Finding the best studio headphones under $300 with dynamic sound for your recording studio can be tough. There are a few different studio headphones in the $300 price range that have great sound.
A few things you should think about before you buy a new set of headphones is the build quality, comfort, frequency response, and wireless capabilities. It’s super important to find a headphone that is comfortable. The last thing you want when you are mixing for hours on end is something that pinches your ears. Obviously, you need something with dynamic range and proper volume.
That being said, let’s compare the top-rated $300 studio headphones and review their sound, so you can find the right ones for your recording studio.
Compare the Top Studio Headphones Below $300 in 2020
Contents
- 1 Compare the Top Studio Headphones Below $300 in 2020
- 2 What We Recommend and Why
Here’s a list of the best studio headphones below $300 to add to your recording for mixing and monitoring.
- Sennheiser HD 600
- Beyerdynamic DT 880
- Shure SRH1440
- Audio-Technica ATH-M70x
- Philips X2/27
- Shure SRH940
Sennheiser HD 600 Open Back Studio Headphones
Specs, features, and benefits
Anyone who has been in the professional audio business for any appreciable length of time must have come across the Sennheiser brand at one time or another. This is a German brand that is known for the delivery of high fidelity audio gear. Studios and audio professionals around the world have come to rely on one or more of its products.
One of these is the HD 600, an open back professional headphone. A quick “once over” reveals a design that is quite sophisticated with a smooth and lovely black and grey finish. Over the ear cups you find these top quality open metal-mesh earpiece covers and the oxygen-free-copper cable that comes with it have really low handling noise, is detachable and Kevlar-reinforced.
For the real stuff, it has a diaphragm design that eliminates standing waves. This ensures that the sound you hear from the computer optimized drivers with their lightweight aluminum voice coils and neodymium ferrous magnets is perfect.
This baby has an impressive and natural sounding spatial imaging and a frequency response of 12Hz to 40500Hz, which is pretty wide enough to handle any kind of audio task.
If what you want is cans that can handle any professional audio task, then these will.
Pros and Highlights
- Build – Comfortable for extended use.
- Frequency response – 12Hz to 40.5kHz.
- SPL – 97dB.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Size – Users with larger heads may find it a tad uncomfortable.
Bottom line
This is a great headphone for professional use especially for those with regular sized heads.
Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro Studio Headphones
Specs, features, and benefits
Beyerdynamic is interestingly another German company that has attained international recognition for the design and manufacture of various professional audio solutions. These range from microphones to headphones and more.
Our focus here is a product from this brand that has almost attained legend status – The DT 880 PRO. It is a professional headphone with a semi-open design. Its design, which includes ear cups that are permeable, makes it comfortable for lengthy monitoring and mixing studio sessions.
Further adding to the comfort and fit of these cans is the steel headband, which is quite comfortable, plus with the adjustable ear cups, you can get a great fit without compromising on comfort.
Working with this headphone is great. You enjoy a transparent and balanced sound with a wide stereo imaging. This coupled with the sensitivity of the transducers make it easy for you to hear the slightest adjustments you make on an audio file.
It gives a flat response that does not emphasis any frequency, allowing you to process audio correctly knowing that what you are hearing is what you get.
Getting something better at this price range will be a chore.
Pros and Highlights
- Build – Very adjustable and comfortable.
- Frequency response – 5Hz to 35kHz.
- SPL – 96dB.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Cable – It’s not detachable.
Bottom line
As far as professional headphones go, this is a great set. It is very comfortable, adjustable and the sound reproduction is transparent and balanced, which is great for professional mixing and mastering tasks.
Shure SRH1440 Recording Studio Headphones
Specs, features, and benefits
Shure is one of the more popular brand names in the audio industry with some of its products like the SM58 enjoying legend status. This brand is committed to the delivery of good quality audio gear and interestingly tries to serve the different levels of user budgets.
The Shure SRH1440 is one of its higher end products designed for professional audio tasks. We start off with its headband, which is well-padded for comfortable listening. It features a steel frame that assures of durability and an ergonomic design that ensures a good fit. It promises to remain comfortable even after hours of use.
Next, we take a peek at the drivers, which are 40 mm neodymium units that deliver a wide range of audio frequencies, making them suitable for professional use. The circumaural, open back design ensures an impressive stereo imaging and depth of field perception while retaining a natural and transparent sound.
Though this is a professional headphone, the optimized impedance of 37 Ohms means you can plug it into your phone and get a great audio reproduction. To further aid ease of use, it comes with replacement cables and ear pads.
Pros and Highlights
- Build – Comfortable and well-built.
