Best closed-back headphones, $200-$300

[parnarules]

I wanted to love the K371s but the more time I spend with them the more I think about selling them. It's not so much about the time you have to spend every time you put them on finding that 'sweet spot' or the build quality -which I don't have a problem with- but how the sound is refined/accurate/flat/perfect in an apathetic, indifferent way which leaves me cold listening to songs/albums that would normally hit me like a train. It is as if the k371s coloured the sound to the same boring tone, killing every sign of personality or soul in the music leaving you puzzled, wondering why you fell in love with that tune in the first place.

My love for the Yamaha HPH-MT220 (with Brainwavz Oval Pads) is even greater now because they are also analytical, revealing, 'accurate' but they give me goosebumps every time I put them on with the way they present the energy, dynamics, details in the music and the recording/mix, respecting the source, immersing you in the music to give you a unique experience every time you use them. They also have a depth that the k371s lack and are not forgiving at all with poorly mixed/mastered music, giving you any tiny nuance.

Maybe it is just that the Harman curve is not for me or maybe I am just a MT220 fanboy

My desert island closed-back headphone and a very underrated one.

 

[infinitesymphony]

I wanted to love the K371s but the more time I spend with them the more I think about selling them. It's not so much about the time you have to spend every time you put them on finding that 'sweet spot' or the build quality -which I don't have a problem with- but how the sound is refined/accurate/flat/perfect in an apathetic, indifferent way which leaves me cold listening to songs/albums that would normally hit me like a train. It is as if the k371s coloured the sound to the same boring tone, killing every sign of personality or soul in the music leaving you puzzled, wondering why you fell in love with that tune in the first place.

My love for the Yamaha HPH-MT220 (with Brainwavz Oval Pads) is even greater now because they are also analytical, revealing, 'accurate' but they give me goosebumps every time I put them on with the way they present the energy, dynamics, details in the music and the recording/mix, respecting the source, immersing you in the music to give you a unique experience every time you use them. They also have a depth that the k371s lack and are not forgiving at all with poorly mixed/mastered music, giving you any tiny nuance.

Maybe it is just that the Harman curve is not for me or maybe I am just a MT220 fanboy

My desert island closed-back headphone and a very underrated one.

Sounds like you might try EQing the K371s with a low shelf cut and a high shelf boost, maybe both around 5 dB.

Graphs courtesy @solderdude.

AKG K371

Yamaha HPH-MT220

 

[edahl]

I wanted to love the K371s but the more time I spend with them the more I think about selling them. It's not so much about the time you have to spend every time you put them on finding that 'sweet spot' or the build quality -which I don't have a problem with- but how the sound is refined/accurate/flat/perfect in an apathetic, indifferent way which leaves me cold listening to songs/albums that would normally hit me like a train. It is as if the k371s coloured the sound to the same boring tone, killing every sign of personality or soul in the music leaving you puzzled, wondering why you fell in love with that tune in the first place.

My love for the Yamaha HPH-MT220 (with Brainwavz Oval Pads) is even greater now because they are also analytical, revealing, 'accurate' but they give me goosebumps every time I put them on with the way they present the energy, dynamics, details in the music and the recording/mix, respecting the source, immersing you in the music to give you a unique experience every time you use them. They also have a depth that the k371s lack and are not forgiving at all with poorly mixed/mastered music, giving you any tiny nuance.

Maybe it is just that the Harman curve is not for me or maybe I am just a MT220 fanboy

My desert island closed-back headphone and a very underrated one.

Seems it's discontinued, do you know what replaced it?

 

[parnarules]

Seems it's discontinued, do you know what replaced it?

HPH-MT8. Haven't tried it so cannot say how it compares to the MT220

 

[Georgrig]

Shure SRH 1540

 

[JWAmerica]

The Audio Technica MSR7B don't match the Harman curve out of the box but they tolerate EQ well. I'm not a fan of the closed back sound, but come with balanced cables, have very good detail resolution and a good amount of sub bass that can be boosted.

 

[Oluv's Buddy]

HPH-MT8. Haven't tried it so cannot say how it compares to the MT220

I have tried the HPH-MT8 and I didn't like its sound that much, but that depends on what you want it for. Although it is a headphone that I found comfortable on both my head and my ears it is also a heavy headphone that would be uncomfortable after long periods.

It is a headphone I would consider trying again after more experience with other headphones and more experience with EQ, but it is too early for me in my headphone game.

Its younger brother the HPH-MT5 is much more pleasant, rich in the mids but quite dark and not much high-end clarity, but well worth it for its price.

 

[Oluv's Buddy]

The Audio Technica MSR7B don't match the Harman curve out of the box but they tolerate EQ well. I'm not a fan of the closed back sound, but come with balanced cables, have very good detail resolution and a good amount of sub bass that can be boosted.

Any info on the equalization settings required to make it as "flat" as possible?

 

[JWAmerica]

Any info on the equalization settings required to make it as "flat" as possible?

Based on the measured response, I think it would be easiest to boost 200hz - 4khz and it'll be pretty flat aside from the peaks and troughs in the treble at 8khz and up.

