And here we are, a few weeks into the new year with the best of the over ears. As you might have noticed, the 'losers' didn't just include the bottom 10 but neglected a couple and included the AKG K7XXs. But let's talk about that as we go why don't we, this one'll be long with 13 headphones.
The first of the 'winners' I want to talk about are the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pros. These are an interesting pair of headphones because they allow you to control the amount of bass you listen to with these sliders, one on each earcup. So why are these on the 'winners' list while being in 14th place? Simply put they're very interesting. Part of the reason why they're ranked so low is because they're kind of expensive at around $215 for the quality of sound they have. The other reason is that why you bring the bass up to louder amounts it seriously degrades the sound quality. The bass gets really bloated and slow. The idea and premise behind them though is quite interesting and I do quite enjoy them even though I ranked them as low as I did and for that I think they belong on the 'winners' list.
Next up is the other sub top ten ranked pair of headphones, the Bose QC15s. Yes, there's a new version of these headphones in the QC25s but I don't have those so you'll have to live with this. Honestly, these are here because the noise cancelling is just that good. The sound is...odd to say the least. Out of all the headphones I looked at this time around, they had this really odd vocal focus that made their mids very odd. The bass was pretty decent but I just couldn't shake the odd mids that were so very partial to vocals and so oddly weak when vocals weren't involved.
Skipping over the Beyerdynamic T90s for now, I'll talk about those last, let's get to the AKG Q701s in 9th place. The Q701s honestly sound very similar to the AKG K612 Pros when unamped. Amped is a different story with the K612s getting uncharacteristically sloppy with the Q701s maintaining their sound. The general sound is that the bass is pretty good with a strong yet not overly strong volume. The mids are clear and detailed and the highs are sparkly without getting out of hand ever. The stage is wide and natural. Overall the sound is not the reason these headphones are here. The only reason they're here is because the headband has bumps on it that are really annoyingly uncomfortable.
Next up are the JVC HA-RX900s and the Incipio NX-100 f38s which I'll talk about at the same time because they're quite similar. Both have strong and clear bass with limited strengths in the mids and treble. The soundstage of the HA-RX900s is a bit better than the f38s but overall the two headphones share their strengths and their weaknesses. The f38s are ranked a bit higher due mainly to the fact that they're just that little bit cheaper and because they aren't as heavy to wear.
Now comes the top 5 which is an interesting land. The top ranked headphones are not the best sounding but the ones with the best price to performance ratio, the Superlux HD668Bs which I talked about in my under $50 post as having perfectly sufficient bass and spectacular mids and treble. This is still true and they're price to performance ratio is stellar. That post has more on them so I won't really go over them much. I will say however that running them through the Aune T1 MK2 helps with the lack of bass and makes them just that little bit more enjoyable to listen to. Anyways, the more interesting headphones are in places 2-5.
In 5th place are the Beyerdynamic DT880 Premiums (250Ohm). Barring the T90s, these have the best sound stage of any of the headphones in this set of rankings. They also have the best mids. The best description of these headphones is airy. The pads are very light and comfortable. The sound seems to float around and is incredibly detailed while being rough when the piece calls for it. That said, the bass is somewhat lacking in impact. These headphones perform equally admirably when amped though it takes a lot more power to get them loud than most of the other headphones barring the AKG headphones. While overall their sound is better than the four placed above, they're also quite expensive, sitting at around $350. The headband is also uncomfortable after a time, pushing down and causing pressure. That said, the DT880 Pros hover around $270 and appear to have the same headband as the Custom One Pros which I find to be significantly more comfortable. Assuming those two things, I would rate these as high as 2nd place. Sorry, but the Superlux HD668Bs just sound way too good for being under $50 to make these take 1st.
In 4th are perennial internet favorites, the Audio Technica ATH-M50s. Covered twice by me, once on their own and once as a comparison between them and their new updated version, the M50s just sound good. While neither of those posts got super detailed, the M50s strengths are its clear mids and relatively wide sound stage. The stage is quite dry with a lot of space between parts but doesn't ever feel empty like say the AKG K7XXs. The bass is strong and generally punchy with some slight weaknesses here and there. Nothing really sounds too out of place and overall, they really do just sound good and is a good part of the reason why the M50s are internet favorites.
In 3rd are the so called 'studio' favorites, the Sony MDR-V6/MDR7506. The Sony's are marked by clear and generally accurate sound across the entire frequency range. Mids are natural, highs are nice, bass is pretty punchy. Overall the MDR-V6/MDR7506s are really, really quite top notch headphones, especially for under $100. My main gripe with them is their sound stage. The bass tends to get really forward in the stage, almost more than the really bassy headphones without having nearly as much bass. Additionally, they sound kind of bad when amped through the Aune T1 MK2. Also while they aren't uncomfortable per se, they're also not really comfortable over longer periods of time. All that said, they're very clean and capable headphones, if not the most enjoyable to listen to.
In 2nd are my favorite sub $200 headphones, the AKG K612 Pros. While they floundered a bit when I tried listening to them through the Aune T1 MK2, I really like how they sound. Reminiscent of the Beyerdynamic DT880s above, they are more mid and treble focused than the majority of the headphones on this list. The bass is quite good however and shouldn't be overlooked. The stage is wide yet full and like the DT880s above, the sound can be described as relatively airy. The issue with the Aune T1 MK2 is that unlike most of the other headphones I ran through the Aune T1 MK2, the K612 Pros sound stage widened to the point of being empty like the unamped K7XXs. Additionally, the bass got weaker and the treble got stronger which led to a really imbalanced sound that wasn't particularly enjoyable to listen to. That said, when listening to my normal set up, the K612 Pros sounded like slightly budget DT880s.
Last but certainly not least is the 10th place Beyerdynamic T90s. The T90s are in 10th purely for price reasons. At $500-$600, the T90s are almost prohibitively expensive. That said, none of the headphones in this list really match up to them. The T90s definitely benefit from being run through the Aune T1 MK2 but even without, they are the most pleasant sounding headphones I own. Let's break it down a bit.
First off is the bass. A bit weaker when unamped, the bass on the T90s is actually quite impressive. It's not overly strong or punchy, but it is quite detailed and fast enough to get around some of the blur that can happen in tracks like 9mm Parabellum Bullet's "Revolutionary". When amped, the bass extends even better and gets pulled up in volume to a really satisfying level.
Next up are the mids. There's nothing really to say here but that the mids are incredibly smooth sounding and without a doubt in my mind the best ones on this list. Nothing sounds bad in the mids. Vocals are clear and powerful, instruments have incredible detail, and even non natural (electronic) sounds sound as perfect as can be.
Following up are the highs which are probably my only real issue with these headphones. Put simply, they're just a bit too much. They're also the most sibilant headphones. S's and t's just seem to stick out and can at times be quite distracting. If you are sensitive to those kinds of sounds, I'd stay away from these headphones even with their considerable upside. This does get toned down a good amount when run through the Aune T1 MK2 but it's still there a little bit. Quickly to talk about the sound stage, it's basically the same as the DT880s but just that little bit bigger and more distinct.
Overall, the sound of the T90s is better than anything else on this list. The price however takes them a down quite a bit as the sound difference is minor in comparison to the gap in price. All said and done, I still think the Superlux HD668Bs are the best value of any headphones I own. It took a lot of time to review all these headphones but I hope you enjoyed this journey through 19 different pairs of over ears. With that, until next time.
--CsMiREK
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