• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Good open-back ~$200-ish headphone?

starfly

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 6, 2019
Messages
353
Likes
288
I'm looking for a good open-back $200-ish headphone, with a neutralish sound-signature. It needs to be super comfortable where I can wear it for extended periods, and I'll use it for playing games and some music listening.

Because of the games aspect, great imaging is important. Soundstage, well, headphones don't really have Soundstage when you're used to good speakers :)

I'd drive these headphones with my Motu M4 (recently reviewed here by amir), which don't have the most powerful headphone amp, but it's adequate.

I bought the Philips Fidelio X2HR the other day and those will likely be returned as the clamping pressure is a bit too high and my ears rub up against the inside of the earpads (I have big ears), meaning I'm constantly adjusting them.

Honestly, ever since investing in a good pair of speakers I'm liking headphones less and less, but they're a necessary evil for late at night.

Any suggestions?
 

Jimbob54

Grand Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 25, 2019
Messages
11,064
Likes
14,695
I'm looking for a good open-back $200-ish headphone, with a neutralish sound-signature. It needs to be super comfortable where I can wear it for extended periods, and I'll use it for playing games and some music listening.

Because of the games aspect, great imaging is important. Soundstage, well, headphones don't really have Soundstage when you're used to good speakers :)

I'd drive these headphones with my Motu M4 (recently reviewed here by amir), which don't have the most powerful headphone amp, but it's adequate.

I bought the Philips Fidelio X2HR the other day and those will likely be returned as the clamping pressure is a bit too high and my ears rub up against the inside of the earpads (I have big ears), meaning I'm constantly adjusting them.

Honestly, ever since investing in a good pair of speakers I'm liking headphones less and less, but they're a necessary evil for late at night.

Any suggestions?
Drop hd6xx (if can get drop in your region) or sennheiser HD650 elsewhere. They are the same headphone for all intents
 
OP
S

starfly

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 6, 2019
Messages
353
Likes
288
Drop hd6xx (if can get drop in your region) or sennheiser HD650 elsewhere. They are the same headphone for all intents
What would the pros and cons of the Hd6xx be for what I'm looking for?
 

XpanD

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Apr 7, 2018
Messages
146
Likes
171
Location
Netherlands
I haven't tried many headphones myself, but I really like the Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro. They do have a peak in the treble, but are otherwise reasonably neutral as far as I can tell, much better than the 770/990. They also have huge earpads, large enough for me to not be bothered by them. (some other headphones were very uncomfortable for me, Creative X-Fi Aurvana and an old Pioneer SE-305)
 

bobbooo

Major Contributor
Joined
Aug 30, 2019
Messages
1,479
Likes
2,079
The HifiMan HE4XX are well within your budget at $160 and are great, neutral sounding headphones. I know you say headphones don't have soundstage, but the HE4XX's is better than most (definitely better than the HD6XX/650), so will give a more enjoyable sense of space while gaming (and listening to music).
 

Jimbob54

Grand Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 25, 2019
Messages
11,064
Likes
14,695
The HifiMan HE4XX are well within your budget at $160 and are great, neutral sounding headphones. I know you say headphones don't have soundstage, but the HE4XX's is better than most (definitely better than the HD6XX/650), so will give a more enjoyable sense of space while gaming (and listening to music).

Noticed Drop have the HE400i for around that released today too- not sure which is better between the 2 Hifiman.
 

bobbooo

Major Contributor
Joined
Aug 30, 2019
Messages
1,479
Likes
2,079
Noticed Drop have the HE400i for around that released today too- not sure which is better between the 2 Hifiman.

The HE4XX is better:

20200914_151752.png


The HE400i has less bass extension and less even treble response:

20200914_151736.png
 

Berwhale

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 29, 2019
Messages
3,933
Likes
4,922
Location
UK
I bought the Philips Fidelio X2HR the other day and those will likely be returned as the clamping pressure is a bit too high and my ears rub up against the inside of the earpads (I have big ears), meaning I'm constantly adjusting them.

You might find the AKG K701/702 or K712Pro more comfortable, they have large, round ear cups and a very light clamping force. I really like my K712Pro's, the only reason I don't use them much is that I like my HD660s even more :)
 

Jimbob54

Grand Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 25, 2019
Messages
11,064
Likes
14,695
You might find the AKG K701/702 or K712Pro more comfortable, they have large, round ear cups and a very light clamping force. I really like my K712Pro's, the only reason I don't use them much is that I like my HD660s even more :)

Good point- I found the pads on the HD600 just that bit too small for my lugs and OP did mention he is a fellow big lugs. I concur the AKG K7series are better from that angle.

EDIT @starfly Drop have their own (cheaper) versions of the Hifiman 4 series, AKG 7 series and Sennheiser 6 series as you have probably gathered. Depending on your region and import regimes this may be a cheaper option than buying the "main" models from amazon etc. Especially if you are US based.
 

