[thatoneheadphonedood]

My personal picks, based on a couple handfuls of mostly consumer and studio HPs I've listened to or tried over the years in this price range, are still pretty much the same btw. And all of the headphones I've owned have had issues of one kind or another, and things I liked and things I didn't... So none have been a slam-dunk.

Comfort and durability often take priority over other factors, including sound quality to some extant. Because I put alot of wear and tear on my HPs. Though I also pay attention to things like frequency response, distortion, speed and stereo imaging. And use EQ to adjust the FR on all my headphones to what I feel is a more neutral and accurate response.

Having said all that, the 250-ohm DT-770 is the headphone which is receiving the most use at the moment, on a daily basis. And prior to that it was the AKG K553 Pro. Comfort played a large factor on both of these. Though I had to do more work to get the pads on the K553 to provide a reliable seal and sound quality.

The other headphone I currently have in this price range is the AudioTechnica M50x. I've had it for more than 6 months. But it hasn't gotten much use, because the DT-770 is so much more comfortable.

Some other headphones I've been perusing lately include the AKG K553 MkII with the detachable cable (which is something my previous pair didn't have), the AKG K371, Shure SRH840 (which is currently marked down a bit at GC), and the Sennheiser HD560s. And maybe also one or two others. I wouldn't mind trying a planar as well, maybe somethin like the HFM HE400se. The others are just a bit more accessible though.

Some other full-size HPs in this price range that I have tried, or listened to...

AudioTechnica M30x, M40x
Beyerdynamic DT-990
KRK KNS6400
Sennheiser 280 Pro, 380 Pro, and one of the 5 series (can't remember the exact model, but it was <$200, and not one of the best)
Sony MDR-7506

The AT M30x, M40x and Sony 7506 are all considered full-sized HPs btw. But their earcups are small enough that they'll probably sit at least partly on top of alot of people's ears.

My next pair of headphones imma try to get is the m50x’s, hifiman, akg, or sennheiser. But probably the cheaper pair of hifimans becuase its planar and heard they are awesome for the money.

 

[ADUHF]

Comparison of the Drop HFM X4 and HFM 400se.



Again, I have not personally tried either one of these headphones (or any HFM's or planars for that matter). So I'm not the best person to assess the differences, or pros/cons of lower-cost planars like these. I believe the X4 is slightly cheaper than the 400se though. So both are reasonably affordable.

There may also be some differences between the international and US version of the 400se. But that's not something I've investigated.

It looks like there's more padding on the 400se's headband, which might give it a slight comfort advantage. I wonder though if the metal headband on the X4 could be stretched out a bit though, so the clamping force is about the same between the two.

 

[ADUHF]

My next pair of headphones imma try to get is the m50x’s, hifiman, akg, or sennheiser. But probably the cheaper pair of hifimans becuase its planar and heard they are awesome for the money.

I'm not necessarily recommending the M50x. But it has a few advantages that a headphone like my 250-ohm Beyer DT-770 does not. First, it's cable is detachable. And it comes with 3 different cables: a short one, long one, and a coiled one. So you have several different options there for different situations, which is nice. It's also lower in impedance and higher in sensitivity. So it doesn't really require a separate amp. And can be used more easily with lower impedance portable devices. And it also folds up to a more compact size, so it's a bit more portable. And its sound signature is fairly neutral out of the box (though it still definitely needs some tweaking with an EQ imo).

So those are some of the other reasons I decided to get a pair of the M50x.

I spent quite a bit of time comparing the different AudioTechnicas. And in the end, I decided that the black M50x (as opposed to the white version) was the most comfortable of the bunch, and probably had the best extension in the bass, and best clarity, and imaging. The earpads on the black M50x are still too small for my ears though. So they are not as comfortable, and put more pressure on my ears than other truly circumaural headphones, like the DT-770 and AKG K553. But it was the most comfortable of the AT's.

There are also some things that I like about the sound of the M40x, specifically related to its frequency response. The M40x does not have as good clarity or bass extension though. And it's stiffer pads were quite a bit more painful on my ears than the softer pads on the gray M50x.

