You basically have the following options:
1. there are only a few true wireless open backs: mainly Hifiman Deva or Deva Pro (with the bluemini-adapter, there is a wired-only version as well!) in your price range
2. (more or less leaking/open) on ear headphones like the Fiio EH 11, Koss kph30 wireless, the Grado mentioned above
3. get a bluetooth adapter (and maxbe even attach it on the headphone), like the Qudelix 5k and a open back headphone of your choice. Probably the best sounding but most complex and ugly looking solution.
You basically have the following options:
1. there are only a few true wireless open backs: mainly Hifiman Deva or Deva Pro (with the bluemini-adapter, there is a wired-only version as well!) in your price range
2. (more or less leaking/open) on ear headphones like the Fiio EH 11, Koss kph30 wireless, the Grado mentioned above
3. get a bluetooth adapter (and maxbe even attach it on the headphone), like the Qudelix 5k and a open back headphone of your choice. Probably the best sounding but most complex and ugly looking solution.
AKG K702. The only one that rocks with Metal really hard. Drums and guitar is insane. Little lack of bass, but not a real negative argument.
Im on the run to find the next better right match. Have a Hifiman Deva pro and Sundara closed, a K271 mkii that can rock good enough for cheap, had Beyerdynamics that are too muddy (soft and silky).
For a little laleludidu from radio the hifimans are good enough.
i have all Apple Airpods. From Airpods 1 till Airpods pro 3. I bought the Apple Airpods Max for my Son. The Sound is awesome. You can change the Earpads but not the crappy Headband. I love silver and the Headband is white. Its matter of time they would look ugly, because i use Hair gel. I will buy the MAX only with changeble headbands. I have the Hifiman DEVA and there is the same Problem. You can change easy the Earpads but the Headband is crappy PU Leather. The only chance is to buy one of the chep sleaves over the Headband. If Apple made the Airpods Max less clampy, with changeable Headband and changeble battery, i would pay 1000€ for them.
There's not many to choose from. Koss KPH30 or porta pro wireless, grado GW100X, all of which are on ear designs.
As far as over ears go, all I can think of are the hifiman deva and Ananda wireless.
A few points though. First off, open backs don't make for a good experience while out and about, both for you and the general public. Just get some TWS buds with decent ANC and transparency modes, so you can let sound in when you want it, and block it out when you don't.
Second, I'm assuming you're wanting these for gaming since you're talking about mics? If so, none of these options will be suitable as Bluetooth has too much latency, you'd want a specific 2.4Ghz dongle.
Honestly, as someone with a vast collection of headphones, my recommendation (that I use personally for this purpose); airpods pro 2.
They're comfortable (and I say this as someone who struggles with IEMs), sound good, have a very natural sounding transparency mode and great ANC, the case is tiny and slips right into the watch pocket on your jeans. As a full package, they're hard to beat. I usually leave them on adaptive mode, so it's kinda like walking around wearing open backs, but ANC starts to kick in once there's any noise worth blocking.
Not sure on availability for the pro 2 these days, now that the 3 is out. By all accounts it's an upgrade in ANC/transparency, but some would say the sound and fit is a downgrade.
You'd likely want to get some wired headphones for use at home if you're gaming.
I got Deva's for €100 used a while back and they're fantastic. Apparently they're very similar and would recommend them to anyone. So cool that Hifiman made planars so available, and in a quality manner
Seconding the FT1. If gaming headsets are your only experience, the Arctis Nova (didn't sample the 7P specifically, but an older version off a clearance shelf) was quite underwhelming when I googled the original price. The FT1 outclasses it by far.
(and Beyer DT770, but you'll want an amp)
Note: we are talking about the FT1, not FT1 Pro
The only thing you'll be missing is the built in mic.
I have to ask though: if you care more for sound and are in this price range, have you any interest at all in Open back? HIFIMAN has great deals right now and I just picked up a Deva Pro for $80. It sounds wider than my AlphaDog, which is an extremely wide sounding closed back headphone, and my Sundara open back.
It's not the best choice for metal in my opinion, but you might get hooked on soundstage for gaming. They're just not bassy.
You could even get a Meze microphone to convert most hifi headphones into an all-in-one gaming headphone. I love my Devas now for games due to the sense of depth/space.
The beauty about the FT1 and Deva Pro is how easy they are to drive. They won't be at their best, but you could very easily run them directly from a laptop or smartphone to respectable volumes.
"Can you get higher quality sound out of open backs at a cheaper price?"
That is a tricky question, since everyone has different tastes -- and if you haven't experienced certain sound profiles, there's no way to know if you'll like it.
If you like the idea of a more spacious sound, yes -- open backs will be better in this price range.
If you want bass above all else, I don't know of any open back in this tier that matches FT1 or DT770. Planars are quite responsive to EQ, but my Alpha dogs and Sundara bass will never be an FT1 (and at launch, these were triple the price of an FT1!)
OBJECTIVELY speaking, yes-open backs will generally be higher sound quality! This is because Closed backs have design compromises in order to mitigate the sound that gets reflected inside the earphone cup.
But manufacturers are smart: those same flaws with resonance/reflections in closed backs can be tuned to boost certain frequencies (such as bass!)
As for loudness, just looking at the raw specs, an FT1 looks like it can get a touch louder than the Nova.
I've read good things about the HE400SE (open back) for bass. But... On paper my Sundara has stronger low end bass response (still not an FT1).
Though in general, yes -- within the same class, a closed back will almost always have more audible bass impact than an open back (no reflections in an earcup to boost bass)
Secondly, open backs are also prone to, well, being open! Background noise will be heard.
Indoors/at home, normal listening volume will easily drown most background noise below normal speaking volumes. As for loud noises, they will 100% be heard. To me, that's a plus though. I want to be alerted to loud noises.
I will say though. I do listen to metal as well (almost every genre, honestly). Bass heavy headphones were nice until I grew to appreciate how planar headphones could make machine gun kick drums more "snappy", without drowning out the guitars with low mid respnance. This becomes even more true for passages with fast bass guitar phrases. Don't get me wrong, the FT1 can still handle these well, but I prefer my Sundara/Alpha dogs' handling of such passages. Think: opening phrases of Trivium, Gunshot to the head of trepidation. Then again, not all songs have kick drums mixed that way haha!
I love the Sundara for the opening, but oh my God the FT1s during the bridge!
Top Headphones (Over / On Ear) on Reddit
1
Sennheiser
HD 560S
79% positive of 619 users
Budget gaming king with clear sound, but tight fit.
Ecstatic-Resident-59