Bob-23

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2019
Messages
425
Likes
379
Location
Berlin, Germany
I bought the Philips Fidelio X2HR the other day and those will likely be returned as the clamping pressure is a bit too high
You can reduce the pressure of the Fidelio X2HRs, significantly (!), by bending the headband (carefully) - when eq'd they're really good allrounders, delivering the bass the Sennheisers are dreaming of, and delivering a better (open) sound stage than the narrow Sennheisers (I've got the HD600).
The K702s are, at least in Europe, a bargain (once they were much more expensive) - their earcups are wider than the X2s, they weigh much less, so they are, clearly, more comfortable, and their sound stage is great, but they are not at all allrounders as the X2s, they need high quality recordings, classics, instrumental, Jazz.
https://www.thomann.de/gb/akg_k_702_b_stock.htm

EDIT: Oratory1990 Fildelio X2HR
 

Attachments

  • Philips Fidelio X2HR.pdf
    316.1 KB · Views: 1,138
Last edited:

givemebeer

New Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2020
Messages
2
Likes
1
You might want to take a look at the beyerdynamic TYGR 300r. Super lightweight, very good imaging, and also have a much shorter cord that is a good length for PC use. It's a 32ohm DT990 driver with the "acoustic fleece" they are using to tame the beyerdynamic highs on the new T1 and T5 in a housing that looks very similar to the DT880. Downside is that they can be a pain to get a hold of a pair due to beyerdynamic's distribution issues combined with some popular reviewers touting them online.

If you want more neutrality, it's hard to go past the HD-6XX, but this might fit your use case quite well.
 

f1shb0n3

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 29, 2020
Messages
322
Likes
498
Location
Seattle Area
Sennheiser HD58x is very good alternative to HD6xx - a bit cheaper, easier to drive at 150 ohms and can confirm Motu M2 drives it very well.

When getting headphones to use with Motu M4, especially if you don't plan to buy a headphone amp too, make sure it can drive them properly - for example I got HifiMan HE-400i (older version bought years ago) and can definitely say Motu is not capable of driving it - bass is non-existent, volume is low and you hear distortion from under-powered amplifier at around 3pm volume.

I played around with some A/B testing with a flip switch between Motu M2's headphone output and Motu M2 line out connected to Schiit Heresy which is a pretty powerful single-ended headphone amplifier. My results:
- With HD58x - cannot distinguish between Motu headphone out and Schiit Heresy amp at any safe volume level, meaning Motu M2 can drive the headphones properly.
- With HifiMan HE-400i - night and day difference - Motu produces a thin and distorted sound while Heresy made HE-400i sound like they should.
 
OP
S

starfly

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 6, 2019
Messages
353
Likes
288
Sennheiser HD58x is very good alternative to HD6xx - a bit cheaper, easier to drive at 150 ohms and can confirm Motu M2 drives it very well.

When getting headphones to use with Motu M4, especially if you don't plan to buy a headphone amp too, make sure it can drive them properly - for example I got HifiMan HE-400i (older version bought years ago) and can definitely say Motu is not capable of driving it - bass is non-existent, volume is low and you hear distortion from under-powered amplifier at around 3pm volume.

I played around with some A/B testing with a flip switch between Motu M2's headphone output and Motu M2 line out connected to Schiit Heresy which is a pretty powerful single-ended headphone amplifier. My results:
- With HD58x - cannot distinguish between Motu headphone out and Schiit Heresy amp at any safe volume level, meaning Motu M2 can drive the headphones properly.
- With HifiMan HE-400i - night and day difference - Motu produces a thin and distorted sound while Heresy made HE-400i sound like they should.
Hey, as a fellow Motu owner (though I have the M4) do you know if there is a way to route output to both the monitor out and line out? I have my JBL speakers connected to monitor out on the M4 so I can control them with the M4's volume knob. I'm considering getting JDS Labs atom at $100 and would want to hook those up to the line-out on the M4, but those are on output 3-4 (monitor out is output 1-2). I want to route the same audio signal to both outputs but don't know how to do that.

Otherwise, how is the soundstage and imaging on the Hd58x and HE400i?

I bought the Fidelio X2HR this week. Like the sound quality and imaging and soundstage, but just don't find them that comfortable (very itchy earpads). Will probably return them.
 
OP
S

starfly

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 6, 2019
Messages
353
Likes
288
How is the soundstage and imaging on the Hd6xx? Heard they don't necessarily excel at that, which is an important to quality to have for use during gaming.
 
OP
S

starfly

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 6, 2019
Messages
353
Likes
288
You might want to take a look at the beyerdynamic TYGR 300r. Super lightweight, very good imaging, and also have a much shorter cord that is a good length for PC use. It's a 32ohm DT990 driver with the "acoustic fleece" they are using to tame the beyerdynamic highs on the new T1 and T5 in a housing that looks very similar to the DT880. Downside is that they can be a pain to get a hold of a pair due to beyerdynamic's distribution issues combined with some popular reviewers touting them online.

If you want more neutrality, it's hard to go past the HD-6XX, but this might fit your use case quite well.

I should actually receive those on Monday. Curious what they'll sound like and how the comfort will be. I have big ears so I'm always picky about comfort.

I'm also debating trying the Dt1990 with the same acoustic fleece to tame that treble spike.
 
Top Bottom