The AKG K553 is designed specifically for people with rather large heads btw. And I believe it also uses the same titanium drivers as the K371, but with a different enclosure and filtering. So if you have a somewhat smaller or more average sized head, the K371 might possibly be the better option. Or at least worth some consideration. The design of the K371 does not seem as durable though as the K553.

The main difference between the K371 and K361 seems to be the drivers btw. I have listened to both, and there is a pretty noticeable difference in their sound quality. And I believe it is probably due to the K361 using plastic drivers, rather than titanium drivers, like the K371 and K553 have.

All of the above headphones are closed-back btw. Which is generally not the preferred style for most audiophiles.

 

[Steven31]

I was hoping to find a thread like this, thank you for creating one. About a month ago, after I got robbed and someone stole the only closed-back headphone I owned ( a B&W P9 signature) I had to shop for a new closed-back headphone as need one out of necessity and so was looking on Amazon, this time for a cheaper, full size, over ears closed-back headphone for general use at home (I usually go for the $300 - $900 headphones but recently moved into a new house so have to limit the amount I can spend on headphones, for the foreseeable future) and saw the HD206 - a headphone that sells for less than $30 never mind $300, lol. In the past I always avoided, or rather, overlooked the cheaper Sennheiser headphones as I was never a huge fan of the open-back one's I owned (the HD598/HD600 and HD700), I thought they all sounded a bit too thin (for lack of a better word!), but I did remember being impressed with another closed-back Sennheiser I owned in the past, the Momentum on-ears (first gen 1.0) and I was aware of the (many!) great reviews and reputation the HD206 has and also it's predecessor (the HD201) so and decided to buy it.
Well the HD206 has certainly impressed me,- allot. It's already my favourite Sennheiser i've ever owned. I like to produce electronic/instrumental music from time to time, as i'm a musician, and I can't believe I didn't consider buying this headphone for producer/mixing/mastering purposes before. For the particular purpose of producing, mixing and mastering my tracks, it is perfect. Yes, it does have that thin sound particularly in the high frequencies, but not it the low frequencies (bass) there is plenty of depth and to be honest the sub bass is pretty impressive. It's not in your face powerful (like a Fostex biocellulose) but is linear, very refined and extended down to the lowest notes, there's not a trace of flabby-ness or unwanted bloat. And so far as I can tell, the bass doesn't bleed into the midrange, a trait all too common in allot of other closed-back studio headphones i've used in the past. The mid's are there but again to be perfectly honest, maybe a bit recessed, but not by much. These headphones have been expertly tuned by someone who really knows what they are doing and are very, very well balanced, I would say. For the price, surely the HD206 cannot be beaten! I highly recommend them, particularly if you work in a studio and are looking for a pair of headphones for monitoring recordings or for producer/mixing/mastering purposes.

 

[Mink]

My low cost full size headphones for under 300 bucks (the ones I own
Sennheiser HD650 - if you live in the US you can get the identical Mass HD6XX's for 200 bucks. For those in Europe, you have to fork out 335 euro...
Sivga SV021 Robin. Pretty small, but still full-sized. At the moment my favorite pair of headphones.
AKG K550MKIIs. Unfortunately discontinued
Audio Technica ATHA900X. Unfortunately discontinued
Philips Fidelio X3
Philips Fidelio X2HR

But there are many other excellent headphones for under 300 bucks covering all different flavors, not necessarily my favorites but excellent nonetheless:
AKG K702, K712, K612, Sennheiser HD560S, Beyerdynamic DT880, DT150, DT770. And then there are the Sivga Phoenix and the Meze Classic 99 and Neo 99, smaller sized, but in my opinion still full sized.

 

[hongthaie]

I have hifiman HE400i, bought it 169$ and still love it

 

[Kursah]

My go-to's for the bulk of the last almost 12 years has been my JVC HA-RX700, though it wasn't until about 3 years ago or so I did the gamechanger that has kept them on my head primarily since. I never would've thought that would be the case, when I purchased them I was just dipping my toes into headphones, but here we are.

