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Portable, Closed Headphones Mega-Review

Last updated on March 2, 2016 to add the B&O H6 (2nd generation).

Current Top 5:

Jump to: Sound • Comfort • Portability • Top Picks

Overview

My criteria for this review is what someone seeking good headphones today probably wants:

These should usually be under $400, and ideally under $250.

For years, geeks like me recommended inexpensive studio-monitor headphones like the 280 Pro, ATH-M50, and MDR-7506 for listening at desks. These offer good isolation, moderate sound quality, and long-term comfort for around $100, but are terrible for portable use: they’re large and don’t fold much, they don’t have smartphone remotes, and they usually have long, coiled cables. They’re excellent values, but they’re no longer what most people want today.

Headphones not included

Testing

I’ve bought or been loaned all of the headphones in this review and spent significant time with them at home, except the B&W P7 and Beats Pro.3 I tested each headphone with my iPhone by itself as the source first, then with a larger desk setup: three headphone amps simultaneously connected to a Gungnir DAC.4

I listened to what you probably think is terrible music, but it’s well-recorded, it spans a wide range of tones and recording types, and I know the details extremely well. I then had my wife listen to the same headphones without telling her my thoughts, and she came to almost all of the same conclusions, so I know that either I’m not nuts or both of us are.

Sound quality ranking

Many people prefer a warm, “laid-back” tone that lacks some midrange presence, most upper treble response, and the fine detail that good treble response brings. This avoids the harshness that unrefined midrange and treble can bring on inexpensive headphones, so the sound is less fatiguing after long periods. But it’s like adding milk to coffee: the lost vocal strength and treble detail also make good recordings more dull and forgettable.

The other end of the preference spectrum is detail, clarity, and an “airy” feel that great treble can bring, and more energy in vocals that a strong midrange can bring. Great treble is my preferred style, and it’s what makes people say, “Wow! That’s so clear!” The downside is that it’s hard to get that right without sounding harsh or tinny.

If you prefer a laid-back tone, you should probably get the NAD VISO HP50 or PSB M4U 1, as they’re the best-sounding examples of that tone, but they suffer in portability. If you like treble detail, you should probably get the B&O H6 or Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7.

From best to worst, with that qualification in mind:

  1. Great B&O H6 (2nd generation): Stunningly good sound, and a marked improvement over its already great predecessor: clear, detailed, smooth, treble-rich, and just the right amount of bass to satisfy modern preferences without overpowering the rest of the sound. It sounds so good that it competes strongly against even high-end, open-backed headphones.
  2. Great B&O H6: Light bass, nice though slightly spotty midrange, and excellent treble and clarity. An excellent tone for treble fans. Almost needs an amp, though — bass becomes weaker at high volumes when driven by an iPhone, which isn’t an issue for the more efficient 2nd-generation model. (The DJ Khaled edition has much more bass, but it’s too boomy, muddy, and overpowering for me.)
  3. Great NAD VISO HP50: Moderate bass, smooth midrange, somewhat weak treble, and mediocre detail. It’s the best implementation of a smooth, “laid-back” tone I’ve heard, providing the easy-listening aspects without losing as much detail as most others attempting it. It’s a very agreeable sound, as if it were designed by committee: it won’t offend anyone, but you won’t have any “Wow!” moments.
  4. Great PSB M4U 1: Nearly identical to HP50, but less midrange refinement and slightly muddier bass, with the same weak treble and mediocre detail. Still a very good laid-back tone, but the HP50 is slightly better.
  5. Great Audio-Technica ATH-M50x: Excellent overall sound quality and detail. Both the bass and treble are noticeably strong, especially the treble, but neither are overpowering or harsh — most people will probably find it a very appealing overall tone except those who really dislike strong treble, for whom it will probably sound a bit sharp and fatiguing.
  6. Great Plantronics BackBeat PRO: Amazing for Bluetooth, and great sound, period, with a very similar tone as the ATH-M50x but not as refined. Strong bass that’s slightly over the edge of being too strong and boomy. Midrange is a bit recessed, burying lead instruments and lower vocals somewhat in the bass. Strong treble yields good crispness, but with a bit of harshness. When wired, tone is a bit flatter, but also a bit muddier — for wired use, the ATH-M50x is better. The active noise cancellation performs poorly and has a constant hiss like the Beats Studio, but fortunately, this one can be switched off. If ANC is very important to you, this isn’t your headphone, but it’s great if you leave it off and forget it’s there.
  7. Great AKG K551: Very light bass, slightly recessed midrange, otherwise excellent: a treble-rich, clear, highly detailed sound without sounding harsh, although music that depends on strong bass can sound thin. Almost sounds like midrange open headphones, which I didn’t think was possible in an inexpensive closed headphone.
  8. Great AKG K545: Very similar to the K551, but with occasional slight harshness in upper-midrange and a bit less treble finesse.
  9. Good Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7: Light bass, very prominent midrange, strong treble. I like midrange and treble, but this is a bit much even for me. Vocals are loud and everything’s very crisp, but it’s noticeably harsh at higher volumes, especially in the vocal range. (If you have an equalizer, this headphone significantly benefits from dropping 1–2 kHz slightly, about –3 dB. If it always sounded like that, it might be at the top of this list. But it doesn’t.)
  10. Good B&W P5 Wireless: Treble and detail are great for an on-ear, and much better than the original P5 (these are based on the Series 2). Bass is slightly boomy. The most noticeable downsides are the midrange gaps and slight telephone-like harshness in vocals, but they’re not too bad. Overall, excellent for an on-ear, but nothing special compared to over-ears.
  11. Good Master & Dynamic MH40: A laid-back tone with bass that’s strong but just below overpowering. Great detail and finesse despite having the rolled-off treble and weak detail typical of laid-back tones, with mostly great midrange presence and smoothness, although there’s a withdrawn portion of the upper midrange.
  12. Good Focal Spirit One S: Slightly boomy and muddy bass, and a muffled upper treble that limits the detail. Great midrange presence and smoothness. Overall a good, but not great, sound.
  13. Good B&O H7: Great sound for Bluetooth and similar to the excellent H6, but more bass, much less treble detail, and a noticeably withdrawn midrange — it’s clearly an attempt to move closer to a Beats-like sound, but vocals and guitars suffer greatly. When passively wired, the sound gets worse, with strong midrange harshness and distortion, boomier bass, and worse treble detail — like most wireless headphones, the Bluetooth amp is doing some processing to hide the drivers’ flaws.
  14. Good B&W P7: Slightly boomy bass, slightly harsh midrange, and lacking in treble and detail. A laid-back tone, but not done as well as the HP50 and M4U 1.