- Impedance – Is optimized so it can be powered by even a smartphone.
- Extras – Comes with additional cable and ear pads.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Use – May not be the best for mixing.
Bottom line
This may not be the best professional headphones but it offers good quality audio reproduction, comfort and durability.
Audio-Technica ATH-M70x Pro Mixing Headphones
Specs, features, and benefits
Audio-Technica has been making serious impact in the audio industry with some great products. There is hardly any professional audio establishment you will walk into now where you won’t find a few audio gear from this brand.
Its ATH series headphones have become quite popular over the years. Today, we are looking at the ATH-M70x, which is a stand-out model from this series. It is actually in the top range of this series and is designed to be suitable for tracking, mixing, mastering and any other professional audio task.
It was designed for comfort and convenient use. The headbands are comfortable and durable while the earpads are well-padded for increased comfort. These cups are also designed to swivel up to 90 degrees, which makes listening with one ear easy. For two-ear monitoring, they are designed to provide good sound isolation. They can also be folded for easy storage and movement.
Inside we have 45 mm large-aperture drivers that deliver 97dB across a frequency response of 5Hz to 40kHz. This headphone offers a very balanced and transparent sound, which is perfect for professional use.
Pros and Highlights
- Build – Well-built and comfortable.
- Frequency response – 5Hz to 40kHz.
- Cables – Comes with three options.
Cons and Potential Flaws
This may not offer the best sound for casual listening because of the really flat response you will get.
Bottom line
Not every headphone is good enough for mastering sessions especially at this price point. This can however handle mixing and mastering tasks with considerable ease.
Philips X2/27 Fidelio Premium Studio Headphones
Specs, features, and benefits
Seeing the name Philips may come as a surprise to many since the brand is better known for household appliances rather than professional audio solutions. We are however looking at this headphone from the brand because it made out list.
The Philips X2/27 was designed for use in a wide range of scenarios. It features a design that promotes comfortable extended wearing. These include deluxe memory foam earpads that are replaceable. They are covered with breathable velour so they always stay cool. You also have a hammock headband that is self-adjusting. This makes it easy for the headphones to fit most users.
This headphone comes with powerful 50mm neodymium drivers that have been pre-tilted to improve its immersive experience. There are also the layered motion control diaphragms. These help in toning down wayward frequencies, making it easy to maintain its frequency response of 5 to 40,000Hz.
Another thing it offers is low impedance. With a 30-ohm impedance it is really easy to drive and can therefore work perfectly with a wide range of devices.
The sound reproduction from this headphone is lovely which is why many use it for gaming. It is great for tracking in the studio but will not do so well in a mixing situation because it does not have a very transparent sound.
Pros and Highlights
- Build – Comfortable.
- Frequency response – 5Hz to 40kHz.
- Cable – Detachable.
Cons and Potential Flaws
Not suitable for mixing.
Bottom line
This headphone is great for tracking, gaming and other casual listening needs.
Shure SRH940 Professional Reference Headphones
Specs, features, and benefits
We are rounding off our review of studio headphones under $300 with another set from Shure. The SRH940 was created to deliver sonic excellence with great comfort.
First, it is lightweight and ergonomically designed to fit easily. The velour ear pads and the closed-back, circumaural design makes not only for serious comfort but a nice level of isolation that aids concentration.
These ear cups can also swivel up to 90 degrees so you can easily do one-ear monitoring whenever you choose to. You can also easily pack this up because the cups are foldable, allowing for easy storage and transportation.
Now to the real stuff. At the core of this headphone are two 40mm dynamic neodymium magnet drivers. These drivers can achieve an SPL of 100dB at a frequency response of 5Hz to 30kHz. They can also work with a wide range of devices including smartphones thanks to its pretty low impedance of 42 Ohms.
When you get these headphones, you will also get two cables – a 10 foot coiled cable and an 8 foot straight one. Since they are detachable, you can choose anyone that suits your need at any time.
Pros and Highlights
- Build – Convenient and comfortable.
- Frequency response – 5Hz to 30 kHz.
- SPL – 100dB.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Appearance – These are not the best looking headphones.
Bottom line
This is a good headphone for professional use. They offer a good enough sound reproduction for efficient referencing. You may however have a few issues with fit and durability.
What We Recommend and Why
It’s been another interesting journey through the world of headphones as we sought to look at studio headphones that sell under $300. It’s now that time when we choose one from the list as our top product.
After looking carefully at the six headphones we reviewed, considering sound quality, comfort, durability and cost, we chose the beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro Over-Ear Studio Headphone as our Top Studio Headphone Under $300. We believe that this headphone offers the best balance of all the specifications we considered.