• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Best headphones for under $350

AriGold

Distinguished Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2009
Messages
1,371
Reaction score
616
I know this is slightly above the $350 mark at 399, but The Bang & Olufson H6 look real good and the sound apparently is great.

966315



Another alternative is:

Bower & Wilkins P5

966316


I'm thinking about picking up either one of these.... any thoughts?
 

Kaplan

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2008
Messages
5,242
Reaction score
4,558
Since no one has mentioned them, I'll recommend these:

1000


B&W C5.

They're by far the most comfortable in ear model I've tried. The loop can be freely adjusted for a secure (and pleasant) fit, using the inner ear. And for my uses (iPhone w/ 320 kbps files) the sound is great; always puts a smile on my face how awesome they sound. Been considering picking up a back up pair, just in case.
 
Last edited:

akatsuki

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2008
Messages
2,652
Reaction score
201
Heir Audio IEMs are a great deal. You are just out of range for CIEMs from them

I have also heard great things about the KEF M500 headphones, about to sell my ATH-M50s which are a bit too bass heavy for me and try the KEFs out.
 

Medwed

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2011
Messages
5,750
Reaction score
1,453

I know this is slightly above the $350 mark at 399, but The Bang & Olufsen H6 look real good and the sound apparently is great.

966315


I'm thinking about picking up either one of these.... any thoughts?


$379 on amazon currently. Made specifically for apple products as stated in the papers inside the box. Little cord-control works with apple phones and tablets and does not work on its own even for volume adjustment.
Sounds is unintrusive and polite. Cord is detachable and ambidextrous. No harsh treble or bass. Have not tried it with real 2-channel system, just laptop. Movies and music are enjoyable and these phones could be worn for hours. They are comfortable. Craftsmanship is top notch yet they are made in China.
I mostly bought them for TV watching and like them as a design piece.
 
Last edited:

swaggerisaliability

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2010
Messages
284
Reaction score
2
For over-the-ear closed cans, nothing beats the AKG K550s at that price range IMO. Amazing clarity/crispness at lows, mids, and highs, really balanced sound, look amazing, don't need to be amped either. Only complaint is that they're a little on the bulky side. Can't recommend them enough.
 

StephenHero

Black Floridian
Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
13,949
Reaction score
1,951
Hey guiz, I'm trying to get some high-end headphones for under $250. I've bought two pairs of Audio Technicas ATH-AD 700's that have broken out on me after a year. Needless to say, I want durability to go with sound quality. Here's what I'm looking at:


Sennheiser 558
Sennheiser 598
Sennheiser Momentum (Over Ear)
AKG 702
AKG Q 701 Quincy Jones
Philips Fidelio X1
Philips Fidelio L1
Grado SR80i
Grado SR225i

Any thoughts on the best bang for my buck? Open or closed design isn't important to me. For reference, I'm mostly going to be listening to flac files sent via optical cable from my pc to a receiver with a 1/4" jack.
 
Last edited:

Darkside

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2014
Messages
2,537
Reaction score
5,270
Grado SR80 are amazing if you don't mind everyone else hearing your music. I can second AKG550s if you are in that price range. A few months ago I did tons of research and was prepared to spend up to 250$ and ended up with the well-respected Audio Technica ATH-M50 for about 115$. They are tanks and their flat frequency response is what I wanted; also love their austere design in black.

Also, IMHO Bang & Olufsen is more about form over function, but if that is a priority then go for it.
 

StephenHero

Black Floridian
Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
13,949
Reaction score
1,951
I ended up buying two pairs, the AKG 702 and the Sennheiser Momentum. Hated the flat sound of the 702's, and it wasn't worth the effort investing in an amp to make them sound better. There was no life to anything I played out of them. The Momentums are pretty good, but well below the sound quality of my broken Audio Technicas. To their credit, the build quality appears much better, but the sound just isn't there for what I paid for them. My ears are fairly large and these also seem to squeeze on them, so unfortunately both are going back.

I'm gonna keep looking. Those Grados might be next.
 

MarioImpemba

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2012
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
136
I hated Grado SR80's. Firstly, they have way too aggressive mid-treble and are very "spitty"; it's their trademark sound that some actually enjoy. To me, they sound terrible. The ear pads are foam pieces of **** that are not comfortable at all. The overall build quality is ****, too. The connection points for the articulating pieces are very fragile in their design.

Senn's house sound is very mellow while 702's are very analytical.

If you like a more exaggerated "engaging" sound, I'd go with DT990's. Beyer's have been on Massdrops lately for great prices. I wouldn't go with closed headphones only because they get hot during extended listening sessions, so the DT770's are out. The 770/990's will be more exaggerated on the ends of the spectrum, which may suit your preferences better. The comfort and durability of Beyer's is easily a level beyond AKG or Senn.

Also, I'd recommend playing with some plugin's/EQ to tweak the sound to your preference.
 
Last edited:

MohicanJo

New Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2014
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Hi for audio professionals and for the those who need headphones for critical listening i would only personally recommend audio technia http://www.shoppingway.co.uk/brands/audio-technica , i have also heard good of shure but have not tried them.

I would also recommend MUST AVOID headphones like Beats SMS etc
 

terry_w

Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2019
Messages
6
Reaction score
2
I am really pleasantly surprised at how much I like my Sennheiser HD650s. They are not the most highly resolving headphone on the market, however they are very pleasant to me. They have a nice warm sound that does not cause listener fatigue, even when listening for hours. I just got mine for under $350 brand new in the retail box.
 

ddesoran9

Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2019
Messages
5
Reaction score
1
I would recommend something from bose or beats. I recently bought airpods and I'm pretty glad with this decision but it really depends what are you going to use it for.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 60 38.7%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 11.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.4%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 18.1%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,162
Messages
10,579,101
Members
223,885
Latest member
chalky
Top