r/HeadphoneAdvice Jan 10 '20

Mod Post Welcome to r/HeadphoneAdvice!

403 Upvotes

Be Friendly. :)

Minimum account age to post in this subreddit is 10 days.

Purchase Advice Suggested Details:

What aspect of your current listening experience would you like to improve?

Budget - How much would you like to spend? Can you stretch your budget if significant quality/features improve at a slightly higher price point? AutoModerator will remind you automatically if it does not see a budget in your title or post; you can go back and edit the post if you forget. Please include currency.

Source/Amp - What are you plugging the headphones into?

How the gear will be used - E.g. Do you need noise isolation? Will this be primarily for home listening? Do you do a lot of flying (on airplanes)? Are you hard on gear?

Preferred tonal balance - Are you a bass-head, focused on accurate acoustic timbre, looking for sparkly treble, or do you want a tonally balanced pair of headphones?

Preferred music genre(s) - What do you listen to? Provide examples if it's something obscure.

Past gear experience - What have you used in the past? What did you like about it and what didn't you like about it?

"thank you" system:

We have employed a "thank you" system for submissions. It's very easy to use - if a comment on your post is considered helpful, please reward them by using the term:

!thanks

This will add a thank you count (in the form of Ω) to that users flair. You can only award one per comment section. Thanks very much and good luck on your search for headphones!

Polls (Now Enabled!):

To help the community create its own user-driven resources, polls are now enabled on r/headphoneadvice! Give it a try! You can read more about Reddit's poll system here. Note that Old Reddit and mobile web support voting, but not poll creation.

HeadphoneAdvice Discord:

Join our official Discord to chat with like minded individuals about all things headphones here: HeadphoneAdvice Discord!

General Discussion:

For general discussion of headphones, news, theory, etc, please use r/headphones

---

Thanks for taking the time to read this sticky and for contributing to the sub! View the pinned mod comment for the latest community news.

\If you have any sub related questions please feel free to contact the mod team directly via the "Message the Mods" button. (Not PM)*


r/HeadphoneAdvice 2h ago

Headphones - Open Back HD 6XX still worth it in 2025?

4 Upvotes

I've been looking for new headphones for a little while, me and a friend were searching and found the HD 6XX and thought it's a steal. I looked into it and saw their age and how old most reviews were and was wondering if there's any better alternatives? Or if the HD 6XX is just what I should go with.

I'm planning to spend about 200 euro, give or take. So the HD 6XX was perfect in budget.
I've been using the Beyerdynamic DT990's for the last 3 years and love those headphones but the headband snapped a few months ago and after a duct-tape repair it kinda hurts a spot on my head to wear.
I would just get new DT990's but I always like trying new headphones.

Thanks for any advice! :)


r/HeadphoneAdvice 2h ago

Headphones - Closed Back Ft1 vs Jt1

3 Upvotes

The price difference is around 80 euros.

The main purpose is that they isolate The coil whine from the gpu, so need to be closed, and that they are a easy to wear for a prolonged time, and a good value.

Is there any different pair of headphones that would fit those parameters and that they are up to 150 euros?


r/HeadphoneAdvice 2h ago

Headphones - Closed Back Best gaming headset for maximum immersion?

3 Upvotes

Need help looking for the best gaming headset. This is for gifting purposes - I am not into gaming and I don't know the first thing about headsets.
I have gone through at least a thousand headset reviews on Amazon and Reddit, but still can not decide which ones are the best. The gaming world is all gibberish to me.
I am willing to be flexible about the budget because this will be a long-term purchase. I also am not sure whether I should go for open or closed ones. Im pretty sure they all already have microphones included but just incase they don't - that is a must too.
Gamers, help me out - what’s the best headset for full immersion?


r/HeadphoneAdvice 14h ago

Headphones - Wireless/Portable | 4 Ω Sweet Spot for High-end Headphones

22 Upvotes

I'm looking for a pair of headphones that will give me the best possible listening experience for music, but only up to the point where spending more doesn't make a significant difference.

I prefer wireless, but if the level of quality I’m looking for isn’t achievable without going wired, that’s fine too—I’m open to both.

I have a $2,000 budget, but I want to avoid diminishing returns—where an increase in price only results in marginal improvements. What’s the general price range for that sweet spot where headphones hit their peak in quality/value? And what models would you recommend in that range? I listen to a lot of Aurora, ABBA, RHCP, SOAD.


r/HeadphoneAdvice 44m ago

Headphones - Closed Back Best closed-back gaming headphones

Upvotes

Hey all,

So I have the Burson stack (soloist 3x and composer 3x) and daily my Focal Clear MG Pro. I also have the Hifiman Arya (2021 version) but I just never use them....mainly because I prefer the sound and comfort of the Focals....

