Beyerdynamic - DT 1770 PRO MK II

Audio technica, or sennheiser, but my pick is Beyerdynamics. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DGLV6QVX?ref=ive\_vftp\_hero\_cx\_pfo\_vse-cards-ingress0](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DGLV6QVX?ref=ive_vftp_hero_cx_pfo_vse-cards-ingress0)

Lots of people hate Beyer Treble. The only Beyers I can handle are the 1990 mk2 and the 1770 mk2

770 pro are very nice, with 80 ohms you dont necessarily need a headphone amp. If you have the money, the 1770pro mk2 are very nice, but at this point i would consider getting an open pair for mixing and a closed for recording :)

Your third requirement severely reduces the amount of options you have. Aune SR7000 are quite solid and very open sounding for being closed-back, but you have to deal with dual entry cables. Another option is the DT1770 mk2, but you have to deal with the Beyerdynamic excessive treble. FiiO FT1 is an affordable option and really good at $150, but dual entry cables.

The Beyerdynamic DT1770 MK2 fit the bill. I'm listening to similar type of music, and they sound great. They are studio reference headphones so they are well built, great sound separation, and good bass. They will take you close to the $800 mark, though.

I use DT 1770 pro mk2 (closed back) with Topping dx3 pro+ DAC. Was right at about $1000

Depends how loud your keyboard is tbh. Closed backs for gaming are a lot better on PC. I had 1770 Pros for gaming/mixing before but there was a huge discount on 1990 Pros and the 1770 Pros had way too much bass for mastering I so went for those and gave the 1770 pros to my wife. I had to buy new keyboard because I had MX blues and gaming was horrible on open backs and loud switches. I still kinda prefer the 1770 for gaming tbh as they isolate better. For mixing and mastering the 1990 pros are perfect and for gaming as well after getting silent switches. But for budget I would go with DT 770 Pro 250Ohm and pair them with ifi zen dac v2. I made testing with 1770 Pros and 770 Pros on ifi zen dac V2 and the difference wasnt that huge I was expecting (the 770 were decade old lol). https://youtu.be/5nQ4Za2Qd6U?si=xCDnnywE-Gdw9lgS When it comes to gaming they are really good. I used to play a lot of competitive fps before (OW1, Cod, CS) and all games I played I reached top 1% so no complaining.

There is no best, it's subjective. Though I would generally prefer open-backs over closed backs, especially when you're just using them in your chair and not a noisy environment. "Audiophile grade" is also not a clearly defined term. There are a lot of good options available for under 1000$, I would recommend ordering a few different pairs and comparing them. Like, as far as open-backs are concerned, get a Hifiman Arya, Sennheiser HD 6XX and maybe a Beyerdynamic DT1990 (note that there's two versions, you can get some great deals on the older MK1 but it has a very spicy treble). If you really need/want something closed, your options will be more limited, you could try a Senny HD620 and Beyer DT1770. Personally, I think the AKG K702 (open) for 180 USD is an incredible deal, but some don't like the mid-heavy sound. And there's no doubt there are better headphones to be had for three or four times the price, but they won't really sound three of four times better, and whether it's worth it spending so much is up to you.

People are saying they are good for imaging so i assumed it was as i have the HD 490 Pro myself (which are amazing) and 11 other headphones from Audio Technica, Beyer, Meze, Audeze, Hifiman and FiiO. From all my headphones the X2HR was the absolute worst, and the only one I have now which have somewhat worse imaging then my other ones are the FiiO FT1. The X2HR confused me all the time when it came to footsteps and where sound where coming from, at that point I only had two headphones, the other ones being the DT 1770 PRO and that one was just on another planet when I came to positional audio.

(Beyond that suggestion; generally people making music want headphones that are more "objectivist" in nature; i.e. that present the sound as it was recorded rather than coloring it. Generally, Sennheisers have a warmer than neutral sound. I love that tuning (as to a lot of people!) but it may or not be his cup of tea. Beyerdynamic makes a closed back (DT 1770) and an open-back (DT 1990) that are well-regarded for music production and mastering, but may be less pleasant for just listening to music.)