Headphone Recommendations for all Categories and all Prices

[Frugivore8894]

*This is a work in progress and some links may not work.

I am sad to say this is on hold for a undetermined amount of time. Don't expect updates for quite a while.

There are some old headphone recommendations threads, but they are old and the threads were not focused on headphones specifically.

Changelog 0.1.4

• Finally, semi revised the “Over-ear weird” category. 

  • Separate categories for open and closed are coming just not yet

• Added more reviews 

• Finally got rid of the crappy beats 

• YOU CAN’T KILL THIS THREAD

How it’s organized

This is organized from least expensive to most expensive. In-ear (Earbuds) on-ear and then over-ear. Wired will come first then part wired (if an option exists for that kind of headphone) then fully wireless. I will give three options for each category, budget, middle ground, high-end, and sometimes ultra high-end. I will give one or more examples for each price.  All links go to the manufacturer website (Excluding Drop exclusives)

 

Generally, budget means under 100, Middle ground means 100-200-ish, High-end means 300-1000, and Ultra high-end is 1000+. All prices are based on US dollars (USD)

 

Wired In-ear

• Budget: Monoprice Enhanced Bass Noise Isolating Earbuds Headphones                         

  • Good lows but mushy highs

• Middle ground: Final E4000

  • Used these for almost 3 years before the cable broke. Sound absolutely fantastic for the mid-range price and have great base.

• High-end: Sennheiser IE 40 PRO  

  • Review 1       Review 2

• Ultra high-end: Sennheiser IE 900 In-Ear Monitor Headphones         

 

Wireless in-ear                                                       

This is a small category mainly for running and other exercises

• Budget: Sony WI-C200

  • Review 1      Review 2

• Middle ground: Sony WI-C400

  • Review 1      Review 2

• High-end: Sony WI-1000XM2

  • Review 1       Review 2

 

Truly wireless In-ear

• Budget:  Jabra Elite 65t

  • Review 1      Review 2

• Middle ground: Samsung Galaxy Buds 2

  • Review 1       Review 2 

• Middle ground: Apple Airpods Gen 2

  • Review 1       Review 2

• Middle ground: Apple Airpods Gen 3

  • Review 1       Review 2

• High-end: Apple Airpods Pro 

  • Review 1        Review 2

    • I love mine but if you don't have an Apple device they are not as good.

• High-end: Sony WF-1000XM4

  • Review 1       Review 2 

 

Wired On-ear                                            

• Budget: Sony MDR-ZX110

• Middle ground: Sennheiser HD 25 light

  • Review 1       Review 2

• Middle Ground: Sennheiser HD 25 

• High-end: Audio-Technica ATH-M60X

 

Wireless On-ear

• Budget: Sound Blaster JAM V2

• Budget: Sony WH-CH510                                                         

  • I had these for about a year before I got my Airpods Pro. They are fine they sound decent and the battery is really good. Bad for people like me that have glasses the padding just isn’t up to scratch.

• Budget: Sennheiser HD 250BT                                                 

• Middle ground: Jabra Elite 45h

• High-end: V-MODA XS BoomPro

• High-end: Bowers & Wilkins PX5

 

Over-ear wired

This is where you get to the audiophile stuff and I am not going to include all of that ridiculous stuff am putting one ultra high-end and that's it. Also, be aware that some of these need amps, DACs, and other equipment to get the full potential out of them. 

• Budget: AKG K52

• Budget: Samson SR850

• Middle ground: Senheiser HD 569

• Middle ground: Sony MDR-7506

  • Review 1

    • My dad has had these for as long as I can remember and he loves them. He uses them for editing, watching movies, listening to music, and daily use for work. I have also tried them they are fairly light and comfy but for someone with glasses, they just don’t have quite enough padding. They sound pretty good and have a long coiled cable. My dad is a bit of an audiophile but he doesn’t like to spend too much on gear so these are a great option for people like that. And as a bonus, you get the cool retro sony professional logo. 

