
Crinacle’s Headphone Ranking List: Public Release
The IEM boi dips his toes into the world of headphones.
S: Must try. Experience what the best has to offer.
A: While not at the top of the summit, Grade-A headphones are still very respectable performers that would still be considered as some of the best by many.
B: Can essentially be described as “very good”, or excellent performers in their own right.
C: Average in the grand scheme of things, anywhere from “passable” to “good”.
D: The threshold for “bad” starts here.
E: The truly horrible.
F: The failures. One needs to literally sound broken to reach the depths of F-tier.
★: “Worth the price” (MSRP)
– Only those with a grade of “C” or above are considered for their first star.
– Discontinued models are not eligible.
★★: “Redefines the price bracket”
★★★: “Worth the Blind”
– Needs to be eligible for at least a ★ rating before ★★★ can be considered.
– Discontinued models may still be considered.
“You’re the measurements guy! You measure more than you listen! I’m not going to listen to you!“
Great, I’m not telling you to. My work on measurements is separate from my reviewing work. It takes me 5 minutes to measure a headphone, you honestly think I don’t have time to listen to it as well?
To aid searching, ranks without the + or – symbol will be marked with a “=”. That also includes the E & F ranks.
Remember: You’re not supposed to agree 100% with this list, and that’s the point.
The IEM boi dips his toes into the world of headphones.
Rank | Value Rating | Model | Price (MSRP) | Signature | Comments | Tone Grade | Technical Grade | Driver Type | Fit/Cup Type | Based on | Note weight | Ranksort | Tonesort | Techsort | Pricesort |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
S | Sennheiser HE-1 | 59000 | Harman neutral | Mostly neutral, slight bass lift, highly resolving and natural both in tone and timbre. The world's best headphone. | S+ | S | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Showfloor demo unit | 4 | 1 | 3 | 59000 | ||
S | ★ | Hifiman Susvara | 6000 | Neutral | Subtle refinements to the already-great HE1000 makes this arguably the best planar in the world. | S | S | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6000 | |
S- | Hifiman HE1000 (V2) | 3000 (HE1000) | Neutral | A planar that comes unnervingly close estat speed, but not quite. Solid technicalities with excellent tone. | S | S- | Planar | Open Circumaural | Personal unit | 10 | 3 | 7 | 3000 | ||
S- | ★ | Focal Utopia | 4000 | Neutral | Solid tuning with close to top-tier resolution. An inoffensive all-rounder that lives up to its reputation. | S | S- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 10 | 3 | 7 | 4000 | |
A+ | Focal Clear | Discontinued 1500 (Replaced by Clear Mg) | Warm neutral | A decent Utopia alternative for thinner wallets. Slightly warmer sound may be more pleasant for some. | S- | A+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 20 | 7 | 13 | 1500 | ||
A+ | Hifiman HE1000se | 3500 | Bright neutral | Basically a brighter and slightly shoutier version of the OG; may be a little too intense for some. | A+ | S- | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 20 | 13 | 7 | 3500 | ||
A+ | ★ | Hifiman Arya | 1600 | Bright neutral | High resolution planar that may be a little peaky in the treble for some. | A+ | S- | Planar | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 20 | 13 | 7 | 1600 | |
A+ | Hifiman Shangri-La Jr | 8000 | Bright neutral | A tad too shouty for my tastes, but far less offensive tonal characteristics than the average estat. | A | S | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 24 | 21 | 3 | 8000 | ||
A | Hifiman Jade II | 2500 | Bass-rolled neutral | Suffers from typical estat timbre and bass extension issues, but otherwise a very resolving and well-tuned headphone. | A | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 28 | 21 | 7 | 2500 | ||
A | Stax SR-007 (Mk2.5) | 2100+975 (SRM-353X) | Warm neutral | Arguably the least wonky-sounding of the mainstream Staxes, with resolution just shy of the flagship 009. | A- | S+ | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 32 | 31 | 1 | 3075 | ||
A | ★ | HEDDphone | 1900 | Warm neutral | An interesting in-between of DD and estat timbre, though tuning around the lower midrange may be off. | A | A+ | AMT | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 34 | 21 | 13 | 1900 | |
A | ★★ | Aurorus Borealis | 900 | Neutral | Sounds like an odd mashup of the HD600 and the Clear, in a good way. | A+ | A | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 34 | 13 | 21 | 900 | |
A | ★ | Nectar Hive | 600+975 (SRM-353X) | Bright neutral | Some spiciness in the treble that is HD800-esque, but with a better midrange presentation. | A | A | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Personal unit | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1575 | |
A- | Hifiman Edition X V2 | 1300 (Edition X V2) | Neutral | Excellent tonal balance though limited by blunted notes and resolution. | S | B+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 46 | 3 | 43 | 1300 | ||
A- | Stax SR-Lambda Pro | 700 (SR-Lambda Pro) | Neutral | One of the original Lambda models, and arguably the best tuned of the Lambda-styled Staxes. | B+ | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 50 | 43 | 7 | 700 | ||
A- | ★★ | Sennheiser HD600 | 400 | Neutral | The legendary neutral reference. Slightly better clarity and imaging than the HD650. | S- | B+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 50 | 7 | 43 | 400 | |
A- | ★★ | Audio Technica ATH-R70x | 350 | Warm neutral | Excellent imaging. Mostly neutral/flat tuning with an ever-so-slight tilt towards warmth. | A+ | B+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 56 | 13 | 43 | 350 | |
B+ | Stax SR-404 Stax SR-404 Limited | 500 (SR-404) | Neutral | Similar tuning to that of the Lambda Pro. Sonically identical between 404 and 404LE. | B | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 64 | 57 | 7 | 500 | ||
B+ | Stax SR-507 | 830 (SR-507) | Neutral | Similar tuning to that of the Lambda Pro. | B | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 64 | 57 | 7 | 830 | ||
B+ | Hifiman HE6 | 1300 (HE6) | Bright neutral | Clean, resolving yet intense sound scratches the detail itch but is a little too edgy for long listens. | B | S- | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 64 | 57 | 7 | 1300 | ||
B+ | Stax SR-4070 | 1700 (SR-4070) | Mid-centric | Surprisingly wide and spacious soundstage for a closed-back. Good low-end extension but rather shouty. | B | S- | Electrostatic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 64 | 57 | 7 | 1700 | ||
B+ | ZMF Auteur (Teak) (pref. lambskin Auteur pads) | 1600 | Bright neutral | Very pleasant tonality but lacking that last bit of definition for true top-tier status. | A | B+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 64 | 21 | 43 | 1600 | ||
B+ | ★ | Hifiman Ananda | 700 | Neutral | One of the best tuned headphones available, only limited by its raw resolving ability. | S- | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 64 | 7 | 57 | 700 | |
B+ | ★★★ | AKG K612 Pro | 200 | Neutral | Basically dead-neutral tuning, emphasis on "dead". Strong all-rounder whose only fault is not having that "wow-factor". | S- | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 64 | 7 | 57 | 200 | |
B+ | ★★ | Hifiman Sundara | 350 | Neutral | Solid tuning with a little treble spiciness for the daring. One of the better midrange planars out there. | A+ | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 70 | 13 | 57 | 350 | |
B+ | ★★★ | Sennheiser HD650/HD6XX | 220 (HD6XX) | Warm neutral | The legendary neutral reference. "Veiled" with a warm tilt (in comparison to HD600), and pretty terrible at imaging. | A+ | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 70 | 13 | 57 | 220 | |
B+ | ★ | Fostex TH610 | 600 | Mild V-shape | The most neutral of the Foster biodyna models. If you want a little more balance than the Teaks. | B+ | A- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 74 | 43 | 31 | 600 | |
B+ | ★ | E-MU Teak | 400 | V-shaped | Excellent dynamics with one of the best bass I've heard in a headphone, though the midrange can be a little harsh. | B+ | A- | Dynamic | Semi-open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 74 | 43 | 31 | 400 | |
B+ | Sennheiser HD800/HD800S | 1700 (HD800S) | Bright neutral | Arguably the king of soundstage and raw detail, though at the cost of its infamous treble spike. | B- | S | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Personal unit | 76 | 73 | 3 | 1700 | ||
B+ | Beyerdynamic T70 | 600 (T70) | Bright neutral | Treble peak may offend some, but otherwise very well balanced and natural tonality with decent technicalities. | A | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 78 | 21 | 57 | 600 | ||
B+ | MrSpeakers Ether C | Discontinued 1500 (Replaced by Ether C Flow) | DF-neutral | Forward, in-your-face sound that's shouty and thin at the same time. A good reference for "true DF neutral". | A | B | Planar | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 78 | 21 | 57 | 1500 | ||
B+ | ★ | Shure SRH1540 | 500 | Neutral with bass boost | Almost "Harman" tuning with some undesirable mid-bass bloat. | A | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 78 | 21 | 57 | 500 | |
B+ | ★★ | AKG K702 | 350 | Mid-centric | Slightly more upper-mid-forward (read: shoutier) version of the K612. | A | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 78 | 21 | 57 | 350 | |
B+ | Stax SR-L500 | 792+975 (SRM-353X) | Neutral | Generally pleasing tuning with a little honkiness in the centre-midrange. | B- | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 80 | 73 | 7 | 1767 | ||
B+ | ★★★ | Shure SRH840 | 150 | V-shaped | Extremely well-executed V-shaped tuning with no erronous peaks or dips. More mid-bassy than sub-bassy. | A+ | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 86 | 13 | 73 | 150 | |
B | Stax SR-L300 | 430+975 (SRM-353X) | Neutral | Generally pleasing tuning, though a little honky and fatiguing in the treble. | B | A- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 88 | 57 | 31 | 1405 | ||
B | ZMF Aeolus (Pref. suede Universe pads) | 1200 | Bright neutral | Tonally, a vast improvement over the Aeolus with stock pads, bringing in extra clarity and bite. | B | A- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 88 | 57 | 31 | 1200 | ||
B | ★ | AKG K701 | 450 | Bright neutral | The brightest and arguably harshest of the K7-- lineup, but still very competent overall. | A- | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 88 | 31 | 57 | 1100 | |
B | Hifiman HE6se | 1100 (HE6se) | Neutral | Comes with an odd midrange dip. It's no HE6 replacement for sure. | B- | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 94 | 73 | 21 | 950 | ||
B | Hifiman HE560 (V1) | 950 (HE560) | Neutral | Slight wonkiness around the lower midrange, but otherwise a capable planar headphone. | B- | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 94 | 73 | 21 | 99999 | ||
B | Final D8000 Pro | 4300 | Bright | Highly resolving headphone with solid imaging capabilities, limited by its somewhat wonky tonality. | B- | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 94 | 73 | 21 | 4300 | ||
B | Final Audio D8000 | 4000 | Bright | High treble-to-midrange contrast makes things sound shrill and borderline-sibilant. | B- | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 94 | 73 | 21 | 4000 | ||
B | RAAL-requisite SR1a | 4000 (Jotunheim R bundle) | Neutral | Weak, limp bass is the killing blow for what is an otherwise highly resolving and decently-tuned earspeaker. | B- | A | Ribbon | Earspeaker | Treoo demo unit | 94 | 73 | 21 | 4000 | ||
B | ★ | Sennheiser HD560S | 200 | Neutral | Well-balanced tonality with good bass extension, just slightly hot in the upper-mids and treble. | A | B- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 94 | 21 | 73 | 200 | |
B | ★★ | AKG K371 | 150 | Harman | Expectedly Harman tuning but lacks a bit of bite in the upper midrange for "true Harman". | A | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 94 | 21 | 73 | 150 | |
B | Focal Stellia | 3000 | Neutral with bass boost | "Harman-inspired" tuning works decently well, though a myriad of small quirks ultimately screws its tonal balance. | C+ | S- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 98 | 91 | 7 | 3000 | ||
