
Samson - SR850
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Based on 1 year's data from Mar 17, 2026 How it works
If you really what over ear stuff the audio-technica ath-m20x look good or for cheaper the Samson sr850 give a lot of bang for your buck
I picked up some Samson SR850 for $35 because I needed an open back alternative to my much more expensive beyerdynamics (love them of course but they block out too much background noise and I have a young kid so I need to be able to hear the baby monitor too). No complaints so far- they’ve been working well (for me anyway) for gaming and casual listening.
Koss KSC75/KPH30/KPH40/Porta Pro all all within that $20-40 range but they aren't as durable. I believe the cables like to break on these because they are thin and lack stress relief. Alternatively you could go Samson SR850 or Superlux HD661 but those are only semi-open so outside sounds are slightly damped. To be honest I don't think open backs make people quieter, once you got some audio playing it kind of blocks out ambient noise. At least I assume thats why you want open backs in this case. For the record, Koss headphones sound VERY open, but again these things break with careful adults so you can imagine what children can do. On that note, can anyone seeing this back up the claim that the KPH30 clear is less prone to snapping than the other KPH30 models?
It's really the least amount of soundstage I've heard in an open-back. Samson SR850 has a decent soundstage, ksc75 as well but it's not exactly a headphone. As for EQ, I couldn't get them to sound fun, probably a skill issue on my side.
Superlux HD681 and Samson SR850, but with velvet/suede earpads. Eh with stock shitty leather. 100-200$ sound with velvet pads. KSC75 if you don't mind the hooks. Moondrop Old Fashioned is really nice as well, sounds pretty similar to KSC75.
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I personally own a pair of Samson SR850s and I can say they’re pretty great for the price! They have a fairly balanced sound and they come with a 1/4 inch adapter to easily use with a preamp. I only have two complaints, they’re a little sparkly on the high end which causes me some fatigue after a while (I prefer leaning towards bass more than anything but that’s just me), and I have big ears so the default ear cups are a little thin for me. Other than that they’re a solid option imo.
Samson SR850, open back studio quality cans, $30 on Amazon
SHP9600 are a very large headphones, they are supposed to have more clamp force than my SHP9500 which are a very clamp force light, but the diameter of the ear cups is huge and so I would still worry they will be just too big to be worn comfortably on a small head. There are a lot of complains by adults with small heads, particularly women, for whom SHP9500 was too big, and hence uncomfortable to wear (if it even stayed on their heads). Unfortunately I don't think I have used anything good for less. I have Samson SR850, comfort is hit and miss (might be fine for small heads, but not for large ones), but the treble are very sharp and harsh I would say it is not worth wearing out they hearing, and also the headphone's whole construction is very microphonic to the point you hear various noises when moving your head, There are also Koss headphones (I have clip on KSC75 which I like, and headband one Koss Porta Pro which I don't as I find them too muddy), but I would worry about the reliability. There are sometimes some leftovers/refurbishes of various discontinued Sennheisers on-ears from PX and PMX series available on local markets so I would perhaps look if there are any. ISK has $40 open backed model called HF2010 which is roughly based on Beyerdynamics headphones construction, it has good reviews, so maybe it is something to check.
Sennheiser HD599SE - open back over ear, if you can shop on Amazon, they go on promo for under $100. They are quite good in all the aspects, but the bloated upper bass can interfere with hearing some sounds when there are a lot of explosions going on Philips SHP9500 - open back over ear (big, but shallow), $50 or even less on AliExpress promos, they feel probably the most spacious of the headphones I'm listing, they are quite decent, but I've sometimes struggled with front image in Warzone, so when looking at a wall behind which enemy was running I was sometimes losing the sense of the exact spot he is at, but honestly Warzone just has bad audio, and I feel like you even have to set it differently depending on headphones, so I can't say if that is a weak point in every game Samson SR850 - open back, oversized on-ears, $30, very nice roundness to the soundstage for a nice and crisp 360, depth I felt not as good as top headphones, but hard to tell because those are so uncomfortable for me I can't use them for long enough to test properly. The treble are very sharp, to the point where it can be painful in games with some rather metallic sounds (like firing with silencer on). Also the construction is microphonic. Koss KSC75 - open back, clip-on, on-ear, about $22, does 360 without issues, depth is not perfect, and the image of the enemy is not as crisp, but all in all they are decent, and you can track what happens around you well. My main issue would be some specific lower sounds might not be standing out much, so again using Warzone, the chests are harder to hear. I have them now on a headband, and I feel like they worked better for me as clip-on - a bit sharper image and those few sounds like the chests were a bit more audible. The headband is down to $2 on AliExpress, so it is worth checking which way of wearing KSC75 would work better for you. Qigom S300 White Lotus - flathead earphone, $15-20, good 360, crispier image than KSC75, but even more low end audibility issue, and so the current chests in Warzone are genuinely hard to hear :P Out of those HD599SE and SHP9500 have detachable cable, while SR850 and particularly KSC75 can have cable failures. Bad headphones in the price range - Koss Porta Pro ($40 open back on-ears, worst headphones for competitive fps I've tried), Creative Aurvana Live SE ($30-50 closed back on-ears, can't do a proper 360, only cardinal directions), Superlux HD562 ($15 closed back on-ears, hardly any direction to the sound). Neither of those is as good as some older under $100 Sennheisers I've or used, but all of those prime recommendations were unfortunately discontinued. If you would be interested in getting used headphones, then look for open back HD558. Unfortunately I'm completely unaware of good closed backs in $100, sorry.
Superlux hd681 or Samson sr850 pro. Semi open back but good enough sound. Get a cheap lavalier mic for 15 bucks to clip to your shirt or the cable and you'll have good sound and a waaaaay better mic than any of these headsets.
Open back headphones under $60 are pretty limited unless you shop used. Most are actually semi-open and don’t sound or perform as well as budget IEMs (in-ear monitors) The only real options are: * **AKG K240 Studio ($56)** neutral “studio” sound but weak bass * **Samson SR850 ($50)** bright and a bit fatiguing * **Superlux HD 681 / HD 681B ($37)** also bright, 681B has less bass Honestly, I’d consider IEMs instead. They sound better for the price, isolate noise, stay cool, and work both indoors and out. Any of these would be a great pick: * **Truthear Gate**, **Moondrop Chu 2**, or **7Hz Zero2** **($22)** Budget kings * **7HZ G1($31)** Fun V-shape with tons of bass * **Moondrop Lan** (**$46)** Clean vocals, all metal build * **Moondrop Moca ($60) / Space Travel 2 ($38)** Neutral true wireless buds with average ANC. These probably being the closest thing that match your needs.
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