Buying guides
What to buy, and why, before anyone asks you to spend. Every pick names what is wrong with it.
The HD 600 or the HD 650 is the whole question at this money, and the answer depends on which listener you are, not on which headphone is better.
Four headphones around $500, the one to buy used, and what to do if you already own an HD 650.
Five headphones around $200, including a used one we would spend the money on ourselves and one that costs half as much, plus what to check before you buy a used pair.
Three picks: one for the Apple ecosystem, one for music, one for planes. Plus where wireless still loses to wire at the money.
Six closed-back headphones I would defend, why the pad decides more than the driver, and how to read isolation in terms you can act on.
For a first pair of in-ears: the Truthear Hexa at $79.99, the Sennheiser IE 200 as a second pair once you know in-ears fit you, and who should skip in-ears entirely.
Five open-back picks from about a hundred dollars to the point where the curve flattens, chosen with an amplifier in the room rather than a phone in your pocket.
Two kinds of writing here
Learn explains how the gear works. The buying guides say what to buy, and name what is wrong with each pick. If you would rather settle it with your own ears, the listening room at 215 East Lewis Street in Livingston is free and by appointment.