B | Stax SR-L700 | 1570+975 (SRM-353X) | Neutral | Probably the most balanced tuning of the L-series, with the usual e-stat technicalities. | C+ | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 98 | 91 | 7 | 2545 | ||
B | ZMF Verite Closed (Hybrid Universe pads) | 2500 | Neutral with bass boost | Far more tonally balanced than its open counterpart, whilst retaining its reverberant staging. | C+ | S- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 98 | 91 | 7 | 2500 | ||
B | Audio Technica ATH-ADX5000 | 2000 | Bright neutral | Clean, open sound reminsicent of the HD800, with a bit of midbass bloat and upper midrange shoutiness. | C+ | S- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 98 | 91 | 7 | 2000 | ||
B | Stax SR-L300 Limited | 900+975 (SRM-353X) | Neutral | Honkier version of the standard L300. | C+ | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 98 | 91 | 7 | 1875 | ||
B | ★ | Hifiman Deva | 300 | Neutral | Probably the most "mellow" of the Hifiman planars with the least resolving ability. | S- | C+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 98 | 7 | 91 | 300 | |
B | ★★★ | Shure SRH440 | 100 | Harman | Closest thing to Harman thus far. Comes with a small upper treble spike and lacking raw resolution. | S- | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 98 | 7 | 91 | 100 | |
B | Sony MDR-SA5000 (w/ AliExpress replacement pads) | 400 (MDR-SA5000) | Bass-rolled neutral | Surprisingly competent for a decades-old set. Midrange is a little uneven but beats out many other modern TOTLs. | B | B+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 100 | 57 | 43 | 400 | ||
B | Hifiman HE5 | 600 (HE5) | Neutral | The original Hifiman. Midrange is a little too scooped out but remains competitive even today. | B+ | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 600 | ||
B | Denon AH-D5000 | 480 (AH-D5000) | V-shaped | The usual "Foster biodyna dynamics" are at play here, with a somewhat fatiguing treble spike. | B | B+ | Dynamic | Semi-open Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 100 | 57 | 43 | 480 | ||
B | Kennerton Odin | 3600 (Bog Oak) | Warm neutral | Generally "okay" tonality with some odd dips here and there. Lacking serious extension for a planar. | B+ | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 3600 | ||
B | Kennerton Thror | 3600 (Bog Oak) | Warm neutral | Kind of a "nothing headphone"; not bad, not great, just good enough to be okay. | B+ | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 3600 | ||
B | Focal Radiance | 1300 | Harman neutral | Probably the best of the closed-back Focals. Some tuning refinements over the Stellia, though technically limited. | B+ | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 1300 | ||
B | ★ | Sennheiser HD660S | 400 | Warm neutral | An even darker HD6X0. A comparatively muffled mess just barely propped up by its decent resolving ability. | B | B+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 100 | 57 | 43 | 400 | |
B | ★ | Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro (32Ω) | 350 | Warm V-shape | Certainly a "mini-HD800" in terms of tonality only, however still far inferior in technical ability. | B+ | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 350 | |
B | ★ | HarmonicDyne Zeus | 350 | Warm | A rare combination of a warm-focused tonality with decent technicalities. | B+ | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 350 | |
B | Focal Clear Mg | 1500 | Warm neutral | Lacks upper mids and resolution compared to its predecessor. | B- | A- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 104 | 73 | 31 | 1500 | ||
B | Audeze LCD-XC | 1300 | "Balanced" | Definitely the least Audeze-sounding Audeze. A little quirky tonally, but nothing too offensive. | B- | A- | Planar | Closed Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 104 | 73 | 31 | 1300 | ||
B | Focal Elear | 1000 | Warm neutral | Subdued upper midrange with the odd treble spike makes this a weird headphone to listen to. | B- | A- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Treoo demo unit | 104 | 73 | 31 | 1000 | ||
B | ★ | Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless | 350 | U-shaped | A massive improvement over its predecessor. Limited resolution and potentially intense tonality. | A- | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Showfloor demo unit | 104 | 31 | 73 | 350 | |
B | Meze Empyrean | 3000 | Warm | Bland and unexciting tuning with compressed staging and generally underperforming technicalities. | B | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 3000 | ||
B | ★ | Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro (250Ω) | 200 | V-shaped | Pretty bog-standard V-shaped response with forward upper-midrange and decently high resolution. | B | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 200 | |
B | ★ | Beyerdynamic TYGR 300 R | 200 | V-shaped | Very reminiscent of the DT990. | B | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 200 | |
B | ★★ | Hifiman HE400i (2020) | 170 | Neutral | Well-executed reference-ish tuning with a slight treble emphasis. | B | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Treoo demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 170 | |
B- | Hifiman HE500 (w/ FocusPad-A) | 900 (HE500) | Warm neutral | Perhaps the warmest of the Hifiman lineup. Not the most resolving. | B+ | B- | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 116 | 43 | 73 | 900 | ||
B- | ★ | Sivga Phoenix | 300 | Warm neutral | A fairly competent warm-neutral monitor slightly held back by limited detail retrieval. | B+ | B- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 116 | 43 | 73 | 300 | |
B- | Audeze LCD-24 | 3500 | Warm neutral | A slight tonal improvement over the LCD-4, but also comes with a slight hit in resolution. | C | S- | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 118 | 111 | 7 | 3500 | ||
B- | Abyss Diana Phi Abyss Diana V2 | 3000 (V2) 4000 (Phi) | Warm | Needs a little more upper midrange to balance out the honkiness. Good dynamic performance especially in the bass. | C | A+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 124 | 111 | 13 | 3000 | ||
B- | Audeze LCD-X (2021) | 1200 | Warm neutral | Tonally, a massive improvement over the previous version(s) though with the usual pitfalls of the Audeze house sound. | C | A+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 124 | 111 | 13 | 1200 | ||
B- | Denon AH-D5200 | 700 | Warm neutral | Probably the least wonky of the new Denons. Suffers from some mid-bass bloat. | B- | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 130 | 73 | 57 | 700 | ||
B- | Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro (Balanced pads) | 600 | Warm V-shape | An intense sound given its significant treble boost, but countered by a smooth lower-midrange bump. | B- | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 130 | 73 | 57 | 600 | ||
B- | ★ | Audio Technica ATH-M70x | 300 | Neutral | The most neutral of the M-series. Good tonality but still suffers from narrow imaging. | B | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 130 | 57 | 73 | 300 | |
B- | ★ | Sennheiser HD25 Plus | 200 | U-shaped | Punchy, energetic sound with decently balanced tonality. A pretty good beat-tracking monitor. | B | B- | Dynamic | Closed Supra-aural | Stereo demo unit | 130 | 57 | 73 | 200 | |
B- | Audeze LCD-GX | 900 | Warm neutral | As a gaming headphone, possibly the best technically though with the usual pitfalls of the Audeze house sound. | C | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 132 | 111 | 21 | 900 | ||
B- | Audeze LCD-2 Closed-back | 900 | Warm V-shape | Not the worst Audeze in terms of tonality, but its tuning still doesn't live up to its technical capabilities. | C | A | Planar | Closed Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 132 | 111 | 21 | 900 | ||
B- | Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 800 | Warm | Classic Audeze combo of solid resolution with a confusing lack of upper midrange. | C | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 132 | 111 | 21 | 800 | ||
B- | ★ | BLON B20 | 450 | Warm neutral | Basically a darker planar HD6X0, with equally closed-in staging and lacking the final resolving edge. | A | C | Planar | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 132 | 21 | 111 | 450 | |
B- | ★ | Massdrop x Koss ESP/95X | 450 | Mid-centric | Good resolving ability and imaging, marred by its odd and honky midrange. | C | A | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 132 | 111 | 21 | 450 | |
B- | ★★★ | Koss KSC75 | 20 | Bass-rolled neutral | Non-existent sub-bass and poor resolution. But it's so well-tuned you may not even care. | A | C | Dynamic | Open Clip-on | Personal unit | 132 | 21 | 111 | 20 | |
B- | Apple AirPods Max | 550 | U-shaped | Great tonality, sub-focused bass emphasis, bassy without being muddy. Average imaging and resolution. | B+ | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Personal unit | 134 | 43 | 91 | 550 | ||
B- | ★ | ASTRO A40 TR | 150 | Warm V-shape | Middling technicalities, but for a gaming headphone its tonality is surprisingly balanced. | B+ | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 134 | 43 | 91 | 150 | |
B- | ZMF Verite (Pref. lambskin Verite pads) | 2500 | Warm | Excellent resolution unfortunately marred by suppressed harmonics and a harsh upper-midrange. | C- | S- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 140 | 133 | 7 | 2500 | ||
B- | ES Lab ES-1a | 2050 | Bright neutral | Seems inspired by the tuning of the SR-009 with some minor improvements, though not enough to call it "good". | C- | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 140 | 133 | 7 | 2050 | ||
B- | ★ | Audio Technica ATH-M40x | 100 | Neutral with bass boost | Well-balanced tonality with disappointing detailing and claustrophobic imaging. | A- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 142 | 31 | 111 | 100 | |
B- | ★ | Moondrop Void | 200 | Warm neutral | Slightly midbass/lower-mid emphasised with good tonal balance, if rather "cheap"-sounding. | A- | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 142 | 31 | 111 | 340 | |
B- | Fostex TR80 | 220 (TR80) | Neutral with bass boost | A very well-tuned monitor-style headphone, if heavily bottlenecked by narrow imaging and blunt hits. | A+ | C- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 146 | 13 | 133 | 220 | ||
B- | ★ | E-MU Walnut | 100 | "Balanced" | Tonality is somewhat off with peaks and dips here and there, but overall not a bad sounding headphone. | B- | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 146 | 73 | 73 | 100 | |
C+ | Acoustic Research AR-H1 | 600 (AR-H1) | Neutral | A tempered, almost bright-leaning planar (but not quite). Decent tonality and technical ability. | C+ | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 600 | ||
C+ | Beyerdynamic T5p (1st Gen) | 750 (T5P) | V-shaped | Choppy midrange response is its biggest turnoff, but otherwise a decent V-shaped headphone. | C+ | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 750 | ||
C+ | Timsok TS-1024 | 2000 | Warm V-shape | Somewhat warm midrange plagued with sharp and offensive treble. | C+ | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 2000 | ||
C+ | Sendy Aiva | 600 | Warm neutral | A slightly worse-tuned B20, kinda. | B | C+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 148 | 57 | 91 | 600 | ||
C+ | AKG K712 Pro | 500 | Warm | Sizeable mid-bass bloat that's barely reigned in by an equally sizeable upper-midrange emphasis. | C+ | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 500 | ||
C+ | ★ | Sennheiser HD599 | 200 | V-shaped | A little too sharp, a little too midbassy, but overall not the most offensive headphone out there. | B | C+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 148 | 57 | 91 | 200 | |
C+ | ★ | Massdrop x AKG K7XX | 200 | Warm | A more bloated-sounding K712. | C+ | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 200 | |
C+ | ★ | HarmonicDyne Helios | 180 | V-shaped | Lack of bass extension is its biggest dealbreaker of what would be an otherwise solid headphone. | B | C+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 148 | 57 | 91 | 180 | |
C+ | Fostex TH7 | 80 (TH7) | Neutral | Fairly neutral monitor-style headphone with poor imaging and detail retrieval. | B+ | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 154 | 43 | 111 | 80 | ||
C+ | Sony MDR-Z1R | 1800 | V-shaped | Holes in the midrange. Big spike in the treble. Strangely disjointed soundstage. Decently resolving. | C | B+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 154 | 111 | 43 | 1800 | ||
