My Favorite Headphones at Every Price! 

You should do a similar video but with amplifiers/DACs!

why no chapters?

I can't believe there was actually some love thrown at the HD569. Years ago I picked up those and the K361 because I needed something closed and not too expensive for at the office. I really enjoyed both, but ended up keeping the HD569. Eventually I sold them too, since I've been working from home for years, but we just had to start going into the office so I did another head-to-head battle. Once again, I picked the HD569. I like the tuning and detail on the K361 a bit better, but they are extremely narrow, not quite as comfortable (even with my small ears and head), build quality is not as good, and their sound is very seal-dependent so things get wonky when you move your head around.

Lot's of retailers are selling the Focal Clear Pro MG for 200-300 off and I pulled the trigger on them last week. They do have fantastic mid-range focus especially in the vocal area. They aren't warm sounding like you'd get from sennheiser vocals, but in terms of overall detail and analytics, the Pro MG's are just fantastic for picking vocals apart. I love using them for rock and not so much for orchestral music because the timbre/soundstage is lacking for me personally.

this was SUCH a fun video, adding a lot of personality to, as you mentioned, usually slightly boring audio review videos. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing, thank you !

Awesome video! Though it's not a new headphone anymore, I was surprised to not see the LCD-X on the list, given that it even warranted a follow-up video on how great it still is. Loving the content!

This is one of the most awaited content we were looking for. This is a great concept josh:) Thank you for sharing us your favorites!

This was a really, really fun video. As far as the under $100 price range, I really do like the HD 569, but the HD 599 is often discounted to $98, I actually got it for $79 on prime day! And the HD 599 is to me the more refined headphone, the best Sennheiser, under 100 when it is under 100.

Hey Josh! Awesome video. Thank you for doing this for us while sick. The 20 sec timer was actually really fun.

I liked my SHP9500's but after watching reviews (including yours) I bought a pair of PC38X's and absolutely love the improved detail and overall sound for any listening need (music, games, etc.).

what a great and high paced video. I would have loved if you'd have overlayed the actual product name somewhere in the corner as I am not familiar enough with all these great products. they are in the description which is great

Wow, 2 videos below 24 hours. That's Insane.

Audeze are a staple for recording/mixing engineers/mastering engineers, and I confer. The LCDX is where it's at. The new MM's have too much in the bottom end for me. The LCD1's($400 ish?)are good when paired with Goodhertz Canopenr plugin, and some sort of eq correction software(anyone will work, however the exact eq curve for this specific headphone is different in each plugin!). And the Sennheiser 600's or 650's are the entry point into the mixing realm, they are too bright for me though so need to keep that in mind with them, but their usable you'll have to check your mix quit often however! The Audeze Maxwell are surprisingly good entry-point as well, when used with a cord. However their software is crap, and doesn't work half the time, and still a year after they came out, does not work completely on PC(you cannot use the eq on PC, only on the phone), which is pointless for me personally...For this reason I wouldn't get them. Oh and the mic absolutely sucks! Would love to know if there's a 3rd party replacement that will cure the terrible sound quality of the mic at all? Oh and I forgot Hedd's HEDDphone TWO, the closest thing to have studio monitors strapped to your head that I've ever heard. However I haven't delved into audiophile prices above this point. Surprised that Audeze isn't more in the list tbh.

That was a great vid, Josh, I really enjoyed the new forma- :)

Good morning ☕️, I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving and heal up this weekend. Great cables btw !

Love your vids, you can be hilarious when you're in rare form and this one was no exception. I usually watch Z just for entertainment and you for the real deal on equipment, but you were the whole package today!

I'm glad the lcd 2c is still reccomended. I bought it back in 2020 for 500 thinking it was a steal, now they go for 400. The value is amazing and the raw technicality is on par with some low midrange studio monitors, while still being easy to listen to. Needs eq but with them they are my favorite headphone, only beaten by the stax sr009, lcd 5, and the susvara. Everything else I've tried is only nominally better technicality wise and none have as pleasing a bass response. Its like 85% of the best audio I could imagine possible for 400 dollars.

Well my two high end headphones at the moment are the arya stealth and the lcd 2c. I bought the 2c last year during audeze's b stock sale and absolutely love it. The bass and vocals are insane on it. I recently bought the arya stealth for a change of pace and because I'm really getting into music now as my go to after work. These headphones are insanely comfortable and they sound full. I can tell the vocals are a little more recessed than I'm used to, but everything sounds really filled out. The arya sounds how I expect the music to sound if that make sense. I love them both though and switch them throughout the day. I'm running them off a fiio k7 and loving the experience.