• Middle ground: Drop x Senheiser HD 58x jubilee

  • I did a ton of research (probably around 5-6 hours) for myself and I thought I might as well share it. So I started with what was previously here, the Sennheiser HD 560s which are a great pair of headphones but I wasn’t sure given the fact that the whole 500 series seems to be a subjective group and everyone likes a different pair. So I did some (many hours) of googling and asking questions on Reddit (r/headphoneadvice is a great place to ask questions). And I came out with two new leads, the Drop x Sennheiser HD 6xx and the Drop x Senheiser HD 58x Jublee. So one Reddit question later and I was enlightened with the knowledge that they are basically the same headphone but the 58x has a newer revision of the same driver and is half the resistance. So there is basically no reason to buy the $50 usd more 6xx other than the color and vary slight reduction in noise leak. So In conclusion don’t buy any of the open backs from the 500 series. The 58x is less than the price of the 560s and they are better. This is just my research when/if (i am still not sure if I am going to pay up) I get them I will actually review them. I might make a video given the size of this without a real review. 

• High-end: Sennheiser 600

• High-end: beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro

• Ultra high-end: Sennheiser HD 820

 

Over-ear wireless

• Budget: Mpow 059

  • Had these for quite a while, sounded alright, rattly base and muddy lows and highs, for the $20 they cost it’s a great deal

• Budget: Soundcore by Anker Q30

• Budget: Mixcder E9 ANC

• Middle ground: Audio-Technica ATH-SR50BTBK

• High-end: Sony WH-1000XM4

 

I hope this list helps people find something that's right for them. I would still recommend doing some research on your own before buying but this should give you a good starting place to jump off into the world of buying and audio products. If any links break or if you have a suggestion just comment and I will edit the post. I would love some feedback to make this even better to use. As time goes on I will add and remove products as new ones are released and old ones die. 

 

Edited January 22, 2022 by Frugivore8894
On hold for a while.

[Hewie]

For Wired over ear, I'd recommend a strong amp for almost all of these and some are very difficult to drive!

[rice guru]

Lol I immediately don't trust a list that has ray-cons on it.

[Frugivore8894]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

Lol I immediately don't trust a list that has ray-cons on it.

Yah I didn't want to find a better budget option so I though them on I will make some changes later today. for now its TBD

[LogicalDrm]

@Frugivore8894, I have removed all affiliation codes from your links. Posting links with affiliation codes that aren't for LMG is not allowed. Please beware of this when linking to products on store pages in future (personally I would link to brands own product page where possible for neutral and non-geolocation based option). As a result, some links may not work.

 

As note about pinning. Any lists made by single member are highly based on personal preference. Unless you give very strict line that list follows (for example Cooling tier list which is purely about performance and based on reviews). Best for X budget is your personal opinion, unless you provide several reviews that will have same products at same places. Pinning request is under review.

[Frugivore8894]

1 hour ago, LogicalDrm said:

@Frugivore8894, I have removed all affiliation codes from your links. Posting links with affiliation codes that aren't for LMG is not allowed. Please beware of this when linking to products on store pages in future (personally I would link to brands own product page where possible for neutral and non-geolocation based option). As a result, some links may not work.

 

As note about pinning. Any lists made by single member are highly based on personal preference. Unless you give very strict line that list follows (for example Cooling tier list which is purely about performance and based on reviews). Best for X budget is your personal opinion, unless you provide several reviews that will have same products at same places. Pinning request is under review.

Thx for the info. I didn't notice they were affiliate links sorry about that. I am deferentially going to put reviews in for all of the products that I can and links to the makers site as well. 

[tikker]

7 hours ago, Frugivore8894 said:

I would love some feed back to make this even better to use.

My first recommendation will be to replace vague terms like "budget", "middle ground" and "high-end" with actual budget ranges. Saying "budget" doesn't inform the reader what price bracket they should think of: dollar store cheapo? 50? 100? Secondly if you want people to put faith in the list, then

7 hours ago, Frugivore8894 said:

I am still a bit of a fanboy so there are going to be a lot of them on this list

doesn't do the best job of convincing people these are actually good picks.

 

It would also be nice if the list simply grows over time. No point in a list with only three options, because then it's just your top three. Same if you remove options. Maybe the local headphone gurus can help out. Some key characteristics for them would also be useful. Something like "bright", "V-shaped" or whatever.

 

[Frugivore8894]

2 minutes ago, tikker said:

My first recommendation will be to replace vague terms like "budget", "middle ground" and "high-end" with actual budget ranges. Saying "budget" doesn't inform the reader what price bracket they should think of: dollar store cheapo? 50? 100? Secondly if you want people to put faith in the list, then

doesn't do the best job of convincing people these are actually good picks.

 

It would also be nice if the list simply grows over time. No point in a list with only three options, because then it's just your top three. Same if you remove options. Maybe the local headphone gurus can help out. Some key characteristics for them would also be useful. Something like "bright", "V-shaped" or whatever.