C+ | Fostex TH900 | 1600 | V-shaped | Spicy sibilance and bloated bass are disappointments in what is otherwise an extremely dynamic headphone. | C- | A | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 154 | 133 | 21 | 1600 | ||
C+ | DCA Aeon 2 Closed | 900 | U-shaped | Passable tonality with dulled and blunted transients make for lacklustre detailing. | B+ | C | Planar | Closed Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 154 | 43 | 111 | 900 | ||
C+ | Stax SR-009/SR-009S | 4325+975 (SRM-353X) | Bright neutral | Detail and resolution worthy of being called "the best", marred by the tonally-off midrange. | D+ | S+ | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 158 | 157 | 1 | 5300 | ||
C+ | Audeze LCD-4 | 4000+3000 (GS-X mk2) | Warm | A classic example of a highly resolving yet wonky sounding headphone. Needs more upper midrange. | D+ | S | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 160 | 157 | 3 | 7000 | ||
C+ | Sony MDR-MA900 | 200 (MDR-MA900) | Bass-rolled neutral | Imaging as expected of an earspeaker configuration; surprisingly good tonality and expected bad extension. | C+ | B- | Dynamic | Earspeaker | Third party unit | 164 | 91 | 73 | 200 | ||
C+ | Fostex TH909 | 1800 | V-shaped | A slightly more balanced TH900 with similar sibilance issues. | C- | A- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 164 | 133 | 31 | 1800 | ||
C+ | Neumann NDH 20 | 500 | Neutral with bass boost | Feels like an attempt at Harman but ultimately missing the mark in the midrange tuning. | C+ | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 164 | 91 | 73 | 500 | ||
C+ | ★ | 1MORE MK801 | 80 | Neutral with bass boost | Smooth, generally pleasing tonality throughout with no offensive characteristics. | A- | C- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 164 | 31 | 133 | 80 | |
C+ | Rosson RAD-0 | 2600 | Warm neutral | Middling technicalities with suppressed upper midrange. | C | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 168 | 111 | 57 | 2600 | ||
C+ | Sony MDR-1AM2 | 300 | Warm U-shape | Harman-ish tuning with a strong mid-bass presence and piercing upper treble response. | B | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 168 | 57 | 111 | 300 | ||
C+ | ★ | Sennheiser HD579 | 200 | Warm neutral | More or less a HD599 with slightly worse resolution. | B | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 168 | 57 | 111 | 200 | |
C+ | Abyss AB-1266 Phi CC Abyss AB-1266 Phi | Replaced with TC | "Balanced" | Sinfully addictive bass and treble reponse, but the midrange tonality needs a lot of work. | D+ | A+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 170 | 157 | 13 | 99999 | ||
C+ | Audeze LCD-MX4 | 3000 | Warm | Classic Audeze combo of solid resolution with a confusing lack of upper midrange. | D+ | A+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 170 | 157 | 13 | 3000 | ||
C+ | Hifiman HE5SE | 700 | V-shaped | Strong contender for an excellent headphone, if not for the inexplicable hole in the mids. | D+ | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 178 | 157 | 21 | 700 | ||
C+ | Sony MDR-CD380 | 50 (MDR-CD380) | DF-neutral | Shouty and thin-sounding, though surprisingly competent imaging ability. | C+ | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 50 | ||
C | Stax SR-X Mk2 | Discontinued | Bass-rolled neutral | Surprisingly good tonal balance marred by its complete absence of bass response. | C | B- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 184 | 111 | 73 | 99999 | ||
C | Audio Technica ATH-A900X | Discontinued 300 (Replaced by A990Z) | Warm with bass boost | Subdued upper mids and enhanced mid-bass. If anything else, this is a headphone that wouldn't fatigue. | C | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 184 | 111 | 73 | 300 | ||
C | Beyerdynamic DT860 | Discontinued 250 (Replaced by DT880) | Bright | Upwards-sloping bright and lean sound. | B- | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 250 | ||
C | Focal Celestee | 1000 (Celestee) | Neutral with bass boost | Thin and uneven mids with narrow, congested staging. | B- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 1000 | ||
C | AudioQuest NightHawk | 600 (Nighthawk) | Warm bassy | Thick, grand, heavy... muddy. | C | B- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 184 | 111 | 73 | 600 | ||
C | Audio Technica ATH-AWAS | 1400 | Mid-centric | Rolled off bass with somewhat suppressed treble. Not the worst but far from being tonally balanced. | C | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 184 | 111 | 73 | 1400 | ||
C | DCA Aeon 2 Open DCA Aeon 2 Noire | 900 | Warm V-shape | Arguably the best tuned DCA headphone with a slightly thick midrange and least offensive treble. | B- | C | Planar | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 900 | ||
C | Beyerdynamic DT1770 Pro | 600 | U-shaped | A slightly more balanced version of the old DT770. | C | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 184 | 111 | 73 | 600 | ||
C | Bose QuietComfort 35 II (QC35) | 350 | V-shaped | The typical mainstream V-shape response with middling technicalities. | B- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 350 | ||
C | Harman Kardon FLY ANC | 250 | Neutral with bass boost | Peaky, mid-bassy attempt at a Harman tuning. | B- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 250 | ||
C | Koss SP540 | 150 | V-shaped | The typical mainstream V-shape response with middling technicalities. | B- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Treoo demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 150 | ||
C | Audio Technica ATH-AD1000X | 500 (ATH-AD1000X) | "Balanced" | Quirky tuning with imbalanced upper harmonics. Similar to that of the AD2000. | C- | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 190 | 133 | 57 | 500 | ||
C | Audio Technica ATH-AD2000 | 750 (AD2000) | "Balanced" | Quirky tuning with imbalanced upper harmonics. Similar to that of the AD1000X. | C- | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 190 | 133 | 57 | 750 | ||
C | AKG K872 Pro | 1500 | "Balanced" | Strange pad shape makes for wildly-varying bass. Generally a tonally weird headphone. | C- | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 190 | 133 | 57 | 1500 | ||
C | ZMF Atticus (Suede Eikon pads) | 1100 | Bassy | Bloated bass with wonky midrange, a killer combination. | C- | B | Dynamic | Semi-open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 190 | 133 | 57 | 1100 | ||
C | Sony MDR-Z7M2 | 900 | U-shaped | Sounds like a "Z1R-lite", with arguably better bass response but peakier treble. | C- | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 190 | 133 | 57 | 900 | ||
C | Audeze LCD-3 | 1950 | Mid-centric | Classic Audeze combo of solid resolution with a confusing lack of upper midrange. Now with extra honk. | D | A+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 196 | 183 | 13 | 1950 | ||
C | Audeze LCD-1 | 400 | Neutral | The best tuned Audeze headphone with the worst resolution. | B+ | D+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 200 | 43 | 157 | 400 | ||
C | Fostex TH500 (w/ worn pads) | 700 (TH500) | "Balanced" | An interesting oldschool planar, vastly outpaced by today's market. | C | C+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 700 | ||
C | Philips SHP9500 | Discontinued 80 (Replaced by SHP9600) | Bright | Decent imaging chops held back by its intensely bright presentation and below-average resolution. | C | C+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 80 | ||
C | DCA Ether C Flow 1.1 | 1600 | Neutral with bass boost | Sounds like something went wrong with the upper-midrange tuning. | C | C+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 1600 | ||
C | Campfire Cascade | 800 | Bassy | Competent midrange tuning let down by a loose, bloated bass response. | C+ | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 202 | 91 | 111 | 800 | ||
C | Grado The Hemp Headphone | 420 | Bass-rolled neutral | Nothing much different from your average Grado; paid extra for the novelty, not the sonic improvements. | C | C+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 420 | ||
C | Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 | 400 | Neutral with bass boost | More subdued presentation compared to its precedessor, almost to the point of being boring. | C+ | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 202 | 91 | 111 | 400 | ||
C | Audeze Mobius (Default preset) | 300 | Warm neutral | Not the total lack of upper midrange I expected, but a hole in the upper mids nonetheless. | C | C+ | Planar | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 300 | ||
C | Grado GW100 | 250 | "Balanced" | Not the worst Grado, but you could still do better than Grado. | C | C+ | Dynamic | Open Supra-aural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 250 | ||
C | Master & Dynamic MH40 | 250 | Bassy | Too much bass, and not the good kind either. | C | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 250 | ||
C | Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro | 160 | U-shaped | Sounds like a parody of Harman with its excessive 200Hz notch and overblown treble. | C | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 160 | ||
C | AKG K240 Studio | 70 | Mid-centric | Abysmal bass extension with overly-boosted lower mids makes for a strange listening experience. | C | C+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 70 | ||
C | Meze 99 Classics | 310 | Bassy | Just excessive bass that unfortunately screws with the tonality of the mids. | C- | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 206 | 133 | 73 | 310 | ||
C | Audio Technica ATH-A2000X | 500 (ATH-A2000X) | "Balanced" | Somewhat mid-centric runing that's far too coloured for its own good. | D+ | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 214 | 157 | 57 | 500 | ||
C | Denon AH-D9200 | 1600 | Mid-centric | Generally weird and wonky tuning that can also get rather harsh at times. | D+ | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 214 | 157 | 57 | 1600 | ||
C | ZMF Eikon (Lambskin Eikon pads) | 1400 | Bright | Hole in the mids with a sharp piercing peak in the treble. | D+ | B | Dynamic | Semi-open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 214 | 157 | 57 | 1400 | ||
C | Denon AH-D7200 | 1000 | Mid-centric | Generally weird and wonky tuning that can also get rather harsh at times. | D+ | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 214 | 157 | 57 | 1000 | ||
C | MrSpeakers Aeon Flow | Discontinued 800 (Replaced by Aeon 2) | Warm | Reminds of the NightHawk a bit, except with far worse resolution. | C | C | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 800 | ||
C | DCA Ether 2 | 2300 | "Balanced" | Hard to explain what exactly this sounds like, but the first thing you'd hear is probably the treble roll-off. | C | C | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 2300 | ||
C | DCA Ether Flow 1.1 | 1800 | Warm V-shape | Has elements of the DT880/HD800 tuning, with extra note thickness and more piercing treble. | C | C | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 1800 | ||
C | Audeze Sine DX | 600 | Mid-centric | Decent bass extension, honky midrange presentation. | C | C | Planar | Closed Supra-aural | Stereo demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 600 | ||
C | B&W PX | 400 | Warm | Warm, bloated sound with a largely muffled midrange. | C | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 400 | ||
C | V-MODA Crossfade 2 Wireless | 330 | V-shaped | The typical mainstream V-shape response with middling technicalities. | C | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 330 | ||
C | Audio Technica ATH-MSR7b | 250 | V-shaped | Thin-sounding yet bloated at the same time. Intense upper midrange. | C | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 250 | ||
C | Koss Portapro | 80 | Bass-rolled warm | The KSC75 is better. | C | C | Dynamic | Open Supra-aural | Third party unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 80 | ||
C- | Stax SR-3 | 500 (SR-3) | Bass-rolled neutral | Similarly tuned to the SR-X, albeit with a much more blunted presentation. | C+ | C- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 224 | 91 | 133 | 500 | ||
C- | Audio Technica ATH-A1000Z | 400 (ATH-1000Z) | Neutral with bass boost | Odd upper-midrange tuning results in a scratchy, uneven presentation. | C- | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 224 | 133 | 91 | 400 | ||
