What's the best option for good budget open back?

[Poraf]

I'm planning on getting my first open back headphones. I've done some researching and I'm down to these options, Kph30i, Philips SHP9500/9600, and Hifiman HE400SE. I'm leaning towards the Hifiman HE400SE since they're on sale in my country for $94USD (converted) around the same price as an SHP9600, but I'm not sure if my amp can power them. But I'm also still tempted to get the Kph30i since they're the cheapest and can run without an amp, and people seem to love them, but how are they compared to the other two?

 

Any insights are highly appreciated.

[Aereldor]

What have you got for an amp? I'd just get the Hifimans  honestly, they sound miles better than the others even without an amp

[CTR640]

Where are you from and what's the currency used there? USD is not the only one currency just for your information

[Poraf]

55 minutes ago, soundlogic said:

What have you got for an amp? I'd just get the Hifimans  honestly, they sound miles better than the others even without an amp

Thanks! I have a cheap chinese mobile dac amp, I'm not sure if they're enough to power the Hifimans. They're pretty ok so far, but I've never had headphones that needed an amp before.

 

57 minutes ago, CTR640 said:

Where are you from and what's the currency used there? USD is not the only one currency just for your information

I'm from the Philippines and we use Philippine peso.

[Aereldor]

23 hours ago, Poraf said:

Thanks! I have a cheap chinese mobile dac amp, I'm not sure if they're enough to power the Hifimans. They're pretty ok so far, but I've never had headphones that needed an amp before.

 

I'm from the Philippines and we use Philippine peso.

Should be more than enough actually

[rice guru]

On 12/16/2021 at 2:52 PM, Poraf said:

I'm planning on getting my first open back headphones. I've done some researching and I'm down to these options, Kph30i, Philips SHP9500/9600, and Hifiman HE400SE. I'm leaning towards the Hifiman HE400SE since they're on sale in my country for $94USD (converted) around the same price as an SHP9600, but I'm not sure if my amp can power them. But I'm also still tempted to get the Kph30i since they're the cheapest and can run without an amp, and people seem to love them, but how are they compared to the other two?

 

Any insights are highly appreciated.

I honestly would spend a bit more. The hifimons honestly are hard to recommend as a starter headphone. And spending a bit more on like a beyerdynamoc tygr or a HD 560s is way worth it for open backs. But if you want a taste the Koss kph30i and Koss KSC 75 are great. I honestly prefer them over the shp9500 and probably even my he4xx which I need my liquid platinum to make sound good.

 

 

[CTR640]

2 hours ago, rice guru said:

I honestly would spend a bit more. The hifimons honestly are hard to recommend as a starter headphone. And spending a bit more on like a beyerdynamoc tygr or a HD 560s is way worth it for open backs. But if you want a taste the Koss kph30i and Koss KSC 75 are great. I honestly prefer them over the shp9500 and probably even my he4xx which I need my liquid platinum to make sound good.

 

 

I'd rather get the Tygr because much pleasant sound and comfort. The HD560S has crappy soundstage and fatiguing highs. 

[Poraf]

9 hours ago, rice guru said:

I honestly would spend a bit more. The hifimons honestly are hard to recommend as a starter headphone. And spending a bit more on like a beyerdynamoc tygr or a HD 560s is way worth it for open backs. But if you want a taste the Koss kph30i and Koss KSC 75 are great. I honestly prefer them over the shp9500 and probably even my he4xx which I need my liquid platinum to make sound good.

 

 

 

6 hours ago, CTR640 said:

I'd rather get the Tygr because much pleasant sound and comfort. The HD560S has crappy soundstage and fatiguing highs. 

Alright thanks for these! Unfortunately the Tygrs are still not sold as standalone headphones and the set with the microphone costs 4x more than the HE400se or shp9600. But I'm now considering the Kph30i instead, I'm just concerned with their build quality, but thanks again!

[rice guru]

1 minute ago, Poraf said:

 

Alright thanks for these! Unfortunately the Tygrs are still not sold as standalone headphones and the set with the microphone costs 4x more than the HE400se or shp9600. But I'm now considering the Kph30i instead, I'm just concerned with their build quality, but thanks again!

