Headphones under 200 ~ paired with fiio e10k

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
#1

Hello, im new here, but i want a honest opinion, as many of you I prosume have tried and tested many brands and models of headphones over your sound journeys, so what i am asking is recomendations for budget headphones under 150~200 euro that would pair nice with e10k dac/amp or a sugestion to upgrade path maybie better headphones and a nicer dac/amp down the line, i am primeraly focused on music performance, (ie I like warm, basier sounding equipment) but dont want to lose clarity, i am curently rocking AKG K72 whitch in my humble opinion sound a little dull, I havent tried open headphones but dont realy know or want to risk on (my) high butget if I dont know all ins and outs of them, so if anyone had simillar situation please share your expirance of your upgrade journeys, thanks. :slight_smile:

PS: sorry for my grammar, not a native language

#2

welcome to HFG! :smiley:

for your price range, take a look at the Beyerdynamic DT770’s.

#3

thanks for the sugestion, have you tried them? (would like to know more), bit concerned as i see they have inline volume control (have heard not very good thing), but open for knowlage :slight_smile:

#4

I have not tried them, but that’s more because they are closed back and I prefer open back headphones. the 770’s are the warmest of that line, which also includes the 880 and 990, which aren’t known for their bass, but rather for how bright (treble) they can be.

#5

I’m sure a lot of people here are gonna recommend the same thing here but Beyer TYGR 300R is an absolute killer choice for under 200. I personally haven’t heard them but I haven’t seen a single bad review of them either.

Sennheiser HD 6XX is $220 on Drop right now. It’s a little over your budget but I think it’s absolutely worth it.

#6

If you are open to try open back headphones, I have the He400i which I like very much and have no issue recommending. Somewhat easier to drive option I think would be the Sennheiser HD560s, which is also an open back. I have heard the DT-770 pro once a while back, but I think the source was really bad (I couldn’t see it) so I can’t really comment on their quality. As far as I understand they are a very good closed back option and I think the e10k will have enough to power the 250ohm version.

#7

the HD6xx isn’t really ‘bassy’…neither are any of the planar magnetic in his price range. further, we want to give suggestions that the e10k can easily drive, not struggle with.

#8

I’m not really sure I’d call DT770 a warm headphone. I have the 600 ohm version, and it does have some bass, but the mids are too recessed for me to consider it warm. I again might not necessarily consider it warm, rather Harman tuned, but an AKG K371 might be an option in the price range.

#9

Senn hd560s all the way, not bassy but with a great bass extension for the price, great tuning, easy to get for a little under $200, no crazy amp needed.

#10

keep in mind the HD660s are open back, so your sound will bleed out to everyone around you as well as let noises in from your environment.

#11

I’m not really an expert by any means, but as far as I know, there aren’t a lot of ‘warm’ sounding headphones in that price bracket, most of them seem to be treble focused, again I could be wrong as I mostly look at open back headphones, which you should definitely consider.

Open back headphones leak sound in and out of the earcup, this means that it gives the sound a presentation of being “around you” and in the room, rather than just in the earcup. The downside is that if people are often in the room, or its a noisy environment you will hear that. Closed backs do not leak sound in or out, but also have the sound coming from in the earcup rather than the room.

As far as recommendations, I can’t recommend much on personal experience as I am quite new, however for closed backs I hear lots of good things about the DT770, which from what I have read have quite a lot of bass. For an open back pair, the HD6XX if you can push your budget or the fantastic HD560s are both really good options. 6XX is more warm and laid back, the 560s has more treble and is a bit ‘brighter’