C- | Audio Technica ATH-A2000Z | 650 (ATH-A2000Z) | Neutral with bass boost | Odd upper-midrange tuning results in a scratchy, uneven presentation. | C- | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 224 | 133 | 91 | 650 | ||
C- | Audeze LCD-X (Pre-20201) | 1700 | Neutral | Probably the worst tuned Audeze available. At least, this specific unit is. | D- | A+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 224 | 211 | 13 | 1700 | ||
C- | Audio Technica ATH-M50x | 150 | Neutral with bass boost | The headphone that the elites love to hate... isn't that bad. An alright starter headphone, if generally overrated. | C+ | C- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 224 | 91 | 133 | 150 | ||
C- | Grado SR60e/SR80e | 80 (SR60e) | Bright neutral | Forward, almost nasally midrange with an intense treble response. | C- | C+ | Dynamic | Open Supra-aural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 224 | 133 | 91 | 80 | ||
C- | Sony MDR-V6 | Discontinued 200 (Replaced by M1ST) | DF-neutral with bass boost | Somewhat thin-sound and shouty but overall a very well-tuned set, if extremely blunted and narrow in imaging. | B+ | D | Dynamic | Closed Supra-aural | Third party unit | 226 | 43 | 183 | 200 | ||
C- | AKG K812 | 1500 | Bright | Sharp, shrill, piercing, sibilant, and all other synonyms. | D+ | B- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 230 | 157 | 73 | 1500 | ||
C- | Focal Elegia | 900 | Neutral with bass boost | Severe lack of upper midrange and treble results in a muffled, dulled tone. | D+ | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 230 | 157 | 73 | 900 | ||
C- | DCA Voce | 3300 | "Balanced" | Wonky, honky, whatever you want to call it. Probably the worst e-stat I've heard. | D- | A | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 232 | 211 | 21 | 3300 | ||
C- | Oppo PM-3 | 500 (PM-3) | V-shaped | Fairly well-tuned, if very technically limited in both resolution and imaging performance. | B | D | Planar | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 240 | 57 | 183 | 500 | ||
C- | Quad ERA-1 | 800 | Mid-centric | Kind of a "nothing headphone"; not the worst thing in the world but no praises either. | D | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 240 | 183 | 57 | 800 | ||
C- | Stax SR-40 | Discontinued | Bass-rolled neutral | One of the few Stax electrets out there. Not great in tonality nor technical performance. | C- | C | Electret | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 99999 | ||
C- | Shure Aonic 50 | 400 | V-shaped | A parody of the V-shaped response. Scooped mids, hollow sound. | C- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 400 | ||
C- | Precide ERGO 2 | 250 | Bass-rolled neutral | Sounds exactly like what it is: a headphone with a broken seal. | C- | C | Dynamic | Earspeaker | Third party unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 250 | ||
C- | Audio Technica ATH-M30X | 70 | Neutral with bass boost | Scooped upper midrange with below average technicalities. | C | C- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 244 | 111 | 133 | 70 | ||
C- | Logitech G PRO X | 130 | Bassy | Too much bloat going on in the bass, which is a shame given that the rest of the mids are alright. | C+ | D+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 248 | 91 | 157 | 130 | ||
C- | Sony MDR-CD900ST | Discontinued 200 (Replaced by M1ST) | Warm neutral | Solid dark-ish reference tuning, with the usual V6/7506-esque absence of soundstage. | B- | D | Dynamic | Closed Supra-aural | Third party unit | 256 | 73 | 183 | 200 | ||
C- | Stax SR-84 | 500 (SR-84) | Bass-rolled neutral | Surprisingly coherent tuning for what is effectively an unsealed electret. Lacks too much resolution. | B- | D | Electret | Open Supra-aural | Third party unit | 256 | 73 | 183 | 500 | ||
C- | Audio Technica ATH-L5000 | 4000 | "Balanced" | Quirkiness not unexpected of an Audio Technica; arguably their worst closed-back. Sure took an L on this one. | D | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 256 | 183 | 73 | 4000 | ||
C- | Audio Technica ATH-AWKT | 1900 | Bright | AWKT, more like AWKward... I'll leave now. | D | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 256 | 183 | 73 | 1900 | ||
C- | Koss PRO DJ100 | 80 | DF-neutral with bass boost | Good tuning but unfortunately weird pad shape that makes it hard to get the proper bass response. | B- | D | Dynamic | Closed Supra-aural | Treoo demo unit | 256 | 73 | 183 | 80 | ||
C- | Sony WH-1000XM4 | 350 | Bassy | Consumer-friendly heavy bass unfortunately bleeds into the mids, but otherwise fine. | C- | C- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 350 | ||
D+ | Pioneer Monitor 10 | 150 (Monitor 10) | "Balanced" | Slightly honky midrange, weird uneven treble, and hard to get a proper seal. | D+ | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 268 | 157 | 111 | 150 | ||
D+ | Klipsch HP3 | 1200 | Warm V-shape | Lots of bass bloat, way too thick-sounding and lacking definition. | D+ | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 268 | 157 | 111 | 1200 | ||
D+ | Beyerdynamic Amiron Home | 750 | Warm V-shape | Mid-bass bloated and shouty at the same time. | D+ | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 268 | 157 | 111 | 750 | ||
D+ | Logitech G933s | 200 | Bassy | Too much bloat going on in the bass, which is a shame given that the rest of the mids are alright. | C | D+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 268 | 111 | 157 | 200 | ||
D+ | Pioneer SE-Master1 | 2500 | Bright | Treble daggers applied directly into ear. | D | C+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 274 | 183 | 91 | 2500 | ||
D+ | Beyerdynamic T5 (3rd Gen) | 1000 | Bassy | Wibbly-wobbly midrange with far too liberal a bass boost makes for a terrible sound. | D | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 274 | 183 | 91 | 1000 | ||
D+ | Drop + THX Panda | 400 | Warm | Well-tuned but with overpowering mid-bass and extremely dulled transients. | B- | D- | Planar | Closed Circumaural | Review unit | 284 | 73 | 211 | 400 | ||
D+ | Sennheiser HD559 | 150 | Warm | Big, thick sound that muffles everything but the most surface level details. | D+ | C- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 290 | 157 | 133 | 150 | ||
D+ | Sony MDR-7510 | 130 (MDR-7510) | Neutral with bass boost | Everything just sounds strange and oddly sharp in tone, but extremely blunted in transients. | C | D | Dynamic | Closed Supra-aural | Connect IT demo unit | 294 | 111 | 183 | 130 | ||
D+ | iBasso SR1 | 500 | "Balanced" | Wonky midrange is one thing, but dying after 6kHz is another. | D | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 294 | 183 | 111 | 500 | ||
D+ | Audio Technica ATH-AD900X | 300 | "Balanced" | Extremely uneven tuning, mediocre resolution, not a great choice unless you only want a wide soundstage. | D | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 294 | 183 | 111 | 300 | ||
D+ | Audio Technica ATH-A990Z | 220 | V-shaped | Odd cup resonance results in wonky imaging. Prefer the original A900X. | D | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 294 | 183 | 111 | 220 | ||
D+ | Beyerdynamic DT250 | 200 | Mid-centric | Horrible treble extension and a honkiness that gets worse the longer you listen. | C | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 294 | 111 | 183 | 200 | ||
D+ | V-MODA Crossfade LP2 | 200 | Bassy | Big bass, bad bass, no treble extension. | D | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 294 | 183 | 111 | 200 | ||
D | Beyerdynamic DT1350 | 500 (DT1350) | Warm | Muffled, narrow-sounding, and lacking surface-level detail. | D | C- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 316 | 183 | 133 | 500 | ||
D | Logitech G431 | Discontinued 130 (Replaced by G432) | Warm | Bloated bass like the rest, but further exacerbated by the recessed midrange. | C- | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 316 | 133 | 183 | 130 | ||
D | Sennheiser Amperior | 300 (Amperior) | Mid-centric | Extremely nasally vocals and lacks weight in the mids. | D | C- | Dynamic | Closed Supra-aural | Third party unit | 316 | 183 | 133 | 300 | ||
D | B&O BeoPlay H7 | 450 | "Balanced" | Wonky, honky midrange. Not great. | D | C- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 316 | 183 | 133 | 450 | ||
D | Audio Technica ATH-AD700X | 200 | Warm | Extremely uneven tuning, mediocre resolution, not a great choice unless you only want a wide soundstage. | D | C- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 316 | 183 | 133 | 200 | ||
D | Audio Technica ATH-AD500X | 170 | Warm | Suppressed and uneven upper-mids, mediocre resolution, not a great choice unless you only want a wide soundstage. | D | C- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 316 | 183 | 133 | 170 | ||
D | iBasso SR2 | 550 | Bright | Shouty, shrill and lacking the proper heft in the bass region. | D- | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 322 | 211 | 111 | 550 | ||
D | Koss Pro4S | 150 | V-shaped | Horrible lower-midrange scoop screws with every instrument. | D- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Treoo demo unit | 322 | 211 | 111 | 150 | ||
D | Audio Technica ATH-EW9 | 330 | Mid-centric | Forget shout; this thing screams. | D+ | D | Dynamic | Open Clip-on | Third party unit | 340 | 157 | 183 | 330 | ||
D | Focal Listen Professional | 300 | "Balanced" | Not sure if this is supposed to seal, but in the event that it isn't: why? | D | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 300 | ||
D | Sennheiser HD400S | 70 | "Balanced" | At least it's not the Momentum 2.0 Wireless. | D | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 70 | ||
D- | Yamaha HP-50S | 60 (HP-50S) | Warm | Bloated, lacking resolution, narrow imaging. Just a bad headphone all around. | D+ | D- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 368 | 157 | 211 | 60 | ||
D- | AudioQuest NightOwl | 700 (Nightowl) | Dark | Heavily downsloped response makes the upper harmonics completely disappear. | D- | D+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 368 | 211 | 157 | 700 | ||
D- | Shure SRH240A | 60 | V-shaped | Compressed, honky and lacking all but the most surface-level of detailing. | D+ | D- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 368 | 157 | 211 | 60 | ||
E | Sennheiser HD820 | 2400 | V-shaped | The mystical acoustic properties of Gorilla Glass could not save this monstrosity. | E | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 1056 | 999 | 57 | 2400 | ||
E | Beyerdynamic T1 (3rd Gen) | 1000 | Warm V-shape | When you answer "yes" to the question "how much lower mids do you want?" | E | B- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 1072 | 999 | 73 | 1000 | ||
E | Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless | 180 | Unique | Probably the worst headphone Sennheiser has ever made. Yes, even the HD820. | E | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 1090 | 999 | 91 | 180 | ||
E | Final Sonorous VIII | 3000 (Sonorous VIII) | Unique | Quirky artisanal Japanese handiwork so quirky that they forgot that it's supposed to play music. | E | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 1110 | 999 | 111 | 3000 | ||
E | Final Sonorous X | 5000 (Sonorous X) | Unique | Quirky artisanal Japanese handiwork so quirky that they forgot that it's supposed to play music. | E | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 1110 | 999 | 111 | 5000 | ||
E | Spirit Torino Radiante | 2250 | Unique | Humps for days. Wouldn't be a stretch to call this "ꟿ-shaped". | E | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 1110 | 999 | 111 | 2250 | ||
E | AKG K92 | 60 | V-shaped | Hole in the bass, hole in the mids, hole in the treble. AKG's struck a turkey. | E | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 1182 | 999 | 183 | 60 | ||
E | AKG K72 | 50 | V-shaped | Hole in the bass, hole in the mids, hole in the treble. AKG's struck a turkey. | E | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 1182 | 999 | 183 | 50 | ||
E | AKG K52 | 35 | V-shaped | Hole in the bass, hole in the mids, hole in the treble. AKG's struck a turkey. | E | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 1182 | 999 | 183 | 35 | ||
E | FiiO EH3 | 200 | Bassy | Sounds as if the ANC is trying to cancel out its own sound. | E | E | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 1998 | 999 | 999 | 200 | ||
E | EKSA E900 Pro | 50 | Dark | Typical cheaply-made headphone that's all bass with zero technical ability. A waste of any money. | E | E | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Review unit | 1998 | 999 | 999 | 50 | ||