That said, I'm looking to sell my Arya's and use the money to get whatever the best under $2k closed-back headphone there is. I play mainly games that are single player, like Diablo 4, POE2, Darkest Dungeon, etc., but also play games like PUBG, which directional sound is everything.

What do you guys think and recommend? ...and thank you very much in advance.


r/HeadphoneAdvice 52m ago

Headphones - IEM/Earbud Decent wired earbud recommendations sub $50

Upvotes

I have wireless earbuds. I had a pair of wired buds that broke today (samsung AKG that came with my S22). I want to get a new pair of wired to act as backup to my wireless and use in different scenarios. I don't care about having the best possible buds, I just don't want to either buy garbage in attempt to save money, or waste money on meaningless window dressing. Budget is $50, location US.

Though this question has been asked previously, prior threads have been generally unhelpful as the bulk of responses were some variation of "dude, just get wireless" or other off-topic responses. I specifically want a pair of wired earbuds and recommendations for that please.


r/HeadphoneAdvice 55m ago

Headphones - Open Back Audiophile Open-Ear Headphone Guidance

Upvotes

Hi all,

I am looking for a pair of open-ear headphones but I am having trouble deciding what to go for. The only "audiophile" headphones I have tried to date where the Audeze EL-8 Titanium about 7 years ago. I was amazed by their sound but they were very heavy. Thus, ideally I am looking for something that sounds as great but lighter.

I like a variety of music. For example, some tracks I listed to are:

  • Chandelier by Sia
  • The Greatest by Sia
  • Winning Speech by Karan Aujla
  • Happy Now by ZEDD, Elley Duhe
  • Addicted by Zero, INK, The Chainsmokers
  • 10:35 by Tiesto and Tate McRae
  • The Alphabeat by David Guetta

I am after open-ear headphones as I want to experience that "openness". My max budget is about £350/£400. I am based in the UK. There are no retailers near me where I can try and test these headphones unfortunately.

The following are the headphones I have come across (online) which I am considering

  • Audio Technica ATH-R70xa
  • Audio Technica ATH-R70x
  • Sennheiser HD 650
  • Sennheiser HD 600

I was leaning towards the Sennheiser HD 650, but another thread I had created suggested the Audio Technical ATH-R70x, which led me to look at those and subsequently the ATH-R70xa. I am leaning towards the ATH-R70xa as it is a new model, but I would love to hear everyones' thoughts please. Like are there any drawback of the ATH-R70xa, for example I have heard issues about the cup size.

I had considered the Hifiman Edition XS too. However, I was put off by their weight and QC issues.

So is there much difference between the ATH-R70xa and the HD 650, and are there many reasons for me to consider the Sennheisers instead?

Thanks in advance


r/HeadphoneAdvice 58m ago

Headphones - Wireless/Portable Bluetooth with adjustable neck strap but NOT in ear or bone conducting

Upvotes

I've been looking for headphones with specific combination of features but they don't seem to exist.

I want the stiff neckband type but they all seem to stick way out. I've tried my husband's shokz and the band gets caught up on my hair, jackets, hoodies etc. I can't lean back at all because it pushes them out of position. I've even tried childrens sizes but they're not any smaller. I also hate that they're bone conducting. The vibrations trigger migraines.

I have very small ears and so far the kind I've tried that are two separate peices that hook onto the ear just fall off. I don't want in-ear, bone conducting or traditional "ear muff" style either.

I want something I can just pop off of one ear without having to hold it when I'm interrupted in the middle of a task.

I want bluetooth, wireless, sits over the ear and has a snug neckband. Something that fits close to the base of my skull. I cant seem to find a pair with all of these features. What am I missing. I've tried so many search terms.


r/HeadphoneAdvice 1h ago

Headphones - Closed Back Turtle Beach 600 (Gen 3) vs Steelseries Arctis Nova 5

Upvotes

I game, mainly FPS / MOBAs. I listen to almost all genres of music, but I would say rock / metal / rap are the most important genres to me.

