Best Headphones (under $200)
by The Press Desk 25th July 2016

Would be interesting to poll these 10 as well in some kind of ranking, other than alphabetical order only...

surprized to not see the Sennheiser HD-25.
unbeatable on stage.

I've been keeping an eye on the Sennheiser brand for a while now and they just be my next set of headphones. I like the sound quality of my Blue Mo-Fi but after wearing them for a while they feel like a vice is clamping down on my head!

? No alessandros? Sacrilege !

Well, at least there's a Grado in there!

Thanks for the tip - will really consider once I retire my SR-60!

The allesandro MS1 is really good with a ms-1000 mod or matmod (full disclosure - I made the latter).

Of the 4 I've had, the AKG is amazing bang for the buck, all arounder. And sturdy. I beat the heck out of it thinking "it's just $80, I can replace it any ol' time"

I have an HD600 for mixing but often find myself using the AKG for most things, especially travel.

Which AKG are you referring to? The K240 MKII?

Cheers

Add the 8323 to the list.. they are no slouch

Premium Hi-Fi DJ Style Over-the-Ear Pro Headphone - Monoprice.com

had the same HD25's for around 14-15 years now, no joke. daily heavy use. had to replace the cups a couple of times, and the cable once, but the main components are still going strong. extremely impressive. would never even consider buying a different pair of headphones.

I've been lurking this thing for quite some time but they never go back in stock...

Got to love the HD25s as well. Just solid flat response that translates well to any monitors.

Although saying that, I've moved to the ATH-M50x as the HD25s get sore to wear after 3 hours or more. Still will always reference with both headphones as I live in a flat and don't get to play on monitors that often!

hope you have the velour cups! much better

ISK HD999 can be found for under $100 and compares well with some of the cans on this list. Which is probably why it's not on this list...

Good to see Grado's up there.

Of these, I have the Sony mdr-7506, Beyer DT770, Senn HD280, and AT M50.

They all have their pros and cons and I would pick each for specific purposes. If I could only have one though it would be the M50's. They isolate well and sound very good. The mdr-7506 have a scooped sound and are light on your head. Vocalists tend to like them. I usually use the hd250's for drummer as they isolate very well. The Beyers are very good but not quite as good as the M50's IMHO. That may be a result of the source. I could be wrong but the Beyers might be more demanding to get the most out of them. Either that or they take a long time to break in.

For critical listening I would rate them like this...

1. M50
2. DT770
3. MDR-7506
4. HD280

For isolation

1. M50
2. HD280
3. DT770
4. MDR-7506

For general listening...

1. MDR-7506
2. M50
3. DT770
4. HD280

The HD280 hits the bottom of the list a lot in regards to sound quality but I should stress that all these cans sound good and sometimes it is a tight race between four good sets of cans and I like my hd250's. I believe they cost the same as the Sony's. The Sony's don't cut it for isolation in my book and they aren't good for mastering but they sound very nice especially for vocal music or acoustic instruments, strings, etc. The HD280's feel sturdier, isolate great and sound decent. If you want cans all around for a home studio they are the way to go. They have a nice balanced sound too. The M50's are killer for bass. They have those 45mm drivers and can really rock. They also have a flat enough response that mixes translate fairly well. You just have to make sure not to under emphasize the bass. The DT770's have a more airy presentation and a better sound stage. They don't isolate as well as the M50's and less bass but would also work well for mixing.

At least that's my perception. Others may hear things differently.

Edit: Just realized this thread is kind of old. I'll leave it here anyway since I took the time to type it!

The ATH-M40x are great headphones, too. I never even tried the M50x, because of so many comments on the internet about what a good job the cheaper brother does. It's trust-worthy and reliable, a great helper for decision-making, i.e. microfone placement!

For extended wear the 280's are hard to beat

Massdrop has the AKG K7xx and the Sennheiser HD6xx based on the AKG K702 anniversary editions and the Sennheiser HD-650. Both are $199 when available on Massdrop. Currently the AKG K7XX is available:

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/akg-k7x...ion-headphones

Guitar Center these days finally has a listening station to compare pro headphones. I was able to compare some Audio-Technicas with some AKG's and went with the K240 Studios. I know a lot of it is personal preference, but it means a lot to be able to test.

HD280 Pro are pretty much industry standard from my understanding. The only downside is that they are HOT. They sound pretty great though. Not sure if they are the 'best' in the price range but I am extremely satisfied with mine.

Sony MDR-7506.

Don't take my word for it....Go to the music store and let you listen to all of them.

Monoprice 8323s are fantastic, probably the first choice I'd hand out to a stranger/musician I don't know for tracking.

AKG240M, 240S, 141 are my favourite, except for tracking drums with a very loud click track.

Both the Massdrop AKG K7XX and Sennheiser HD6XX at $199 should be in this list. In their original and more expensive guise of K702AE and HD650 they are in the best headphones over $300 list! Well, the K701 is and the 702AE/7XX are even better.

FWIW, we like to consider "MSRP" prices when determining these thresholds, but things can get tricky because of price drops, semi-permanent discounts and so forth, so please bare with us.

Hey, not having a go guys, you do a great job!

As for the cans I mentioned, they are always $199 every time they "drop", which is quite often.

Massdrop are dropping the K7xx right now.

I have the Beyerdynamic DT 770, Audio-Technica ATH-M50X, and Sennheiser HD 280 PRO, among others.

The Beyerdynamics are the best of them for detailed, accurate pro studio work and insulated from bleet. I keep them safe for tracking and mixing. with.

The Audio-Technica are more fun to listen to music. I love them the most for enjoyment. I can see that singers would love them for tracking, as long as you are careful about bleed.

If I had a tight budget, I would mix with the Audio-Technica's and JBL305 monitors, listening on another system for the deep bass, like a good car system, and other systems for translation.

Sennheiser HD 280's lack bass. Use with caution. They are accurate for the price, and I came to the conclusion they are the best cans under $100. Sound isolation is good for the price. I keep them in my backpack where they risk getting beat up when I am casually mobile. I would never do that with the Beyerdynamics kept aside for the singer.

I mostly record Classical music ans it's hard to find cans that reproduce the real spectrum of real acoustic instruments.
I tried
- the 7506 : too much high mids. Impossible to hear a violin with these
- The 770 80o : very comfortable but too much bass and treble, no so important medium
- The 770 250o was far more linear, but always these Beyer highs !
- The AT 50 (not 50X) : not comfortable, unnatural punch and basses, no medium
- The KRK 8400 : the most comfortable (it's very light). The sound is ok but nasal sound
- The Focal Professionnal : after a few hours it sounds good, with always some lacks in the medium and a little too much bass. Not very comfortable

The last one, not in the list above (??? it cost me 155€), very old reference and the best for its very natural sound : the Beyer DT-250.
It's the first one giving me just after a recording a similar sound than the direct sound. Not the "Beyer" sound of the 770/880/990.
Very light, comfortable (around the ears for my ears). No problem to drive it at reasonable level.
2 point where it dosn't shine :
- the isolation is average
- Nothing to reduce the (little...)size of the cans in your bag.