[koshertattoo392]

Hello guys,

So I'm almost decided to go for ATH-r70x due to its comfort (light-weight), since I personally find Sundara a bit too heavy for my taste, HD 600 got fairly strong clamping force which give uncomfortable feeling to my jaw. All these 3 headphones are seen quite often, and they are basically everywhere, however none of them seems to entirely fit my taste.

My goal here is to find the budget friendly open-back headphones that are comfortable to wear (light weight and not clampy) with neutral sounding signature, ideally under 600$ (550€). For reference, I personally find Sundara (370g a bit heavy, clampy as well), HD 600 (260g feels comfortable enough in terms of weight, but sadly quite clampy).

Since I'm pretty new to open-back headphones, just curious to see if you guys got any interesting options (perhaps some less-known gems that nobody discovered) to offer from the market.

Cheers

 

[dunring]

I use a Hifiman he5xx daily since the Sundara and hd6xx feel like a vise. Well rounded and fairly easy to drive, especially on balanced, then it's a breeze. The Beyerdynamic DT900 is another one I really like. I have the Ananda Stealth, but the HE5XX is such a better fit.

 

[CheekerBreeker]

If you like the hd600 just stretch the headband over some books, thats what i did with my sundara and dt 900.

 

[koshertattoo392]

I use a Hifiman he5xx daily since the Sundara and hd6xx feel like a vise. Well rounded and fairly easy to drive, especially on balanced, then it's a breeze. The Beyerdynamic DT900 is another one I really like. I have the Ananda Stealth, but the HE5XX is such a better fit.

Although I do like the sound from most of Hifiman headphones, the weight is just a bit too much for me to handle. I personally get so used to headphones that around 300g, basically anything goes beyond that feels quite heavy for my taste. Therefore, sadly I would give HFM a pass due to the weighty nature from Planar headphones. Dynamic headphones seems more suitable for me.

 

[HipHopScribe]

They don't get a lot of shine, but I think the Shure SRH1840 is an excellent alternative to the HD600, and to my memory less clampy than the HD600

 

[koshertattoo392]

They don't get a lot of shine, but I think the Shure SRH1840 is an excellent alternative to the HD600, and to my memory less clampy than the HD600

I had my attention on SRH-1840 before, 270g feels quite decent on the weight side. As you said it is not as clampy as HD 600 which also seems great. My only problem is I had never tried SRH-1840 before, it would be great if someone would be able to compare its sound directly to Sundara/HD 600.

 

[earmonger]

If you want comfort just go directly to the ATH-R70X.

I wear glasses and anything clampy bothers me pretty quickly.

But I've worn ATH-R70X for hours. There is some materials-science genius in the springy slotted metal headband and the suede pads. And as silly as the wings look, they have a near-antigravity effect.

Meanwhile, the sound is impeccable.

Don't know what country you are in, but if Thomann operates there, they can save you a little bit over the (usually) fixed price of $350, and you have a 30-day tryout period. Ten minutes into trying mine I knew they weren't going back...

 

[Ginryuu]

If you want comfort just go directly to the ATH-R70X.

I wear glasses and anything clampy bothers me pretty quickly.

But I've worn ATH-R70X for hours. There is some materials-science genius in the springy slotted metal headband and the suede pads. And as silly as the wings look, they have a near-antigravity effect.

Meanwhile, the sound is impeccable.

Don't know what country you are in, but if Thomann operates there, they can save you a little bit over the (usually) fixed price of $350, and you have a 30-day tryout period. Ten minutes into trying mine I knew they weren't going back...

What is an alternative for the R70X if your head shape doesn't allow to wear them properly on your head?
I like the Audio Technica sound signature in general but always had to avoid all headphones from them with this strange wing pad system because it simply doesn't fit my head. Audio Technica is a japanese brand so I think they just created this wing system for japanese heads which are in comparison way smaller compared to europeans for example.

 

[earmonger]

You can look into AKG 700 series, Shure SRH 1840 mentioned above, Beyerdynamic DT900 Pro X and Neumann NDH20 or NDH30 for studio-style neutral or detail-oriented headphones. I haven't tried any of them but they do tend to pop up in discussions like this.

I do have Beyerdynamic DT700 Pro X -- closed-back version of DT900 Pro X -- and I like the sound but they have more clamping force than the ATH-R70X.

 

[mmxshhfpl]

I recommend take a look at Beyerdynamic open (or close if you want to try) ones fitting your budget. If you are able to go higher, I'll recommend T1 v3 specifically.

 

[ThEvil0nE]

The very much raved 660S2 is now $200 cheaper at $399.95

 

[koshertattoo392]

If you want comfort just go directly to the ATH-R70X.

I wear glasses and anything clampy bothers me pretty quickly.

But I've worn ATH-R70X for hours. There is some materials-science genius in the springy slotted metal headband and the suede pads. And as silly as the wings look, they have a near-antigravity effect.

Meanwhile, the sound is impeccable.

Don't know what country you are in, but if Thomann operates there, they can save you a little bit over the (usually) fixed price of $350, and you have a 30-day tryout period. Ten minutes into trying mine I knew they weren't going back...

I do have to agree that in terms of comfort, ATH-R70X seems to be the perfect solution for me, and I think after going through so many alternatives out there I can finally make my decision here.

Sony newly released their open-back headphone model MDR-MV1 (220g, super lightweight), which looks like a close competitor in the similar price range, but I'd probably still go for R70X due to I'm not a fan of Sony and don't have time to try it anyway.

If you can get your hands on the Sony MDR-MV1, I would definitely love to hear your opinions on the comparison.

 

[earmonger]

Not that I think Rtings.com is always that accurate, but their review suggests that the highs are a little fatiguing and exaggerated.
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sony/mdr-mv1

It also suggests that you can't get a good seal with glasses.

Majorhifi calls them "treble-forward"
https://majorhifi.com/sony-mdr-mv1-review/

The only Sony headphones I've had are the MDR7506 and they clamp pretty strongly, but the Rtings review says the MDR-MV1 are more comfortable than the competitors.

 

[koshertattoo392]

Not that I think Rtings.com is always that accurate, but their review suggests that the highs are a little fatiguing and exaggerated.
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sony/mdr-mv1

It also suggests that you can't get a good seal with glasses.

Majorhifi calls them "treble-forward"
https://majorhifi.com/sony-mdr-mv1-review/

The only Sony headphones I've had are the MDR7506 and they clamp pretty strongly, but the Rtings review says the MDR-MV1 are more comfortable than the competitors.

Probably still gonna go for that R70X, due to I'm the type of guy that are sensitive to treble as well as clamping force. R70X seems like the way to go in terms of comfort and long session non-fatiguing listening.