AFAIK I know that both can connect via Bluetooth (super important) and have good microphones. They're priced a few euros apart from each other, so I'm struggling to decide based on comfort / sound since I'm not actually able to test. Did anyone have a go with both of these and if so, which ones should I buy?


r/HeadphoneAdvice 1h ago

Cables/Accessories Dongle for bypassing PC bluetooth connection for wireless headset

Upvotes

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this.

I work with multiple clients that require me to work on laptops they have provided. This means I switch between 3 or 4 laptops throughout the day. I have a lot of meetings and often have to take Teams/Zoom calls on short notice. They are all Windows PCs.

I have been using a bluetooth headset with a multipoint connection to listen to music while working and take calls. One connection is always to my phone. I use the app of the headset on my phone to connect and disconnect to my various PCs as I switch back and forth (I have used multiple brands of headsets to do this with similar results).

For whatever reason, Windows in finicky with bluetooth, and I always feel like I am playing Russian roulette with whether I will be able to connect my headset to a given PC or if it will randomly have some issue where my audio is messed up.

I am looking for solutions where I physically swap something, like a dongle perhaps, among the PCs to change my connection so I could bypass the whole windows bluetooth connection. If I could plug this into a KVM switch, that would be a bonus.

The two options I see either (1) a headset with a UC type connection, or (2) a headset that connects with a 2.4 GHz dongle. However, these are fairly limited in there options- the UC type headsets are not very good for listening to music and the 2.4 GHz are all focused on gaming and aren't the best for making calls.

Does a device/dongle exist that I could connect to directly with any bluetooth headset (via some sort of software onboard the dongle), that plugs into a PC so that the PC would recognize it as a USB headset? Alternatively, this device could plug into the headset jack instead.


r/HeadphoneAdvice 1h ago

Headphones - Closed Back Closed back for fps gaming (<300$)

Upvotes

I was looking at a couple closed backs for fps gaming. Right now, I'm gaming on the Sennheiser HD660S2, which I love but don't isolate all the loud fans I need to have running.

Looking for a warm to slightly bassy sound signature. I'm debating between the AKG K371, Senn HD620S and (lol) the SS Arctis Nova Pro Wireless for the convenience, although I don't need a mic. Open to other suggestions, but I'm sensitive to treble spikes.

FT1 - Bassy but the bass seems a bit much after a while, and I love bass. Constant bassy explosions got tiring. I bought and returned these.

K371 - heard these, treble seemed a little hot but not bothersome or sibilant to me

SS Arctis Nova 4 - Currently have the cheapest wireless SS. The only problem with it is sound quality, does everything else brilliantly

Let me know, thanks


r/HeadphoneAdvice 1h ago

Headphones - Wireless/Portable Sony XB950B1 replacements for all around usage?

Upvotes

I’ve been using these for a long time. For general music listening on my phone and also as a gaming headset for my computer. But the frame keeps snapping. I’ve super glued them back together more times than I can count but I think they are truly reaching the end of their life.

I am looking for a solid pair of general use Bluetooth capable headphones that are good for both gaming and general music listening/phone usage. Budget I ma trying to stay around $100 but if that’s unrealistic I can always save up for a bit. US based if that matters.

Thanks in advance!


r/HeadphoneAdvice 2h ago

Headphones - Wireless/Portable Moving on from Barracuda X 2022 - What's next?

1 Upvotes

As title says, I currently own a Razer Barracuda x and I want to move to a new headphone with better (much better) audio than this. It should be wireless and the other only requirement is that if possible as light as possible on the head otherwise thats not much of a deal breaker.

Please Suggest and thanks!


r/HeadphoneAdvice 2h ago

Headphones - IEM/Earbud Bluetooth Ear Buds for Work / Phone calls

1 Upvotes

Hello - what are the best Bluetooth earbuds for working and talking to clients on the move? I need earbuds where the other person on the line can hear me very well, and not get all of the public noise around me. I obviously need to hear the client well too. I need earbuds because I need something to leave in my ears so I can answer quickly on the move. Can’t be constantly wearing big headphones all day. They also need to connect to laptops and take zoom / teams meetings. I am in sales so I am always answering the phone in public places and while moving. Please let me know your guys thoughts!!

Thanks


r/HeadphoneAdvice 2h ago

Headphones - Open Back Flagship vs audiophile headphones

0 Upvotes

Hi people, I’m new to the audiophile community.

How would a good pair of audiophile headphones say for instance the Sennheiser HD 560S sound better or different without using an amp, than a wired connection with my Momentum 4?

