top headphones for everyday

• Philips Fidelio X2HR
  • Comfort: “At first it’s not incredible as the pads are a little stiff, but the pads quickly warm up on your head, and after about 5 minutes they should be nice and soft. Comfort varies slightly person to person, and I don’t personally think these have insane comfort unlike some others, it’s not vastly better then anything else I’ve tried.”
  • Build: “The build is really great in these headphones. They feel sturdy, and most likely aren’t going to break on you anytime soon. I’ve fallen asleep with these countless times and I’m a rough sleeper, nothing has ever broken.”
  • Bass: “Bass on these headphones is one of the strongest selling points. It’s quite punchy, very tight and it isn’t muddy whatsoever. It also hits with authority, and has quite the kick and rumble that you’d expect from a closed back.”
  • Midrange: “Midrange is also pretty good. It’s mildly recessed, but it’s presented well. Vocals sound father away then usual, but it adds the the soundstage of the headphone.”
  • Treble: “Treble is the weakest performer out of all the aspects of this headphone in my opinion. It’s quite odd in its presentation. It’s quite uneven, as it dips down in the lower regions of treble and peaks at around 10k. You can hear the uneven sound of it if you have any sort of audio experience.”
  • Soundstage: “Soundstage on this headphone is absolutely fantastic. It’s very wide, wide to the point of resembling speakers sometimes. It’s very impressive, especially at this price point. Imaging is also pretty solid, although you could do better at this price.”
  • EQ: “These headphones have quite a good response to EQ. You can change the sound quite a lot to your liking. You can add more bass, less treble, more treble, adjust the mids, even out the treble, anything you like really.”
  • Movies: “These also are great for watching movies, and add a big sound to what you are watching. Action movies are great on these.”
  • Music Production: “For music production these are decent

• Sennheiser IE100
  • Comfortable wearing for 4-5 hours
  • Neutral/balanced sound
  • Good quality
• Sennheiser IE 200
  • Overpriced
  • Sounds pretty good
• KZ IEMs
  • Different versions of KZ ZS10 Pro X
• TRN Rosefinch
  • 12mm planar driver IEM
• TANGZU x SeeAudio Red Shimin Li (Encounter)
  • $50
• 7Hz Legato
  • Way more bass than it looks
• TRuthear x crinacle Zero
  • $50 2DD IEM
• Tripowin x HBB Olina
  • $80 IEM, Special Edition can be found for $80
• Simgot EA500
  • $80 IEM
• 7Hz Salnotes x crinacle Dioko
  • $80+ 14.xmm planar driver IEM
• Tin HiFi P1 Max
  • $80+ 14.xmm planar driver IEM
• Shuoer S12 (Pro)
  • $80+ 14.xmm planar driver IEM
• TANGZU Zetian Wu
  • $80+ 14.xmm planar driver IEM
• Dunu Talos
  • $80+ 14.xmm planar driver IEM
• 7Hz Timeless
  • $80+ 14.xmm planar driver IEM

• Sennheiser HD 58x/6xx/560S
  • Their soundstage may not be wide, but they have probably the best timbre of any headphone
  • Good choice for those who prefer a warmer tonality
  • Can last for 30+ years
• AKG K371
  • Good choice for those who want to stay in the $100-200 price bracket
• Hifiman Sundara
  • Good choice for those in the $200-500 price bracket
• Focal Clear
  • Good choice for those in the $500-1000 price bracket
• Hifiman Ananda/Edition XS
  • Good choice for those in the $1000-2000 price bracket
• ZMF Auteur
  • Good choice for those in the $1000-2000 price bracket
• Abyss Diana TC
  • Good choice for those in the $2000+ price bracket
• Hifiman Susvara
  • Good choice for those in the $2000+ price bracket
• Focal Utopia
  • Good choice for those in the $2000+ price bracket
• Audeze LCD-5
  • Good choice for those in the $2000+ price bracket
• ZMF Verite Closed
  • Good choice for those in the $2000+ price bracket
• Meze Empyrean/Elite
  • Good choice for those in the $2000+ price bracket

• Fidelio X2HR:
  • Wide soundstage, left-right wide, not very wide front-back, not good vertical soundstage
• HD 598:
  • Not as wide from left-right, but bigger sense of space in other directions, envelops the head
• Other headsets:
  • Modern games have sophisticated sound engines that simulate directionality and “surround” space, no need for virtual surround sound

• Philips Fidelio X2HR
  • Durable and solid build
  • Comfortable and moulds around ears
  • Exciting sound signature with prominent mid-bass and sparkly treble
  • Good soundstage and imaging, but not great for detail retrieval
  • Perfect for energetic genres like hip-hop and electronica
• Customized Open-Back Headphones
  • Tailor the sound to your preferences using the oratory Harmon curve
  • Can provide great performance for gaming
  • Can provide better imaging and detail than the X2HR
  • Can be combined with V-moda boom pro for even better sound
• IEMs
  • Listen to them more often
  • Can provide better detail and imaging than open-back headphones
• Vinyl
  • Can provide a unique listening experience when combined with Shure M447 carts
  • Allows for an immersive soundstage and enjoyable listening experience

💭  Looking into

What are the most comfortable headphones for everyday use?

