Best Headphones
Check out the best headphones, as rated by Digital Trends' expert reviewers.
Making a short list of the best headphones is tantamount to trying to pick the best craft beers in the Pacific Northwest or the best wines from California’s Napa valley. There are gobs of options, and no matter how carefully you choose, someone is bound to come along and point out an obvious omission. Truthfully though, we’re glad there are so many great headphone options these days. In a well-saturated market, the consumer usually wins; but where do you start looking? We’ve compiled a list of our favorites to help get you going. We can assure you that all headphones listed here sound great, are very comfortable and fill specific needs for listeners. Have fun and good luck!
Our best headphones list is continually updated as we review new products that enter the market.
Audeze LCD3
Words fail to describe the level of accuracy the LCD-3 are capable of, or the absolutely jaw-dropping level of detail with which they extract every nuance contained within music.
- Pros: Lifelike detail, Near perfect frequency response…
- Cons: Expensive, A little heavy
- Buy online:
- Siam MEGA $1,699.00
- TradeNow $1,199.00
Phiaton PS 210 BTNC
The PS 210 BTNC is the best-sounding wireless earphone we’ve ever heard and, for that matter, one of the best earphones we’ve enjoyed in general.
- Pros: Outstanding sound quality, Versatile and…
- Cons: Visual design
- Buy online:
V-Moda Crossfade M-100
V-Moda's M-100 will appease audiophiles and fashionistas alike - an impressive feat.
- Pros: Velvety low end, Vibrant, detailed upper register…
- Cons: Occasional heavy bass, Upper midrange slightly…
- Buy online:
- Amazon.com $299.99
Check out our comprehensive headphone buying guide, all of our headphone reviews, and our guides to the best over-the-ear headphones and best in-ear headphones.
Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro
Detail, balance, and wide stereo imaging alone put these headphones in very high company, but when you consider the ability to finely tune bass and customize their look with a wardrobe of skins, it gets hard to image why you’d put your money elsewhere.
- Pros: Clear detail, Excellent timbre reproduction, Wide…
- Cons: Soft approach occasionally lacks excitement…
- Buy online:
- Amazon.com $229.95
Harman Kardon CL
For those looking for a great fit, fantastic sound, and a handsome design, we highly recommend taking the Harman/Kardon CL for a test drive.
- Pros: Exceptional detail, Outstanding balance, Taught…
- Cons: Midrange a little bright, Slight lack of depth…
- Buy online:
- Buy Now: Amazon...
Aiaiai TMA-1 Studio
Even if you aren’t in the market for a $250 headphone, the TMA-1 Studio are worth hearing for the sheer pleasure of the experience – and they just might convince you that investing a few extra bucks in a set of cans can pay huge dividends.
- Pros: Warm bass, Clear, detailed treble, Well balanced…
- Cons: No iOS control button included, Vocals low in some…
- Buy online:
- Buy Now: Amazon...
Sennheiser MM 500-X
We can’t imagine that another set of headphones offers this much sound quality and convenience for anywhere near this price, making these the best all-around, reasonably priced set of headphones we have heard yet.
- Pros: Supremely well-detailed and highly engaging sound…
- Cons: Noise isolation only average, Price is starting to…
- Buy online:
- Datavision $329.95
- Amazon.com $269.65
Yamaha EPH-100
The Yamaha EPH-100 are the steal of the decade in affordable high-performance personal audio.
- Pros: Balanced, articulate, dynamic and revealing sound…
- Cons: No inline mic or controls
- Buy online:
- Good Buy Produc... $135.99
- SoundShiNe $99.95
Aiaiai TMA-1
The Aiaiai TMA-1 are an excellent sounding set of closed-back headphones that stay true to the recordings they reproduce and are amongst the best we've tested to date.
- Pros: Excellent, lush sound, Great sensitivity, Durable…
- Cons: No padding on headband, Don’t fold down, Not…
- Buy online:
- Buy Now: Amazon...
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC23
Their sonic clarity, strength and agility put the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC23 canalphones on par with designer models that cost as much as $300 to $400.
- Pros: Extremely effective noise cancellation, Open…
- Cons: Awkward cable lengths, Slightly muddy at extreme…
- Buy online:
- goHastings $51.91
- atdeme10's book... $48.49
