Looking for good cans for general use at around 400$

[MintSpeak]

Planning on selling a pair of Bose QuietComfort Ultra I got gifted at work to buy myself an actually good set of cans

I'd want them to be a substantial upgrade from my current set, the DT880.
I'll probably bring them to work a lot so they'll need to be driven by a mobile dac (or a dedicated one that I will set at my desk and connect to my phone)
But if that won't work out I'll keep them at home with my Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, and just bring my DT880s to work.

I did not try out many overears in my life, so I don't yet know exactly what I want, but likely something with a neutral sound, where all the instruments don't mush together, a fairly wide soundstage (nothing extreme, but definitely wider than the 880s), open-back, and of course that they will be comfortable

for reference the Bose's sound open enough for me, but the soundstage is somehow still fairly small if that makes any sense, and everything sounds a bit too far away, like they can't really be intimate.
apart from that they're a bit lacking in detail and have too much lower bass. (and also have unremovable ANC which is just horrid to my ears)

and my DT880s can hurt my ears sometimes if I drive them a bit hard (I think from volume in the low-mid range)
and apart from that they sound a bit.. unsure to me? like the instruments start merging together but also not, can't really explain it honestly, but I dont like that much.
They're also quite lacking in bass, it has never bothered me but I'm starting to realize I might be missing out on a whole part of music because of it.

I've heard good things about the 650, but the graphs show they are not the best choice in that price range, and the soundstage is also poor from my understanding.
I've also heard about the 560s which seem to be better in most aspects so I wonder why they aren't touted more than the 650.
but of course I'm welcome to any recommendation that's roughly in my budget of 400$, and any general information about overears is welcome aswell

also if it matters they'll be used mainly for listening to metal/alternative rock, but also lighter wider stuff such as jrock, jjazz, and what not.

 

[Overseas]

Denon 5200

 

[respice finem]

Headphones generally aren't "soundstage champions", so I would tend to play around with crossfeed before buying new headphones (provided the Bose otherwise fit well etc.). The right dose of crossfeed can solve the problem IMHO - but still, don't expect soundstage quite on par with "top" loudspeakers.

Another possibility is getting open-back headphones, but many of these are weaker in bass, compared to closed-back models.

 

[DVDdoug]

AT around 400$

The good news is, with headphones there is very little correlation between price and sound quality. You'll see that if you sort the reviews here by price and "recommended".

I'd want them to be a substantial upgrade from my current set, the DT880.

The sound of headphones is mostly frequency response. But it's not simple because "flat" doesn't sound flat (or like flat speakers) so there is a standardized preference curve. Think about what you want to change/improve. The DT880 review with response curve is here so you can compare. (The DT880 was "not recommended".)

of course that they will be comfortable

Comfort is a very personal thing. So if possible go to an audio/video store and try them. And of course listen!

where all the instruments don't mush together

That MIGHT be related to frequency response, but in reality all of the sounds ARE mixed together as one "complex" sound wave (separate for each ear). The arranger, producer and mixing & mastering engineers have to do a good job (if that's what they'are after) and your brain has to separate them.

a fairly wide soundstage (nothing extreme, but definitely wider than the 880s)

The headphones only have a slight effect. It mostly comes from your brain (and the recording). I never get a realistic soundstage I hear the sound coming from around by forehead except for hard-panned sounds that I hear coming directly from the headphone into my ear. But everybody talks about it so I was surprised when somebody posted: Headphone Soundstage Survey. The most common perception is the sound coming from inside the listener's head!

 

[Gitfiddle]

The most common perception is the sound coming from inside the listener's head!

This survey honestly kind of shocks me. Thanks for linking it, I'm going to read the responses in full! Funny enough I'm almost the complete opposite. The only time I hear sound coming from my forehead area is with IEM's and sound played in mono.

 

[Human Bass]

Sennheiser has plenty of options below 400.

560s, 550, 505, 490 Pro are all very good headphones whose flaws a rather easy to EQ.

 

[MintSpeak]

I tried some headsets today and realized the open backs sound too open for me, everything sounds like its far away and not intimate

so I'm looking for closed back, seems the main two recommendations are K371 and FT1, with FT1 being the winner right now.

my main question about it is, is it detailed? or does it all sound like mush? and how is the k371 compared to it in those qualities?

 

[archerious]

I tried some headsets today and realized the open backs sound too open for me, everything sounds like its far away and not intimate

so I'm looking for closed back, seems the main two recommendations are K371 and FT1, with FT1 being the winner right now.

my main question about it is, is it detailed? or does it all sound like mush? and how is the k371 compared to it in those qualities?

It’s been a while since I auditioned the cans but I found the K371 to sound better than the FT1. It was more detailed.

As for the best of closed backs, do you wear glasses? If so, keep in mind it sort of ruins most bass and treble response on closed backs. Dan Clark shared some neat data you can see here, that shows how much glasses can ruin the sound on closed backs cans.

If you don’t wear glasses you have so many options. You could throw the Sony MDR-M1 and Sennheiser HD620S on your list too. I preferred them both over the K371, mostly due to comfort and build quality. That’s where the K371 lacks most IMO.

 

[respice finem]

As a all-day wearer of glasses since 1970, I can contribute a bit: How bad they are for headphone listening, depends on the frame.
Some frames "arms" are only 1mm thick (e.g. titanium frames). If all else fails, IEM to the rescue.