How to Choose Headphones

Reviewed September 2026. The right headphone depends on three things: where you're listening, how seriously you're listening, and what you need to drive it. Get those answers and the catalog narrows fast.

Cutaway diagram comparing open-back and closed-back headphone driver housings

The headphones page carries today's prices.

Closed-back, open-back, or wireless?

The physical design shapes the sound as much as the driver does. Read Open-Back vs. Closed-Back Headphones for the full explanation.

Closed-back, isolation in both directions. Right for shared spaces, late-night listening, commuting, and anywhere sound leaks matter. Soundstage is more compact than open-back at equivalent prices.
Open-back, no isolation. Sound leaks both ways. In return: wider soundstage and a more natural presentation. Right for quiet rooms and dedicated sessions.
Wireless, convenience and noise canceling at the cost of sound quality. Right for commuting, travel, and situations where cables aren't practical.

Design	Isolation	What you get back	Right for
Closed back	In both directions	A soundstage more compact than open back at equivalent prices	Shared spaces, late night listening, commuting, anywhere sound leaks matter
Open back	None. Sound leaks both ways	A wider soundstage and a more natural presentation	Quiet rooms and dedicated sessions
Wireless	Noise canceling	Convenience, at the cost of sound quality	Commuting, travel, and situations where cables are not practical

The physical design shapes the sound as much as the driver does, and it is the first of the three questions this guide asks.

Do you need a headphone amplifier?

If your headphones have impedance of 80Ω or higher, yes. A phone or laptop output will run them, but underdriving a high-impedance headphone leaves real performance on the table. The HD 650, HD 600, DT 770 Pro 80Ω, and HD 800 S all benefit substantially from proper amplification. Low-impedance headphones (the 63Ω MDR7506, the 38Ω ATH-M50x) run fine from a phone.

See Choosing a Headphone Amplifier and What Headphone Impedance Means.

Closed-back headphones

Sony MDR7506, industry standard since 1991. Neutral and deliberately unexciting. The coiled cable is annoying, but this is where most people start and where a lot of professionals stay.

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, the closed-back that just works. Solid isolation, detachable cable, and a bass that sits slightly forward of neutral. It has been the default answer to "one closed-back headphone" for over a decade and nothing at the price has displaced it. The one if you want one closed-back for everything.

FiiO FT1, a closed back at a real price, with wood cups and a finish that does not look like the money it costs. There is one in the listening room, so this is a recommendation we can put on your head.

Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (80Ω), deep velour pads and a headband that spreads the weight, which is why it is the one you see on heads in edit suites. In continuous production since 1985. Needs proper amplification.

Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X, the modern take on the DT 770 formula: same tank build, same velour pads, and a single 48Ω version instead of the 770's three, which puts it under the 80Ω line this guide draws and takes the which-impedance question off the table.

Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Noire, closed-back planar magnetic, light for a planar, and it folds flat for travel. It built its reputation as the sealed headphone that does not sound sealed, and that reputation held across the review press for years. Dan Clark has since replaced it with the Noire X, so a new one means the X and a used one means this. The one to travel with.

Dan Clark Audio Stealth. Dan Clark's flagship closed-back, and the headphone that introduced their AMTS waveguide. It costs a great deal more than anything else in this section, so hear one before you buy it. The one if it has to be closed and price isn't the question.

Open-back headphones

Grado SR80, $175. Forward, quick and unsubtle. The Grado house sound has barely moved in decades and it is not trying to please everybody. Grado dropped the letter suffixes in April 2026, so if you are reading about an SR80x elsewhere, this is what replaced it. The one if you want it forward.

Sennheiser HD 560 S, honest open-back at an honest price, and the entry point to the Sennheiser open-back line rather than a detour off it. The HD 550 now sits alongside it at similar money, so look at both.

FiiO FT1 Pro, the FT1's planar sibling. A large planar driver in an open housing, at a price that undercuts most of the planar field, and still easy to drive. We have the FT1 in the room and not this one, so this pick rests on reviewer consensus, which has been broad and consistent since it launched.

Sennheiser HD 6XX, the HD 650 in dark blue, built on the same 300Ω driver. Sold only through Drop until it closed, and now sold new by Sennheiser directly for about $220. Needs proper amplification.

HIFIMAN Sundara: The default answer when someone asks which planar to try first, and it has held that spot through several price drops. Open and fast. The caveat is HIFIMAN's build consistency. The sound isn't in question, the long-term durability sometimes is, so buy somewhere that will actually honour a warranty claim.

Audio-Technica ATH-R70xa, Audio-Technica's open-back studio headphone, around 210 grams with a wing headband, so there is very little of it sitting on you. The tuning is even and natural rather than exciting, which is exactly what you want for long listening. High impedance means it needs a real amp.

Sennheiser HD 650, in production since 2003 and nobody has made it obsolete. Warm but not thick, and honest about the recording without being cruel about it. Needs proper amplification. The one if you have an amp and not everything you play is well recorded.

Sennheiser HD 600, more revealing than the HD 650. Less forgiving. Good recordings sound great; bad recordings sound bad.

Meze 109 Pro, a dynamic-driver open-back that gets called beautiful before anyone mentions the sound. Nearly every part is user-replaceable: the pads, the headband and the cable are all ordered on their own.

Focal Clear Mg, the warm and forward end of high-end open-backs rather than the analytical end, which is Focal's house character and has been for years. Magnesium domes, made in France.

Audeze MM-500: an open-back planar that Audeze built with Manny Marroquin for mixing work, which is the job it is designed around. Next to a dynamic flagship like the HD 800 S it is a different instrument rather than a better one. The one if you mix on headphones.

Sennheiser HD 800 S, a 56mm ring radiator angled in the housing to fire across the ear rather than straight at it. That is a design aimed squarely at spatial presentation, and it is the headphone a lot of people mean when they say soundstage. If you need to hear everything in a recording, this is the tool.

Wireless

Bluetooth compresses. Nothing here competes with a wired headphone at the same price for pure sound. Judged as travel and commute gear, though, these three earn their places.

Apple AirPods Pro 3, if you're in the Apple ecosystem, these just work. Good noise canceling, useful transparency mode, and they fit in a pocket. Fine for podcasts, calls, and casual listening. The one for iPhone owners.

Sennheiser Momentum 4, the sound-first pick of the three. Sennheiser tuned it for music and let the noise canceling come second, where Sony did the reverse, and the reviewer consensus on that split has been consistent since it launched. The battery runs about 60 hours. The one for music.

Sony WH-1000XM6, the complete package for travel. Sony improved the noise canceling over the XM5 and brought back the folding hinge. It still doesn't compete with a wired headphone at this price for pure listening. It's not supposed to. For planes, trains, and open offices, Sony's noise canceling has led the field for several generations running and the reviewer consensus on that is close to unanimous. The one for flying.