I've had others that are better in a number of ways. Comfort, clarity, depth, detail, bass, mids, treble, vocals, separation. But I couldn't keep up with the expensive cans, nor did any I try really seem worth it with exception of a couple I kept around through the trials and errors, the Denon D2000's and AKG K553 Pro's. My AKG's earpads fell apart after several years of use, I loved them, sadly replacement pads don't match comfort nor sound of OEM...shame on you AKG. I have spare pads, but haven't made the time to fix them. The Denons have been sitting in my bin for years with parts to fix the hinge that's coming apart. I listen to them from time to time, sound amazing, but a little more laid back than my JVC's, less fun, more thunderous bass, excellent highs, overall very enjoyable in the right situations.

The JVC's got put away when the AKG's and my HE-400's were around. I sold the Hifiman HE-400's, and as said prior, used the AKG's until they fell apart. I do have spare earpads for them that I purchased from AKG years ago...which was a crap show that took 5 shipments to send me two correct pads.

Then I finally, after years of consideration, purchased some NVX angled pads for my HARX700's as the AKG's pads were falling apart. Within seconds of slapping them on, I was hooked and have been ever since. My Aune T1 drives the JVC's effortlessly, my EQ APO bass is backed off compared to what I used to push because its more than enough, everything about the JVC's sound better with these pads. Comfort between these soft pads and the thick headband is fantastic. The sound is forward, punchy, fun, but still has decent vocals and separation (not AKG or HiFiMan or Denon by any means), which has made them great for everything I do on PC. Gaming, music, movies, shows, whatever...it all sounds great. I am sure I'll get to the pads on the K553's and fix the hinge on the D2000's, but it won't be in 2021 at this rate. Another year down, the HARX700's keep on my dome and entertained.

Never would I have imagined that a $30 (in 2008/2009-ish when I purchased them) pair of JVC headphones, that were the first to break me away from gaming headsets, would STILL be my go-to, as we dig further into the 2020s. Built like a tank. The only other mod I've done is the felt removal mod. Stock cable, that could probably benefit from being replaced, these cans just get the job done. Hopefully JVC still makes em' like they used to, I know many folks overlook these...but if you pick up a pair cheap, just do yourself a favor and pick up some of those NVX angled pads or something similar, total game-changer.

Cheers!

 

[xanlamin]

@Kursah, just curious, which is better? HA-RX500 or HA-RX700?

 

[chavan123168]

My go-to's for the bulk of the last almost 12 years has been my JVC HA-RX700, though it wasn't until about 3 years ago or so I did the gamechanger that has kept them on my head primarily since. I never would've thought that would be the case, when I purchased them I was just dipping my toes into headphones, but here we are.

I've had others that are better in a number of ways. Comfort, clarity, depth, detail, bass, mids, treble, vocals, separation. But I couldn't keep up with the expensive cans, nor did any I try really seem worth it with exception of a couple I kept around through the trials and errors, the Denon D2000's and AKG K553 Pro's. My AKG's earpads fell apart after several years of use, I loved them, sadly replacement pads don't match comfort nor sound of OEM...shame on you AKG. I have spare pads, but haven't made the time to fix them. The Denons have been sitting in my bin for years with parts to fix the hinge that's coming apart. I listen to them from time to time, sound amazing, but a little more laid back than my JVC's, less fun, more thunderous bass, excellent highs, overall very enjoyable in the right situations.

The JVC's got put away when the AKG's and my HE-400's were around. I sold the Hifiman HE-400's, and as said prior, used the AKG's until they fell apart. I do have spare earpads for them that I purchased from AKG years ago...which was a crap show that took 5 shipments to send me two correct pads.

Then I finally, after years of consideration, purchased some NVX angled pads for my HARX500's as the AKG's pads were falling apart. Within seconds of slapping them on, I was hooked and have been ever since. My Aune T1 drives the JVC's effortlessly, my EQ APO bass is backed off compared to what I used to push because its more than enough, everything about the JVC's sound better with these pads. Comfort between these soft pads and the thick headband is fantastic. The sound is forward, punchy, fun, but still has decent vocals and separation (not AKG or HiFiMan or Denon by any means), which has made them great for everything I do on PC. Gaming, music, movies, shows, whatever...it all sounds great. I am sure I'll get to the pads on the K553's and fix the hinge on the D2000's, but it won't be in 2021 at this rate. Another year down, the HARX700's keep on my dome and entertained.

