
Headphone Brands Ranked from Worst to First - enthdegree
http://time.com/74886/best-headphones/
======
Matsta
They should really list headphones by models instead of brands. Pretty much
every brand there has both entry level headphones and top of the line
headphones.

Still to this day, I recommend Sennheiser HD 25-II's. These things are
indestructible. Plus they sound pretty good as well. When you watch any
sporting event on TV or any big DJ, the majority of the time they will be
using these bad boys.

I've had mine for well over 4 years now, not really looked after them very
well, but they are still going strong. Every part is replaceable too.

Best of all, they are still cheaper than a pair of Beats by Dre.

~~~
louthy
> When you watch any sporting event on TV or any big DJ, the majority of the
> time they will be using these bad boys.

As a professional DJ I concur. I have played on some of the loudest
soundsystems in the world and the performance from them is stunning for the
price. I also use them for music production and the flat response at all EQ
levels is what is needed to know what you're hearing is true.

I've been through probably about 4 pairs in the past 15 years, but that's
mainly due to the abuse they get from gigs, for home use they'd be pretty much
indestructible.

The HD25SPs are pretty decent too if you want a cheaper option, but it's
definitely worth paying that bit extra for the HD25s.

------
shutupalready
The main thing I got out of this survey is that is possible to design an
objective-sounding survey that will favor any brand that you choose.

The "Smart Rating" he uses factors in various critical review sites at various
arbitrary weightings (eg., TechCrunch at 13.9%) and various specs at various
arbitrary weightings (eg., cable length at 0.7%).

If I wanted to cheat and create a survey that favored brand X, I could choose
and tweak parameters until X came out on top. For example, I know that brand X
always has nice long cables, so I'll give cable length a higher smart score. I
know that Wired has reviewed some of the crappy models of brand X, and hated
them, so I'll drop Wired from my formula. PC Mag however has reviewed the best
model that brand X makes, and loved it, so I'll add PC Mag to the mix. Etc.

I'm not saying the author rigged anything. I'm sure it's his earnest effort to
create a meaningful measure for headphones. It's just that the formula looks
objective and authoritative, but another formula would've given you any result
you desire.

~~~
charlieflowers
Agreed. The methodology was pretty weak.

The best thing about the article was it got Hacker News readers talking about
headphones! Now I know I'm getting real scoop from users who likely are using
the phones in a similar way to myself.

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moepstar
So, a list about supposedly the best headphones doesn't list any
Beyerdynamics? mhh, sounds legit.

~~~
dkuntz2
The list seems mostly focused on brands that lots of people have heard of
before. I've heard of every brand on their list before, but I've never heard
of Beyerdynamics.

~~~
parkaboy
Or rather it's a consumer-oriented list. BDs aren't much of a consumer brand
(though they do have a consumer line) and don't market as such. Most of their
stuff is marketed for industry, so this makes them a bit "underground."

Further, most of their line is designed for industry or hardcore audiophiles:
a lot of it is high-impedance (200 Ohm+), which means you need a real
amplifier to drive them (otherwise they'll be pretty quiet), making them not a
great portable solution. For comparison, consumer-type stuff is typically
standardized 8/16/32 Ohms.

Even further still, their headphones are designed for accuracy, which
consumers don't always want either (... subconsciously). For consumers,
listener-enjoyment is more important: accenting bass or adding color
(distortions) can make music more pleasurable to listen to, etc.

That said, I own a pair of BD DT-990 Pros, and they're the most excellent pair
of headphones I've ever owned.

------
Indyan
I only use in-ear earphones, and my go-to earphone shootout lists are these:

[http://www.inearmatters.net/2009/01/list_01.html](http://www.inearmatters.net/2009/01/list_01.html)

[http://www.head-fi.org/t/478568/multi-iem-review-314-iems-
co...](http://www.head-fi.org/t/478568/multi-iem-review-314-iems-compared-
olasonic-flat-4-nami-added-04-13-14-p-894)

I agree with the conclusions in general, but it always makes sense to judge
headphones by model than brand. My fav earphone is Sony MH1C. It used to be
available in eBay for $30 and was the best you could buy the sub $100
category.

------
ScottBurson
Let me toss in my favorite headphone model: the PSB M4U2. This is a $400 pair
of closed-back 'phones with a built-in amp and active noise cancellation.
Don't buy these for the ANC -- buy them for the sound: clear and smooth, with
clean highs, good imaging, and extended but not overemphasized bass. Very
musical. There's a less expensive M4U1 model with no amp or ANC; these might
be a better deal.

I was hoping the ANC would be useful in the office; it is, a little, but not
hugely. Mostly it filters out low-frequency noise from the ventilation system,
which didn't bother me anyway; it doesn't do so well with voices. But, it's
pretty easy to mask voices with music.