 

[Oluv's Buddy]

I guess this means that I use the first graph on the left and adjust the db of each frequency to match the harman target which is close to the 0 line.

Right now I just using the simply 10 band equalizers in my music player.

If the points on the graph I need to adjust don't match the presets in the equalizer who do I compensate for that?

 

[JWAmerica]

I guess this means that I use the first graph on the left and adjust the db of each frequency to match the harman target which is close to the 0 line.

Right now I just using the simply 10 band equalizers in my music player.

If the points on the graph I need to adjust don't match the presets in the equalizer who do I compensate for that?

If possible, use Neutron Music Player or Foobar2000. They have very good parametric equalizers.

 

[Oluv's Buddy]

What

If possible, use Neutron Music Player or Foobar2000. They have very good parametric equalizers.

Sadly they are not available for Linux which is my preferred system.

So I've got to get my PulseEffects game on.

But I will check out Neutron Music Player on Android.

 

[DeepFried]

Sadly they are not available for Linux which is my preferred system.

So I've got to get my PulseEffects game on.

But I will check out Neutron Music Player on Android.

Hello fellow Linux user. I can recommend LSP, I don't know if it integrates with pulseeffects as i'm using carla on jack rather than Pulseaudio. but LSP has a very solid PEQ plugin.

here is a screenshot of one of my PEQ profiles:

https://imgur.com/VoOsajA

 

[Oluv's Buddy]

Hello fellow Linux user. I can recommend LSP, I don't know if it integrates with pulseeffects as i'm using carla on jack rather than Pulseaudio. but LSP has a very solid PEQ plugin.

here is a screenshot of one of my PEQ profiles:

https://imgur.com/VoOsajA

I take it that PEQ must mean "parametric equalizer". Is it a particular software or a term for parametric equalizers in general?

 

[DeepFried]

I take it that PEQ must mean "parametric equalizer". Is it a particular software or a term for parametric equalizers in general?

Yes PEQ is just an abbreviation for parametric equalizer, it doesn't refer to any specific software, though you'd get similar functionality from any PEQ plugin or program I expect.

you can get LSP here:

https://lsp-plug.in/?page=download

its a bundle of high quality plugins for audio software and includes the PEQ plugin I use. I think pulseeffects might take lv2 plugins, i'm not sure i as I don't use it myself, but if you can get it working its worth it.

Alternatively you might try jack and carla like me, but thats a bit more of a project to setup.

 

[Hark01]

Fostex T40RPmk3. Close back with planar clarity and great bass for a great price. Comfort could be better, though.

 

[JJB70]

For what it's worth I listen to a lot of Bruckner on closed back headphones. My preferred option is the Austrian Audio Hi-X55, it's very nicely made, superbly comfortable, extremely easy to drive (a typical laptop output or dongle gets them more than loud enough with room to spare) and I find them to be pretty balanced. The second headphone I use a lot may throw a curve ball on this board, the Steel Series Arctis Pro GameDAC.Over the last 18 months I have been working at home spending half my life in Teams and Zoom calls so wanted a headset with a decent mic that could be used for music between calls without swapping headphones constantly. Some may sneer at the idea of a gaming headset but I find it very comfortable and a terrific general purpose do pretty much anything headset that is perfectly satisfactory for music (including Bruckner). On paper the output of the GameDAC looks very low but it drives the matching headphones as loud as is sensible and has a very good, easy to use EQ feature to adjust tuning.

 

[Bernard23]

I have tried the HPH-MT8 and I didn't like its sound that much, but that depends on what you want it for. Although it is a headphone that I found comfortable on both my head and my ears it is also a heavy headphone that would be uncomfortable after long periods.

It is a headphone I would consider trying again after more experience with other headphones and more experience with EQ, but it is too early for me in my headphone game.

Its younger brother the HPH-MT5 is much more pleasant, rich in the mids but quite dark and not much high-end clarity, but well worth it for its price.

I've just acquired a pair of brand new unopened MT5 fort £37! I prefer the less bright treble than say my 560S which is a bit overblown. The MT5 retrieve same amount of details, maybe even more, but the darker tonal balance gives the contrary impression. I've added a bit of EQ around 5-10kHz and they improve significantly

 

[buscon]

Sadly they are not available for Linux which is my preferred system.

So I've got to get my PulseEffects game on.

But I will check out Neutron Music Player on Android.

in PulseEffects you can even import a ParametricEQ.txt file, in the format :
Preamp: -5.5 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 26 Hz Gain -4.6 dB Q 0.86
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 155 Hz Gain -2.0 dB Q 1.31
and so on...


Save in a file and import from the Equalizer settings section, "import APO Presets". That's very convenient.
Just remember to set the preamp setting manually as the input of the equalizer in PulseEffect. That setting does not get imported.

Otherwise @DeepFried already mentioned LSP equalizer, that is for sure a good professional option if you want to try out different eqs. But it makes sense if you have a knowledge of how the Jack systems works or you are willing to learn it. For sure it is worth it, if you want to use Linux to produce music.

If you are mostly interested in listening to music, I suggest you stick to pulseaudio and PulseEffect (or EasyEffect in case): there you have everything you need to set or import your PEQ and/or convolution files (from AutoEQ for example).