💭  Looking into

What is the best price-to-performance ratio for headphones for everyday use?

💭  Looking into

What is the frequency response range of the Sennheiser HD800?

💭  Looking into

What is the soundstage of the Philips Fidelio X2hr?

💭  Looking into

What is the maximum listening duration recommended for the Sennheiser IE100 Pro?

• AirPods Pro
  • Good sound quality, superior noise isolation compared to even the best earplugs, perfect fit for maximum comfort, portable, great noise cancelling and transparency mode
  • Convenient, cost and quality make perfect sense, can wear them all day, weather resistant
• Sony WF-1000XM4
  • Good noise cancelling, convenience factor, decent sounding
  • Latency of wireless can bother in some situations
• Sennheiser IE 600
  • Made them stop buying IEMs, good technical performance, know what you want and use EQ to target curve
• Final Audio E500 IEMS
  • Wins the price to sound ratio hands-down, use more than most high-end cans
• Etymotic ER
  • Too much upper midrange, but they’re really really good

• Philips Fidelio X2hr
  • All-rounder for music and gaming, with open soundstage and closed-back levels of bass thump
• Sennheiser HD800
  • Killer if you are willing to shell out the $$$
• PortaPro
  • Insane value for money
• DT770, 880 and 990 Pro
  • Test of time, still seen being worn for live music and studio work, as well as by streamers
• HD598 and 600
  • Gateway headphones for people looking to get into high quality audio, always a safe bet
• HD560S
  • Fairly new but could become legendary with time
• M50x/M40x
  • Responsible for getting so many people into audio
• Master & Dynamic
  • Elite back in the day before Apple bought them, still good
• Sennheiser HD800 S
  • Excellent technicalities and most comfortable to some head shapes and sizes
• HIFIMAN Arya, Susvara and Shangri-La
  • In their respective categories
• Sundara and Ananda under 1k
  • Hifiman for many
• Focal Clear
  • Balanced, slightly warm sound
• ZMF Eikons
  • Deepest rumble in a dynamic without stepping all over the mids and highs
• KSC75 on portapro headband
  • Great on a portapro headband
• Superlux hd668b with brainwavz pads
  • Weakest of the three but a little EQ helps a lot
• Etymotic er2xr
  • Isolation is amazing, very detailed, and perfect tuning for some
• Sennheiser HD25
  • Durable, sounds good but not great, and poor comfort with stock pads
• STAX
  • Level of detail won’t let you go back

• Sennheiser HD598Cs
  • “At home: Sennheiser HD598Cs”
  • “I’m planning on getting a Schiit Magni 2 Uber for it”
• Sennheiser HD280 Pro
  • “On my commute: Sennheiser HD280 Pro. Modded them for use with a detachable 3.5mm cable”
  • “Hopefully replacing with V-Moda M-100 some day soon”
• Bose SoundSport IE
  • “At work: Bose SoundSport IE”
  • “I have a ton of comfortable spare in-ears - maybe I’ll pick up some SE215s some day”
• Jaybirds
  • “Working out: Who am I kidding, I don’t work out. Maybe when I do I’ll get some Jaybirds.”
• Phillips SHP 9500
  • “Sitting at computer (usually gaming): Phillips SHP 9500 with vmoda boompro”
• MEE M6 pro
  • “Anywhere else (even sitting on the couch on my phone): MEE M6 pro”
• LCDX
  • “At home: LCDX”
• Andromeda or Vega
  • “Not home: Andromeda or Vega”
• HD800
  • “At home: HD800 out of iDSD BL”
• ER4PT
  • “On-the-go: ER4PT”
• iFi Micro iDSD
  • “At home: iFi Micro iDSD”
• LG G5
  • “On my commute: LG G5 to E17k to Trinity Master IEMs”
• Schiit Stack
  • “At work: Schiit Stack to Ultrasone HFI-580”
• Sony MDR-XB50AP
  • “Working out: Sony MDR-XB50AP”
• B&O H6 2nd gens
  • “Commute - B&O H6 2nd gens”
• Monoprice m1060
  • “At home: Monoprice m1060”
• Koss Ksc75
  • “At work: Koss Ksc75”
  • “Working out: Koss Ksc75”
• CALs

• Raycon
  • SCORE: 9.8
  • Brand: Raycon
  • Prime: Yes
• OneOdio
  • SCORE: 9.6
  • Brand: OneOdio
  • Prime: Yes
• JBL
  • SCORE: 9.4
  • Brand: JBL
• iClever
  • SCORE: 9.2
  • Brand: iClever
  • Prime: Yes
• Philips
  • SCORE: 8.6
  • Brand: Philips
  • Prime: Yes
• KVIDIO
  • SCORE: 8.4
  • Brand: KVIDIO
  • Prime: Yes
• Candy Bila
  • SCORE: 8.8
  • Brand: Candy Bila
  • Prime: Yes
• Sony
  • SCORE: 8.2
  • Brand: Sony
  • Prime: Yes

• Sennheiser IE100 Pro
  • Decent IEM
  • Low price
  • Fits the criteria of:
    • Sound good
    • Put up with wearing 10 hours a day
    • Not restrict movement
    • Not make wearer look like a dweeb

💭  Looking into

What are the best headphones for everyday use?