Another recommendation you probably haven't heard: the German Maestro GMP
8.300D. I spotted a pair of these on eBay for $80, took a chance on them, and
was pleasantly surprised. From 1kHz up they're stunning, with even better
imaging than the PSBs, but they have a hump in the midbass response that
annoys me a little.

~~~
aeberbach
I have the M4U1 model after owning Sennheiser Momentum for six months - they
are obviously better in side-by-side tests and they have larger ear cups that
I can wear all day with comfort in a noisy office. Definitely my closed-
headphone favourite. Too bad they aren't pretty stitched leather like the
Sennehisers!

I don't believe ANC is worth the $100 - as you say, same headphones minus ANC.

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peter_l_downs
Here's my favorite headphone model: the Bose QC20. The noise cancelation is
unreal – when friends try them on for the first time the consistent reaction
has to be to smile and laugh. The earbud that just rests in your ear instead
of drilling into the center of your head only makes the experience better.

No I'm not a shill I'm just in love with these headphones.

~~~
aeberbach
Canalphones beat active noise cancellation (ANC) every time. ANC doesn't
attenuate all frequencies as evenly as passive protection does and it sounds
very strange to me. To rub salt into the wound, passives don't need batteries
and they pack into a tiny pouch that takes almost no space in carry-on bags.

~~~
peter_l_downs
Oh it's no salt in the wound, I know the advantages to passive. The canal
plugs are just far too uncomfortable for me. I'm happy to have found something
that I find to be equally great.

------
ozymandius182
When looking at headphones, I HIGHLY suggest figuring out what you want to use
them for. I use several sites, but HeadRoom
([http://www.headphone.com](http://www.headphone.com)) is probably my favorite
because they do some nice graphs of the frequency response for most sets.

I just picked a Sennheiser HD558 to complement my older HD555 I just cleaned
up (replaced the cushions, cleaned the drivers, did the HD595 removal of foam
mod). I've had that HD555 for over 8 years now, and I would highly recommend
those or the newer HD558s easily.

I'm a huge fan of Sennheisers for open-ear headphones, but for environments
where I need closed, I've got a Shure SRH440 that is pretty awesome. For
travel, I've got the Sennheiser PX 200-II, which replaced an older pair of
AKGs that didn't feel so good over the ear. The folding AKGs did have better
sound though.

------
TrainedMonkey
While indicative of overall lineup, rating by brand is suboptimal in regards
to picking actual headphones for use. For example Koss, while being rated bad
has some pretty good performing headphones.

Anyways, here is more substantial headphone buying resource: [http://www.head-
fi.org/a/headphone-buying-guide](http://www.head-fi.org/a/headphone-buying-
guide)

------
milkcircle
Can anybody suggest overear headphones for people who wear glasses? Most of
the ones I've tried press my glasses into my temple and cause pain after a
short while.

------
Ryanmf
This turned out to be a bit more credible than I expected, though I'm
surprised to see Shure rated higher than Grado.

Moepstar is right, Beyerdynamics should absolutely be on the list, and given
the success of the TMA-1 Aiaiai should be as well. Also, Audio Technica may
have produced some cheap crap in the past, but they should be at least one
category higher based merely on the strength of the ATH-50.

~~~
vl
I'm surprised Grado is at this high position at all - their production quality
is absolutely abysmal, they came apart in a year - unlike Sennheiser (using
for few years), Audiotechica (using for few years) and Technics/Panasonic
(these I use for 15 years!). As for the cost - for same money there is always
better alternative than Grados.

~~~
colechristensen
They may come apart in a year, but they're so simple and so fixable, I prefer
them exactly the way they are... and they sound better, which is really why
I'm buying headphones.

------
possibilistic
Any recommendations from the HN community? I'd like to get a new set and I
don't really trust Time's research.

~~~
avinashv
It's really more helpful if you give a budget, but I think you'll find very
few people who wouldn't recommend the ATH-M50. From what I've owned, nothing
hits the price:performance ratio as sweetly, and it is great-sounding no
matter what genre I throw at it.

They are closed-back, so the soundscape is limited, but still great. I wear
them on planes and they passively cancel noise well.

[http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50-Professional-
Mo...](http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50-Professional-Monitor-
Headphones/dp/B000ULAP4U)

~~~
bagels
I've got these as well, great sound for the price.

------
hrktb
It's weird to have the professional Grado PS100 at 165$ in the listing[0], but
none of the Sony pro series like the mdr-v6 priced below, nor the mdr-cd900st
priced above.

[0] [http://head-phones.findthebest.com](http://head-phones.findthebest.com)

------
bananas
You can't rank a brand when it comes to headphones especially when the market
is segmented between cheap shit, pro consumer and studio.

Universally though if its a pretty colour or a TV advert its going to be shit.

------
JoshTriplett
I'm shocked to see Plantronics at the bottom of the list; I've found them to
be quite excellent, and they seem well regarded in terms of features and
reliability.

------
junto
On a similar theme, can anyone recommend a good Skype headset that also
function as noise cancelling headphones?

------
jmcguckin
Best headphones ever: Stax

