Best closed back headphone under $500

[vinodk69]

Hi all,

I currently have HiFiMan Edition XS as my open back planar headphones. Looking for recommendations for a closed back headphone(planar or DD) in $400-500 range. Most of my listening is pop/female classical/jazz. Was looking at DCA Aeon RT. I currently have Fosi ZD3 as DAC & iFi Zen Can as headphone amplifier.

Thanks in advance.

 

[AryaStealth]

1) Austrian Audio Hi-X60 ($300) - subbass, bass and treble boosted, it sounds very open and hi-fi
2) Audeze Maxwell ($300) - planar, wireless, has built in dsp to sound neutral (you can change stock dsp eq), good quality bass (bass a bit boosted)

 

[heraldo_jones]

Well, there's a new contender — the Audeze LCD-S20, which appears to be a closed-back version of the MM-100. GadgetryTech has a review up on them.

 

[Mr Swing King]

^Sadly it weighs 550 grams and doesn’t exactly look all that great from a pure tonality pov.

Best closedback under 500$? To me personally it’s the HD620S.

 

[vinodk69]

Thats heavy. I am looking at Audeze Maxwell as well.

 

[Ahmonge]

HD 620S is a good option. Big bang for the buck

 

[markanini]

^Sadly it weighs 550 grams and doesn’t exactly look all that great from a pure tonality pov.
View attachment 443750
Best closedback under 500$? To me personally it’s the HD620S.

Might be worth waiting for imperessions first. The area around 5kHz might look worse than than it sounds only because the rig can't predict every ear shape variation.

 

[Mr Swing King]

Might be worth waiting for imperessions first. The area around 5kHz might look worse than than it sounds only because the rig can't predict every ear shape variation.

Sure that area may be more filled out depending on the individual.
Personally though Audeze lost me at 550 grams. I’ve owned way too many heavy headphones - including a bunch from Audeze - and no matter how great they sound, I almost never use them…and when I do I think about how exquisite the experience could be, if I’d reached for a Sennheiser instead.
There is no excuse for making headphones that weigh in at over half a kilo imho. Maaaaaybe just maybe if the headphone doubles as a crash helmet.

 

[markanini]

Sure that area may be more filled out depending on the individual.
Personally though Audeze lost me at 550 grams. I’ve owned way too many heavy headphones - including a bunch from Audeze - and no matter how great they sound, I almost never use them…and when I do I think about how exquisite the experience could be, if I’d reached for a Sennheiser instead.
There is no excuse for making headphones that weigh in at over half a kilo imho. Maaaaaybe just maybe if the headphone doubles as a crash helmet.

That's objectively a heavy headphone. Only if you are open to adding neck strengthening exercises to your listening habits, hehe.

 

[evanft]

AKG K371 with a set of Dekoni suede pads. The Fiio FT1 is also an option but I find them muddy and shouty.

 

[metal1500]

AKG K371 with a set of Dekoni suede pads. The Fiio FT1 is also an option but I find them muddy and shouty.

akg k371 is a headphone from the past; u can change the pads but nothing will save the poor build and the poor mxrl conector.
with fiio u can buy new cables and with EQ (the new oratory works great) it's better than every headphone in this price range. for many songs i even prefer with no EQ (more bass).

 

[unpluggged]

a headphone from the past

This is not a valid argument.

 

[evanft]

akg k371 is a headphone from the past; u can change the pads but nothing will save the poor build and the poor mxrl conector.
with fiio u can buy new cables and with EQ (the new oratory works great) it's better than every headphone in this price range. for many songs i even prefer with no EQ (more bass).

Bro they came out like five years ago.

 

[solderdude]

Bro they came out like five years ago.

The HD600 came out about 25 years ago and is still relevant...

 

[metal1500]

The HD600 came out about 25 years ago and is still relevant...

hd 600 is totally different, its build well and its great.
but akg, for years keep sleeping with poor constumer support, poor qc, don't listen to feedback, poor products. what happens? they get replaced by a chinese company that does everything better and cheaper. well maybe now with 145% tariffs americans will only afford the k371 and can buy it for the next 10 years

 

[solderdude]

Didn't you see the wink and me only commenting on year of conception ?

 

[Headphoner]

hd 600 is totally different, its build well and its great.
but akg, for years keep sleeping with poor constumer support, poor qc, don't listen to feedback, poor products. what happens? they get replaced by a chinese company that does everything better and cheaper. well maybe now with 145% tariffs americans will only afford the k371 and can buy it for the next 10 years

I would recommend looking up Austrian Audio, seems up your alley. And turning off the news once in a while

 

[Headphoner]

^Sadly it weighs 550 grams and doesn’t exactly look all that great from a pure tonality pov.

Best closedback under 500$? To me personally it’s the HD620S.

I'm very excited for this, the channel balance looks incredible. I don't typically see this on planars in general. Check out the arya organic and meze liric 2 for comparison, 2-4x the price and they don't have that level of precision matching. The addition of a bass port and magnetic cups put it over the top for me

Gonna have to disagree on that HD620S comparison assuming this is accurate. That 80-150hz roller coaster ending in 2 db imbalance doesn't look too appealing

 

[markanini]

I'm very excited for this, the channel balance looks incredible. I don't typically see this on planars in general. Check out the arya organic and meze liric 2 for comparison, 2-4x the price and they don't have that level of precision matching. The addition of a bass port and magnetic cups put it over the top for me
View attachment 444389

View attachment 444390
Gonna have to disagree on that HD620S comparison assuming this is accurate. That 80-150hz roller coaster ending in 2 db imbalance doesn't look too appealing
View attachment 444391

Please don't annotate FR graphs like this. The visual clutter is off the charts and it makes you look associated with a certain clickbait youtuber in the audio space.

 

[Headphoner]

Please don't annotate FR graphs like this. The visual clutter is off the charts and it makes you look associated with a certain clickbait youtuber in the audio space.

1 graph was annotated . Sorry I forgot it was against the rules to show any enthusiasm here. I'm sure you have more to add to the conversation than playing hall monitor. Not everyone is associated with some youtuber, weird and unnecessary accusation.

Anyways, back on topic the Fiio FT1 was a very enjoyable headphone and I'd recommend looking at some reviews for it. You could save a lot of money as it punches above it's price point.