Which over the ear headphones??

T

Trunksleo

Audioholic Intern
Hi, im looking to change my headphones. Now i have a creative aurvana live 2. My budget its up to 200u$s. I want over the ear and closed ones.

Which do you recommend? Its a good upgrade going for the audiotechnica 40x? Or the beyerdynamic 770 (80 ohms)

I will use it with my phone lg g7 and tidal (mqa)

Enviado desde mi LM-G710 mediante Tapatalk
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
Hi, im looking to change my headphones. Now i have a creative aurvana live 2. My budget its up to 200u$s. I want over the ear and closed ones.

Which do you recommend? Its a good upgrade going for the audiotechnica 40x? Or the beyerdynamic 770 (80 ohms)

I will use it with my phone lg g7 and tidal (mqa)

Enviado desde mi LM-G710 mediante Tapatalk
Massdrop Sennheiser 6xx
 
tyhjaarpa

tyhjaarpa

Audioholic Field Marshall
Hi, im looking to change my headphones. Now i have a creative aurvana live 2. My budget its up to 200u$s. I want over the ear and closed ones.

Which do you recommend? Its a good upgrade going for the audiotechnica 40x? Or the beyerdynamic 770 (80 ohms)

I will use it with my phone lg g7 and tidal (mqa)

Enviado desde mi LM-G710 mediante Tapatalk
DT770 are most likely best bet in that price range.

Edit: You might want to consider the 32Ohm version for mobile though.
Massdrop Sennheiser 6xx
Those are great cans but he is looking for closed back.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
DT770 are most likely best bet in that price range.

Edit: You might want to consider the 32Ohm version for mobile though.

Those are great cans but he is looking for closed back.
My mistake, good catch! The Senns are open back.

I would personally avoid the AT, I had a set of the 50 and I think these tend to be over-praised. They did sound good on "most" material, but I found several tracks that showed the flaws on those headphones.

I have never heard a beyerdynamic, but I often see them praised.

Just to give another option to explore, see below. I have never heard this model, but I have been pleased with the AKG cans that I do have (845BT and 7xx).

 
Hench4Life

Hench4Life

Junior Audioholic
I'll assume there's a reason you want closed headphones. Typically I've found that for music, open or slightly open can have greater dynamics, but that's a pretty broad brush. I've used closed for decades, but not strictly music.

Drop has the Meze 99 Noir for $200 even. If these really are the Classic with less bling (and less sexy wood finish), then that's a pretty good deal. I was pretty impressed with the Classic back when I heard them, but it's been too long now to remember specifics. I think there's a few zillion reviews of these on YT. I think the Classic started out around $400, and is still $300 at many resellers.

Also worth checking is the $150 Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, which is a new build of a classic. These used to be really well regarded, no doubt there's plenty of reviews on YT. Tank like build and fold up nice. The M40x is similar, and $50 less, but much leaner as you'd expect.

One I can also give a thumbs-up to is the Fostex T40RP mk3 series. They come in open, semi-open and closed. I've heard the open only, and thought they were extremely articulate for the price. Can't vouch for the closed, but assume they're voiced as closely as possible. Fostex and I go way back.

One more is the $150 AKG K371. All of my editing work is on AKG, I love the things. This set is a totally different design than what I'm used to from AKG, a departure from their sort of floating headband. So I can't vouch for comfort. If you're ok with semi-open (as I said, I use them for video/audio editing and don't find outside interference an issue) then these are excellent - the $150 AKG K240 mk2.

Finally, good old Sennheiser does make some closed models. IMHO, their 6xx is a classic and tough to beat for 4X the price. I have no idea how their closed models sound, but again, probably lots of reviews on YT. $150 Sennheiser HD25.
 
Last edited:
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
I'll assume there's a reason you want closed headphones. Typically I've found that for music, open or slightly open can have greater dynamics, but that's a pretty broad brush. I've used closed for decades, but not strictly music.

Drop has the Meze 99 Noir for $200 even. If these really are the Classic with less bling (and less sexy wood finish), then that's a pretty good deal. I was pretty impressed with the Classic back when I heard them, but it's been too long now to remember specifics. I think there's a few zillion reviews of these on YT. I think the Classic started out around $400, and is still $300 at many resellers.

