open back headphones for 200$

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hi , I'm new here and I want to get to upgrade to better headphones , currently I'm undecided between the hifiman he4xx , sennheiser hd6xx and the beyerdynamic dt990 pro , I'm currently not planning on purchasing an amp , I'm a heavy user , mainly watching very HQ media on my phone and laptop for long periods of time , I currently have closed back headphones , I have never listened to open back ones , I care mainly about the sound , and the like 10% about comfort , but I'll prefer headphones that sound the best rather than the most comfortable. thanks in advance.(btw , I'm from Israel).
 
hi , I'm new here and I want to get to upgrade to better headphones , currently I'm undecided between the hifiman he4xx , sennheiser hd6xx and the beyerdynamic dt990 pro , I'm currently not planning on purchasing an amp , I'm a heavy user , mainly watching very HQ media on my phone and laptop for long periods of time , I currently have closed back headphones , I have never listened to open back ones , I care mainly about the sound , and the like 10% about comfort , but I'll prefer headphones that sound the best rather than the most comfortable. thanks in advance.(btw , I'm from Israel).

To be honest, comfort has to at least be on par with sound. If the best sounding headphones aren't also comfortable, you're going to be ripping them off your head a lot sooner than you expect. It's just human nature. it's like the idea of Loudspeakers that "disappear". If you can't forget you're wearing headphones, you will never be able to focus on the sound that they produce. There is a tradeoff too.. the best sounding and most comfortable headphones may need an amplifier to bring them into their own. Not the best amplifier, but something with more umph than your phone or laptop.

I think everyone who starts down the path of High End Headphones has to start with the HD6XX(580, 600 or 650, everyone has an opinion). It's the standard that everything else is compared to. They are one of the lightest, most comfortable and great sounding headphones that have ever been produced.
They may not be the Be-all-end-all, but you will get a lot of enjoyment out of them while you are learning about high end headphone sound, and when you are ready to upgrade, they will be easy to sell to upgrade to the next step when you are ready
 
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A good headphone amp is a must for best sound with a full size open back headphone. If you can find them, OB-1's are very good - comfortable to wear, high sensitivity, great bass and smooth midrange. Plus non fatiguing. Go with SE Class A amps - if Class A should be used anywhere, it is the headphone.

I have some suggestions for easy to build (simple 2 transistor) HPA's that really sound great. For desktop use, the DCA will drive phones as low impedance as 32ohms and give you that smooth SE Class sound. I also second Adason's choice for planars - I have HiFiman HE-400i's and really like them but they need a proper amp. DT-880's are good too but a bit lacking in sensitivity compared to OB-1's.

Status Audio OB-1
https://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StatusSMOB1.pdf

YouTube

Easy to build low cost SE Class HPA:
xrk971 Desktop Class A (DCA) Headphone Amp
 
Go with SE Class A amps - if Class A should be used anywhere, it is the headphone.
Agree with the latter but not the former. Granted, the small power generally required means you can get away with potentially very simple and robust but inefficient circuitry without altogether outrageous power consumption - but an estimated 12 W for SE Class A may still seem a bit disproportionate if you are sporting a PC drawing around 10 W in idle with a monitor around or below 20 W (numbers which have been feasible for several years now), not to mention that adequate heatsinking costs money, too. If, however, you are still rocking a plasma TV and a high-strung X58 gaming rig on a regular basis, it'll be small potatoes.
 
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hi , I'm new here and I want to get to upgrade to better headphones , currently I'm undecided between the hifiman he4xx , sennheiser hd6xx and the beyerdynamic dt990 pro , I'm currently not planning on purchasing an amp , I'm a heavy user , mainly watching very HQ media on my phone and laptop for long periods of time.

Senns are 300 ohms, so take a fair amount of voltage to drive properly, need an amp for these, IMHO.

he4xx might be ok without an amp, there are lower impedance, not sure about the sensitivity.

dt990 pro Think they make a lower impedance version but also need to check the sensitivity.

As others have said, good cans really want an amp. But you also need an amp that is suitable for the cans, high impedance vs low impedance

Randy
 
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