F | Yamaha HP-300 | Discontinued | Complete failure | Virtually no records of this exist on the internet, and maybe it's better that way. | F | F | Dynamic | Semi-open Circumaural | Third party unit | 19998 | 9999 | 9999 | 99999 | ||
F | Pioneer SE-2P | 20 (SE-2P) | Complete failure | The pads look like toilet plungers. Sounds like one too. | F | F | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 19998 | 9999 | 9999 | 20 | ||
F | Sansui SS-10 | 340 (SS-10) | Complete failure | A simulation of how it's like to have hearing damage. | F | F | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 19998 | 9999 | 9999 | 340 |
Rank | Value Rating | Model | Price (MSRP) | Signature | Comments | Tone Grade | Technical Grade | Driver Type | Fit/Cup Type | Based on | Note weight | Ranksort | Tonesort | Techsort | Pricesort |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
S | Sennheiser HE-1 | 59000 | Harman neutral | Mostly neutral, slight bass lift, highly resolving and natural both in tone and timbre. The world's best headphone. | S+ | S | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Showfloor demo unit | 4 | 1 | 3 | 59000 | ||
S | ★ | Hifiman Susvara | 6000 | Neutral | Subtle refinements to the already-great HE1000 makes this arguably the best planar in the world. | S | S | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6000 | |
S- | Hifiman HE1000 (V2) | 3000 (HE1000) | Neutral | A planar that comes unnervingly close estat speed, but not quite. Solid technicalities with excellent tone. | S | S- | Planar | Open Circumaural | Personal unit | 10 | 3 | 7 | 3000 | ||
S- | ★ | Focal Utopia | 4000 | Neutral | Solid tuning with close to top-tier resolution. An inoffensive all-rounder that lives up to its reputation. | S | S- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 10 | 3 | 7 | 4000 | |
A+ | Focal Clear | Discontinued 1500 (Replaced by Clear Mg) | Warm neutral | A decent Utopia alternative for thinner wallets. Slightly warmer sound may be more pleasant for some. | S- | A+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 20 | 7 | 13 | 1500 | ||
A+ | Hifiman HE1000se | 3500 | Bright neutral | Basically a brighter and slightly shoutier version of the OG; may be a little too intense for some. | A+ | S- | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 20 | 13 | 7 | 3500 | ||
A+ | ★ | Hifiman Arya | 1600 | Bright neutral | High resolution planar that may be a little peaky in the treble for some. | A+ | S- | Planar | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 20 | 13 | 7 | 1600 | |
A+ | Hifiman Shangri-La Jr | 8000 | Bright neutral | A tad too shouty for my tastes, but far less offensive tonal characteristics than the average estat. | A | S | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 24 | 21 | 3 | 8000 | ||
A | Hifiman Jade II | 2500 | Bass-rolled neutral | Suffers from typical estat timbre and bass extension issues, but otherwise a very resolving and well-tuned headphone. | A | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 28 | 21 | 7 | 2500 | ||
A | Stax SR-007 (Mk2.5) | 2100+975 (SRM-353X) | Warm neutral | Arguably the least wonky-sounding of the mainstream Staxes, with resolution just shy of the flagship 009. | A- | S+ | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 32 | 31 | 1 | 3075 | ||
A | ★ | HEDDphone | 1900 | Warm neutral | An interesting in-between of DD and estat timbre, though tuning around the lower midrange may be off. | A | A+ | AMT | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 34 | 21 | 13 | 1900 | |
A | ★★ | Aurorus Borealis | 900 | Neutral | Sounds like an odd mashup of the HD600 and the Clear, in a good way. | A+ | A | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 34 | 13 | 21 | 900 | |
A | ★ | Nectar Hive | 600+975 (SRM-353X) | Bright neutral | Some spiciness in the treble that is HD800-esque, but with a better midrange presentation. | A | A | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Personal unit | 42 | 21 | 21 | 1575 | |
A- | Hifiman Edition X V2 | 1300 (Edition X V2) | Neutral | Excellent tonal balance though limited by blunted notes and resolution. | S | B+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 46 | 3 | 43 | 1300 | ||
A- | Stax SR-Lambda Pro | 700 (SR-Lambda Pro) | Neutral | One of the original Lambda models, and arguably the best tuned of the Lambda-styled Staxes. | B+ | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 50 | 43 | 7 | 700 | ||
A- | ★★ | Sennheiser HD600 | 400 | Neutral | The legendary neutral reference. Slightly better clarity and imaging than the HD650. | S- | B+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 50 | 7 | 43 | 400 | |
A- | ★★ | Audio Technica ATH-R70x | 350 | Warm neutral | Excellent imaging. Mostly neutral/flat tuning with an ever-so-slight tilt towards warmth. | A+ | B+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 56 | 13 | 43 | 350 | |
B+ | Stax SR-404 Stax SR-404 Limited | 500 (SR-404) | Neutral | Similar tuning to that of the Lambda Pro. Sonically identical between 404 and 404LE. | B | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 64 | 57 | 7 | 500 | ||
B+ | Stax SR-507 | 830 (SR-507) | Neutral | Similar tuning to that of the Lambda Pro. | B | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 64 | 57 | 7 | 830 | ||
B+ | Hifiman HE6 | 1300 (HE6) | Bright neutral | Clean, resolving yet intense sound scratches the detail itch but is a little too edgy for long listens. | B | S- | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 64 | 57 | 7 | 1300 | ||
B+ | Stax SR-4070 | 1700 (SR-4070) | Mid-centric | Surprisingly wide and spacious soundstage for a closed-back. Good low-end extension but rather shouty. | B | S- | Electrostatic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 64 | 57 | 7 | 1700 | ||
B+ | ZMF Auteur (Teak) (pref. lambskin Auteur pads) | 1600 | Bright neutral | Very pleasant tonality but lacking that last bit of definition for true top-tier status. | A | B+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 64 | 21 | 43 | 1600 | ||
B+ | ★ | Hifiman Ananda | 700 | Neutral | One of the best tuned headphones available, only limited by its raw resolving ability. | S- | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 64 | 7 | 57 | 700 | |
B+ | ★★★ | AKG K612 Pro | 200 | Neutral | Basically dead-neutral tuning, emphasis on "dead". Strong all-rounder whose only fault is not having that "wow-factor". | S- | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 64 | 7 | 57 | 200 | |
B+ | ★★ | Hifiman Sundara | 350 | Neutral | Solid tuning with a little treble spiciness for the daring. One of the better midrange planars out there. | A+ | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 70 | 13 | 57 | 350 | |
B+ | ★★★ | Sennheiser HD650/HD6XX | 220 (HD6XX) | Warm neutral | The legendary neutral reference. "Veiled" with a warm tilt (in comparison to HD600), and pretty terrible at imaging. | A+ | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 70 | 13 | 57 | 220 | |
B+ | ★ | Fostex TH610 | 600 | Mild V-shape | The most neutral of the Foster biodyna models. If you want a little more balance than the Teaks. | B+ | A- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 74 | 43 | 31 | 600 | |
B+ | ★ | E-MU Teak | 400 | V-shaped | Excellent dynamics with one of the best bass I've heard in a headphone, though the midrange can be a little harsh. | B+ | A- | Dynamic | Semi-open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 74 | 43 | 31 | 400 | |
B+ | Sennheiser HD800/HD800S | 1700 (HD800S) | Bright neutral | Arguably the king of soundstage and raw detail, though at the cost of its infamous treble spike. | B- | S | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Personal unit | 76 | 73 | 3 | 1700 | ||
B+ | Beyerdynamic T70 | 600 (T70) | Bright neutral | Treble peak may offend some, but otherwise very well balanced and natural tonality with decent technicalities. | A | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 78 | 21 | 57 | 600 | ||
B+ | MrSpeakers Ether C | Discontinued 1500 (Replaced by Ether C Flow) | DF-neutral | Forward, in-your-face sound that's shouty and thin at the same time. A good reference for "true DF neutral". | A | B | Planar | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 78 | 21 | 57 | 1500 | ||
B+ | ★ | Shure SRH1540 | 500 | Neutral with bass boost | Almost "Harman" tuning with some undesirable mid-bass bloat. | A | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 78 | 21 | 57 | 500 | |
B+ | ★★ | AKG K702 | 350 | Mid-centric | Slightly more upper-mid-forward (read: shoutier) version of the K612. | A | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 78 | 21 | 57 | 350 | |
B+ | Stax SR-L500 | 792+975 (SRM-353X) | Neutral | Generally pleasing tuning with a little honkiness in the centre-midrange. | B- | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 80 | 73 | 7 | 1767 | ||
B+ | ★★★ | Shure SRH840 | 150 | V-shaped | Extremely well-executed V-shaped tuning with no erronous peaks or dips. More mid-bassy than sub-bassy. | A+ | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 86 | 13 | 73 | 150 | |
B | Stax SR-L300 | 430+975 (SRM-353X) | Neutral | Generally pleasing tuning, though a little honky and fatiguing in the treble. | B | A- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 88 | 57 | 31 | 1405 | ||
B | ZMF Aeolus (Pref. suede Universe pads) | 1200 | Bright neutral | Tonally, a vast improvement over the Aeolus with stock pads, bringing in extra clarity and bite. | B | A- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 88 | 57 | 31 | 1200 | ||
B | ★ | AKG K701 | 450 | Bright neutral | The brightest and arguably harshest of the K7-- lineup, but still very competent overall. | A- | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 88 | 31 | 57 | 1100 | |
B | Hifiman HE6se | 1100 (HE6se) | Neutral | Comes with an odd midrange dip. It's no HE6 replacement for sure. | B- | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 94 | 73 | 21 | 950 | ||
B | Hifiman HE560 (V1) | 950 (HE560) | Neutral | Slight wonkiness around the lower midrange, but otherwise a capable planar headphone. | B- | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 94 | 73 | 21 | 99999 | ||
B | Final D8000 Pro | 4300 | Bright | Highly resolving headphone with solid imaging capabilities, limited by its somewhat wonky tonality. | B- | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 94 | 73 | 21 | 4300 | ||
B | Final Audio D8000 | 4000 | Bright | High treble-to-midrange contrast makes things sound shrill and borderline-sibilant. | B- | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 94 | 73 | 21 | 4000 | ||
B | RAAL-requisite SR1a | 4000 (Jotunheim R bundle) | Neutral | Weak, limp bass is the killing blow for what is an otherwise highly resolving and decently-tuned earspeaker. | B- | A | Ribbon | Earspeaker | Treoo demo unit | 94 | 73 | 21 | 4000 | ||
B | ★ | Sennheiser HD560S | 200 | Neutral | Well-balanced tonality with good bass extension, just slightly hot in the upper-mids and treble. | A | B- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 94 | 21 | 73 | 200 | |
B | ★★ | AKG K371 | 150 | Harman | Expectedly Harman tuning but lacks a bit of bite in the upper midrange for "true Harman". | A | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 94 | 21 | 73 | 150 | |
B | Focal Stellia | 3000 | Neutral with bass boost | "Harman-inspired" tuning works decently well, though a myriad of small quirks ultimately screws its tonal balance. | C+ | S- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 98 | 91 | 7 | 3000 | ||
B | Stax SR-L700 | 1570+975 (SRM-353X) | Neutral | Probably the most balanced tuning of the L-series, with the usual e-stat technicalities. | C+ | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 98 | 91 | 7 | 2545 | ||
B | ZMF Verite Closed (Hybrid Universe pads) | 2500 | Neutral with bass boost | Far more tonally balanced than its open counterpart, whilst retaining its reverberant staging. | C+ | S- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 98 | 91 | 7 | 2500 | ||
B | Audio Technica ATH-ADX5000 | 2000 | Bright neutral | Clean, open sound reminsicent of the HD800, with a bit of midbass bloat and upper midrange shoutiness. | C+ | S- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 98 | 91 | 7 | 2000 | ||
B | Stax SR-L300 Limited | 900+975 (SRM-353X) | Neutral | Honkier version of the standard L300. | C+ | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 98 | 91 | 7 | 1875 | ||
