Best closed-back headphones, $200-$300

[SpaceMonkey]

Shameless plug for refurbished NAD HP50

 

[Astrozombie]

According to Rtings it's the Bose Quiet comfort 35 fwiw.

 

[bobbooo]

According to Rtings it's the Bose Quiet comfort 35 fwiw.

That's for 'mixed usage' i.e. including active noise isolation and Bluetooth capability, noise leakage etc, not purely sound quality.

 

[infinitesymphony]

I think you'll find what you want with the HD 6XX/650 or 58X/580/600. Sennheiser have a couple of winning sound signatures there for people who mostly prefer neutrality with a warm tilt or not, respectively. The upgrade path past that seems to be HD 800 or better with Sonarworks or other software to tailor the FR to your liking.

 

[Robin L]

I think you'll find what you want with the HD 6XX/650 or 58X/580/600. Sennheiser have a couple of winning sound signatures there for people who mostly prefer neutrality with a warm tilt or not, respectively. The upgrade path past that seems to be HD 800 or better with Sonarworks or other software to tailor the FR to your liking.

But with my OP I already mentioned that I've got 6XX 'phones. I was asking for closed back 'phones. And Sennheiser 800's are way off as regards price. Closed-back. $200-$300. One more thing, the 6XX's are too warm/bloated in the lower midrange.

 

[infinitesymphony]

But with my OP I already mentioned that I've got 6XX 'phones. I was asking for closed back 'phones. And Sennheiser 800's are way off as regards price. Closed-back. $200-$300. One more thing, the 6XX's are too warm/bloated in the lower midrange.

Sorry about that, think I might have conflated two threads in my head.

Sounds like you don't prefer the warm tilt. Maybe Sennheiser HD 598 CS?

 

[Robin L]

Sorry about that, think I might have conflated two threads in my head.

Sounds like you don't prefer the warm tilt. Maybe Sennheiser HD 598 CS?

Nope, already have both the HD 579 and 599, both are not as good sounding as the 6XX. I know the model you mentioned is a closed back headphone, but I doubt they will sound much different than the HD 598CS.

 

[infinitesymphony]

If you're looking for a closed-back headphone that's better-sounding than the 6XX for the same price, that's going to be very difficult.

FWIW, I found the closed-back HD 380 PRO to have a sound signature not that far away from the 580+. I think they sound a bit more exciting than 6XX/650 while still being fairly neutral. Downside is that they're discontinued. $80-100 on eBay.

 

[Robin L]

If you're looking for a closed-back headphone that's better-sounding than the 6XX for the same price, that's going to be very difficult.

FWIW, I found the closed-back HD 380 PRO to have a sound signature not that far away from the 580+. I think they sound a bit more exciting than 6XX/650 while still being fairly neutral. Downside is that they're discontinued. $80-100 on eBay.

I've owned and disliked the 380 PRO 'phones.

 

[StevenEleven]

You’re a tough cookie! The only thing I’ve ever heard that satisfied me personally in a closed headphone in that price range (and as mentioned by courageous @Astrozombie above): https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/bose/quietcomfort-35-ii-qc35-ii-wireless-2018 . Very low, very controlled bass, btw, imho. Straight down to 20 hz (as low as rtings measures). See the measurements in the following link: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/1-4/graph#565/4039. Yeah, that’s real. Also great brass and string timbre for my taste. And great comfort. There is a slight audible sound as they are active (you must run them active for best sound) but it is more even and beneath the level of the cupped ambient seashell sound you hear with normal closed headphones, IME. You can run them active and corded or wifi so you don’t have bluetooth artifacts.

Of course even suggesting it on this board gets you blowback from the usual suspects. So, I’ll be interested to read about the alternatives, folks.

Seriously, there is so much subjective and personal about headphones, it’s not so much like speakers, there’s less of a “reality“ to latch on to, IMHO, because headphones are a larger departure from a real world listening experience from the word go. But you probably knew that. Good luck.

 

[Robin L]

You’re a tough cookie! The only thing I’ve ever heard that satisfied me personally in a closed headphone in that price range: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/bose/quietcomfort-35-ii-qc35-ii-wireless-2018 . Very low, very controlled bass, btw, imho. Straight down to 20 hz (as low as rtings measures). See the measurements in the above link. Great brass timbre for my taste. There is a slight audible sound but it is beneath level of the ambient sound you hear with normal closed headphones, IME.

Of course even suggesting it on this board gets you blowback from the usual suspects. So, I’ll be interested to read about the alternatives.

Seriously, there is so much subjective and personal about headphones, it’s not so much like speakers, there’s less of a “reality“ to latch on to, IMHO. Good luck.

Yes, I'm a tough cookie. I've spent far too much time with the Stax Signature Earspeakers. I don't want wireless, I don't want noise cancelling. I've heard the Bose, not bad. If they had $200 wired 'phones I'd look into it. Don't need noise cancelling.

