The 25 Best Studio Headphones For Musicians

Michael Hahn · 27 Jun 2022 · 6 minute read

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This lesson is step 3 / 9 of a LANDR Lesson Plan. Click here to start from the beginning or keep on reading.

Studio headphones are an essential tool for mixing music. They’re a key part of any home studio setup.

A good pair of mixing headphones will be always useful in your studio. Even if you eventually upgrade to near-field monitors, your trusty headphones will still be indispensable for tracking and mix referencing.

But there are more more headphones on the market than ever before. In this article I’ll break down the 25 best headphones for music production available today and how to choose the best pair for your home studio setup.

How to choose studio headphones

Choosing the right studio headphones is important—you’ll probably be spending a lot of time listening to them!

Before you dive into the top 25 you need to know what to look for.

Aside from sound quality, the most important things to keep in mind when you’re shopping for headphones are price, comfort, impedance, and open or closed-back design.

Budget is a big concern when it comes to headphones. Most manufacturers’ headphone lines start at “budget-conscious” and go all the way to “money is no object.”

Find out where you stand with your budget early so that you know you’ll be getting the best value for your money.

Comfort is also a big factor. If you’re planning to do long mixing sessions on your headphones make sure to check in about the fit and feel.

Impedance is the electrical property that tells you how to drive your headphones properly. Will you need an audio interface with a powerful headphone amplifier or will you be fine using your computer’s ⅛” jack?

High impedance headphones require stronger amplifiers to drive them and tend to be associated with more high-end designs.

Open or closed back design is probably the most important factor.

Closed-back headphones are important for tracking since they don’t allow much sound bleed through. Don’t try to track vocals without them!

Open-backed headphones naturally have lots of bleed, but they sound much more transparent. These are the best choice for mixing or critical listening.

You might need to have a pair of both styles available in your studio!

Audio Technica — AKG — Beyerdynamic — Sennheiser — Sony — Shure

Audio Technica

Audio Technica’s headphone offerings have a great reputation for casual listening as well as intensive studio tasks.

The ATH-M50x in particular has garnered a lot of praise for its performance at the $150 price range. The top of the line ATH-R70x reference headphones can compete with the best of the best on this list for sound quality.

Audio Technica ATH-M40x

Street Price: $99 USD
Type: closed back
Impedance: Low (35 ohms)

The 25 Best Studio Headphones For Musicians

How to choose studio headphones

Audio Technica — AKG — Beyerdynamic — Sennheiser — Sony — Shure

Audio Technica

AKG

Beyerdynamic

Sennheiser

Sony

Shure

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