Hello, thanks a lot for this great video, very useful and full of information! I’m thinking of replacing my Hifiman Ananda with the ZMF Aeolus. Main use would be with a Naim Atom Uniti Headphone amp. Would you recommend this pairing? Would the Aeolus be a noticeable improvement over the Ananda? Grateful for your feedback. Regards, Ignacio

I wish I could have a 20 sec timer for every time I wanna buy a new headphone

loving the uploads

I just binge watched like all videos in the middle of the night. I have just a steelseries nova pro gaming headphones so this is totally new to me. Was curious on the Sennheiser 800s since many RU-vid audiophile recommended them. But after watching I will try the HD 6xx from drop. I think it will be a massive improvement overall and can´t wait to get them and try them out

Great video josh !! i have a Qeustion what would you rate, sony's MDR-z1r its a hybrid between open and close back im curious :)? i know it is not in this video but does it still compete ? with the newer one's

I couldn’t figure out which connectors and numbers went together. Website was bad enough at explaining any thing that it gave me anxiety and I didn’t order anything.

Recently snagged a pair of Sansui SS-100s and man…….these sound great! Of course in older and have lost some levels of my hearing I’m sure but they are keepers.

Awesome vid, thanks! If you were interested in making an IEM edition of this style of video, I'd be so glad, I'd watch it in a heartbeat ❤

Although they are hard to find anymore and you can pretty much only get them secondhand now for $500 or less I turn to the Koss ESP95x (headphone and energizer) or if you don't need to include the energizer the Stax SR-l300 (preferably with a pad upgrade). I don't think I touch any other of my sub $1k headphones anymore since grabbing each of those although I am currently looking for some good $500 planar magnetics

Great recommnedations... What are your thoughts on MEZE 99 CLASSICS?

Saved up and got the HE1000se. I fricken love it. This wrecked other open backs for me. I have put away all my other headphones including the Utopia. I might be done chasing the open-back headphone dragon. One and done hopefully.

Nice quick video list! While the Sundara are understandably the go to recommendation under $500 from Hifiman, for anyone shopping around, the Edition XS can be had for $380 right now and are definitely worth considering at that price!

After following you, DMS and Resolve for a year, I pulled the trigger and ordered the HD600 for Xmas. Everyone should own a pair as a reference, right? Up to this point I've only used sub 200 headphones (DT 770 Pro 80 Ohm and AirPods Pro). I'm curious to see how much of a difference I hear with the new headphones.

Would it be possible to make separate lists for open-back, closed back and IEM's? Especially open and closed-back are for totally different use cases.

So you would pick the 560s over the HD58x's? I have both and man was I stoked when I got the 58X's they changed everything for me, plus they are way more comfortable atleast for my big head lol.

I just got into audiophile headphones. I got myself SHP9500 and I quite like it.

Joshua, I need some quick advice. I'm retired but have a nice speaker system with Martin-Logan Classic ESL9 Electro statics. I just bought an Aune S17 Class A headphone amp. I have good DACS too. Back around 2016 and later, I bought several pairs of headphones without seeking advice. They are in nice condition but today appear not to be worth more than around $50 each. They are: Sennheiser Momentum Brown leather, NAD VISO HP50, Sony MDR 7506, Phillips Fidelio X2, and Sennheiser HD660S. Which 2 or 3 should I sell and how much would I have to spend to get something better than any of them?

The Monolith m1070's are the best-sounding headphones I own. Got them during the Prime sale for $258; reg. price $399. Comfortable and will enough bass to satisfy.

I know everyone is going to roast me as an idiot, but sort of went with the Grado cult ever since the first gen SR-80 wowed me 16 years ago and never really steered away from it. (Staring at my desk.) I was even crazy enough to just mod a pair of SR-225i drivers into the old SR-80 and change the cable instead of spending $200 in buying a new headphone for an upgrade just a week ago. The upgrade worked surprisingly well as a first gen SR-225 replica and I think I can still let my modded SR-80 go strong for another 16 years as my daily driver. I was even a bit upset that I was dumb enough to skip the original first gen SR-225 as everyone said it was only the sweetspot if you don't have enough budget. It wasn't a budget friendly sweetspot and it have it's charm that belongs to itself. Grados just have a weird magic that works on me that I never really found in other brands so I just stuck with the same formula evertime I bought a new headphone for my collection. I mean there was that time when a really sick bargin for a 2nd hand Audeze LCD-2C came out, but the owner of the store also had a displayed Grado GS-2000e on sale. After giving both a fair try, I still ended up bringing a fourth pair of Grado back because I think God almighty really don't want me to miss out my dream target. (I've set my goal on owning a set of GS series of any model as a personal trophy on my early years into the hobby, and it didn't dissapoint.)