Also worth checking is the $150 Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, which is a new build of a classic. These used to be really well regarded, no doubt there's plenty of reviews on YT. Tank like build and fold up nice. The M40x is similar, and $50 less, but much leaner as you'd expect.

One I can also give a thumbs-up to is the Fostex T40RP mk3 series. They come in open, semi-open and closed. I've heard the open only, and thought they were extremely articulate for the price. Can't vouch for the closed, but assume they're voiced as closely as possible. Fostex and I go way back.

One more is the $150 AKG K371. All of my editing work is on AKG, I love the things. This set is a totally different design than what I'm used to from AKG, a departure from their sort of floating headband. So I can't vouch for comfort. If you're ok with semi-open (as I said, I use them for video/audio editing and don't find outside interference an issue) then these are excellent - the $150 AKG K240 mk2.

Finally, good old Sennheiser does make some closed models. IMHO, their 6xx is a classic and tough to beat for 4X the price. I have no idea how their closed models sound, but again, probably lots of reviews on YT. $150 Sennheiser HD25.
Lots of good info for cans that typically haven't been on my radar, seen them but not paid much attention.

@Trunksleo
Note--When it comes to headphones, COMFORT is the most important factor. The best sounding headphones available are completely useless if they become uncomfortable after 20 minutes.
 
Hench4Life

Hench4Life

Junior Audioholic
Lots of good info for cans that typically haven't been on my radar, seen them but not paid much attention.

@Trunksleo
Note--When it comes to headphones, COMFORT is the most important factor. The best sounding headphones available are completely useless if they become uncomfortable after 20 minutes.
That's the tough part. Some headphones work well for most people (Sennheisers in general), the lighter the better. The sealed cans tend to be heavier by necessity, and often also have a tighter fit. Materials make a huge difference which is probably why 3rd party pads do so well. Nothing worse than a ring of sweat around your ears after an hour! Like anything you wear, it's best if you can try them out before committing.
 
tyhjaarpa

tyhjaarpa

Audioholic Field Marshall
I'll assume there's a reason you want closed headphones. Typically I've found that for music, open or slightly open can have greater dynamics, but that's a pretty broad brush. I've used closed for decades, but not strictly music.

Drop has the Meze 99 Noir for $200 even. If these really are the Classic with less bling (and less sexy wood finish), then that's a pretty good deal. I was pretty impressed with the Classic back when I heard them, but it's been too long now to remember specifics. I think there's a few zillion reviews of these on YT. I think the Classic started out around $400, and is still $300 at many resellers.

Also worth checking is the $150 Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, which is a new build of a classic. These used to be really well regarded, no doubt there's plenty of reviews on YT. Tank like build and fold up nice. The M40x is similar, and $50 less, but much leaner as you'd expect.

One I can also give a thumbs-up to is the Fostex T40RP mk3 series. They come in open, semi-open and closed. I've heard the open only, and thought they were extremely articulate for the price. Can't vouch for the closed, but assume they're voiced as closely as possible. Fostex and I go way back.

One more is the $150 AKG K371. All of my editing work is on AKG, I love the things. This set is a totally different design than what I'm used to from AKG, a departure from their sort of floating headband. So I can't vouch for comfort. If you're ok with semi-open (as I said, I use them for video/audio editing and don't find outside interference an issue) then these are excellent - the $150 AKG K240 mk2.

Finally, good old Sennheiser does make some closed models. IMHO, their 6xx is a classic and tough to beat for 4X the price. I have no idea how their closed models sound, but again, probably lots of reviews on YT. $150 Sennheiser HD25.
I would avoid the ATH-M50(x) as they lack the comfort and their sound is not so great either imo. Never heard of the Meze so cant say much about them. Out of these options I would say that Fostex T40RP would be the best pick.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
I would avoid the ATH-M50(x) as they lack the comfort and their sound is not so great either imo. Never heard of the Meze so cant say much about them. Out of these options I would say that Fostex T40RP would be the best pick.
I thought the original M50 was pretty comfortable and pretty well built.