As it turns out, I am using the computer [Acer Aspire 5, a bare bones Windows laptop with a Full HD screen] for music now. Pretty much pinned down with the pandemic. My previous computers were all Apple products, from at least 10 years ago. So I've got some options I didn't before. All my music files are on a 512gb flash drive, one with a very compact form factor, intended for a computer like mine. There's the "Any Player program, with a 10 band eq. The HD 6XX sound better to these ears with the midbass and lower midrange attenuated, and the treble range smoothly ascending to about +3db at 16khz, relative to 0db at 1khz. The inverse seems to work with my AKG K167 'phones, still functioning. The greatest flaw with these so-called "Studio" 'phones is that they break too easily. This pair has various bits that fell off, though they are still fully functional. Had to apply Krazy Glue in multiple places to hold them together. However, as Amazon has them for $70 right now, I might get a back-up pair. They sound good with the eq, less shrill than stock, still has the quality bass and relays string tone well.

 

[A.West]

I'll mention the Beyerdynamic DT770s again. They have the underlying bass extension you originally mentioned that you are seeking. You should be able to clean up some of the other peaks with EQ. To me they are among the physically most comfortable headphones I have, other than eventually getting warm. And they are under-budget. The 80 ohm ones are the ones I have and are said to have the most bass of the different DT770s. Known for durability as well.

 

[Robbo99999]

Going all-in with the ASR way, getting Drop 6XX 'phones, Topping E30 Dac and L30 Headphone Amp. My experience with open back headphones ranges from $5 'phones I should have avoided to over two decades with Stax Signature Earspeakers. Lately have been using the Sennheiser HD599 and HD579. Don't really like either. The 599's treble 'extension' sounds tizzy here, with a slightly exaggerated, possibly distorted top register. The 579 is not so bad, more focused on vocals, pretty good for movies. Most of the time I've been listening via the AKG "Tiesto" K167 closed back phones. They have many virtues, good bass and good overall balance. I don't know if the occlusion/thickness with massed brass comes from the 'phones or the electronics or both. So I'm asking for suggestions.

Recently I've been listening to a lot of Bruckner, so massed brass is the order of the day. I usually listen to fairly wide range of music, Rock and Jazz and Country, modern dance-pop and various avant-garde noises. Obsessing over Bruckner [the doom-laden 9th symphony is appropriate background music for our current apocalypse] makes the limitations of the playback gear all the more apparent. My sense is that the bass of the Drop 6XX isn't really going to be all that different from the two open-back Sennheiser headphones I've got already. My guess is that a good closed-back headphone will have more control and sheer force in the bottom registers compared to good open-backed headphones. I'm not looking for more bass, but I want deeper bass. I suspect the Topping gear would help a bit with that. I've also got a pair of Sennheiser Urbanite XL headphones, pumped up on the bottom, rolled off on top. Don't listen to those much anymore.

What I'm looking for are closed back headphones that are good with well recorded Classical music, that go deep into the bass without pumping up the mid-bass, open on top without being ragged, $200-$300. Any suggestions?

I don't know if you like the Headphone Harman Curve, but if you do and you like EQ then I can recommend you buy a used pair of NAD HP50 (I don't think they make them anymore). I did an EQ for them using Oratory's measurements and it's easily EQ'd and hugs the Harman Curve with minimal fuss:

A very smooth headphone, and perfect bass extension. They sound a bit muddy without the EQ because of the hump between 100Hz-300Hz, but they're easily EQ'd. I actually like them more than the Sennheiser HD600 because they're smoother whilst still retaining detail (although not quite as much, but almost), and I also think they have better imaging & soundstage than the HD600, in terms of the sound being less in your head. At the moment though my favourite headphones (all with Harman Curve EQ's I've done) go like this from most to least preferred: AKG K702 (most like speakers in terms of soundstage/imaging) > NAD HP50 > Sennheisser HD600......with the HP50 being the only closed back headphone of the three.

 

[RighteousNuts]

Tbh, at that price point I'd go with something like meze classics noir or sony x4s or something from AKG.

 

[Gamemaker]

I’m going to say and add the ATH-M70X as my favorite headphone in this price range.

 

[andreasmaaan]

The AKG K371 looks good as regards bass eq, but what's going on in the top register seems like it will be a little cloudy up there, not good for massed brass.

Keep in mind that headphone measurements become less and less reliable as frequency increases. I wouldn't read too much into what you see in the measured response above 7-8kHz, that part of the spectrum is heavily determined by pinna (or artificial pinna) geometry.

 

[Robin L]

Keep in mind that headphone measurements become less and less reliable as frequency increases. I wouldn't read too much into what you see in the measured response above 7-8kHz, that part of the spectrum is heavily determined by pinna (or artificial pinna) geometry.

I'm also going by subjective descriptions, which appear to have less than positive things to say about the upper octaves of the 371. After eq-ing, the Drop HD 6XX does have superior upper octaves compared to everything I've owned, save good electrostatic 'phones.

 

[infinitesymphony]

I’m going to say and add the ATH-M70X as my favorite headphone in this price range.

Have you heard the M50x to compare against? Looks like M70x have extended frequency response -- 5 Hz - 40 KHz.

 

[Gamemaker]

Have you heard the M50x to compare against? Looks like M70x have extended frequency response -- 5 Hz - 40 KHz.

Yes, I actually have the M50x as well, but I really prefer the M70x.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Nice! Can you comment on the differences you hear?