*I watched till $200-$500 range headphones!*

Wish there were more closed back recommendations for the $200-$500 range

I’m back to the channel after a long time and the quick fire jokes are epic lol, Joshua’s older videos were much more analytical

No Hifiman HER9 modded bu JM Audio Editions? Or his XTRM? 👌🏼

Kinda surprised the Clear OGs didn't make it into your $500-$1,000 bracket!

Aw expected to see Focal Radiance get honorable mention as closed back option

I like strong bass. Which closed back headphone do you recommend?

I would like to ask: What do you think about the Sennheiser HD 800/850?

What do you think about the He1000 stealth vs arya organic ?

I'm still at $100-150 range, just got to the Hifiman HE400se.

Giving yourself 20 seconds (ok and a minute for the big ones) this made the video really fun. While you might have gotten a little stressed, I enjoyed it at least!

Notable misses IMO: Edition XS, FOCAL Bathys, HE1000v2, ZMF Atrium, ZMF Verite Closed, FOCAL Clear OG

Interested in amp requirements for each level of headphones

HD 560s is $150 on Amazon. Great deal. It's right there with the HD 600 and 650/6XX

i hope u will hear stax sr x9000 with t8000 in the near future, it beat the sus with a good amp or the 1266 in my hearing comparison.

One of my fav lists and would be my go to lists in headphones aside from the site of crinacle

$200-$500 - Dont forget Hifiman Edition XS.

@7:22 i picked the Audeze lcd-2 classic over the Hifiman Arya bc i enjoyed listening to music on the 2C vs the Arya. The Arya sounded too bright to my ears, and while its an exceptional technical headphone, it didnt make me enjoy listening to muaic for whatever reason. It is more comfortable and lighter than the 2C though The lcd-2c, to my ears, had better bass response and slam compared to the Arya. The 2C sounded more natural to me. Has a warm, dark aound signature but still clear sounding

I have a request. What Over-Head Headphone and In-ear Earphone/IEM would you recommend for Classical/Orchestral Music; one each within a $1,000 and one each with Money no object. And the recommended Amplifier/DAC for each?

You’ll have to get your hands on Austrian Audio’s Composer. A highlight from CJ SoCal this year.

I need you to try the Harmonicdyne Zeus Elite, def a banger under 500

Just got my Dali io 12. Best sounding Bluetooth headset i ever heard.

I love the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95

Love this more casual style

Any good suggestions for heavy aluminum/metal with bluetooth? i used to love the weight and feel of beats pro, and love designs like focal radiance... but cant find anything beefy and metal in bluetooth. Im not an audiophile, i dont care about the best audio... just that its BT and majority metal.

Thoughts on Beoplay h95?

Are you sure not the HD599? The HD569 are closed back Sennheiser's. Very surprised with that choice.

im new to all this and was wondering if the audient evo 4 mixer would be good enough for hd 600 or should i get the atoms lab amp + and would i need a dac aswell thanks in advance for the help

Review the Audeze MM-100 Please

No HD800s? That's pretty surprising. Nice list!

wait i bought ananda stealth for 399E new from amazon and you recommend sundara over them in this price point did i made mistake?

May you make a list of open back headphones (not earbuds) for smartphone? I know PC38X/GSP500 and HD599 have no problem with smartphone because I have them

is there a reason you've never really covered ZMF?

hey guys, is the apple usb c dongle good enough for headphones in general? I feel like the max volume isnt that great on it. Thanks

Don't worry, the Pecha Kucha 20sec timer is kind of assumed to run out and you just blast on to the next one :)

Not a peep about ZMF? wondering where they fall in your preference range

hi, comfort level is important .. so pls make a vid with references to the comfort level of headphones

58x and Edition XS?

I can't believe you are releasing videos whilst sick AND with family around. Dude, have a rest, we can wait for your excellent content. REST my man.

For under the $100 range...my favourite is the Happy God Lucky Cat (Beets RGB Edition).