B | ★ | Hifiman Deva | 300 | Neutral | Probably the most "mellow" of the Hifiman planars with the least resolving ability. | S- | C+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 98 | 7 | 91 | 300 | |
B | ★★★ | Shure SRH440 | 100 | Harman | Closest thing to Harman thus far. Comes with a small upper treble spike and lacking raw resolution. | S- | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 98 | 7 | 91 | 100 | |
B | Sony MDR-SA5000 (w/ AliExpress replacement pads) | 400 (MDR-SA5000) | Bass-rolled neutral | Surprisingly competent for a decades-old set. Midrange is a little uneven but beats out many other modern TOTLs. | B | B+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 100 | 57 | 43 | 400 | ||
B | Hifiman HE5 | 600 (HE5) | Neutral | The original Hifiman. Midrange is a little too scooped out but remains competitive even today. | B+ | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 600 | ||
B | Denon AH-D5000 | 480 (AH-D5000) | V-shaped | The usual "Foster biodyna dynamics" are at play here, with a somewhat fatiguing treble spike. | B | B+ | Dynamic | Semi-open Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 100 | 57 | 43 | 480 | ||
B | Kennerton Odin | 3600 (Bog Oak) | Warm neutral | Generally "okay" tonality with some odd dips here and there. Lacking serious extension for a planar. | B+ | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 3600 | ||
B | Kennerton Thror | 3600 (Bog Oak) | Warm neutral | Kind of a "nothing headphone"; not bad, not great, just good enough to be okay. | B+ | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 3600 | ||
B | Focal Radiance | 1300 | Harman neutral | Probably the best of the closed-back Focals. Some tuning refinements over the Stellia, though technically limited. | B+ | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 1300 | ||
B | ★ | Sennheiser HD660S | 400 | Warm neutral | An even darker HD6X0. A comparatively muffled mess just barely propped up by its decent resolving ability. | B | B+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 100 | 57 | 43 | 400 | |
B | ★ | Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro (32Ω) | 350 | Warm V-shape | Certainly a "mini-HD800" in terms of tonality only, however still far inferior in technical ability. | B+ | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 350 | |
B | ★ | HarmonicDyne Zeus | 350 | Warm | A rare combination of a warm-focused tonality with decent technicalities. | B+ | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 100 | 43 | 57 | 350 | |
B | Focal Clear Mg | 1500 | Warm neutral | Lacks upper mids and resolution compared to its predecessor. | B- | A- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 104 | 73 | 31 | 1500 | ||
B | Audeze LCD-XC | 1300 | "Balanced" | Definitely the least Audeze-sounding Audeze. A little quirky tonally, but nothing too offensive. | B- | A- | Planar | Closed Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 104 | 73 | 31 | 1300 | ||
B | Focal Elear | 1000 | Warm neutral | Subdued upper midrange with the odd treble spike makes this a weird headphone to listen to. | B- | A- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Treoo demo unit | 104 | 73 | 31 | 1000 | ||
B | ★ | Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless | 350 | U-shaped | A massive improvement over its predecessor. Limited resolution and potentially intense tonality. | A- | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Showfloor demo unit | 104 | 31 | 73 | 350 | |
B | Meze Empyrean | 3000 | Warm | Bland and unexciting tuning with compressed staging and generally underperforming technicalities. | B | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 3000 | ||
B | ★ | Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro (250Ω) | 200 | V-shaped | Pretty bog-standard V-shaped response with forward upper-midrange and decently high resolution. | B | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 200 | |
B | ★ | Beyerdynamic TYGR 300 R | 200 | V-shaped | Very reminiscent of the DT990. | B | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 200 | |
B | ★★ | Hifiman HE400i (2020) | 170 | Neutral | Well-executed reference-ish tuning with a slight treble emphasis. | B | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Treoo demo unit | 114 | 57 | 57 | 170 | |
B- | Hifiman HE500 (w/ FocusPad-A) | 900 (HE500) | Warm neutral | Perhaps the warmest of the Hifiman lineup. Not the most resolving. | B+ | B- | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 116 | 43 | 73 | 900 | ||
B- | ★ | Sivga Phoenix | 300 | Warm neutral | A fairly competent warm-neutral monitor slightly held back by limited detail retrieval. | B+ | B- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 116 | 43 | 73 | 300 | |
B- | Audeze LCD-24 | 3500 | Warm neutral | A slight tonal improvement over the LCD-4, but also comes with a slight hit in resolution. | C | S- | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 118 | 111 | 7 | 3500 | ||
B- | Abyss Diana Phi Abyss Diana V2 | 3000 (V2) 4000 (Phi) | Warm | Needs a little more upper midrange to balance out the honkiness. Good dynamic performance especially in the bass. | C | A+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 124 | 111 | 13 | 3000 | ||
B- | Audeze LCD-X (2021) | 1200 | Warm neutral | Tonally, a massive improvement over the previous version(s) though with the usual pitfalls of the Audeze house sound. | C | A+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 124 | 111 | 13 | 1200 | ||
B- | Denon AH-D5200 | 700 | Warm neutral | Probably the least wonky of the new Denons. Suffers from some mid-bass bloat. | B- | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 130 | 73 | 57 | 700 | ||
B- | Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro (Balanced pads) | 600 | Warm V-shape | An intense sound given its significant treble boost, but countered by a smooth lower-midrange bump. | B- | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 130 | 73 | 57 | 600 | ||
B- | ★ | Audio Technica ATH-M70x | 300 | Neutral | The most neutral of the M-series. Good tonality but still suffers from narrow imaging. | B | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 130 | 57 | 73 | 300 | |
B- | ★ | Sennheiser HD25 Plus | 200 | U-shaped | Punchy, energetic sound with decently balanced tonality. A pretty good beat-tracking monitor. | B | B- | Dynamic | Closed Supra-aural | Stereo demo unit | 130 | 57 | 73 | 200 | |
B- | Audeze LCD-GX | 900 | Warm neutral | As a gaming headphone, possibly the best technically though with the usual pitfalls of the Audeze house sound. | C | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 132 | 111 | 21 | 900 | ||
B- | Audeze LCD-2 Closed-back | 900 | Warm V-shape | Not the worst Audeze in terms of tonality, but its tuning still doesn't live up to its technical capabilities. | C | A | Planar | Closed Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 132 | 111 | 21 | 900 | ||
B- | Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 800 | Warm | Classic Audeze combo of solid resolution with a confusing lack of upper midrange. | C | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 132 | 111 | 21 | 800 | ||
B- | ★ | BLON B20 | 450 | Warm neutral | Basically a darker planar HD6X0, with equally closed-in staging and lacking the final resolving edge. | A | C | Planar | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 132 | 21 | 111 | 450 | |
B- | ★ | Massdrop x Koss ESP/95X | 450 | Mid-centric | Good resolving ability and imaging, marred by its odd and honky midrange. | C | A | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 132 | 111 | 21 | 450 | |
B- | ★★★ | Koss KSC75 | 20 | Bass-rolled neutral | Non-existent sub-bass and poor resolution. But it's so well-tuned you may not even care. | A | C | Dynamic | Open Clip-on | Personal unit | 132 | 21 | 111 | 20 | |
B- | Apple AirPods Max | 550 | U-shaped | Great tonality, sub-focused bass emphasis, bassy without being muddy. Average imaging and resolution. | B+ | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Personal unit | 134 | 43 | 91 | 550 | ||
B- | ★ | ASTRO A40 TR | 150 | Warm V-shape | Middling technicalities, but for a gaming headphone its tonality is surprisingly balanced. | B+ | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 134 | 43 | 91 | 150 | |
B- | ZMF Verite (Pref. lambskin Verite pads) | 2500 | Warm | Excellent resolution unfortunately marred by suppressed harmonics and a harsh upper-midrange. | C- | S- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 140 | 133 | 7 | 2500 | ||
B- | ES Lab ES-1a | 2050 | Bright neutral | Seems inspired by the tuning of the SR-009 with some minor improvements, though not enough to call it "good". | C- | S- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 140 | 133 | 7 | 2050 | ||
B- | ★ | Audio Technica ATH-M40x | 100 | Neutral with bass boost | Well-balanced tonality with disappointing detailing and claustrophobic imaging. | A- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 142 | 31 | 111 | 100 | |
B- | ★ | Moondrop Void | 200 | Warm neutral | Slightly midbass/lower-mid emphasised with good tonal balance, if rather "cheap"-sounding. | A- | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 142 | 31 | 111 | 340 | |
B- | Fostex TR80 | 220 (TR80) | Neutral with bass boost | A very well-tuned monitor-style headphone, if heavily bottlenecked by narrow imaging and blunt hits. | A+ | C- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 146 | 13 | 133 | 220 | ||
B- | ★ | E-MU Walnut | 100 | "Balanced" | Tonality is somewhat off with peaks and dips here and there, but overall not a bad sounding headphone. | B- | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 146 | 73 | 73 | 100 | |
C+ | Acoustic Research AR-H1 | 600 (AR-H1) | Neutral | A tempered, almost bright-leaning planar (but not quite). Decent tonality and technical ability. | C+ | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 600 | ||
C+ | Beyerdynamic T5p (1st Gen) | 750 (T5P) | V-shaped | Choppy midrange response is its biggest turnoff, but otherwise a decent V-shaped headphone. | C+ | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 750 | ||
C+ | Timsok TS-1024 | 2000 | Warm V-shape | Somewhat warm midrange plagued with sharp and offensive treble. | C+ | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 2000 | ||
C+ | Sendy Aiva | 600 | Warm neutral | A slightly worse-tuned B20, kinda. | B | C+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 148 | 57 | 91 | 600 | ||
C+ | AKG K712 Pro | 500 | Warm | Sizeable mid-bass bloat that's barely reigned in by an equally sizeable upper-midrange emphasis. | C+ | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 500 | ||
C+ | ★ | Sennheiser HD599 | 200 | V-shaped | A little too sharp, a little too midbassy, but overall not the most offensive headphone out there. | B | C+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 148 | 57 | 91 | 200 | |
C+ | ★ | Massdrop x AKG K7XX | 200 | Warm | A more bloated-sounding K712. | C+ | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 148 | 91 | 57 | 200 | |
C+ | ★ | HarmonicDyne Helios | 180 | V-shaped | Lack of bass extension is its biggest dealbreaker of what would be an otherwise solid headphone. | B | C+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Review unit | 148 | 57 | 91 | 180 | |
C+ | Fostex TH7 | 80 (TH7) | Neutral | Fairly neutral monitor-style headphone with poor imaging and detail retrieval. | B+ | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 154 | 43 | 111 | 80 | ||
C+ | Sony MDR-Z1R | 1800 | V-shaped | Holes in the midrange. Big spike in the treble. Strangely disjointed soundstage. Decently resolving. | C | B+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 154 | 111 | 43 | 1800 | ||
C+ | Fostex TH900 | 1600 | V-shaped | Spicy sibilance and bloated bass are disappointments in what is otherwise an extremely dynamic headphone. | C- | A | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 154 | 133 | 21 | 1600 | ||
C+ | DCA Aeon 2 Closed | 900 | U-shaped | Passable tonality with dulled and blunted transients make for lacklustre detailing. | B+ | C | Planar | Closed Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 154 | 43 | 111 | 900 | ||
C+ | Stax SR-009/SR-009S | 4325+975 (SRM-353X) | Bright neutral | Detail and resolution worthy of being called "the best", marred by the tonally-off midrange. | D+ | S+ | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 158 | 157 | 1 | 5300 | ||
C+ | Audeze LCD-4 | 4000+3000 (GS-X mk2) | Warm | A classic example of a highly resolving yet wonky sounding headphone. Needs more upper midrange. | D+ | S | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 160 | 157 | 3 | 7000 | ||