  15. Good Oppo PM-3: Very good and balanced bass and midrange, but very soft treble that severely limits detail and crispness. The midrange is powerful and can be harsh occasionally, but is smooth most of the time, yielding nicely emphasized vocals and guitars. With more treble presence and detail, this would be amazing.
  16. OK Audeze EL-8 Closed-Back: Lots of treble and midrange presence, but it doesn’t sound very even to me — it sounds like I’m missing big gaps of the lower midrange. There’s a lot of midrange harshness as well — vocals have a slightly telephone-like sound. Bass is very weak overall and lacks impact. It doesn’t sound awful, but it certainly doesn’t sound great.
  17. OK Sony MDR-7506: Good sound considering its price, with an unusually even tone and proper midrange presence, although it has a slightly telephone-like midrange harshness and lacks the smoothness and detail of higher-end models. Does not qualify for the review — this is an inexpensive studio-monitor headphone, with a long, coiled cable and no remote, included for reference.
  18. OK B&O H2: Boomy, muddy, overpowering bass with a nice, smooth midrange but the weak treble and very low detail typical of mediocre on-ear headphones. Extremely similar sound to the Beats Solo2, but very slightly more detailed.
  19. OK Beats Solo2: Bass is very boomy and overpowering. Midrange is clear and smooth, and treble is weak but decent for an on-ear. It sounds similar to the Beats Studio without the ANC hiss, although the Studio has more high-end detail — but like the Studio, the bass is so loud, boomy, and muddy that it’s hard to appreciate the good qualities in the rest of the spectrum.
  20. OK Beats Studio: Slightly too strong mid-bass, otherwise surprisingly good tone and detail. But the ANC circuit produces a constant, annoying, low-level hiss, the ANC cannot be turned off, and the headphone doesn’t work passively. Worse, it’s not even good ANC, making no audible difference from passive isolation in my test. A passive version without ANC would have jumped a few spots up and would likely be a great value.
  21. OK B&O H8: Boomy, sloppy bass overpowers an inconsistent midrange, and treble is significantly muffled, significantly harming detail and clarity. Overall tonal balance sounds extremely similar to the Beats Solo2, almost as if B&O was trying to clone the Beats sound, but noticeably more harsh in the midrange. When active noise cancellation is enabled, the tone changes to artificially boost the treble for a moderate improvement, but the boomy bass still overpowers.
  22. OK KEF M500: A very balanced tone, minus treble. Nice medium-strength bass, but slightly muddy. Great midrange presence with only a hint of harshness. Treble is noticeably muffled, though, so detail and clarity suffer greatly.
  23. OK V-Moda XS: Too much bass and weak treble — good for an on-ear, but doesn’t compete with over-ears.
  24. OK B&W P5: Slightly boomy bass, recessed mids, very dull treble, weak detail — OK for an on-ear, but doesn’t compete with over-ears.
  25. Bad Sennheiser Momentum (Over-Ear): Too much bass, a bit boomy, and a huge lack of treble and detail. An attempt at the laid-back sound that’s dramatically inferior to the HP50 and M4U 1.
  26. Bad Sennheiser HD 380 Pro: Slightly harsh midrange, and noticeably lacking the treble response and detail of more modern drivers. Does not qualify for the review — this is an inexpensive studio-monitor headphone, with a long, coiled cable and no remote, included for reference. The 280 Pro tested slightly worse.
  27. Bad Blue Mo-Fi: Good bass and midrange, but extremely lacking treble and detail so much that it sounds muffled and incomplete. Another attempt at the laid-back tone that’s dramatically outclassed by the HP50 and M4U 1, with even less detail than the Momentum. I found the built-in amp (!) to make no audible difference in quality — only volume.
  28. Bad MEElectronics Matrix2: Strong, boomy bass, huge gaps in the midrange, muffled treble, and poor detail.
  29. Bad Bose QC25: Unlike most active noise-cancelling (ANC) headphones, the QC25 can operate passively. With ANC off, an old-Beats-like bass boominess dominates, the midrange is very recessed, and treble detail is severely lacking, as if you’re listening through a pillow. When the ANC is turned on, an equalizer is also engaged that dramatically boosts the midrange and treble, but it goes too far and sounds very harsh and artificial. The ANC is excellent, though.
  30. Bad Beyerdynamic T51i: Pretty much all bass, with none of the treble detail Beyerdynamic is known for. It’s just an on-ear, but it’s poor even among other on-ears.
  31. Bad Apple EarPods: No bass, harsh mids, no upper treble, no detail. Included for reference.
  32. Bad Beats Pro: Extremely boomy, imprecise bass so overpowering that you can barely hear the extremely recessed midrange or the pretty decent treble detail.
  33. Bad Sony MDR-1R: Sloppy yet weak bass, harsh telephone-like midrange, severe lack of treble and detail that sounds extremely muffled. This is the worst sound I’ve ever heard from a headphone over $50 that wasn’t obviously defective.

