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Best Headphones Under $500
Best Headphones Under $500
Are Sundara's not being considered?
185
Just added the Drop X Beyer DT 177X to the poll.
obviously being a late entry it will not have as many votes, and, sadly for Beyerdynamic; their votes are being spread across quite a few models.
The ‘Tesla’ driver family sound is known to be sibilant, certainly on amplifiers without a lot of control, and definately at ‘high volumes’.. So a special version ‘tuned’ (as Beyer do not) that gets that sibilance under control is just what the doctor ordered.
Combined with being a more market friendly ‘easy to drive’ ohm, these make for some pretty exceptional headphones with fantastic detail retrieval and with Drops pad options, comfort.
As I am listing headphones with great surround gaming /movies playback, I naturally took a vote on the K712 Pro by AKG and the good old Audio Technica ATH AD900X.
Not to say the Shure options are not terrific cans’, and the price range for ‘under $500’ leaves a lot of leeway (ie ATH M50x being budget by comparison to many high vote models here),.. I focused on what are known to be ‘great gaming headphones’.
Some sort of ‘grouping’ more than just price (ie open back vs closed) would make sense.. this really is apples and oranges.
Maybe if people placing votes could add comments to this discussion to qualify their choices and justify why the headphones are being selected.
I stand by the DT177X (drop tuned) as great all rounder headphones that will work exceptionally with a wide range of playback equipment, and be usable in nearly endless situations. (maybe not for jogging!)
11
Basic result from this poll- Sennheiser 600 series are amazing! Though now that the hd58x is available (the 58x is almost identical to the 660s) for $150, do you guys still see a place for the more expensive 600 series models?
31
wired cat ear headphones baby
136
The K712's are criminally under rated, IMO. I even prefer them over the 6xx (love those too). The Q701 came close to them, but not quite as good bass, like a notch below. Alas, they need to be amped or they're un listenable.
Oppo and 1060 are far better than the sennheisers. Typical fanboi vote.
61
PERCI
True, but the 1060's have problems with wood contracting and cracking at the joints, glued on pads, sharp edges, a short wire, and a headband that breaks. However, by all accounts they sound great, better than most if not all of the Senns here, but It's not as refined of a product as it could be and that's probably why it can deliver the sound it does for the price. They say they are going to make the next run of them better. I personally prefer them, you get a good planer for cheap. They really benefit from balanced input and a 4 pin XLR cable. IMO they are the best for the price here and I'd love to see a Massdrop version.
I can't speak to the Oppos at all, I have no idea.
The Senns are often used as a point of reference for other headphones to live up to or beat. That makes demand on them pretty high, so I could see why people want them.
I can't speak to the Oppos at all, I have no idea.
The Senns are often used as a point of reference for other headphones to live up to or beat. That makes demand on them pretty high, so I could see why people want them.
PERCI
hi, can you give us the full names of the headphones you are talking about?
how about philips fidelio x2hr i think it sounds really good considering its price!
424
HD 650 obviously.
PM3!
Not sure why the HE400i is higher than the HE400S.
simon--poole
Probably cause the 400i's are more well known.
MY GOD what an apples and oranges survey!
Quick remark about the Senns; The 600's were very underrated, especially after Sennheiser decided to "upgrade" by making the 650. The result was to replace,in the consumer mind, the excellent, precise, true-to-the-performance headphone with a pretty bass-heavy, rather bloomy, and imprecise headphone at a steeper price tag. Much of that was to appeal to a more bass-headed,popular music-loving consumer who preferred a more all-rounder for things like gaming and driving electronica. Even the 598's were/are, for some genre's, better headphones. This is not to say that the 650's are not good/excellent headphones. But these are much more "tuned" than clinical, and many folks who actually want an accurate, less veiled presentation of the music pass the 600's by because they almost don't figure into people's purchase considerations because there is a prevailing, incorrect belief that the 650's are 600 "upgrades". They are NOT.
The Massdrop 6XX is a 650, but tweaked to present a more honest presentation of the music than the original 650's. The bass has been adjusted to be a bit less forward and the claim is that there is a better accuracy.
