The M-Series ATH-M40x professional monitor headphones are tuned flat for incredibly accurate audio monitoring across an extended frequency range. Your studio experience is enhanced with superior sound isolation and swiveling earcups for convenient one-ear monitoring. Engineered with pro-grade materials and robust construction, the M40x excels in professional studio tracking and mixing, as well as DJ monitoring.
Granted the AKG options are clearly better, seems to be in a significant entry different price range to still consider these M40x for entry into neutral sounding over the ear headphones.
If stretching to the $200 mark the DT770 pro is also worth considering.
Would argue the DT770 are a weaker option than the AKGs overall, and are more competitive when on sale for $120. Their allure is as something that's DIY fixable and built like a tank, with a wide soundstage (but part of that comes from the v-shaped sound). Treble intensity is also not their strong suit.
In terms of what I consider a fair price (before gift cards & cashbacks):
M40X - $70-$80
K361 - $90-$115
K371 - $140-$160
DT770 - $100-$130
And if you can handle IEM fitment, you've got the Moondrop Aria Snow @ $90ish, and the TruthEar HEXA @ $110ish, the latter of which can trounce all of them in terms of tonal balance and audio quality (if not soundstage in the case of the DT770 and the AKGs).
Do not fall into the trap of ancient recommendations, particularly on the eve of low-latency, high-quality bluetooth tech that's affordable.
Where can you get the K361 for $90? Cheapest i've seen recently is about $150.
I love me some bass and I do a fair bit of gaming, can you recommend me any headphones $150-250?
@jasswolf: @jasswolf whats the best over-ear soundstage under $300?
I have Hifiman HE-X4s on your rec and they need a bit more bass. I like my SHP9500s but the stage and openness cant touch the X4s.
@Laserface: I would look into the rest of your audio chain to confirm the X4 is getting enough current to drive the bass, and consider investigating software EQ if you're not competitively gaming.
Oratory1990 or AutoEQ will have something for you.
@jasswolf: I only use the headphone amp for music (FLAC/WAVs) critical listening i guess you'd call it (although just enjoying to the full extent I would say, im not 'critical' of my favorite music)
I have a JDS Labs atom+ amp. didnt really seem to wake up the headphones vs plugging them directly into my raspberry pi w/ this dac: http://www.inno-maker.com/product/hifi-dac-hat/
couldnt find info on the headphone amp in the DAC but the only thing the atom has added is more volume. admittedly haven't given it more than a test run but that was my initial feeling - no extra bass, just louder.
edit: the DAC headphone amp puts out 138mw.
@Laserface: So you're double amping? I would take your X4s to a headphone store and demo some amps with a proper DAC just to see what you get, as you might not be able to make practical use of your amp without compromising the dynamic range of the DAC/amp output. Addicted to Audio is your best bet in most capital cities.
An op-amp based solve like the Atom series may also lack a little dynamic power in the bass, so it may sound more rolled off if it's not pushing enough power on demand (or more specifically current in the case of a planar headphone).
You might also see great benefit out of a high-end dongle, and something in that $70-$120 range seems to do a really, really impressive job even when compared up against desktop solutions up to $500.
@jasswolf: the DAC has both RCA out and headphone out. I can try it on the RCA out into the Atom, didnt really think there was a difference between the two.
not sure what isn't 'proper' about the DAC in my raspberry pi setup - plenty of people use them and the specs are all there.
the Atom does 1W per channel so i doubt thats holding it back.
for reference I didnt think there was a significant difference in quality or bass between my iphone 12 w/ apple lightning adapter, the Rpi DAC headphone out or the Atom+ (except for volume which the Atom has in spades)
@Laserface: OK the RCA out is hopefully a passthrough, in which case yes that would make a massive difference because you would be using your more capable amp to set the gain and demand relatively more power as you roll it up.
Power measurements mean little beyond simple testing, it requires more detailed testing to pick up if there's a current or voltage ramp issue, often best determined by providing a notably difficult-to-drive headphone with tonally diverse, and dynamically & technically complex music.