Comfort ranking

From best to worst:

  1. Great Sony MDR-1R: Excellent comfort, due mostly to its extremely light weight and very soft earpads.
  2. Great B&O H6 (2nd generation): Very light with excellent pads.
  3. Great B&O H6: Identical to the current model: very light with excellent pads.
  4. Great B&O H7: Nearly identical-feeling to the H6, but slightly heavier and with slightly thicker pads. The most comfortable wireless headphones I’ve ever felt, and near the top for any headphones.
  5. Great Plantronics BackBeat PRO: Excellent. Lightweight for their size, considering they’re also Bluetooth, with thick, full-sized earpads.
  6. Great PSB M4U 1: Moderate size and weight, but they’re handled well by excellent earpads.
  7. Great AKG K551: Extremely comfortable, with featherlight pressure spread across very wide earpads. One caveat: those wide earpads get sweaty sooner than most headphones because they’re covering much more area.
  8. Good Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7: Nice, large earpads with good padding, but a bit tighter clamping force than I’d like. Some gentle stretching helps.
  9. Good Oppo PM-3: Very good, despite its moderate weight, because it’s distributed well by its extremely nice, thick pads.
  10. Good Sony MDR-7506: Light weight, decent pads, and light clamping force make this a very comfortable headphone, although the pads are a bit small.
  11. Good Audio-Technica ATH-M50x: Very good overall, but not spectacular, limited mainly by slightly higher weight and clamping force than ideal. But these are very minor nitpicks — this is exactly what you’d expect from a typical studio-monitoring headphone, appropriate for all-day use.
  12. Good AKG K545: Light weight, but the pads could be slightly bigger and softer. Halfway between the K545 and K551 pads would be an ideal comfort/sweat balance.
  13. Good Bose QC25: Bose’s usual light weight and soft pads, but with slightly more clamping force. The pad rims could also be slightly wider to spread the pressure across a wider area.
  14. Good MEElectronics Matrix2: Their very cheap build quality makes them pretty light, especially as an over-ear, even though they feel like they’ll break at any moment. The earcup pivot joints are very stiff, so they don’t adapt to the curvature of your head by themselves like every other over-ear headphone I’ve ever tried, but with some manual adjustment, they feel surprisingly good.
  15. Good KEF M500: The on-ear design is a big comfort disadvantage, but this is the most comfortable on-ear I’ve found. It’s extremely lightweight despite its metal construction. The flat-faced leather pads are comfortable, although they could use more padding since they collapse to the hard plastic underneath too easily. Clamping force was a bit tight at first but was easily loosened by a bit of gentle headband stretching.
  16. Good B&W P5 Wireless: The pads are decent for a flat on-ear design and the headband is great, but clamping force is a bit tighter than I’d like, and it’s a bit heavy for its size. I’m not sure why, but I don’t get the suction-cup effect on these that I got from the original wired P5.
  17. OK Master & Dynamic MH40: Overall acceptable comfort, but not excellent. They’re too heavy for their size, which is fatiguing after a while, and some people may find the earpads too small.
  18. OK NAD VISO HP50: Similar to M4U 1, but with noticeably more clamping force, slightly harder pads, and a worse headband.
  19. OK B&W P7: Not bad, but a bit too heavy and tight.
  20. OK B&O H8: Great pads for an on-ear, but nowhere near the comfort of over-ears. Heavy for its size, too — it’s heavier than the P5 Wireless and its over-ear (and much more comfortable) predecessor, the B&O H6.
  21. OK B&W P5: On-ear design limits longevity, a bit heavier than most on-ears, and there’s a strong “suction cup” effect on my ears.
  22. OK Audeze EL-8 Closed-Back: Nice, large ear pads, but very heavy, with too much of the weight resting on the top-center headband pad. Isolation is excellent, but it’s tricky to get a proper, even seal on both ears, and it frequently creates uncomfortable air-pressure “pops” in my ears when putting on or removing.
  23. Bad Sennheiser HD 380 Pro: Tight fit with far too much clamping force.
  24. Bad Focal Spirit One S: The earcups are too small, still pressing on the edges of my ears. Clamping is a bit tight as well, and the top headband pad is very small and narrow.
  25. Bad Beats Studio: Too tight, and the earcups are too small.
  26. Bad Beats Solo2: The pads are soft, but the large on-ear design applies too much pressure on the ears. Like the Beats Studio, the headband is extremely tight.
  27. Bad B&O H2: On-ear design with tight clamping force that limits comfort despite having pretty good earpads (for an on-ear). Like the sound, the comfort and fit are extremely similar to the Beats Solo2, but here, the Solo2 wins.
  28. Bad V-Moda XS: On-ear design but very heavy, with weight concentrated on thin pad rims.
  29. Bad Blue Mo-Fi: Very tight clamping force, mostly because these are very heavy at 482g — almost as heavy as full-size orthodynamics,5 but without the weight-spreading designs that Audeze and HiFiMAN have figured out to make theirs moderately comfortable. Substantial force is also concentrated on the top-center pad on the headband. The complicated headband is highly adjustable, including a clamping-force knob, but I couldn’t find any settings that were comfortable.
  30. Bad Beats Pro: Tight and small earcups like Beats Studio, but much heavier at 400g.
  31. Bad Beyerdynamic T51i: On-ear design, but extremely heavy and tight. Again, nothing like Beyerdynamic’s bigger headphones.
  32. Bad Apple EarPods: Maybe it’s just my ears? But it should mean a lot that these aren’t actually the worst…
  33. Bad Sennheiser Momentum (Over-Ear): Much too tight, with earcups that are far too small for over-ears. The cups also apply uneven pressure, almost digging into my head at some points. A profoundly uncomfortable headphone — these feel even worse than the MDR-1R sounds.