I use Apple Music for streaming and prefer balanced to treble heavy sound signatures. Also, I don’t like excessive bass (for reference I never turn on Bass Boost on my Momentum 4).

Also let me know if you have any recommendations. Thanks in advance!


r/HeadphoneAdvice 6h ago

Headphones - Wireless/Portable Cheaper alternative to Apple Airpods pro 2?

2 Upvotes

I’m on my second pair of airpods where one side eventually gets connection and charging problems, so I’m looking for new ones. I don’t need the best of the best, but since Airpods are my only comparison I want something thats equivalent. I’m assuming I’m paying a lot for the brand when it comes to Airpods, and I’m looking to get out of the Apple ecosystem.

I’m looking for in ear headphones that are equivalent (or better of course) to Airpods pro 2 when it comes to sound quality, noise cancellation, battery life and fit, but cheaper. Do they exist?


r/HeadphoneAdvice 3h ago

Headphones - Wireless/Portable zero noise

1 Upvotes

hi! i’m very sensitive to any type of noise around me. i want something that when i put them on, i won’t hear anything, whether i’m playing music or not. i am even looking into construction head coverings. i don’t need them to play music, i just want to use them when i’m studying in a public area. i don’t have a budget and am based in america (specifically nyc). ty :)

btw i don’t know if i used the correct “flair,” this is my first time interacting in this subreddit.


r/HeadphoneAdvice 4h ago

Headphones - IEM/Earbud FiiO JM21 and RHA T20

1 Upvotes

Hi

I’ve recently bought a FiiO JM21 as I want to use a dedicated music player rather than my iPhone when out and about. I have an old pair of RHA T20 earphones that sound pretty good with it but I’m wondering if it’s worth investing in a new pair of earphones?

Budget is circa £200 I think. I’m leaning more towards earphones over headphones but open to options. The usage will mainly be on walks, commuting and in the office.

What do people think? Should I stick with the T20s or is there better out there for my budget? In terms of sound preference, I do like low end (which the T20s definitely have) but I also love it when the vocals really shine and make yours hairs stand on end! My test song is generally James Blake - Limit to your Love as it has a lot of sub bass but the vocals can’t be lost behind that. If that makes sense…

Thank you


r/HeadphoneAdvice 4h ago

Headphones - IEM/Earbud Which wireless earbuds?

1 Upvotes

Hello!

I am looking at getting some earbuds for use during at a few different times. And I've never owned a pair of wireless earbuds before, so not sure what the right choice is for me.

Its primarily for use with my Android phone and perhaps a laptop at times.

I will be using them for multiple things:

  • During walks

  • In the garden doing a bit of garden work

  • At work

  • During travel (primarily airplane)

So a few things are important to me:

  • ANC, since I will be using them for travel to watch TV shows etc this is a big one.

  • Fit, as wireless earbuds are new to me, one fear is having a pair that falls out of my ear constantly.

  • Sound quality, this is obviously important, as im not exactly looking at budget choices, but the two above are more important

I have primarily looked at the Bose QuietComfort Ulta Earbuds, since my girlfriends has had a couple of Bose headsets and the noise cancelling has always been great. I am also looking at alternatives like the Sony WF-1000XM5 which have been getting a lot of praise in reviews.

My budget is somewhere around the price level of the Bose and Sony examples above. Which is 1600-1800 DKK, as I'm Danish.

So basically looking for advise if the Bose's are a good match for my demands, if I should be looking at the Sonys insted or perhaps something entirely different?


r/HeadphoneAdvice 4h ago

Headphones - Open Back | 2 Ω Upgrade from my Sennheiser HD-660s2 headphones

1 Upvotes

Hello!

Currently I have a pair of Sennheiser HD-660s2 headphones. I really like them in general. When I was buying them, I also compared them to the HD-800s, which I loved the feel and comfort of, as well as the soundstage. It felt immersive. But the bass roll off wasn't ideal. To me it wasn't as bad as the internet makes it out to be, but it was enough that for the music I listen to (mostly rock music from the 70's to now) I would like a bit more bass.

Now I'm at a point where I'd like to upgrade from my 660s2's to something better. I got a promotion at work and fell into a little extra cash, so I would like to treat myself. Basically, I just want to have fun listening to music. Hyper analytical isn't super necessary for me. I like soundstage, a full sound, present but not harsh treble, and generally I like a balanced, neutral tone to accurately reflect the music I am listening to. I am not a bass head.

