[Daniel70928]

Hello, what’s the best open back cans available under $800?

 

[msing539]

Hello, what’s the best open back cans available under $800?

For what type of music or preferred sound signature? Do you have an amp and dac, and which ones? And are you open to buying used?

 

[Daniel70928]

For what type of music or preferred sound signature? Do you have an amp and dac, and which ones? And are you open to buying used?

Yes I’m open to buying used, I have the DROP + SMSL HO150X amp, and prefer a neutral-bright signature

 

[drummerman1]

Planars tend to go in that direction not trying to generalise

 

[msing539]

Yes I’m open to buying used, I have the DROP + SMSL HO150X amp, and prefer a neutral-bright signature

I see you're in South Korea so unsure what used market pricing is like. Hifiman makes some great (sounding) headphones--Edition XS, Ananda, HE6SE v2, etc. Those you can buy direct from them so you get the warranty. In the US, we occasionally find the Sennheiser HD800S around $800, but typically a little more. If you don't mind using EQ, the Audeze LCD-X 2021 can be a great option but, again, might be over your budget. If you truly don't mind a bright sounding headphone, something like a Beyer DT1990 is well built and can be had for $300 here. Also in your budget, you might be able to find a Quad ERA-1 or Sash Tres. I wouldn't call those bright, but there's a good amount of detail and treble energy.

These are just some options to get you started. There is no universally agreed upon best sounding headphone in any budget, it's all based on our personal preferences.

 

[Daniel70928]

Thank you!

 

[dunring]

The best I've heard in that price range is the Hifiman Arya Stealth and open box from Hifiman can get the price with warranty. Whenever I switched to something else after using them I realized how great they are. The original had upper mid brightness that was annoying, but the Stealth Arya fixed it and made them my favorite full size headphone.
Even much more expensive stuff like the Audivina, Heddphone, and LCD-DX didn't measure up to them.

 

[oldson]

https://www.jmaudioeditions.com/product-page/new-inventory-xtc

 

[Tano]

Focal Clear OG, HD800s, Hifiman Ananda Nano/Arya, LCD X 2021. You should be able to get these 2nd hand for that price.

 

[TWerk]

HE6SE V2 is my favorite open HP under 800 (can actually get it for half of that, used).

They're wonderful. They are just a touch bright for me but a slightly warmer leaning amp does them wonders.

Once I got them, I stopped buying any more open backs, so I think that speaks for itself.

 

[engineer1]

It's a tough choice between Ananda Nano, Arya Stealth, and HE6SE v2

I'm partial to HE6SE v2 but it's really amp dependent vs the other 2

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Another vote for HE6SE v2, tremendous value for peanuts price.
LCDX 2021 or Focal Clear MG as a second choice.

 

[jonathan c]

Alphabetically: Audeze LCD-X, Focal Clear OG, Grado RS-1x, Neumann NDH-30.