I’ll share my journey here if it can help someone chose. So i had the dca open x for three years with a ifi zen dac v2 and thx 789, sound wasn’t for me, fatiguing, sharp… Got a chord mojo 2, the sound improved alot, then got a zmf auteur classic and it is great, no fatigue, amazing sound…. I can safely recommend these cans

I’m an ex audiophile for 52 years this is something for you Joshua to try for yourself love your channel too. I’ve owned 30 pairs of headphones in 52 years and there is a headphone sleeper that no one talks about and it’s old and 300 ohms and needs an amp it’s the Sennheiser hd 250 linear these are the best headphones I’ve ever owned or heard period. Dynamic range soundstage there around £100 on e bay and made in the 90’s even Sennheiser reps in the 90’s and factory workers brought them and took them home they are great. I own the hd 250 linear and mk2 I honestly mean this they compare to ANY £600 headphones today peace out

You forgot the Anker Soundcore Space Q45. Best sub $150 wireless headphone (far superior than the Phillips or the AKG one you are recommending in this video)

HBB Dq6s is best sounding iem for only 30bucks. Sounds as good if not better than iem costing hundreds more with really good textured bass. HD560s with the right dac/amp is awesome. More cleaner vocals than Ananda stealth. Instruments sound bigger and even more detail. Sub bass is pretty good for open back, but better if there was more. Makes Ananda and all HD600 series sound all around more veil.

This was a good list but I feel like you slept on a couple really good options. In the just over $100 dollar range, the ThieAudio Ghosts are amazing, especially if you are in to pad swapping, as they seem to sound interesting-great depending on the pads. The pads I left on mine where $15 off aliexpress and they were the 105mm Round velour generic earpads, I love the soundstage and mids with these. In the $500 ish range the Hifiman Edition XS is really hard to beat, it has really good detail retrieval, while managing to stay pretty neutral but still sound fun. Just over $500 depending on when it goes on sale the Focal Elex trades blows with the Focal Clears, I honestly don't really even listen to my clears anymore they stay on the wall and the Elex is usually on my desk next to me. They are an exciting mid forward headphone with more than enough clarity and detail while managing to never be boring and are just amazing and intimate with vocals. These are just my opinions. But I do feel like the Ghosts never get enough attention for the price. Side by side they sound just a little better than the Sennheiser 58x after a cheap pad swap.

For decades only thing used in the studio was Sonys. With that said just picked up some Neumanns

No Edition XS... interesting

6:49 what focal length is that Sigma Art lens? I'm about to grab an 85mm 1.4 myself.

Imo IEM's under 1k are way better than headphones, you can get whatever tuning you want at any price range now eg perfect harmon for $15 or whatever you like, then there is the new generation of tws anc earbuds with EQ apps and decent sound quality that are awesome for sports and commuting where audiophile stuff just can't really function (!) Tbf i love hiking, cycling and travelling so iems just fit my life 🤝 current favs are the Mangird Xenns Up, beryllium bass is so liquid (sort of heavy and transparent) and technicalities are all i want, sounds excellent with the ifi gold bar 🥇

I can't figure out how you like the Clear OGs and don't recommend the Elex enough. Maybe the lack of bass? Frankly I find it refreshing as it lets the mids take center stage in the overall sound presentation. I also suggest to explain the overall sound quality a bit more concisely : e.g. Focal's entire lineup is very punchy, dynamic and rhythmic, Hifimans are airy and wide etc. Love your content creation skills but please be a bit more concise because a lot of us rely on opinion leaders like yourself to guide a meaningful purchase decision.

For $100 more than the Arya Organic I think the HE 1000 Stealth is a much better choice.

What do you like better about the empyrean 2 over the he-1? I can’t imagine a bmw 3 series being a better drive than an aventador.

What about he-r9 it is now for 109 what do you think? Is there a reviwe soon

I'm so surprised the DT770 pros didn't make it on the list.

i hesitate between arya organic and abyss and tbh without having listened to either i'm not sure if the difference would be worth the price.

Under 1k: Focal Clear OG, HD600 1k~2k: Arya Organic, HE1000v2 non-stealth, L700mk2 2k+: Susvara, Caldera, X9000 There are other good ones but I haven't heard them so I only recommended the ones I owned.

100 to 200 I think the Hifiman HE5XX specially on sale are a tremendous value.

What is the best wireless headphone on the market acually?

can you do best headphones for hip hop?

You dont recommend HE1000 v2 Stealth Magnet @ $1399? Like in you actually prefer the Arya Organic?

Can you please review the Emu- Teak

So DT1990 Pro is out ?

Great vid, but it would be good next time if you put the prices on screen for a bit with each one…