Portability and fashion ranking

Portability includes size, foldability, quality of remote clicker controls, and general fashionability.

Ideally, the headphones should be reasonably small on the head, able to comfortably drop to the neck for brief periods, and fold easily into a small bag. The remote-control clicker should have the 3 standard iPhone buttons easily distinguished by feel, and the buttons should be easy to press, with enough tactile feedback that double- and triple-press commands should be easy to perform without frequent errors. The cable should be replaceable, not permanently mounted. And you shouldn’t look too ridiculous wearing them in public.

From best to worst:

  1. Great B&W P5 Wireless: As a Bluetooth headphone, it’s no contest — it’s a compact, wireless, on-ear headphone with physical control buttons (rather than annoying touch surfaces). The buttons aren’t as good as a wired remote’s, especially for seeking back and forward, but they’re decent. Comes with a cable if you need it, but there’s no clicker, and you need to awkwardly remove a magnetic earpad to connect it. Neck-dropping is fine, and they look great.
  2. Great B&O H6 (2nd generation): Medium-sized design that folds flat and looks great. Excellent clicker, the replaceable cable can be inserted into either side, and another headphone can even be daisy-chained to the unused side if it has a cable that fits. Good neck-dropping.
  3. Great B&O H6: Effectively identical to the 2nd-generation model. It has a very slightly thicker cable-end that doesn’t fit as easily through some phone cases, but they’re both pretty thin. (The DJ Khaled edition has better neck-dropping because the cups fold in both directions, but the coiled portion of its cable makes it unpocketable.)
  4. Great KEF M500: Small design that folds flat and inward and looks great. Replaceable cable, but the clicker’s buttons are squishy with almost no travel or feedback, making them frustrating and error-prone. Superb neck-dropping.
  5. Great B&W P5: Small design that folds flat and looks great, with a good clicker and replaceable cable (although the socket is internal, and replacement requires removing an earpad). Good neck-dropping.
  6. Great B&O H2: Small on-ear design with average looks, a good clicker, and a removable cable. Only folds flat. Excellent for neck-dropping.
  7. Great Bose QC25: Medium-sized design that folds flat and inward, optionally into its nice and compact case. Good clicker, replaceable cable. Fashion-neutral unless you get a custom color (don’t). Good neck-dropping.
  8. Great Master & Dynamic MH40: Medium-sized design that folds flat and looks great. The replaceable cable can be inserted into either side, but the clicker buttons are mediocre. Great neck-dropping.
  9. Great Sony MDR-1R: Medium-sized design that folds flat and looks good. Decent clicker. Good for neck-dropping.
  10. Good Oppo PM-3: Medium-sized design that folds flat, optionally into a nice hard case, and looks great. Good clicker, replaceable cable, average for neck-dropping. Unusually, both iPhone and Android clickers are available (you choose one when you order), and it comes with a longer clicker-less cable as well. Only its size and weight keep it from being great.
  11. Good Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7: Medium-large design that folds flat and looks decent, although I’d lose the blue or magenta accent colors on the cup rims. Nicely equipped with three standard and easily replaceable cables — long, short, short with clicker — but the clicker is only 1-button. Too big and tight for neck-dropping.
  12. Good AKG K545: Medium-sized design that folds almost flat, although the cups are a bit large for neck-dropping. Mostly fashion-neutral, although the headband could be thinner. The clicker buttons are mediocre, but the cable is replaceable.
  13. Good Beats Solo2: Medium-small design with cheap plastic looks but mass-market fashionability and a wide range of colors, with a good clicker and a removable cable. Only folds football-style, but it’s one of the smallest football-folders. Good for neck-dropping. Very similar to the Beats Studio, but slightly smaller.
  14. Good Beats Studio: Medium-sized design with cheap plastic looks that society deems fashionable, with a good clicker and a removable cable. Only folds football-style. Average for neck-dropping.
  15. OK Plantronics BackBeat PRO: Bluetooth is a huge win, but they’re very large — as big as many studio/desk headphones — and they only fold flat-ish, so they’re not great for travel. Fashion is not their strength, either. The physical controls on the earcups are good and easy to use by feel, but slightly laggy. They can also be used with an included cable with a one-button remote — not as good as a three-button, but the first time I’ve seen a Bluetooth headphone with any kind of wired remote. Their large size makes neck-dropping awkward, but it’s still possible. When they sense being taken off your ears, they automatically mute (and, if using Bluetooth, also pause the music) until you put them back on.
  16. OK MEElectronics Matrix2: Bluetooth is a big win, but they’re not compact — they’re medium-sized over-ears that only fold flat. They’re also of pretty poor build and materials quality, with an all-plastic construction covered in… padded pleather printed with a carbon-fiber pattern. (Really.) Fortunately, they have dedicated physical volume and seek buttons, even though they’re pretty bad as such buttons go. Unfortunately, like many low-quality Bluetooth headphones, there’s too much of an audio-sync delay to watch videos. A bit too big for comfortable neck-dropping.
  17. OK Beyerdynamic T51i: Small, average-looking design that folds flat, but it’s heavy for its size. The remote is average, but the cable is not replaceable, and it’s inconveniently split separately into each ear.
  18. OK V-Moda XS: Small design that only folds upward, still remaining an awkward shape for bags. The cable is replaceable, but it only has a 1-button clicker. V-Moda’s industrial design is divisive; I find them ugly. Limited neck-droppability since the cups don’t swivel.
  19. OK B&W P7: A bit large and only folds football-style, but otherwise a nice-looking design with a good clicker and replaceable cable (although the socket is internal, and replacement requires removing an earpad). Limited neck-droppability.
  20. Bad B&O H8: What does it take for a beautifully designed Bluetooth wireless headphone to fare so poorly here? Difficult, unreliable touch controls as the only remote-control method. Even the simple gesture of pausing or resuming playback — tap the middle — is frustratingly error-prone and sluggish to respond, often being ignored or interpreted as a different command. Forget about the swipes to seek or the circular motion to change volume — it’s literally faster to just pull out your phone, and you won’t look like an idiot fondling your earcup and cursing.
  21. Bad B&O H7: Nearly identical to the excellent H6, but wireless — and it has the same annoying, unreliable touch controls as the H8. If it had real buttons, it would be at the top of this list. Since it can’t even be used with a wired remote if you wanted to (I tried), it’s left with no reliable control method, negating the convenience benefits of being wireless in the first place.
  22. Bad Focal Spirit One S: Medium-sized, but hardly folds at all — only football-style, and only halfway. In practice, you effectively need to carry it in its fairly large case. Fashion-neutral. Replaceable cable, but only has a one-button clicker. Mediocre for neck-dropping due to the medium-sized earcups that barely swivel.
  23. Bad Audio-Technica ATH-M50x: Folds flat and football-style, but it’s a big, fairly unattractive studio-monitor headphone designed for indoor use at a desk or being worn by A/V crews, and it won’t fool anyone into thinking otherwise. Too big for neck-dropping and doesn’t come with a clicker at all, but the cables are replaceable, it comes with three (one of which is short and straight for portable use), and there are some cheap aftermarket cables available with remotes.
  24. Bad NAD VISO HP50: Big, below-average looks, and the worst clicker I’ve ever used, with almost no button travel or feedback. But replaceable cable can be inserted into either side. Limited neck-droppability.
  25. Bad AKG K551: Folds almost flat, but earcups are much too wide, significantly impeding packing and fashion. Too large to neck-drop. The clicker buttons are mediocre and the cable isn’t replaceable.
  26. Bad Sennheiser Momentum (Over-Ear): Medium-sized and good looks, but with an inflexible design that doesn’t fold at all. Replaceable cable with a great clicker. Limited neck-droppability.
  27. Bad PSB M4U 1: Big, clunky, unattractive, and only folds football-style, not flat. Too large to neck-drop. The cable is replaceable and can go in either side, but the clicker is only 1-button.
  28. Bad Audeze EL-8 Closed-Back: They look good, but even though they can fold flat, they’re far too big and heavy to be considered portable by most people. The cable is proprietary but replaceable. It does have a clicker, but these are much better suited to a desk than an iPhone on the go.
  29. Bad Beats Pro: Big, clunky, heavy, below-average looks, and the cups only fold upward, still remaining quite large. Too large to neck-drop. At least the cable is replaceable and the clicker is decent.
  30. Bad Blue Mo-Fi: Very large, clunky, and heavy, still very large when folded, and with a divisive design; I find them ostentatious. Too large and complex to neck-drop. The cable is replaceable and the remote is good, though.