Yeah build quality kinda sucks. I sampled mine recently out of 2 years of fairly light use. But it snapped cause I stepped on it sadly. 

[CTR640]

2 hours ago, Poraf said:

 

Alright thanks for these! Unfortunately the Tygrs are still not sold as standalone headphones and the set with the microphone costs 4x more than the HE400se or shp9600. But I'm now considering the Kph30i instead, I'm just concerned with their build quality, but thanks again!

Beyerdynamic seem to have issues with logistic. I wonder if this stupid fucking pandemic bullcrap has to do with it.

[Entropy.]

20 hours ago, Poraf said:

 

Alright thanks for these! Unfortunately the Tygrs are still not sold as standalone headphones and the set with the microphone costs 4x more than the HE400se or shp9600. But I'm now considering the Kph30i instead, I'm just concerned with their build quality, but thanks again!

kph30i has pretty mediocre build quality, but it's light, comes with a long warranty (but you may need to pay shipping to get it fixed in the us.... which is a pepehands). How much is the hd560s for you? It's a compelling option as well, imo. He400se might be better in the longer run, especially if you perhaps want to dive in a little deeper, but the hd560s's are solid, they can run on pretty much nothing but sheer will, and measure ruler flat- if you're concerned with listening to music "how the artist intended" or if you're getting into any fields of work related to sound, they could have the edge over the he400se for you. 

[Poraf]

11 hours ago, Entropy. said:

kph30i has pretty mediocre build quality, but it's light, comes with a long warranty (but you may need to pay shipping to get it fixed in the us.... which is a pepehands). How much is the hd560s for you? It's a compelling option as well, imo. He400se might be better in the longer run, especially if you perhaps want to dive in a little deeper, but the hd560s's are solid, they can run on pretty much nothing but sheer will, and measure ruler flat- if you're concerned with listening to music "how the artist intended" or if you're getting into any fields of work related to sound, they could have the edge over the he400se for you. 

Unfortunately the HD560s cost $240 where I'm from, I think it might be because of import costs.

[Imbadatnames]

HD599 can be found for around that on sale 

[Psittac]

If you want to go pure budget and unparalleled bang for the buck go with kph30icl or any variant along with Knock off Grado pads.  Honestly I could be perfectly happy with this setup if I had to suddenly sell everything else.  The first time I did the pad mod on my headphones I did nothing but listen to them for several hours and eventually called a friend of mine and went to his house, handed him the headphones and said here you go.  I was so excited at how affordable and how nostalgic of a sound they gave that I just really wanted someone else to enjoy it as well, and I don't think I could have taken them off any other way.  I got them for christmas presents and a couple people still use them regularly to this day.  They are truly the best $40 you can spend in the audio world (including pads).

 

 

[Poraf]

Thanks, I think I'm sold on the Kph30i and the pad mod, I guess I'll just have to be extra careful with its build and hope it don't break on me.

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, Poraf said:

Thanks, I think I'm sold on the Kph30i and the pad mod, I guess I'll just have to be extra careful with its build and hope it don't break on me.

if ou want something a little less ricuolous I personally think the yaxi pad mod sounds better than the grado one and it puts less stress on the headband

[Psittac]

On 12/22/2021 at 1:55 PM, Poraf said:

Thanks, I think I'm sold on the Kph30i and the pad mod, I guess I'll just have to be extra careful with its build and hope it don't break on me.

They're pretty strong, my friend gave them to his 5 year old and they lasted almost a year in his hands.  Mine didn't break until I rolled my arse over on them on me bed trying to reach something (full body weight).  I've been going to bed with them on for month's and they had no problems.  Honestly they'll probably put up with more abuse than most headphones.

 

On 12/22/2021 at 3:44 PM, rice guru said:

if ou want something a little less ricuolous I personally think the yaxi pad mod sounds better than the grado one and it puts less stress on the headband

Yeah they do look ridiculous but man, the sound improvement is worth it, the headphones just come to life with the pad swap.  I should get some yaxi pads just so I know what they sound like.