C+ | Sony MDR-MA900 | 200 (MDR-MA900) | Bass-rolled neutral | Imaging as expected of an earspeaker configuration; surprisingly good tonality and expected bad extension. | C+ | B- | Dynamic | Earspeaker | Third party unit | 164 | 91 | 73 | 200 | ||
C+ | Fostex TH909 | 1800 | V-shaped | A slightly more balanced TH900 with similar sibilance issues. | C- | A- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 164 | 133 | 31 | 1800 | ||
C+ | Neumann NDH 20 | 500 | Neutral with bass boost | Feels like an attempt at Harman but ultimately missing the mark in the midrange tuning. | C+ | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 164 | 91 | 73 | 500 | ||
C+ | ★ | 1MORE MK801 | 80 | Neutral with bass boost | Smooth, generally pleasing tonality throughout with no offensive characteristics. | A- | C- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 164 | 31 | 133 | 80 | |
C+ | Rosson RAD-0 | 2600 | Warm neutral | Middling technicalities with suppressed upper midrange. | C | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 168 | 111 | 57 | 2600 | ||
C+ | Sony MDR-1AM2 | 300 | Warm U-shape | Harman-ish tuning with a strong mid-bass presence and piercing upper treble response. | B | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 168 | 57 | 111 | 300 | ||
C+ | ★ | Sennheiser HD579 | 200 | Warm neutral | More or less a HD599 with slightly worse resolution. | B | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 168 | 57 | 111 | 200 | |
C+ | Abyss AB-1266 Phi CC Abyss AB-1266 Phi | Replaced with TC | "Balanced" | Sinfully addictive bass and treble reponse, but the midrange tonality needs a lot of work. | D+ | A+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 170 | 157 | 13 | 99999 | ||
C+ | Audeze LCD-MX4 | 3000 | Warm | Classic Audeze combo of solid resolution with a confusing lack of upper midrange. | D+ | A+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 170 | 157 | 13 | 3000 | ||
C+ | Hifiman HE5SE | 700 | V-shaped | Strong contender for an excellent headphone, if not for the inexplicable hole in the mids. | D+ | A | Planar | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 178 | 157 | 21 | 700 | ||
C+ | Sony MDR-CD380 | 50 (MDR-CD380) | DF-neutral | Shouty and thin-sounding, though surprisingly competent imaging ability. | C+ | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 182 | 91 | 91 | 50 | ||
C | Stax SR-X Mk2 | Discontinued | Bass-rolled neutral | Surprisingly good tonal balance marred by its complete absence of bass response. | C | B- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 184 | 111 | 73 | 99999 | ||
C | Audio Technica ATH-A900X | Discontinued 300 (Replaced by A990Z) | Warm with bass boost | Subdued upper mids and enhanced mid-bass. If anything else, this is a headphone that wouldn't fatigue. | C | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 184 | 111 | 73 | 300 | ||
C | Beyerdynamic DT860 | Discontinued 250 (Replaced by DT880) | Bright | Upwards-sloping bright and lean sound. | B- | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 250 | ||
C | Focal Celestee | 1000 (Celestee) | Neutral with bass boost | Thin and uneven mids with narrow, congested staging. | B- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 1000 | ||
C | AudioQuest NightHawk | 600 (Nighthawk) | Warm bassy | Thick, grand, heavy... muddy. | C | B- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 184 | 111 | 73 | 600 | ||
C | Audio Technica ATH-AWAS | 1400 | Mid-centric | Rolled off bass with somewhat suppressed treble. Not the worst but far from being tonally balanced. | C | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 184 | 111 | 73 | 1400 | ||
C | DCA Aeon 2 Open DCA Aeon 2 Noire | 900 | Warm V-shape | Arguably the best tuned DCA headphone with a slightly thick midrange and least offensive treble. | B- | C | Planar | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 900 | ||
C | Beyerdynamic DT1770 Pro | 600 | U-shaped | A slightly more balanced version of the old DT770. | C | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 184 | 111 | 73 | 600 | ||
C | Bose QuietComfort 35 II (QC35) | 350 | V-shaped | The typical mainstream V-shape response with middling technicalities. | B- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 350 | ||
C | Harman Kardon FLY ANC | 250 | Neutral with bass boost | Peaky, mid-bassy attempt at a Harman tuning. | B- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 250 | ||
C | Koss SP540 | 150 | V-shaped | The typical mainstream V-shape response with middling technicalities. | B- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Treoo demo unit | 184 | 73 | 111 | 150 | ||
C | Audio Technica ATH-AD1000X | 500 (ATH-AD1000X) | "Balanced" | Quirky tuning with imbalanced upper harmonics. Similar to that of the AD2000. | C- | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 190 | 133 | 57 | 500 | ||
C | Audio Technica ATH-AD2000 | 750 (AD2000) | "Balanced" | Quirky tuning with imbalanced upper harmonics. Similar to that of the AD1000X. | C- | B | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 190 | 133 | 57 | 750 | ||
C | AKG K872 Pro | 1500 | "Balanced" | Strange pad shape makes for wildly-varying bass. Generally a tonally weird headphone. | C- | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 190 | 133 | 57 | 1500 | ||
C | ZMF Atticus (Suede Eikon pads) | 1100 | Bassy | Bloated bass with wonky midrange, a killer combination. | C- | B | Dynamic | Semi-open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 190 | 133 | 57 | 1100 | ||
C | Sony MDR-Z7M2 | 900 | U-shaped | Sounds like a "Z1R-lite", with arguably better bass response but peakier treble. | C- | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 190 | 133 | 57 | 900 | ||
C | Audeze LCD-3 | 1950 | Mid-centric | Classic Audeze combo of solid resolution with a confusing lack of upper midrange. Now with extra honk. | D | A+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 196 | 183 | 13 | 1950 | ||
C | Audeze LCD-1 | 400 | Neutral | The best tuned Audeze headphone with the worst resolution. | B+ | D+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 200 | 43 | 157 | 400 | ||
C | Fostex TH500 (w/ worn pads) | 700 (TH500) | "Balanced" | An interesting oldschool planar, vastly outpaced by today's market. | C | C+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | AV One demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 700 | ||
C | Philips SHP9500 | Discontinued 80 (Replaced by SHP9600) | Bright | Decent imaging chops held back by its intensely bright presentation and below-average resolution. | C | C+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 80 | ||
C | DCA Ether C Flow 1.1 | 1600 | Neutral with bass boost | Sounds like something went wrong with the upper-midrange tuning. | C | C+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 1600 | ||
C | Campfire Cascade | 800 | Bassy | Competent midrange tuning let down by a loose, bloated bass response. | C+ | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 202 | 91 | 111 | 800 | ||
C | Grado The Hemp Headphone | 420 | Bass-rolled neutral | Nothing much different from your average Grado; paid extra for the novelty, not the sonic improvements. | C | C+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 420 | ||
C | Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 | 400 | Neutral with bass boost | More subdued presentation compared to its precedessor, almost to the point of being boring. | C+ | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 202 | 91 | 111 | 400 | ||
C | Audeze Mobius (Default preset) | 300 | Warm neutral | Not the total lack of upper midrange I expected, but a hole in the upper mids nonetheless. | C | C+ | Planar | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 300 | ||
C | Grado GW100 | 250 | "Balanced" | Not the worst Grado, but you could still do better than Grado. | C | C+ | Dynamic | Open Supra-aural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 250 | ||
C | Master & Dynamic MH40 | 250 | Bassy | Too much bass, and not the good kind either. | C | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 250 | ||
C | Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro | 160 | U-shaped | Sounds like a parody of Harman with its excessive 200Hz notch and overblown treble. | C | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 160 | ||
C | AKG K240 Studio | 70 | Mid-centric | Abysmal bass extension with overly-boosted lower mids makes for a strange listening experience. | C | C+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 202 | 111 | 91 | 70 | ||
C | Meze 99 Classics | 310 | Bassy | Just excessive bass that unfortunately screws with the tonality of the mids. | C- | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 206 | 133 | 73 | 310 | ||
C | Audio Technica ATH-A2000X | 500 (ATH-A2000X) | "Balanced" | Somewhat mid-centric runing that's far too coloured for its own good. | D+ | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 214 | 157 | 57 | 500 | ||
C | Denon AH-D9200 | 1600 | Mid-centric | Generally weird and wonky tuning that can also get rather harsh at times. | D+ | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 214 | 157 | 57 | 1600 | ||
C | ZMF Eikon (Lambskin Eikon pads) | 1400 | Bright | Hole in the mids with a sharp piercing peak in the treble. | D+ | B | Dynamic | Semi-open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 214 | 157 | 57 | 1400 | ||
C | Denon AH-D7200 | 1000 | Mid-centric | Generally weird and wonky tuning that can also get rather harsh at times. | D+ | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 214 | 157 | 57 | 1000 | ||
C | MrSpeakers Aeon Flow | Discontinued 800 (Replaced by Aeon 2) | Warm | Reminds of the NightHawk a bit, except with far worse resolution. | C | C | Planar | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 800 | ||
C | DCA Ether 2 | 2300 | "Balanced" | Hard to explain what exactly this sounds like, but the first thing you'd hear is probably the treble roll-off. | C | C | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 2300 | ||
C | DCA Ether Flow 1.1 | 1800 | Warm V-shape | Has elements of the DT880/HD800 tuning, with extra note thickness and more piercing treble. | C | C | Planar | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 1800 | ||
C | Audeze Sine DX | 600 | Mid-centric | Decent bass extension, honky midrange presentation. | C | C | Planar | Closed Supra-aural | Stereo demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 600 | ||
C | B&W PX | 400 | Warm | Warm, bloated sound with a largely muffled midrange. | C | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 400 | ||
C | V-MODA Crossfade 2 Wireless | 330 | V-shaped | The typical mainstream V-shape response with middling technicalities. | C | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 330 | ||
C | Audio Technica ATH-MSR7b | 250 | V-shaped | Thin-sounding yet bloated at the same time. Intense upper midrange. | C | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 250 | ||
C | Koss Portapro | 80 | Bass-rolled warm | The KSC75 is better. | C | C | Dynamic | Open Supra-aural | Third party unit | 222 | 111 | 111 | 80 | ||
C- | Stax SR-3 | 500 (SR-3) | Bass-rolled neutral | Similarly tuned to the SR-X, albeit with a much more blunted presentation. | C+ | C- | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 224 | 91 | 133 | 500 | ||
C- | Audio Technica ATH-A1000Z | 400 (ATH-1000Z) | Neutral with bass boost | Odd upper-midrange tuning results in a scratchy, uneven presentation. | C- | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 224 | 133 | 91 | 400 | ||
C- | Audio Technica ATH-A2000Z | 650 (ATH-A2000Z) | Neutral with bass boost | Odd upper-midrange tuning results in a scratchy, uneven presentation. | C- | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 224 | 133 | 91 | 650 | ||
C- | Audeze LCD-X (Pre-20201) | 1700 | Neutral | Probably the worst tuned Audeze available. At least, this specific unit is. | D- | A+ | Planar | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 224 | 211 | 13 | 1700 | ||
C- | Audio Technica ATH-M50x | 150 | Neutral with bass boost | The headphone that the elites love to hate... isn't that bad. An alright starter headphone, if generally overrated. | C+ | C- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 224 | 91 | 133 | 150 | ||
C- | Grado SR60e/SR80e | 80 (SR60e) | Bright neutral | Forward, almost nasally midrange with an intense treble response. | C- | C+ | Dynamic | Open Supra-aural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 224 | 133 | 91 | 80 | ||
