Best Headphones for under $200
- Thread starter Mark Davis
- Start date
TinEaredOne
Active Member
Just pulled the trigger on a pair of Hifiman HE-X4's. I assume that's what you meant.
Me, too. Couldn't pass up the HE-X4's at $99. I read and watched the same reviews. I have to wait a few days for mine, though, but at least they've shipped. Interested to see how they compare to my AKG K612 Pro's. Also on my list of "like to have" sub-$200 headphones are the DT 880 and HD-58X.
Nimbley
Active Member
I’ve had my HE-X4’s for about 2 months now and continue to enjoy them. I’d estimate about 100 hours on them so far and seem to still be getting better.
I also have a pair of DT-880’s. They have more detail and clarity for sure. More bass also. But the X4’s just sound more like sitting in a room with a nice pair of speakers. They’re definitely worth the $120.
I also have a pair of DT-880’s. They have more detail and clarity for sure. More bass also. But the X4’s just sound more like sitting in a room with a nice pair of speakers. They’re definitely worth the $120.
Well mine turned out to be half-DOA, the left channel didn't work 
Good news though, replacements will be here tomorrow
Good news though, replacements will be here tomorrow
JoeESP9
ESL's & tubes since 83
Nope. When I bought mine from what is now Drop before they shortened the name to just Drop. At that time the Phones were the HE-4x. The HE-X4 is a newer model of the same phones.
Indeed they are. I received replacements for the broken ones today and I've put about 5 hours on them. When I put them on first I was not impressed, the cans required a lot of power and preamp about 6dB which is way too much for my taste, I kike preamp input to remain at zero, 3dB at most, anything above that lowers the distortion threshold to a point where a phone becomes unlistenable to even at moderate volume level. The bass was overwhelming and mushy, sort of like a Focal Elear when it's brand new but much worse distortion-wise. I know it's not fair to compare a $100 phone to a $1,000 reference-class model but that's how it felt to me. That bass overlapped the low-mids which is always god-awful SQ-wise.
But that being said I have other planars from Hifiman and Audeze, and they all sounded bad initially for a few hours except flagship models that undergo break-in prior to shipment (and they make you pay for it) and demo units. I stuffed the X4 between pillows and fed it a stream of fusion for two hours. They already sounded much better after that but since planars require up to 300 hours to fully break in all was not perfect. I EQ'd the bass to roll off quickly above 80Hz to uncover the lower mids and that made a huge improvement Imaging opened up to reveal a wide soundstage (yeah, yeah, I know that some of you balk at the idea of a "soundstage" with headphones but I know of no equivalent term to describe imaging), with relatively accurate instrument positioning (or placing, whatever). Vocals are still a bit off but that will improve with break-in. They already sound better than any $100 phone I can think of, and that's the idea.
Aesthetically they look, well, a little goofy with those huge cups dangling from a narrow headband. But they are surprisingly comfortable and that matters more to me than looks as I don't intend to wear them in public lest a room full of people hear what I'm listening to, open-back planars diffuse sound almost equally towards the outside than they do towards your ears. That's one reason why they require more power to drive them than open-back dynamics do. Anyway I think these are a worthwhile addition to my collection and one that I will actually listen to instead of just looking at.
JoeESP9
ESL's & tubes since 83
That's because imaging and soundstage are not the same thing. You can have imaging with no soundstage. However, if you have a soundstage you automatically have imaging.
Imaging is pretty much the result of left right panning. A soundstage gives the aural impression of an actual space with musicians playing, "over there" where the speakers used to be. All headphones have great imaging. With two exceptions none can produce a soundstage. The first exception is binaural recordings. The second exception is a device like a Smythe Realizer. Unfortunately, binaural recordings are few and far between and the Realizer costs north of $4K.
I knew you would bring that up so I abstained and left you the honor.
Those phones are getting better by the hour, it's amazing. Their HE6se ancestry is beginning to show. They already sound better than my HE400i but not yet to Sundara level, if they ever get there. I predict the HEX4 will become a classic.
You think right
Thank you!? I think.
Yes, so do I. For some reason they started to sell more really good phones after the name change. I'm thinking about the Focal Elex which is if I'm not mistaking the most expensive one they've "Dropped" so far.
Califmike33
Well-Known Member
Sennheiser HD 6xx i cant imagine whats sounds better, have tried Sennheiser 598, still prefer the vocals on 6xx, i do like Philips Fidelio X2.
Good call, those are pretty good for the price but they have a few drawbacks the OP needs to be aware of.
-They're not balanced (cable is single-ended)
-The above is not an issue in itself but it will impact on current requirements and thus, require a potent HPA with ample swing voltage or a restored vintage amplifier or receiver. Almost all of the latter have plenty swing since they had direct-coupled outputs and were designed to drive the very high impedance cans of the 1970's (often >600 Ohms), I use one for my inefficient planars
-They need EQ. As you can see in the graph below (click on it for better view) there are two very noticeable peaks (the blue line), one at 5Hz (HF ) and another one at 9kHz (HF) that makes them quite bright and somewhat strident at high volume. That can be corrected with free EQ software like Equalizer APO with the Peace interface although that requires a lot of tedious work. It involves giving the Fidelio -12dB overall negative gain (down from -8.1dB) before doing the EQ stage work per se. Negative gain decreases efficiency meaning you need more power to drive the phones at a given volume level.
I have the X2 in my collection but the reason I didn't mention it was the work involved and/or extra cash to pay for software. OP's budget of $200 is a bit tight for this.
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KG_Jag
Active Member
In fact the X3 is a balanced headphone (unlike the X2, which has only a single earcup connector) and comes with a balanced 2.5-3.5mm TRRS 3m cable, as well as a 3m 3.5mm unbalanced stereo cable. See:
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/philips-fidelio-x3-wired-open-back-headphones/
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/philips-fidelio-x3-wired-open-back-headphones/
My mistake, sorry about that.
Duffinator
Spin The Black Circle
I’m also looking for some new headphones for around $200. I’ve been using some Beats Solo3 that were able to be used wired. The Beats are my daughters and sounded way better than the Sennheiser HD 280’s I had.
I’d like enclosed on the ear headphones that are wired. They will be used for late night listening while my wife is asleep and will be driven by the amp in my Yamaha A-S3000 integrated. The headphones are not my main listening device so no need to go crazy with a pair. I can go over $200 if there’s a good deal out there. Check my signature for info on my speakers. Here’s the specs on my amp. Thanks!
I’d like enclosed on the ear headphones that are wired. They will be used for late night listening while my wife is asleep and will be driven by the amp in my Yamaha A-S3000 integrated. The headphones are not my main listening device so no need to go crazy with a pair. I can go over $200 if there’s a good deal out there. Check my signature for info on my speakers. Here’s the specs on my amp. Thanks!