Headphones recommendation

Frenzy

Frenzy

Frenzy

Soldato
Joined
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Hey all, sorry for yet another thread about which headphones to get but despite reading a lot of information on both reddit and here I'm still struggling to even narrow it down.

I'm after:

Closed back - I'd rather the audio didn't leak out for late night listening.
Wired - After sound quality. Good imaging and soundstage. I don't listen to any specific genre.
Usage - Music, movies, gaming. I'm happy to buy separate headphones for gaming but does a good all rounder exist? I would probably use it for music more for music/gaming at the moment.
Currently using Beyerdynamic DT880s, they are falling apart as I think they are around 18 years old.
Happy to buy a dac after.
Budget I would say is around £300-£500 for the headphones. I'm happy to buy second hand or wait for a good deal.

There are so many choices and recommendations online but I don't want to buy something and then find I don't actually like it that much.
 
Sennheiser HD620S and HD 500 BAM Mic if you want to game and use voice? Whole setup is only £235 now, crazy price IMO.

Only other ones which sound decent that I've listened to are the Beyerdynamic DT 1770 PRO, but they are £500 or so.
 
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Also consider Fiio FT1 at £150 plus Meze Boom Mic at £79.

End game - Aune SR-7000 plus Meze Boom Mic at £499/£79.

Cant really go wrong with any of these three setups.
 
Frenzy said:
Thanks both
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Checkout this website for reference - I recently found the youtube channel The Headphone Show who review audio products inc headphones and who make great audio reviews and who work closely with Headphones.com to sell audio products and create guides.

They are very frank in their reviews and don't pull punches.

Consider the Hifiman Edition XV at £360.
 
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I'm not sure closed back and imaging and staging go together to be honest? There are plenty of reviews out there of various headphones though. Headphones.com have a youtube channel and a site you can read their reviews. Current closed back winners recently has been HDB 630 from Sennheiser and they are wireless as well.
 
Timber said:
Np, took me a minute to spot. Also the OP has been using DT880s as well.
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It actually makes me wonder if the OP really needs closed back tbh, assuming he was fine with the noise levels on the DT880 anyway.

There might be a little confusion due to the way they're marketed, Beyerdynamic claim they're "semi-open back" as though they're some sort of middle ground between the closed DT770 and open DT990, in my experience it did little to nothing for actual sound isolation.
 
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I love my Sennheiser HD 569. I use them with my audio setup, my phone and because the cable has a mic I can make calls with them.
 
Aurhinius said:
I'm not sure closed back and imaging and staging go together to be honest? There are plenty of reviews out there of various headphones though. Headphones.com have a youtube channel and a site you can read their reviews. Current closed back winners recently has been HDB 630 from Sennheiser and they are wireless as well.
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You *can* get good imaging with closed back (Fiio has been banging out some closed back with excellent imaging), soundstage another matter - the ideal for gaming is a good combination of both otherwise positional audio can become congested.
 
I'd like to check our the HDB 630's and Audeze Maxwell's but I really don't need another set of headphones. Though the hyper X cloud 3 S's got a pretty good review as well and are on the cheaper side for gaming.

 
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Gray2233 said:
It actually makes me wonder if the OP really needs closed back tbh, assuming he was fine with the noise levels on the DT880 anyway.

There might be a little confusion due to the way they're marketed, Beyerdynamic claim they're "semi-open back" as though they're some sort of middle ground between the closed DT770 and open DT990, in my experience it did little to nothing for actual sound isolation.
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I've had the DT 880s for over 15 years, they are a bit knackered now and my living situation has changed. That's why I need closed back unfortunately, you can hear the 880s through the walls even at low volume hilariously. Sound isolation wasn't a concern for me back then though.

I don't want a wireless set.

I've actually been considering raising my budget to some DCA noire Xs second hand. Failing that I might just go for DT1770 mk2s for around 200 second hand if I can get them.
 
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Aune AR5000 for your budget. It's about £270.

That's what I would get if I were going for Closed back and something above the Fiio FT1. Which is basically it before it gets to 4 figures. Which at that point it is the ZMF Bokeh Closed.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
Aune AR5000 for your budget. It's about £270.

That's what I would get if I were going for Closed back and something above the Fiio FT1. Which is basically it before it gets to 4 figures. Which at that point it is the ZMF Bokeh Closed.
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I think they are open back?
 
Meze 99 classics, closed back with a relatively dynamic and wide soundstage being closed back. Good sound isolation. Alternatively the Beyerdynamic DT1350 if you can find them?
 
Aurhinius said:
I'd like to check our the HDB 630's
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So do I. I saw the review by The Headphone Show and I really need to go check them out too. I will replace my Sony XM5 when they die with either the HDB 630 or Bose QC Gen 2.

I considered getting a pair of open back headphones as I've got two Ifi Zen V2 Dacs but I really prefer the flexibility of a closed back headphone for commuting.

For OP, check out the best of 2025 from THS
 
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