SoundID Best Studio Headphones for 2025

Vintage65

Sorted in ascending order by price

Entry Level

Superlux HD 681   (semi-open)

Samson SR850   (semi-open)

Audio Technica ATH-M20x   (closed)

Mid Range

Philips SHP9500S   (open)

Rode NTH-100   (closed)

Drop HD58X   (open)

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x   (closed)

AKG K612 Pro   (closed)

Austrian Audio Hi-X50   (closed)

Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro   (semi-open)

Drop HD6XX   (open)

Focal Listen Pro   (closed)

Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X   (open)

Sennheiser HD 600   (open)

Audio-Technica ATH-R70x   (open)

Austrian Audio Hi-X65   (open)

Sennheiser HD650   (open)

Sennheiser HD 490 Pro   (open)

Sony MDR-MV1   (open)

High-end

Shure SRH1540   (closed)

Neumann NDH30   (open)

Audeze LCD2C   (open)

Fostex TH610   (closed)

HEDD HEDDphone One   (open)

Audeze MM-500   (open)

Sennheiser HD800S   (open)

Fostex TH900mk2   (closed)

Audeze LCD-5   (open)

https://www.sonarworks.com/soundid-reference/ebooks/top-28-pro-headphones-guide-2025

Al_Nico

Thanks for sharing. I'm surprised to see open backed headphones listed as studio headphones. They make a lot of sound and can cause issues in singing booths, but presumably this is studio monitor application.

I'm using DT 770 pro. They are good and fair price. I'm not confident to judge things well without a pair of speakers to double check things. I like to feel the weight of the sound in the air too.

My main issue with headphones is that I wear glasses which lift the headphones away and ruin the bass. I have to put the headphones on first and hang my glasses from the top of them at an awkward angle. Headphones seem like a punishment most of the time.

Vintage65

Al_Nico said:

Thanks for sharing. I'm surprised to see open backed headphones listed as studio headphones. They make a lot of sound and can cause issues in singing booths, but presumably this is studio monitor application.

I'm using DT 770 pro. They are good and fair price. I'm not confident to judge things well without a pair of speakers to double check things. I like to feel the weight of the sound in the air too.

My main issue with headphones is that I wear glasses which lift the headphones away and ruin the bass. I have to put the headphones on first and hang my glasses from the top of them at an awkward angle. Headphones seem like a punishment most of the time.

Generally speaking, open-back headphones are for mixing while closed-back are for tracking. Regarding glasses, a few manufacturers have taken this into account and they have a small recessed channel in the ear pads.

Vintage65

The Sennheiser HD 490 Pro was the SoundID top headphone recommendation for 2025, and also won the recent NAAM Tec Award for Best Headphone / Earpiece Technology.

https://www.tecawards.org/#lp-pom-block-279.