Never would I have imagined that a $30 (in 2008/2009-ish when I purchased them) pair of JVC headphones, that were the first to break me away from gaming headsets, would STILL be my go-to, as we dig further into the 2020s. Built like a tank. The only other mod I've done is the felt removal mod. Stock cable, that could probably benefit from being replaced, these cans just get the job done. Hopefully JVC still makes em' like they used to, I know many folks overlook these...but if you pick up a pair cheap, just do yourself a favor and pick up some of those NVX angled pads or something similar, total game-changer.

Cheers!

Thanks! I forgot I owned the RX700. Lemme go find them. I am currently putting all of my gear in "categories" and will add these to my Mid-Fi collection.

 

[Kursah]

@Kursah, just curious, which is better? HA-RX500 or HA-RX700?

I have no idea TBH, I fixed the typo in my comment above. The RX500 wasn't an option when I purchased the 700s, the 900s were and was supposedly bassier but muddier, boomier, less thump, also cost a good bit more and I never ended up trying them out.

The 500's have a 40mm driver and a smaller frame, the 700's a 50mm driver and bigger frame. The 700's have held up to all sorts of use and abuse by others and myself. If I had to choose today, I'd still get the 700's. These are my desk cans, so portability isn't something I'd think about for this use-case.

Thanks! I forgot I owned the RX700. Lemme go find them. I am currently putting all of my gear in "categories" and will add these to my Mid-Fi collection.

Hope you enjoy them when you dig em' back out. I'd strongly urge you to consider the NVX angled pads, or similar if you already have some pads in your collection that might fit.

 

[Mark200]

My vote for less than $100 phones is the Yamaha HPH-150B (open back/air version only). They go for $99.99 on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013WW90FI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought these for PC use (not for music), but was shocked how good they sound with a high quality headphone amp playing high resolution music. Like most open back/air headphones, bass is limited, but everything else is very good for this price range. Only drawback is that the wiring is very delicate, and if you adjust the sliding headphone size too often the wires may get damaged (the wires enter only on one side and run across the top to the other side).

The closed back version of these (see Amazon link above) may have better bass, but I find closed back headphones too fatiguing for long music listening sessions.

​

 

[Kursah]

My vote for less than $100 phones is the Yamaha HPH-150B (open back/air version only). They go for $99.99 on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013WW90FI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought these for PC use (not for music), but was shocked how good they sound with a high quality headphone amp playing high resolution music. Like most open back/air headphones, bass is limited, but everything else is very good for this price range. Only drawback is that the wiring is very delicate, and if you adjust the sliding headphone size too often the wires may get damaged (the wires enter only on one side and run across the top to the other side).

The closed back version of these (see Amazon link above) may have better bass, but I find closed back headphones too fatiguing for long music listening sessions.

​

Hmm, those are interesting. Do you find they're a solid value at that price? I'd want something that was less finicky and better built... Yamaha has made a lot of solid gear in the past. Maybe I'll try these out sometime though! I like to have bass on top when I want it, so maybe I'll try the closed version. Thanks!

 

[Mark200]

Hmm, those are interesting. Do you find they're a solid value at that price? I'd want something that was less finicky and better built... Yamaha has made a lot of solid gear in the past. Maybe I'll try these out sometime though! I like to have bass on top when I want it, so maybe I'll try the closed version. Thanks!

I treated them a bit too roughly, and that is what caused the problem, and I was able to repair the cable with soldering iron. But I noticed on the Amazon page, the ones that are closed back (for better bass) are a lot cheaper, so not sure they are comparable in sound. I am not sure why Amazon mixed up different models on the same web link, because the headphones are not all the same.

 

[noisefree]

I had SRH440 and SRH840. They are good company together. SRH440 has sort of detail that I don't hear with SRH840. Musical way is strong than watching movies.

SRH840 is superiour. You can listen very wide range of music. You can watch movies, TV shows and series. Quite non-fatiguing. İt plays so relaxing. Density, contrast, dynamic, punch and texture is good. But I don't find ideal for gaming.

 

[bibbs]

superlux hd-330 £40 delivered from amazon in the UK. dont knock them due to their price, they are good and you can mod the hell out of them with beyer DT series parts. they used to do a closed version hd-660 but i think they were updated.