But, I sold my set and never looked back. They were "pretty good" for the most part, but I think better can be had for the same or similar $.
 
davidscott

davidscott

Audioholic Ninja
I'll assume there's a reason you want closed headphones. Typically I've found that for music, open or slightly open can have greater dynamics, but that's a pretty broad brush. I've used closed for decades, but not strictly music.

Drop has the Meze 99 Noir for $200 even. If these really are the Classic with less bling (and less sexy wood finish), then that's a pretty good deal. I was pretty impressed with the Classic back when I heard them, but it's been too long now to remember specifics. I think there's a few zillion reviews of these on YT. I think the Classic started out around $400, and is still $300 at many resellers.

Also worth checking is the $150 Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, which is a new build of a classic. These used to be really well regarded, no doubt there's plenty of reviews on YT. Tank like build and fold up nice. The M40x is similar, and $50 less, but much leaner as you'd expect.

One I can also give a thumbs-up to is the Fostex T40RP mk3 series. They come in open, semi-open and closed. I've heard the open only, and thought they were extremely articulate for the price. Can't vouch for the closed, but assume they're voiced as closely as possible. Fostex and I go way back.

One more is the $150 AKG K371. All of my editing work is on AKG, I love the things. This set is a totally different design than what I'm used to from AKG, a departure from their sort of floating headband. So I can't vouch for comfort. If you're ok with semi-open (as I said, I use them for video/audio editing and don't find outside interference an issue) then these are excellent - the $150 AKG K240 mk2.

Finally, good old Sennheiser does make some closed models. IMHO, their 6xx is a classic and tough to beat for 4X the price. I have no idea how their closed models sound, but again, probably lots of reviews on YT. $150 Sennheiser HD25.
Agreed I much prefer open back phones...
 
Hench4Life

Hench4Life

Junior Audioholic
I would avoid the ATH-M50(x) as they lack the comfort and their sound is not so great either imo. Never heard of the Meze so cant say much about them. Out of these options I would say that Fostex T40RP would be the best pick.
I just saw that Z Reviews liked the M40 a lot more than the 50, I can see that. I tried the 50's some time back, and they seemed pretty nice. No idea how the new generation are, but the pads look problematic. I personally tend to like the German sound for headphones, and have always liked AKG. A lot of that is probably the same as liking macaroni and cheese, I'm just used to it.

The only reason I used closed headphones in the past was when I was doing a lot of video, and had to adjust audio on the fly for seminars. That's when you need to block out all the people yakking away. In fact, the only cans I've heard I'd consider for music here are the Meze. They have that European aesthetic (Romanian) and have a nice tonality, if a bit fat. Kind of like AKG! I think part of it is the wood bodies, which impart a lot of that. Don't think it's all marketing hype. This is their entry level headphone. The Empyrean (sp?) are like $3k, and gorgeous. I've never had a chance to listen to them.

The Fostex might not be "musical" for some, it's definitely a monitor kind of voicing. First pair of headphones I ever had. Listened to a lot of Sabbath on those suckers. Then a friend showed up with some Sennheiser HD414 and that was that. It was pretty neat having headphones that weren't larger than my Bell helmet.
 
Spider

Spider

Audiophyte
JBLlive650BTNC Bluetooth noise-canceling over-ear headphones, you would be surprised how good they sound.
 
afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
Sennheiser 58x massdrop is one of the best deals going right now at $170. Also Sennheiser 560s are a buzz right now at 199.
 
John Parks

John Parks

Audioholic Samurai
What is in fact Massdrop?
Massdrop, or “Drop” as they are now known started out as a group buy site where they advertise, say, a headphone (or a pair of shoes- whatever) for a discounted price, wait to collect the money on “reservations” and when they had enough units/money from the reservations, make a purchase (which is referred to as a “mass drop”) from the manufacturer at their discount. A lot of scam sites try to do this, but Drop (oddly enough) were legit. They are big enough now that they work with manufacturers like Sennheiser or AKG to put their own brand on them, hence “XX” model numbers like the AKG K7XX. The big positive is being able to save a bit of money on brand names; the main negative is that one sometimes has to wait until the “drop” is over and they place the order, which sometimes can take weeks or even months.
 

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top