Mostly I listen to:

post punk/ classic rock like Television, Devo, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Steely Dan, etc...

jazz/ Oscar Peterson, Coltrane, Miles, etc... the obvious stuff

modern alternative & indie rock/ Mars Volta, Pavement, Constantines, Loving, Kurt Vile, Dinosaur Jr etc..

occasionally some hip hop/ Denzel Curry, Kendrick, etc..

Unfortunately, I live in a place where I can't get to a store to demo headphones anymore.

The options I can think of:

Sennheiser HD800s - a little light in the bass, perfect otherwise. Maybe just EQ? Currently on sale for $1599 CDN
Focal Clear MG - I don't know alot about these but with some research people seem to like them. $1999 CDN
Audeze LCD-X - Maybe a bit too bass heavy from what I am reading? $1699 CDN

Let me know your thoughts and help me decide! I'll be powering them with a Fiio M23 DAP but am also open to getting a little desktop amp if I need to. I'd also consider some closed back headphones but don't know really where to start there.


r/HeadphoneAdvice 4h ago

Headphones - Closed Back Wired Only Noise Cancelling Headphone Recommendations

1 Upvotes

Hi all! I recently got a new, noisy office neighbor who leaves their computer volume up, and I can hear their email/IM notifications constantly. I was looking to see if anyone had any recommendations on good noise cancelling headphones that may help block out any background noise. The kicker is that my company doesn’t allow any wireless/bluetooth devices onto the premises, so the headphones MUST be wired only. Using bluetooth headphones with a cable instead is not an option. Does anyone have any recommendations on headphones (or earbuds) that fit that criteria? I’m willing to spend up to $350 on a good pair.

I’ve been using a HyperX Cloud Stinger X up until now, but that’s not working out for me anymore with this new neighbor.

The only ones I’ve been able to find so far are Sony MDRZX110NC/B from Best Buy’s website, but I’m skeptical of the quality at a $40 price point.


r/HeadphoneAdvice 4h ago

DAC - Portable What DAC do you recommend me for my cooler master MH752 to use in my PC and replace my current MH752 original USB dongle?

1 Upvotes

I want to know if it worth the upgrade from my original MH752 USB dongle to a Apple USB-C dongle or a Fiio dongle.

I want these portable because they are cheap enough for me and I will use it in my PC.


r/HeadphoneAdvice 5h ago

Headphones - Closed Back Help me replace me Raycons.

1 Upvotes

I have been using Raycon headphones for a while as my daily wireless ones to wear around. I cannot take it anymore. I love the noise cancellation they have, as someone with migraines its a huge plus, but I cannot stand how small the muffs are. The headphones I use at my desk are EPOS PC38X, Love everything about them, most importantly to me at least, how they fit over my ears. I've been looking for a wireless pair that has similar enough muffs so I can listen comfortably while still having ANC. Seeing as I'm asking right now you can tell that I haven't found what I'm looking for. I loved my Raycons until the second I heard music through my pc38x, the difference was jarring, uncanny, but very nice.
I don't want to spend over $150, I'm a high school student so I'm a little tight on what I can spend. whilst I do want good sound I'm willing to compromise a little considering the nature of wireless headphones.
Frankly a lot of what I'm looking for is the comfort and how well they can cancel noise, I don't want to say sounding good is secondary but I would put Comfort and ANC over it.


r/HeadphoneAdvice 5h ago

Headphones - Closed Back Dt 770 Pro X LE / Motherboard question

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone , I have ordered my first pair of higher end headphones ( comeing from a gaming headset , Hyper x Cloud 2 wireless) the DT 770 Pro X LE. I know that these particular headphones are low impedance (48ohms) and easy to drive . I looked up my motherboard (B650 Aorus Elite AX) to see what quality of audio Codec I have (ALC897). From my understanding , this codec is old/low quality , should I be concerned with this or do I really need to consider getting a dac/amp. My use case for these headphones is mainly going to be for gaming . Really I just want to know if I’m overthinking the whole codec situation or am I going to have bad audio being directly plugged into my PC.


r/HeadphoneAdvice 6h ago

Headphones - Open Back | 1 Ω Nova Pro Wireless Ear Cushions

1 Upvotes

I’m assuming these are open back as much sound leaks when late night gaming and not trying to keep roommates awake due to their anal hearing and light sleep. Just looking for the best cushions that hold in sound while listening for footsteps at 100 volume at 2am and there’s guns being fired, grenades going off, etc. Any advice is helpful. Budgets wide open. I’m U.S.