My favorites, overall

From best to worst. Prices are as of the time of writing, occasionally updated:

  1. B&O H6 (2nd generation): $300
    A very comfortable, extremely stylish, and practical headphone for people who prefer strong treble. More than any other headphone, it really nails the whole package: nothing else I’ve tried balances great sound, comfort, portability, and appearance as well as the second-generation H6. Easily the best portable headphone I’ve ever heard, and one of the top few best headphones I’ve heard, open or closed, at any price, period. If you don’t need strong noise isolation or Bluetooth, stop here. See my full review.
  2. B&O H6 (previous generation): $260
    An excellent overall headphone, bested only by its successor, which comes with a major upgrade to sound quality: this first-generation H6 is a bit light on the bass, and isn’t as refined and detailed-sounding as the second-generation model, but it’s still great enough to beat everything else here. But since the price difference is small, get the 2nd-generation model instead — it really sounds a lot better.
  3. Bluetooth Plantronics BackBeat PRO: $140
    An excellent Bluetooth headphone, and an excellent headphone, period, if you like strong bass. Downsides include large size, treble harshness, poor ANC (leave it off), and noticeable lag when playing videos or games over Bluetooth from an iPhone. Otherwise, the low price makes the BackBeat PRO very easy to recommend, and the best value I’ve found yet — the only other closed headphone around $150 that’s this good is the slightly better-sounding (but wired) ATH-M50x. In this price range, if you’re at a desk all day, go with the ATH-M50x, but if you need occasional portability, stop here. (The more expensive BackBeat PRO+ is the same headphone, in gray, with a Bluetooth USB dongle.) Plantronics sent me a BackBeat PRO+ for review.
  4. Audio-Technica ATH-M50x: $130
    I resisted trying this for a while because it doesn’t have a smartphone remote, but it’s a geek favorite for good reasons: it sounds great for people who like strong treble, it’s comfortable, and it’s relatively inexpensive. For all-day desk use, this is probably the best choice — the M4U 1 sounds better if you don’t like strong treble, but this is a much better value. Poor portability is the only big downside.
  5. PSB M4U 1: $250
    A great choice for fans of laid-back sound, but if you like clarity and detail, it sounds boring and a bit flat. It doesn’t “Wow!” me, but it won’t offend anyone, either. It’s poor for portable use, but it’s a great choice for all-day comfort at a desk if the ATH-M50x has too much treble for you.
  6. Bluetooth B&W P5 Wireless: $400
    An excellent on-ear Bluetooth wireless headphone — the first Bluetooth headphone I’ve found that’s good enough to be here. There are more comfortable and better-sounding headphones, but none of them are wireless. At $400, though, these are far from a good value — I can’t say they’re worth that much. (The P5 Series 2 allegedly sounds the same for less money if you don’t need it to be wireless.)
  7. AKG K545: $225
    Excellent bass-light, treble-rich sound. It fixes the K551’s biggest shortcomings: it’s smaller and more attractive, with removable cables and far less earpad sweatiness. But it’s not as comfortable as the K551.
  8. Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7: $230
    A good all-arounder if you like strong treble, although the midrange is a bit harsh and can be fatiguing. I wish it came with a 3-button clicker instead of a 1-button, but overall, it’s an excellent value.
  9. Oppo PM-3: $400
    A comfortable, stylish, practical, and well accessorized headphone for people who prefer a mostly full-bodied sound, but unfortunately with very soft treble that makes them sound dull. It isolates better than any headphone I’ve tried, leaking nearly zero sound to the outside world (useful in shared offices). Oppo sent me a PM-3 for review, then I bought it.
  10. Bluetooth B&O H7: $450
    Almost what I’ve been hoping for — a wireless version of the excellent H6 — but, unfortunately, with noticeably worse sound quality and frustrating touch controls. I wanted to love this so much, but I just can’t — I’d rather just use the H6 with its better sound and excellent remote in all of its wired glory. The H7 is strong in some areas, but at its price, it needs to be better. At a desk, I’d rather use the H6, M4U 1, or ATH-M50x; for wireless, I’d rather use the P5 Wireless for music or the MM 400-X for podcasts.
  11. KEF M500: $260
    Good sound and excellent comfort for an on-ear headphone. And they’re practical: they isolate sound more than average (both ways), the earcups can fold either inward or flat, the materials are high-quality, they’re stylish, and their cables are removable. My only complaints are the squishy buttons on the remote, the muffled treble, and the usual price of $300. (I got mine on sale for $180 — a much better value.)
  12. AKG K551: $200