So. If you want a more accurate, more neutral set of headphones, that STILL provide a lively and appreciable bass,(that doesn't overwhelm or veil the mids and highs), the 600 is the better choice. If you like dubstep, dance electronica, bass-happy rock/popular, and you want a boomyrumbly explosions gamer set, that are quite good headphones for these genres, (and will present classical happily but less precisely), or want a "warmer" headphone experience, the 650's and/6XX 's are more likely to suit you well.
I have reviewed all of these headphones, and, when it comes to purchasing Senns, I go with the 600's every time, over much more expensive models that are supposedly "better", or "flagship". I can't get round the bass-heaviness, as I am a classical/acoustic/live listener, for the most part. If I want "warmer", I use my amplifier to change the sound characteristics, using tube amps to add a more liquidy/velvety quality to what I am hearing.
hum. not such a "quick comment". lol!
Quick remark about the Senns; The 600's were very underrated, especially after Sennheiser decided to "upgrade" by making the 650. The result was to replace,in the consumer mind, the excellent, precise, true-to-the-performance headphone with a pretty bass-heavy, rather bloomy, and imprecise headphone at a steeper price tag. Much of that was to appeal to a more bass-headed,popular music-loving consumer who preferred a more all-rounder for things like gaming and driving electronica. Even the 598's were/are, for some genre's, better headphones. This is not to say that the 650's are not good/excellent headphones. But these are much more "tuned" than clinical, and many folks who actually want an accurate, less veiled presentation of the music pass the 600's by because they almost don't figure into people's purchase considerations because there is a prevailing, incorrect belief that the 650's are 600 "upgrades". They are NOT.
The Massdrop 6XX is a 650, but tweaked to present a more honest presentation of the music than the original 650's. The bass has been adjusted to be a bit less forward and the claim is that there is a better accuracy.
So. If you want a more accurate, more neutral set of headphones, that STILL provide a lively and appreciable bass,(that doesn't overwhelm or veil the mids and highs), the 600 is the better choice. If you like dubstep, dance electronica, bass-happy rock/popular, and you want a boomyrumbly explosions gamer set, that are quite good headphones for these genres, (and will present classical happily but less precisely), or want a "warmer" headphone experience, the 650's and/6XX 's are more likely to suit you well.
I have reviewed all of these headphones, and, when it comes to purchasing Senns, I go with the 600's every time, over much more expensive models that are supposedly "better", or "flagship". I can't get round the bass-heaviness, as I am a classical/acoustic/live listener, for the most part. If I want "warmer", I use my amplifier to change the sound characteristics, using tube amps to add a more liquidy/velvety quality to what I am hearing.
hum. not such a "quick comment". lol!
424
TiffanyPoodleslide
The HD 650's have a more balanced frequency response than the HD 600's. It is closer to the target FR for headphones. So the HD 600's are less accurate.
544
TiffanyPoodleslide
Although you mentioned there are differences between the 6XX and the HD650 in terms of bass tweaks, the measurements still argues that they are identical, according to Head-fi's observations.
If the Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 6XX Headphones and the Sennheiser HD 650 Headphones are the same, why are they listen as different options? (same sound, not same item).
Or were they the same only when advertising, reviewing and trying to sell?
544
mrjimmybob
They are a collabo with Massdrop and Sennheiser. They are identical but with different colors.
18
Surprised the 1990s are on here, don't they go for around $600?
Sad to not see them getting any love, every review I've seen of them has them as one of if not the best neutral / slight V-shaped headphones at it's price.
Sad to not see them getting any love, every review I've seen of them has them as one of if not the best neutral / slight V-shaped headphones at it's price.
28
Kechos
They are often ~$450-500? But I agree with you. In terms of detail retrieval, instrument separation, build quality they blow every headphones in this list out the water by a hefty margin. People compare these to HD800s for Pete's sake.
(Edited)Philips X2 placing where it is at the moment is rather impressive given its price point. I personally got myself a pair Friday and loving them to bits.
544
How about in treble?
Megazine
pretty decent, if you need treble go with the 6xx/s
Id say mrspeakers alpha dod for sure
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