Best closed headphones between these 4 top recommended

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1 hour ago, aithos said:

There is nothing wrong with purchasing a $85-100 amp/dac, and anyone who says it won't make much of a different just plain doesn't know what they are talking about.  Would you get better performance with a nicer unit?  Sure, but it really depends on your use and what you can afford.  Most on-board sound isn't even isolated from the other components in the system and is often not even giving you adequate levels of power for basic gaming headsets, let alone HD headphones. 

 

As for only getting a benefit from $300+ headphones...that's complete nonsense too.  I have a pair of Sennheiser gaming headphones (PC350) that are nowhere NEAR as good as any of my over-ear HD headphones and when I went from standard on-board sound to HD on-board there was a huge difference.  Then when I got a separate amp/dac there was again a HUGE difference in quality.  I can tell when I'm using a $50 pair of ear-buds or just cheap apple ones. 

 

Is there a bigger difference with the nicer units?  Absolutely.  However, it's there even with less expensive gear and if you want my honest opinion I'd almost recommend getting a decent amp/dac and an average pair of headphones over the reverse.  In the long run a good amp/dac will serve you better because you can upgrade headphones without additional cost, and a good unit will last you a LONG time even if your tastes in headphones changes.  As an aside though, the HD598s aren't closed-back... they are open and will have substantially more ambient noise than something like the DT-770 so I just thought you should be aware that you're not comparing apples to apples. 

 

If you really want some badass closed headphones then saving for a pair of Fostex TH-X00 from Massdrop should be your goal.  They run in the $400-500 range but will absolutely blow anything else you've mentioned out of the water and they look absolutely fantastic with hardwood ear-cups in mahogany, purpleheart or ebony (from least to most expensive).  With that being said it's more like a $700-1000 purchase because you really want a good amp to run them (Schiit stack, o2+odac, or Grace Design M9XX would be my recommendations).

 

Oh, and if you look at open headphones you should consider the AKG K7XX from Massdrop, they are one of the best pairs I've heard in the $200 range and are phenomenal for sound-stage.  They are a very neutral pair of headphones so they can pair well with just about any amp sound, however, despite being low impedance they are NOT easy to run.  They are very power hungry and will do best with a GOOD amp/dac like the ones I mentioned above, I do not recommend using them with on-board at all because you will be very disappointed as they sound like crap.