    Very similar to the K545, but with more comfortable (although much sweatier) earpads, a non-removable cable, and a slightly more refined sound. Its amazing comfort and sound come very close to open headphones, including being pretty light on the bass. The extra comfort over the K545 is substantial, but it’s also far less suited for portable use due to the huge earcups and non-replaceable cable.
  13. Master & Dynamic MH40: $400
    A stylish, decent sounding, moderately comfortable alternative to people seeking H6-level fashion and materials with more bass. Its sound isn’t worth its price, but it’s better than a lot of headphones out there.
  14. NAD VISO HP50: $250
    Paul Barton designed the PSB M4U 1, then made the NAD HP50 as its spiritual successor, but it’s more like a 1.1 release than a 2.0. It has great enhancements in theory and is just as practical, with removable cables and a socket on either side, while adding a truly terrible 3-button clicker. It has more refined measurements and sounds slightly better than the M4U, making it the best implementation of laid-back sound I’ve heard. But comfort also got noticeably worse than the M4U, which is why I rank the M4U higher.
  15. Bose QC25: $300
    Bose’s new flagship headphones don’t sound very good, but their active noise cancellation (ANC) is the best I’ve ever heard — better than the ANC in the QC15, Parrot Zik, and Beats Studio. They retain Bose’s usual excellent comfort and light weight, and look less hideously outdated than most other Bose products — their designs have advanced from 1989 to 1999. If your primary goal is to dramatically reduce noise on planes or in a noisy office, I can recommend these, but the sound quality is poor for the price.
  16. B&W P7: $400
    Decent overall, but not great, and not worth $400. Even if you like their laid-back tone, the M4U 1 does it better with better comfort for $100 less. (Of course, the P7 is much more attractive. But if I wanted a $400 attractive headphone, the H6 and MH40 both sound and feel better, too.) Tried only in store.
  17. B&W P5: $250
    If you’re looking for an attractive on-ear, this is a reasonable choice, but the P5 Wireless sounds better, the KEF M500 is more comfortable, and both are more portable.
  18. B&O H2: $200
    Strikingly similar sound to the Beats Solo2, but slightly smaller, nicer, and less comfortable. Like many other long-time headphone brands, B&O seems to be chasing Beats’ success by trying to clone its sound.
  19. Beats Solo2: $150
    Decent portability and better sound than most on-ears, but the overpowering bass and below-average comfort make it hard to enjoy for long. But it’s a surprisingly good value if you find it more comfortable than I do.
  20. Bluetooth MEElectronics Matrix2: $90
    Quickly becoming a well-respected inexpensive Bluetooth headphone, it is indeed a good value, but it’s only good for the price. In absolute terms, it’s OK at best. I can’t recommend a better-sounding or more comfortable Bluetooth headphone for anywhere near $100, but if you’re primarily seeking Bluetooth for exercise, the much smaller and conveniently button-covered Sennheiser MM 400-X is a better choice for this price range.
  21. Audeze EL-8 Closed-Back: $700
    This large, heavy, expensive orthodynamic headphone is billed as two things it isn’t: portable and great-sounding. Audeze’s open-backed headphones are usually great, and the EL-8 comes in an open-backed version that probably sounds better (I haven’t heard it). But the closed-back EL-8 sounds more like an afterthought than a driver and enclosure that were designed from the start to be closed. This $700 headphone is embarrassed in every area — sound, comfort, portability — by others costing much less. Too expensive to qualify, but it’s a high-profile enough launch in the portable-closed-headphone world that I decided to review it.
  22. Focal Spirit One S: $250
    Decent sound for the price, but mediocre comfort and poor portability make them hard to recommend over more practical alternatives.
  23. Beats Studio 2 (“2013”): $220
    Much better-balanced and more detailed sound than I expected, but the ANC hiss and uncomfortable fit are fatal for me.
  24. V-Moda XS: $180
    Great sound for an over-ear, but poor comfort. My favorite thing about these headphones is the picture of my fluffy dog in my full review.
  25. Sony MDR-1R: $200
    Shockingly great comfort as you put these on is unfortunately followed by shockingly bad sound. A huge disappointment relative to my expectations and their reputation.
  26. B&O H8: $500
    Rather than an H6 successor with Bluetooth and noise cancellation, which could be amazing, this is a smaller on-ear design that’s far less comfortable and sounds much worse than the H6, as if B&O was trying to copy the Beats tone. The noise cancellation isn’t as strong as Bose’s, and the touch controls are frustrating and unreliable. I wouldn’t recommend the H8 at nearly any price based solely on the touch controls, but I absolutely can’t say that it’s worth anywhere near $500. I never thought I’d say this, but I’d rather use Beats or Bose by a mile. And given how much I like the H6, the H8 is by far my biggest disappointment in this review.

