[blueglassess]

i want to get a good open back with a very tight budget of $52. it gets confusing when i see a lot of reviews because they're different, and some even oppose another.
what i want the most is clear, balanced mids (maybe if they were bit compromised, i'd be okay, so long they aren't muddy), and the thing i wanted to try out of open backs are the soundstage, so i would love to have pretty wide soundstage (and i guess imaging? i'm not sure if they're the same....). here's what i found so far:

(all of these prices were converted from indonesia rupiah)
samsons sr850 ($24 ish-$27) - i see this get recommended a lot, with its wide soundstage, and decent sound quality. seems the drawback is sibilance.
superlux hd861 evo ($45-50 ish) - apparently, this one is "improved" from the regular 861, some say it's good, some say the regular cans are better.
superlux hd668b ($40-45) - some people recommend this on a lot more over hd681 and sr850, saying how it is the best when eq'd and has a pretty wide soundstage.
superlux hd330 ($48) - the last superlux in this list, and regarded as one of the best, though opinions are very wild, some say the mids are recessed, some say the mids are very good and rich. although some people say the soundstage is okay at best.
ksc75 ($30) - this one gets recommended a lot a lot. apparently the best sound. clip ons made me doubt at first, but if they were uncomfy to me, then i guess i could always buy the headband. some people say that the soundstage "average".... now i do not know what the "average" soundstage is for budget open backs, but it's something to consider
ath-ad700 ($52) - a very old model, i can't find much information on these, and when i do, it seems very good. i heard they say that the mids are very good compared to any of the headphones above, and the soundstage is very widee. howevr, as i mentioned, it is wide, and it is used, so there might be a chance it could break on me when it arrived.... idk, i'm not sure about the conditions of headphones over time.


before anyone mentions this, portapros and hp30i's are sold for around $60, which might not seem alot, but relative to the economy in indonesia, is somewhat pricey

 

[dunring]

The superlux hd668b are cool but need pad replacment with inexpensive cloth ones ($6 on Aliexpress).
superlux hd861 evo are pretty good, but the protein leather pads get hot in warm weather.
ath-ad700 is the best of the bunch, I really liked them despite the color. Large soundstage and comfortable. Made of plastic, but it's thick and they last if you drop them on a hard floor.
With IEMs they get so much better, like the 7hz Salnotes Zero:2 which I keep a pair for travel and the laptop. Tuning and sound quality beats any headphones under $100, and in the U.S. they're $25. Even the Yincrow X6 or Venture Electronics VE Monk ear buds for $10 are a better value and sound.

 

[blueglassess]

thanks, do you think the ad700 is worth risking buying it used?


also side note, i do have a very good pair of IEMs, the simgot ew200, which i mainly use when i'm outside (they really do isolate noise very well.) i just wanted to try out open backs without blowing a lot for now.

 

[blueglassess]

btw while looking into open back headphoness, i found fiio jt1, how is that? i heard it's v shape, so not very neutral, but how is it compared to the others i mentioned?

 

[blueglassess]

went with ath ad700 in the end. it is very nice.

can't say for certain for the build quality, because well, it is used... so i can't tell if the creaking was like this at the start, or is it because of time.

comfort takes time to adjust to.

the sound is very nice, the bass is pretty good, while not making the mids sound too muddy, the mids are detailed enough for me, and is pretty clear. the highs are pretty good, they're pretty loud, but not ear piercing.

take this with a grain of salt, for i am not an audiophile, nor do i have a completely neutral audio device.

 

[pataburd]

The ATH-AD700 are great cans--congratulations!