Headphone Tier List
This is where I rank all the headphones I've tried because why not.
Why Headphones
I like music (of almost all genres). Hence, over time I’ve developed a liking for one of the mediums of music, headphones 🙂. Some people call this sickness being an audiophile. I prefer open-back headphones, and most open-back headphones tend to be wired and over-ear. I run most of my headphones through the iFi Zen Air CAN headphone amplifier, or through the Qudelix 5K if I’m mobile.
I like planar magnetic headphones over dynamic. I prefer headphones that are mostly flat but slightly warm, meaning a slight boost from 200-500kHz. I also prefer a slight dip around 1.5-2kHz, which help to reduce the harshness a bit and emphasize the lower mids. Other than that I prefer my treble flat. Anything too much around 3-4kHz and 8-9kHz is annoying to me (I really hate the DT770 Pro). If a pair of headphones deviate too much from this, I use parametric EQs to fix it, such as Peace Equalizer APO on PC or the Qudelix 5K on mobile.
Preferred Frequency Response
This post helps me keep track of all the headphones I’ve sampled.
Headphones I’ve tried
| Rank | Type | Headphone | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open-Back | Sennheiser HD800s | Want to Buy |
| 2 | Open-Back | HIFIMAN Arya Organic | Want to Buy |
| 3 | Open-Back | HIFIMAN Edition XS | Owned |
| 4 | Closed-Back | Focal Elegia | Owned |
| 5 | Open-Back | HIFIMAN Deva Pro | Owned |
| 6 | Open-Back | Sennheiser HD6XX/650 | Owned |
| 7 | Open-Back | Sennheiser HD600 | Tried |
| 8 | Open-Back | HIFIMAN HE400se | Used to Own |
| 9 | Open-Back | Sennheiser HD 560s | Used to Own |
| 10 | On-Ears | Koss KPH40x | Owned |
| 11 | On-Ears | Koss Porta Pros | Owned |
| 12 | On-Ears | Koss KPH30i | Owned |
| 13 | Open-Back | AKG K702 | Used to Own |
| 14 | Open-Back | Audio-Technica ATH-AD700x | Used to Own |
| 15 | Open-Back | Audio-Technica ATH-AD500x | Used to Own |
| 16 | Open-Back | Sennheiser HD 599SE | Used to Own |
| 17 | Bluetooth | Audio-Technica M50xBT2 | Used to Own |
| 18 | Closed-Back | Audio-Technica M40x | Used to Own |
| 19 | Bluetooth | AKG K361BT | Used to Own |
| 20 | Bluetooth | Dyson Zone | Owned |
| 21 | Open-Back | Sennheiser PC38x | Owned |
| 22 | Open-Back | Philips XHR2 | Used to Own |
| 23 | Closed-Back | HIFIMAN Sundara Closed | Used to Own |
| 24 | Closed-Back | Meze 99 Classics | Tried |
| 25 | Closed-Back | HIFIMAN HER9 | Used to Own |
| 26 | Closed-Back | Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro | Tried |
| 27 | Closed-Back | Epos H3 Open | Used to Own |
| 28 | Bluetooth | Sennheiser Momentum 4 | Tried |
| 29 | Bluetooth | Sennheiser Accentum Wireless | Used to Own |
| 30 | Bluetooth | Bose QC35 | Tried |
| 31 | Bluetooth | Sony WH-1000XM5 | Tried |
| 32 | Bluetooth | Anker Soundcore Q45 | Tried |
Headphones I’ve tried but forgotten how they sound 🤡
| Type | Headphone |
|---|---|
| Open-Back | HIFIMAN Sundara |
| Open-Back | HIFIMAN Ananda |
| Open-Back | Sennheiser HD660s |
| Closed-Back | Sennheiser HD620s |
Headphones I want to try
| Type | Headphone |
|---|---|
| Open-Back | HIFIMAN HE1000 V2 |
| Open-Back | HIFIMAN HE5XX |
| Open-Back | HIFIMAN Susvara |
| Open-Back | Audio-Technica AD1000 |
| Open-Back | Audio-Technica AD2000 |
| Open-Back | Audio-Technica AD5000 |
| Open-Back | Audio-Technica R70X |
| Electrostatic | Any Stax Electrostatic Headphones |
| Bluetooth | Focal Bathys |
| Open-Back | Focal Utopia |
| Closed-Back | Focal Stellia |
| Open-Back | Focal Clear MG |
| Closed-Back | Focal Celestee |
| Closed-Back | Sony MDR-Z1R |
| Open-Back | Audeze LCD-X |
| Open-Back | Audeze LCD-2 Classic |
| Closed-Back | E-MU Teak |
| Open-Back | AKG K712 Pro |
| Open-Back | ZMF Verite |
| Open-Back | ZMF Auteur |
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