get less impact but keepds things clean, if you want a fun planar you could go with an argonmk 3, a t60rp, or a dekoni blue.  

Out of those which is your personal favorite? The x2 hr? I think since the 6xxs are so clear I don't worry that much about the second pair being a bit more dirty. How would those hold up to gaming?

 

[cadabri]

7 minutes ago, rice guru said:

well depends on what your into for edm which is to me I like to use a more fun headphone for I quite like the fidelio x2 hr, lots of bass can be a bit muddy but really fun , the dt 770 is great for that as well lots of bass when needed nice amount of treble to make things really fun, meze 99 noir is also a good option. if you want more clarity and less fun the akg k371 is pretty good,  as brought up befor a planar like the he 4xx  is good really fast driver you get less impact but keepds things clean, if you want a fun planar you could go with an argonmk 3, a t60rp, or a dekoni blue.  

Also, how much does the fact that the x2 has open back affect the bass vs the closed back options?