Recommendation for closed back headphones, ~400$ budget

[Roy_L]

As the title suggests, I'm looking for a new pair of closed back headphones. I've owned quite a few headphones over the years (both closed and open backs), so I've pretty much narrowed down my preferences.
The pair I keep coming back to despite owning more expensive headphones is the AKG K371, which simply sound superb to my taste. For comparison's sake, I also like my Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro-x, but not nearly as much as the K371. I guess my brain really likes the Harman curve with some elevated bass. Another requirement is that the headphones won't be hard to drive because I intend to move around with a laptop as source (so I'm limited to USB powered DAC/Amps). The budget is up to about 400$. I don't know if there is much to improve over the K371's sound within my sound preferences (although I'm happy to be surprised), but there certainly is room for improvement in terms of build quality and comfort (which is ok but not great). Can anyone recommend?

 

[staticV3]

I'd take a look at the Austrian Hi-X60: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4kk2i0e06u27myf/Austrian Audio Hi-X60.pdf

@solderdude reviewed it here: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/austrian-audio/hi-x60/

 

[Roy_L]

Never heard of these. Very interesting!

 

[Klonatans]

E-MU Teak. They exceed your budget a little bit, but perhaps could be found for less second hand in mint condition. They were reviewed and recommended by Amir: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/e-mu-teak-review-headphone.24824/

 

[Dunring]

The Beyerdynamic Drop DT17XX would be a good choice. We have a K371 and I had those at the same time. They're really comfortable, and well rounded with a soft tuning, no Beyer treble peak. They're most importantly easy to drive. I'd really consider getting a $9 Apple 3.5mm adapter which has much more power than people think. It would open up a lot more options if your not held back by onboard sound.

 

[Rayman30]

I'd take a look at the Austrian Hi-X60: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4kk2i0e06u27myf/Austrian Audio Hi-X60.pdf

@solderdude reviewed it here: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/austrian-audio/hi-x60/

This is the way, I use them at work with an Element II, they are (Tuned to Oratory or my own tuning) incredibly detailed, they do lack some body but having compared them to Aeon Noire and LCD-2C Closed, I kept the X60 and sold the others (I did slightly enjoy the Audeze more) but they weren’t better enough to put up with the weight and dimensions.

 

[Shazb0t]

E-MU Teak. They exceed your budget a little bit, but perhaps could be found for less second hand in mint condition. They were reviewed and recommended by Amir: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/e-mu-teak-review-headphone.24824/

The E-MU's have ports in the cups that leak sound, so I'd definitely recommended that you try them out to see if the amount of sound leakage is acceptable for the environment you want to use them in.

 

[Bernard23]

I'd take a look at the Austrian Hi-X60: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4kk2i0e06u27myf/Austrian Audio Hi-X60.pdf

@solderdude reviewed it here: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/austrian-audio/hi-x60/

Interesting, I just read solder dudes reviews of all of the phones on my shortlist of closed backs. I'd ditched the M50x for Shure SRH840A based on another thread recommendation, and added the K371 in too. Discounted Beyer for their higher than average levels of distortion (I will always add EQ anyway so low distortion is more important to me than flat FR out of the box eg audeze LCD-X).
Interestingly it seems the Beyer Dt700 pro X are closest to what I'm looking for after all....

 

[Hare Hare]

Bump ...

Hello,
I am also interested in any suggestions. I have AKG K371 - or just barely - it almost fell completely apart. I like the sound, but would like something with bigger earcups. Any ideas?

 

[staticV3]

Bump ...

Hello,
I am also interested in any suggestions. I have AKG K371 - or just barely - it almost fell completely apart. I like the sound, but would like something with bigger earcups. Any ideas?

Austrian Hi-X60

Here are measurements: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4kk2i0e06u27myf/Austrian Audio Hi-X60.pdf

It's a little more wobbly than the K371, but should be fairly similar in character (blue=K371):

 

[Emilee]

Reviewed it here: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/austrian-audio/hi-x60/