  27. Blue Mo-Fi: $350
    A unique, strange, complicated headband wraps a unique, strange, complicated headphone: while it can operate passively, it also has a built-in amp with two modes (normal or extra bass) that dramatically boosts volume, powered by a USB-charged battery.

    It’s an interesting but completely unnecessary achievement: the Mo-Fi in passive mode is sensitive enough to play far past my comfortable maximum volume from an iPhone, and the amp doesn’t noticeably improve the sound quality. It just adds complexity and weight, which are the last things this headphone needs, as the existing weight and headband complexity make them extremely uncomfortable and goofy-looking. The sound quality is also very poor relative to the rest of the category regardless of which mode the amp is in, attempting a laid-back sound but simply sounding extremely muffled.

    Blue is seemingly too focused on making different headphones instead of making great headphones. Blue lent me a Mo-Fi for review.

  28. Beats Pro: $350
    These are great if you don’t care about comfort, only want to hear bass, and would like to set a few hundred dollars on fire. Tried only in store.
  29. Beyerdynamic T51i: $300
    I’m a big fan of Beyerdynamic’s great sound and amazing comfort, and the Tesla drivers have been fantastic in their higher-end headphones. The T51i is their first headphone with a 3-button clicker (they’re very late to that game), so I had high hopes. Unfortunately, these sounded awful and they’re extremely uncomfortable. I’d never believe they were from Beyerdynamic if they didn’t have the name printed on the side. I’m holding out hope for a T70p update with a clicker, which is likely to be far better, albeit far less portable.
  30. Sennheiser Momentum (Over-Ear): $160
    These look fantastic, but feel and sound awful. The laid-back sound is much better achieved with the M4U 1 and HP50, and the style’s not of much use if I can’t bear to wear them for more than five minutes at a time.

I’ll update this article and the rankings as I try newer models in the future.

  1. If you want the best sound quality for the buck, you usually need to go with open-backed (or simply “open”) headphones. The open (but uncomfortable) SR60 is probably the best value in the business, followed by the awesome DT-880, which is far better than everything in this review in both comfort and sound quality. But open headphones are like screen doors: they let all exterior noise in, and more importantly, they let all of your music out. This will annoy anyone around you, so it’s extremely inconsiderate to use open headphones in buses, trains, airplanes, shared offices, or anywhere else near other people, and it’s irresponsible to recommend them without this huge warning. ↩︎

  2. No, I haven’t tried custom-fitted IEMs molded to the shape of my ear with the help of an audiologist. The extreme expense of such an attempt doesn’t seem worth the very high risk that I’ll still find it too painful to use, given my experience with literally every other IEM I’ve tried. (I also won’t accept a promotional freebie custom-fit IEM for the same reason.) My ears just aren’t compatible with IEMs. ↩︎

  3. I tried these models in a store by plugging each into my iPhone, playing the same test tracks that I used at home, spending at least 10 minutes on each one taking notes and sketching an estimated response curve, and comparing them back-to-back to the nearby models and my AKG K545 that I wore into the store. ↩︎

  4. I didn’t detect any noticeable differences between amps and DACs for the headphones in this review, but they provided an easy way to plug in 3 headphones at a time to compare them back-to-back. Amps definitely make a big difference for power-hungry headphones like large open models and orthodynamics, but the differences are only obvious up to the point that they’re adequately powered. You rarely need to go fancier than the Magni 2 unless you’re crazy like me and fall in love with the HE-6.

    I’m still not entirely sure I’ve ever heard a difference in DACs except their noise floors. I think I can hear a slight improvement in dynamics between fancy DACs and my Mac’s built-in one, but I’m not confident that it’s not placebo. ↩︎

  5. The HE-560 is actually lighter than the Mo-Fi. ↩︎