 

On the fanboy thing yah I agree but I have to say they all deserve the spots they have. and yes I do plan on growing the list in the future. the reason I didn't do price ranges is it varies from category to category and I thought this was better but I can see what I can do. 

[Frugivore8894]

Thx for the great feed back so far its been super helpful.

Here is what's coming up in the future. Add reviews for as many products as I can (this will take some time), add a better price guide, fix all links, add manufactures site links, and keep adding to the list. 

This is going to take some time and I already have spend more then three hours on it today so consider this a work in progress. 

[tikker]

10 minutes ago, Frugivore8894 said:

On the fanboy thing yah I agree but I have to say they all deserve the spots they have. and yes I do plan on growing the list in the future. the reason I didn't do price ranges is it varies from category to category and I thought this was better but I can see what I can do. 

People are more often looking for "what can I get for $XXX" compared to "recommend me some high-end cans". Not sure which category-to-category variation you refer to. If you mean the headphone types, then of course. Each category will need its own specific price brackets (but all should be the same ranges imo). Generally there's also a trend concerning quality and price. You won't find a "high end" unit in the $0-$100 range, so variation there doesn't matter and while there can certainly be things with a questionable price-to-performance ratio, people will make the link to "high end" if they are looking at e.g. the $1000+ bracket.

[Frugivore8894]

Just now, tikker said:

People are more often looking for "what can I get for $XXX" compared to "recommend me some high-end cans". Not sure which category-to-category variation you refer to. If you mean the headphone types, then of course. Each category will need its own specific price brackets (but all should be the same ranges imo). Generally there's also a trend concerning quality and price. You won't find a "high end" unit in the $0-$100 range, so variation there doesn't matter.

yah its on my list i have to look at all of the links and maybe reviews to get it right. Probably going to do it tomorrow.

[HenrySalayne]

I would suggest to educate consumers as well. The WH-1000 and the 660s are completely different kinds of headphones for completely different usecases. But your categories suggest the only difference is wireless functionality. So you have to explain the difference between open and closed back headphones, ANC, and so on...

[The Flying Sloth]

 

10 hours ago, rice guru said:

Lol I immediately don't trust a list that has ray-cons on it.

You know how biased I am, I can't trust the list because there's no KZ 
 

[Frugivore8894]

1 hour ago, HenrySalayne said:

I would suggest to educate consumers as well. The WH-1000 and the 660s are completely different kinds of headphones for completely different usecases. But your categories suggest the only difference is wireless functionality. So you have to explain the difference between open and closed back headphones, ANC, and so on...

Ok I will add in info paragraph to each section. 

[Frugivore8894]

1 hour ago, The Flying Sloth said:

 

You know how biased I am, I can't trust the list because there's no KZ 
 

They look… interesting. But do they sound good? 

[The Flying Sloth]

4 hours ago, Frugivore8894 said:

They look… interesting. But do they sound good? 

For the price, imho, they do a damn good job.
I own the KZ ATE, ZS3, S1 (TWS) and SK10 (TWS) (along with the Kbear KS 2 which are very similar designs) and they're all good under different circumstances. The KS2 sit at my computer along with all my studio audio gear in case I need to check how a mix or anything else sounds on inears, the ZS3 are my gym earphones, the ATE  don't get so much use anymore but they used to be my daily drivers until I picked up the TWS pairs. SK10 are honestly the most comfortable inears (TWS or otherwise) I've ever used and the S1 (bought at launch) were my daily drivers for years and they did a damn fine job considering the price.

Like I said though, I'm completely biased because I love the brand and they are one of few brands that I actually have any loyalty towards after spending extensive time with the alternatives at a similar price range. By no means do I only have their products though, I've just found over much trial and error that KZ are a known quantity when it comes to purchasing and that I'm often dissapointed by purchases of alternatives.

 I'm no expert on outputs though, I leave that to Rice Guru and Derkoli, my experience is more solidly with inputs (I did up a guide on purchasing studio audio bits here a while ago, still update it every once in a while). 

[rice guru]

11 hours ago, The Flying Sloth said:

 

You know how biased I am, I can't trust the list because there's no KZ 
 

Yeah. Some new kz is definitely worth putting up for super cheap the kz edx is nice and for a bit more budget the kz ZAS pretty alright as well. I can't really say in the current market older kz favorites are good though.

