Below some recommendations of headphones I personally think are interesting. Note the vast majority I actually heard but some are general recommendations. There may be gems out there I have not heard but are excellent, these are not included.
In the end... you need to audition them yourself. And keep in mind a headphone that sounds impressive on first listen may not be that in the long run... and vice versa.
Cheap price point €15 – €50 (in alphabetical order):
Beyerdynamic DT235 (lacks treble finesse)
Koss KSC35 / KSC75 / PortaPro (top pick in the portable on-ear class)
Presonus HD7 (somewhat bright)
Samson SR850 (slightly boring)
Sennheiser PX100 /
PX100-II (lacks subbass)
Superlux Superlux HD681-EVO
with Chinese pads, HD662-EVO
NOTE: When buying Koss PortaPro headphones beware there are fakes out there that do not remotely sound anything like the original and are very bassy and lack highs. How to distinguish them can be found HERE.
Medium price point €50 – €200 (in alphabetical order):
AKG K181 (quite neutral) /
K551 / K553 (fairly neutral slight treble peak))
Audio Technica ATH-M40
X (NOT the M40fs version !), Audio Technica ATH-M50X or ATH-M50 >2012
, ATH-TAD500
Beyerdynamic DT250-250 Ohm version (very neutral, some product variances, lacks treble finesse), Custom One Pro (but only on setting 2 and 3 when using EDT770V(B) pads, DT990 (a bit treble happy)
Creative Aurvana Live (a bit on the ‘warm’ side)
Denon DN-HP700
Fischer Audio FA-003 = NVX XPT100 = Brainwavz HM5 = Jaycar AA2065 = Studiospares M1000 = Lindy HF-100
Fostex T50RP
mkIII, T40RP
mkIII (lacks subbass and ‘air’ in the treble )
Goldring DR150 (
only 2nd hand)
Grado SR60i/SR60e (a bit bright and lacks subbass, not very comfortable)
Philips SHP9500 (neutral, slightly lacks presence),
SHL9505-uptown with SRH-940 pads
Roland RH300
(but only with Brainwavz HYBRID pads fitted)
Sennheiser HD555 / 558 / 595 / 598 / 599 / 238 / 239 / 439 / 569/ 58X Jubilee / 580* (*
only 2nd hand)
Sony MDR-1RA (with ports closed) / MDR-100AAP (on the warm/bassy side)
Skullcandy Aviator (warm/bassy)
Takstar PRO 82
V-Moda M80
Yuin G1A/G2
Zoro II HD
Higher price point €200 – €500 (in alphabetical order):
AKG K550
/ K551 / K267 / K712 / K7XX
Audio Technica AT-R70X / ATH-MSR7b
B&W P7
Beyerdynamic DT880 / DT990-edition / DT1350 (MUST try before buy) / DT1770, Amiron (most of these have a bit of a peak in the upper treble), DT1990
PSB M4U-2 (noise cancelling)
Denon D2000 (only 2nd hand)
Focal Spirit Professional (mechanically not the best)
Fostex TH-X00 (Massdrop only)
HifiMan HE400i / HE4XX (massdrop) / Sundara
Klipsch Image One
Meze 99 Classics (warm and bassy)
Philips Fidelio L2, X2
Sennheiser HD600 / HD650 (> 2013) / HD630VB / HD660S
Sony MDR-100ABN / MDR-1000X
Shure SRH840 / SRH1540
Thinksound ON-1
Verum 1
Those looking for a
‘flat as possible’ headphone; the
Sennheiser HD600 is the best possible option but does lack in subbass.
It can also be found in the second hand market. With a
set of new pads they sound like new again. The HD580 (second hand only) is almost the same headphone.
A truly ‘flat’ headphone is not liked by everyone and may even sound boring to some.
Flat measuring headphones in general only sound excellent on well made recordings. In general TOP40 songs aren’t amongst those (with a few exceptions).
To many it will not be considered THE best sounding headphone, but it is one of the most ‘honest’ ones. It does lack sub-bass though.
Expensive stuff €500 to €2000 (in alphabetical order):
AKG K812
Audeze LCD2.2(Fazor > 2015) / LCD3 (Fazor > 2015)/ LCD-X (brand is known to have failing drivers and cracking wood cups in older models)
Audio Zenith PMx2
Beyerdynamic T5(P), Amiron Wirelss
Denon D5000 / D7000 (only 2nd hand)
Focal Clear
Fostex TH900
HiFiMan HE500 / HE560 / HE5 / HE6 / Edition X / Ananda
Kennerton Magister
Koss ESP-950
Mr. Speakers ÆON closed, Ether C Flow, ETHER
Sennheiser HD800S
Stax SRS-5100
ZMF Atticus / Eikon / Auteur
Obscenely expensive > € 2000 (in alphabetical order):
Abyss AB-1266
Audeze LCD4 / LCDMX4
Focal Utopia, Stellia
Final D8000
Grado HP1000 / HP2 (only 2nd hand)
Hifiman HE1000, Susvara, Shangri-La, Jade II
Kennerton Odin
Meze Empyrean
Raal SR-1
Sennheiser HD820 / Orpheus / HE60 / HE90 (only 2nd hand) / HE1060 (Orpheus-2) = HE1
Sony MDR-R10 (bass-heavy) (only 2nd hand)
Sonoma Acoustics model One
Stax SR007 / Omega 2 / SR009 + amp / SR-L700 + SRM-353X