Studio headphones vs audiophile headphones

[LC3]

In your experience, how do studio headphone and audiophile headphones perform differently from each other? Thanks!

 

[GREQ]

Studio headphones mostly come as a medium sized dynamic-driver closed-backs, with a relatively small soundstage and usually some subtle tuning/colourations that help pick out details in specific areas of the sound spectrum.
Mostly, they are very detail oriented and have excellent bass and treble extension.
You won't normally find studio headphones costing more than $150.
Generally they offer a clean and precise reproduction of sound that sometimes people find a bit too boring or analytical.
Mostly they are designed for utility and belong in the workplace, but there are still many here (like myself) who love studio headphones as much as any other headphone.

So-called 'audiophile' headphones (there's actually no real definition for this) can be pretty much anything.
Neutral, or coloured to hell and back.
Open, closed or semi-open back.
Highly detailed or more 'forgiving' (this is the audiophool term for 'not as high resolution')
Some have HUGE soundstage, some have smaller or equal soundstage to 'studio' headphones.
Some even have really bad bass or treble rolloff.
Some are so extremely bassy that most people hate them.
Some have an extremely wonky midrange and still get glowing reviews.
Some are comfy, some are not fit for human anatomy.
Some are light, some require 200 years of neck-muscle training with Tibetan monks.

Most 'audiophile' headphones don't offer much more detail than the best studio monitor/headphones.
But they do offer FAR more flavours of 'sound presentation' that suit a vast variety of preferences - most notably in soundstage and tuning.
Also, 'audiophile' products can be MUCH more comfortable and can use higher end, exotic materials which studio headphones tend not to; as they use mostly basic metals and plastics.

TLDR - there's actually quite a big variety in studio headphones too, and they're not THAT different from consumer headphones at most prices.

 

[LC3]

Greq, thanks your detailed explanation. I had a feeling audiophile headphones were in practice a lot more variable.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Studio headphones mostly come as a medium sized dynamic-driver closed-backs, with a relatively small soundstage and usually some subtle tuning/colourations that help pick out details in specific areas of the sound spectrum.
Mostly, they are very detail oriented and have excellent bass and treble extension.
You won't normally find studio headphones costing more than $150.
Generally they offer a clean and precise reproduction of sound that sometimes people find a bit too boring or analytical.
Mostly they are designed for utility and belong in the workplace, but there are still many here (like myself) who love studio headphones as much as any other headphone.

So-called 'audiophile' headphones (there's actually no real definition for this) can be pretty much anything.
Neutral, or coloured to hell and back.
Open, closed or semi-open back.
Highly detailed or more 'forgiving' (this is the audiophool term for 'not as high resolution')
Some have HUGE soundstage, some have smaller or equal soundstage to 'studio' headphones.
Some even have really bad bass or treble rolloff.
Some are so extremely bassy that most people hate them.
Some have an extremely wonky midrange and still get glowing reviews.
Some are comfy, some are not fit for human anatomy.
Some are light, some require 200 years of neck-muscle training with Tibetan monks.

Most 'audiophile' headphones don't offer much more detail than the best studio monitor/headphones.
But they do offer FAR more flavours of 'sound presentation' that suit a vast variety of preferences - most notably in soundstage and tuning.
Also, 'audiophile' products can be MUCH more comfortable and can use higher end, exotic materials which studio headphones tend not to; as they use mostly basic metals and plastics.

TLDR - there's actually quite a big variety in studio headphones too, and they're not THAT different from consumer headphones at most prices.

Excuse me sir, i think you dropped your mic!

 

[silent-circuit]

... To be fair, the most expensive "studio" headphones I've experienced thus far (ATH-R70X at ~$350) are also far and away the "best" to my ears. And yes, they are something of an outlier in terms of price in that space.

I grant there is probably some bias there, but often unless I'm going to wear something super long term (Hyland) or want a little more bass / warmth (Denon) they are my go to headphone, even with everything else I own, much of it originally costing much more.

 

[Broquen]

I grant there is probably some bias there, but often unless I'm going to wear something super long term (Hyland) or want a little more bass / warmth (Denon) they are my go to headphone, even with everything else I own, much of it originally costing much more.

I agree, although I've not listened to an studio headphone in my whole life out of a store (so anyone feel free to skip my opinion).
I've owned some nice neutral gear and think that the kind of signature that studio gear offers is not valid for all the people nor all the music genres. Well, one can of course like one of those as daily headphones, specially when working with them a lot of time and you get used to it, but I don't think it would be the most popular choice.
On the other hand, some well colored sound for the adequate genre can make cry the trees. It doesn't matter if you're looking for something brighter because you love classic or some huge bass for EDM. Studio gear is something very specific and I think it cannot have the versatility of the gear designed for "general purpose".

Finally, I think "audiophile" gear is produced with a different target in mind. There're for sure some clichés and some similarities between the different brands and models, and there can (should) be big differences when compared with the "more affordable" ones (mainly the price, but it's true that a nice QC, soundstage, separation, definition, resolution, etc. have to achieve some minimums* when one product points to the audiophile community).

*And these, of course, don't have to be the same on the studio ones, when looking for the most accurate reference sound.

Also, depending on specific phones/source, the cables and connectors used can be pretty different too, but I believe that nowadays this should not be a big issue.

 

[Deolum]

Usually studio headphones sound comparable to hifi headphones that are 5-10 times the price.