[Frugivore8894]

6 hours ago, The Flying Sloth said:

For the price, imho, they do a damn good job.
I own the KZ ATE, ZS3, S1 (TWS) and SK10 (TWS) (along with the Kbear KS 2 which are very similar designs) and they're all good under different circumstances. The KS2 sit at my computer along with all my studio audio gear in case I need to check how a mix or anything else sounds on inears, the ZS3 are my gym earphones, the ATE  don't get so much use anymore but they used to be my daily drivers until I picked up the TWS pairs. SK10 are honestly the most comfortable inears (TWS or otherwise) I've ever used and the S1 (bought at launch) were my daily drivers for years and they did a damn fine job considering the price.

Like I said though, I'm completely biased because I love the brand and they are one of few brands that I actually have any loyalty towards after spending extensive time with the alternatives at a similar price range. By no means do I only have their products though, I've just found over much trial and error that KZ are a known quantity when it comes to purchasing and that I'm often dissapointed by purchases of alternatives.

 I'm no expert on outputs though, I leave that to Rice Guru and Derkoli, my experience is more solidly with inputs (I did up a guide on purchasing studio audio bits here a while ago, still update it every once in a while). 

 

11 minutes ago, rice guru said:

Yeah. Some new kz is definitely worth putting up for super cheap the kz edx is nice and for a bit more budget the kz ZAS pretty alright as well. I can't really say in the current market older kz favorites are good though.

Thx I will look at some reviews to see what are the right things to include and I will through it on. 

[IPD]

I wanna like this list, but you lost all credibility with me when I saw Beats and Apple on the list.  I wouldn't recommend visiting audiophile forums, they will tear you a new one.

 

p.s.

Sennheiser CX400BT, and a host of other options.  Anything other than powerbeats.

[Frugivore8894]

6 minutes ago, IPD said:

I wanna like this list, but you lost all credibility with me when I saw Beats and Apple on the list.  I wouldn't recommend visiting audiophile forums, they will tear you a new one.

Well you have to say what's true Airpods pro have great noise cancelling and sound good for in-ears. the beats I am working on finding something else right now. I am trying to make sure that I don't include beats but they do sound escapable so they are on the list for now. Fear not they will go soon.  Power beats are staying because they are good for the price and its a small category. I am sure I will find better at some point but that's not my priority. 

[Frugivore8894]

9 minutes ago, IPD said:

 

Sennheiser CX400BT, and a host of other options.  Anything other than powerbeats.

Ok fine I will make it a priority. 

[IPD]

I will put my Sennheiser Momentum's against your Airpods for ANC, audio quality, comfort, features, etc, etc, any day of the week.

 

There are really only 3 companies I trust for ANC.  Sony, Bose and Sennheiser.  And Bose is usually overpriced rubbish (outside of ANC).

[Frugivore8894]

You can't kill this thread lol. I am back and ready to start updating this again. I am still pretty busy but I committed to this and I am sticking to it. 

[Frugivore8894]

1 hour ago, IAmNotASmartMan said:

I absolutely adore my Sony Wh-1000xm4's, literally the best value for money I've ever spent. However, I would find it hard to describe them as the premium high end wireless headset because the quality of the sound is significantly worse than even my Astro A50's. Music sounds worse on the xm4's and it's far harder to locate sounds in a 3D gaming environment.

They only stand out so much to me due to the Active Noise Cancelling, a feature perhaps worthy of its own section? They are exceptionally comfortable and have a brilliant batttery life too.

Thx for the feed back I will make some changes in the next revision. 

[GamerDude]

For w/l on-the-go music appreciation, I'm using a pair of Buds2 and Sony WH1000 XM3, I'd not say that the sound is bad even when compared to my higher end cans, just tuned for a more general perception of enjoyable sound with punchier bass, though mids can be muddied with an overtuned bass, and highs are not as clear and sharp as it should be. I go for cans and IEM's that are more tuned for for clarity in mids and highs, with good voice tone (to my ears anyway), and yes, bass must have a certain presence but must not overwhelm the mids.

 

The guys are right when they'd mentioned KZ, they do have some budget IEM's that punch well above their weight class (or, more appropriately, their price level), same goes for many ChiFi IEM's like Senfer (I have the 4in1, love it so much, I'd gotten a 2nd pair just in case), as well as CCA, to name just three of many. I must add that I'd replaced all the stock ear tips with memory foam ones.

 

Just to prove I ain't fibbing, the two pairs of Senfer 4in1's are on the bottom left...

 

Missing in the pic is a TinHiFi P1, and a BGVP Zero....had actually forgotten about these two when I took the pic above.