I know for a fact that the original Atom had issues driving both the HIFIMAN Edition XS and the Sennheiser HD6XX, leaving both sounding bass light, weaker in terms of bass texture, and a little bright. Without the extra demands met in a timely manner, some headphones may be notably blunted and/or weakened in terms of their performance.
But definitely start with the RCA passthrough if that's an option.
@jasswolf: did the autoEQ thing (volumio on the rpi has fusion DSP which can use AutoEQ profiles) and hooked up via RCA.
the Atom+ on low gain with the volume maxed out wasnt much different to an iphone for the HE-X4s in terms of volume. high gain gave it a lot more head room and it sounded much better. compared with on/off EQ and there is a nice difference. didnt realise it was going to be so integrated and easy already (id already added fusion DSP plugin a few weeks ago for no reason other than why not), so thanks for the heads up!
I think Im coming around to the idea that no matter what I do like a V-shape or scooped sound profile, so i might go do some research on nice Planar headphones to look into next.
@Laserface: I think you're at the point where you might want to demo gear at a store just so you have an understanding of what things sound like when properly amped.
You might be perfectly happy with the HIFIMAN HE6SE when it's getting readily fed 3-8 W at 50 Ohms, for example. Buy it via Adorama in the US if you do.
i am actually looking for a headphone to monitor my audio recorder>
At the moment i am relying on iphone headphone just to monitor the audio recorder, but it wont work at all once the DJ start their loud music on the event/venue
Any adviseon which brand/model i should get? Doesnt need to be top of the range, just do the job to monitor the audio once in a while to check, looking towards more on the pricing cost effective / budget rather than the bass / treble quality. Main function is just monitor the recorded audio
Thank you :)
What specifically are you monitoring, vocals?
If not, you've got the TruthEar HEXA for $112 @ Amazon, assuming fitment isn't an issue for you with IEMs, or the Sennheiser HD25 Light v2 for $100-$140.
For firmer fits for stage monitoring, I know people recommend Shure IEMs, but I can't for audio quality.
Thanks for your reply
i just want to monitor wedding speeches, when i connect my audio recorder to the DJ mixer board.
But prior to speeches, the DJ always run the loud music, so i need to set up during this loud music.
TruthEar HEXA or HD25 (light) do the job?
@langitbiru: If you're using stock wired AirPods, those are genuine earbuds and not in-ears, which is to say they rest atop of the ear canal and let a lot of sound in.
Both solutions would passively cancel a fair bit more noise, and I would recommend the audio quality of the HEXA over the HD25 if you want something for personal listening as well, but that's subject to IEM fitment.
I'm not a DJ but have used these before. They can sound nice once you EQ them to your liking, but I would not touch these again because the comfortability was just so poor.
The headband has very minimal padding and would hurt the top of my head like crazy - I had to space out the days and times I was wearing them at one point just to avoid the majority of head pain. Stock earcups were pretty meh.
It just amazes me how I bought them in 2020 for basically the same price (~$100)
I also purchased mine from JB and it barely hit the 2-year mark when the right earcup on mine stopped working out of nowhere. Hit up Audio-Technica only to be told they only have a 1-year warranty on their headphones and was less than impressed. I would not have purchased these headphones if I had known about the paltry warranty period offered on all their products bar their microphones (which have 5 years of warranty). Other than that, I thought they sounded pretty good to my non-audiophile ears. As mentioned by jjsu, the stock earpads aren't great and will make your ears hurt after prolonged use. Oh, and the cable gets curled/tangled over time and that was real annoying, so I'd stick to using the included coiled cable if possible.
I got a pair of these and it feels like someone’s crushing my head in so I hardly ever use them anymore :(
As other users have stated the lack of comfort makes me avoid using or recommending these headphones. You can replace the earpads but then you are increasing the price so you might as well just spend that extra money on better headphones. I did like the sound though, but not worth the pain.
Too many treble peaks, bass bleeds into the lower mids, bass rolls off too easily, and there's no stage width to the point of claustrophobia. The AKG K361 and K371 are still well worth your time.
If you need headphones for tracking, these are respected if you EQ the crap out of them, but for everyone else just skip this stuff and let it die.