C- | Sony MDR-V6 | Discontinued 200 (Replaced by M1ST) | DF-neutral with bass boost | Somewhat thin-sound and shouty but overall a very well-tuned set, if extremely blunted and narrow in imaging. | B+ | D | Dynamic | Closed Supra-aural | Third party unit | 226 | 43 | 183 | 200 | ||
C- | AKG K812 | 1500 | Bright | Sharp, shrill, piercing, sibilant, and all other synonyms. | D+ | B- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 230 | 157 | 73 | 1500 | ||
C- | Focal Elegia | 900 | Neutral with bass boost | Severe lack of upper midrange and treble results in a muffled, dulled tone. | D+ | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 230 | 157 | 73 | 900 | ||
C- | DCA Voce | 3300 | "Balanced" | Wonky, honky, whatever you want to call it. Probably the worst e-stat I've heard. | D- | A | Electrostatic | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 232 | 211 | 21 | 3300 | ||
C- | Oppo PM-3 | 500 (PM-3) | V-shaped | Fairly well-tuned, if very technically limited in both resolution and imaging performance. | B | D | Planar | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 240 | 57 | 183 | 500 | ||
C- | Quad ERA-1 | 800 | Mid-centric | Kind of a "nothing headphone"; not the worst thing in the world but no praises either. | D | B | Planar | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 240 | 183 | 57 | 800 | ||
C- | Stax SR-40 | Discontinued | Bass-rolled neutral | One of the few Stax electrets out there. Not great in tonality nor technical performance. | C- | C | Electret | Open Circumaural | Third party unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 99999 | ||
C- | Shure Aonic 50 | 400 | V-shaped | A parody of the V-shaped response. Scooped mids, hollow sound. | C- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 400 | ||
C- | Precide ERGO 2 | 250 | Bass-rolled neutral | Sounds exactly like what it is: a headphone with a broken seal. | C- | C | Dynamic | Earspeaker | Third party unit | 244 | 133 | 111 | 250 | ||
C- | Audio Technica ATH-M30X | 70 | Neutral with bass boost | Scooped upper midrange with below average technicalities. | C | C- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 244 | 111 | 133 | 70 | ||
C- | Logitech G PRO X | 130 | Bassy | Too much bloat going on in the bass, which is a shame given that the rest of the mids are alright. | C+ | D+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 248 | 91 | 157 | 130 | ||
C- | Sony MDR-CD900ST | Discontinued 200 (Replaced by M1ST) | Warm neutral | Solid dark-ish reference tuning, with the usual V6/7506-esque absence of soundstage. | B- | D | Dynamic | Closed Supra-aural | Third party unit | 256 | 73 | 183 | 200 | ||
C- | Stax SR-84 | 500 (SR-84) | Bass-rolled neutral | Surprisingly coherent tuning for what is effectively an unsealed electret. Lacks too much resolution. | B- | D | Electret | Open Supra-aural | Third party unit | 256 | 73 | 183 | 500 | ||
C- | Audio Technica ATH-L5000 | 4000 | "Balanced" | Quirkiness not unexpected of an Audio Technica; arguably their worst closed-back. Sure took an L on this one. | D | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 256 | 183 | 73 | 4000 | ||
C- | Audio Technica ATH-AWKT | 1900 | Bright | AWKT, more like AWKward... I'll leave now. | D | B- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 256 | 183 | 73 | 1900 | ||
C- | Koss PRO DJ100 | 80 | DF-neutral with bass boost | Good tuning but unfortunately weird pad shape that makes it hard to get the proper bass response. | B- | D | Dynamic | Closed Supra-aural | Treoo demo unit | 256 | 73 | 183 | 80 | ||
C- | Sony WH-1000XM4 | 350 | Bassy | Consumer-friendly heavy bass unfortunately bleeds into the mids, but otherwise fine. | C- | C- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 266 | 133 | 133 | 350 | ||
D+ | Pioneer Monitor 10 | 150 (Monitor 10) | "Balanced" | Slightly honky midrange, weird uneven treble, and hard to get a proper seal. | D+ | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 268 | 157 | 111 | 150 | ||
D+ | Klipsch HP3 | 1200 | Warm V-shape | Lots of bass bloat, way too thick-sounding and lacking definition. | D+ | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 268 | 157 | 111 | 1200 | ||
D+ | Beyerdynamic Amiron Home | 750 | Warm V-shape | Mid-bass bloated and shouty at the same time. | D+ | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 268 | 157 | 111 | 750 | ||
D+ | Logitech G933s | 200 | Bassy | Too much bloat going on in the bass, which is a shame given that the rest of the mids are alright. | C | D+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 268 | 111 | 157 | 200 | ||
D+ | Pioneer SE-Master1 | 2500 | Bright | Treble daggers applied directly into ear. | D | C+ | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 274 | 183 | 91 | 2500 | ||
D+ | Beyerdynamic T5 (3rd Gen) | 1000 | Bassy | Wibbly-wobbly midrange with far too liberal a bass boost makes for a terrible sound. | D | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 274 | 183 | 91 | 1000 | ||
D+ | Drop + THX Panda | 400 | Warm | Well-tuned but with overpowering mid-bass and extremely dulled transients. | B- | D- | Planar | Closed Circumaural | Review unit | 284 | 73 | 211 | 400 | ||
D+ | Sennheiser HD559 | 150 | Warm | Big, thick sound that muffles everything but the most surface level details. | D+ | C- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 290 | 157 | 133 | 150 | ||
D+ | Sony MDR-7510 | 130 (MDR-7510) | Neutral with bass boost | Everything just sounds strange and oddly sharp in tone, but extremely blunted in transients. | C | D | Dynamic | Closed Supra-aural | Connect IT demo unit | 294 | 111 | 183 | 130 | ||
D+ | iBasso SR1 | 500 | "Balanced" | Wonky midrange is one thing, but dying after 6kHz is another. | D | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 294 | 183 | 111 | 500 | ||
D+ | Audio Technica ATH-AD900X | 300 | "Balanced" | Extremely uneven tuning, mediocre resolution, not a great choice unless you only want a wide soundstage. | D | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 294 | 183 | 111 | 300 | ||
D+ | Audio Technica ATH-A990Z | 220 | V-shaped | Odd cup resonance results in wonky imaging. Prefer the original A900X. | D | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 294 | 183 | 111 | 220 | ||
D+ | Beyerdynamic DT250 | 200 | Mid-centric | Horrible treble extension and a honkiness that gets worse the longer you listen. | C | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 294 | 111 | 183 | 200 | ||
D+ | V-MODA Crossfade LP2 | 200 | Bassy | Big bass, bad bass, no treble extension. | D | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Jaben SG demo unit | 294 | 183 | 111 | 200 | ||
D | Beyerdynamic DT1350 | 500 (DT1350) | Warm | Muffled, narrow-sounding, and lacking surface-level detail. | D | C- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 316 | 183 | 133 | 500 | ||
D | Logitech G431 | Discontinued 130 (Replaced by G432) | Warm | Bloated bass like the rest, but further exacerbated by the recessed midrange. | C- | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 316 | 133 | 183 | 130 | ||
D | Sennheiser Amperior | 300 (Amperior) | Mid-centric | Extremely nasally vocals and lacks weight in the mids. | D | C- | Dynamic | Closed Supra-aural | Third party unit | 316 | 183 | 133 | 300 | ||
D | B&O BeoPlay H7 | 450 | "Balanced" | Wonky, honky midrange. Not great. | D | C- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 316 | 183 | 133 | 450 | ||
D | Audio Technica ATH-AD700X | 200 | Warm | Extremely uneven tuning, mediocre resolution, not a great choice unless you only want a wide soundstage. | D | C- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 316 | 183 | 133 | 200 | ||
D | Audio Technica ATH-AD500X | 170 | Warm | Suppressed and uneven upper-mids, mediocre resolution, not a great choice unless you only want a wide soundstage. | D | C- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 316 | 183 | 133 | 170 | ||
D | iBasso SR2 | 550 | Bright | Shouty, shrill and lacking the proper heft in the bass region. | D- | C | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 322 | 211 | 111 | 550 | ||
D | Koss Pro4S | 150 | V-shaped | Horrible lower-midrange scoop screws with every instrument. | D- | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Treoo demo unit | 322 | 211 | 111 | 150 | ||
D | Audio Technica ATH-EW9 | 330 | Mid-centric | Forget shout; this thing screams. | D+ | D | Dynamic | Open Clip-on | Third party unit | 340 | 157 | 183 | 330 | ||
D | Focal Listen Professional | 300 | "Balanced" | Not sure if this is supposed to seal, but in the event that it isn't: why? | D | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 300 | ||
D | Sennheiser HD400S | 70 | "Balanced" | At least it's not the Momentum 2.0 Wireless. | D | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 366 | 183 | 183 | 70 | ||
D- | Yamaha HP-50S | 60 (HP-50S) | Warm | Bloated, lacking resolution, narrow imaging. Just a bad headphone all around. | D+ | D- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 368 | 157 | 211 | 60 | ||
D- | AudioQuest NightOwl | 700 (Nightowl) | Dark | Heavily downsloped response makes the upper harmonics completely disappear. | D- | D+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 368 | 211 | 157 | 700 | ||
D- | Shure SRH240A | 60 | V-shaped | Compressed, honky and lacking all but the most surface-level of detailing. | D+ | D- | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 368 | 157 | 211 | 60 | ||
E | Sennheiser HD820 | 2400 | V-shaped | The mystical acoustic properties of Gorilla Glass could not save this monstrosity. | E | B | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 1056 | 999 | 57 | 2400 | ||
E | Beyerdynamic T1 (3rd Gen) | 1000 | Warm V-shape | When you answer "yes" to the question "how much lower mids do you want?" | E | B- | Dynamic | Open Circumaural | Stereo demo unit | 1072 | 999 | 73 | 1000 | ||
E | Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Wireless | 180 | Unique | Probably the worst headphone Sennheiser has ever made. Yes, even the HD820. | E | C+ | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Zeppelin & Co demo unit | 1090 | 999 | 91 | 180 | ||
E | Final Sonorous VIII | 3000 (Sonorous VIII) | Unique | Quirky artisanal Japanese handiwork so quirky that they forgot that it's supposed to play music. | E | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 1110 | 999 | 111 | 3000 | ||
E | Final Sonorous X | 5000 (Sonorous X) | Unique | Quirky artisanal Japanese handiwork so quirky that they forgot that it's supposed to play music. | E | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 1110 | 999 | 111 | 5000 | ||
E | Spirit Torino Radiante | 2250 | Unique | Humps for days. Wouldn't be a stretch to call this "ꟿ-shaped". | E | C | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 1110 | 999 | 111 | 2250 | ||
E | AKG K92 | 60 | V-shaped | Hole in the bass, hole in the mids, hole in the treble. AKG's struck a turkey. | E | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 1182 | 999 | 183 | 60 | ||
E | AKG K72 | 50 | V-shaped | Hole in the bass, hole in the mids, hole in the treble. AKG's struck a turkey. | E | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 1182 | 999 | 183 | 50 | ||
E | AKG K52 | 35 | V-shaped | Hole in the bass, hole in the mids, hole in the treble. AKG's struck a turkey. | E | D | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Connect IT demo unit | 1182 | 999 | 183 | 35 | ||
E | FiiO EH3 | 200 | Bassy | Sounds as if the ANC is trying to cancel out its own sound. | E | E | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | E1 demo unit | 1998 | 999 | 999 | 200 | ||
E | EKSA E900 Pro | 50 | Dark | Typical cheaply-made headphone that's all bass with zero technical ability. A waste of any money. | E | E | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Review unit | 1998 | 999 | 999 | 50 | ||
F | Yamaha HP-300 | Discontinued | Complete failure | Virtually no records of this exist on the internet, and maybe it's better that way. | F | F | Dynamic | Semi-open Circumaural | Third party unit | 19998 | 9999 | 9999 | 99999 | ||
F | Pioneer SE-2P | 20 (SE-2P) | Complete failure | The pads look like toilet plungers. Sounds like one too. | F | F | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 19998 | 9999 | 9999 | 20 | ||
F | Sansui SS-10 | 340 (SS-10) | Complete failure | A simulation of how it's like to have hearing damage. | F | F | Dynamic | Closed Circumaural | Third party unit | 19998 | 9999 | 9999 | 340 |