Best Over-Ear Headphones for Audio Production

For recording and production work, these headphones need at least five relevant audio-production opinions with more praise than complaints on Reddit. Results are ranked by that evidence rather than by a studio label or a frequency-range specification.

Choose between open and closed designs for the task, and compare tonal balance, repeatability, isolation and bleed, comfort, replaceable pads, impedance, amplifier needs, translation to speakers, and whether calibration software fits your workflow.

Based on 122 relevant Reddit opinionsMethodology

12 products available in the US

#1
MDR7506

Sony

$99.99

MDR7506

70/100
233 opinions

Reddit score

RedDB's algorithmic rating based only on relevant Reddit opinions.

It uses one opinion per author: their highest-upvoted mention.

Evidence volume, recency, and votes affect the result.

The opinion count and sentiment bar include all analyzed relevant opinions; the bar does not represent the score out of 100.

22 positive0 neutral1 negative
#2
ATH-M40x

Audio-Technica

$109.00

ATH-M40x

61.5/100
61 opinions

Reddit score

RedDB's algorithmic rating based only on relevant Reddit opinions.

It uses one opinion per author: their highest-upvoted mention.

Evidence volume, recency, and votes affect the result.

The opinion count and sentiment bar include all analyzed relevant opinions; the bar does not represent the score out of 100.

10 positive0 neutral0 negative
#3
HD 280 Pro

Sennheiser

$85.49

HD 280 Pro

67.7/100
131 opinions

Reddit score

RedDB's algorithmic rating based only on relevant Reddit opinions.

It uses one opinion per author: their highest-upvoted mention.

Evidence volume, recency, and votes affect the result.

The opinion count and sentiment bar include all analyzed relevant opinions; the bar does not represent the score out of 100.

11 positive0 neutral1 negative
#4
DT 770 PRO

beyerdynamic

$199.99

DT 770 PRO

68.4/100
373 opinions

Reddit score

RedDB's algorithmic rating based only on relevant Reddit opinions.

It uses one opinion per author: their highest-upvoted mention.

Evidence volume, recency, and votes affect the result.

The opinion count and sentiment bar include all analyzed relevant opinions; the bar does not represent the score out of 100.

17 positive0 neutral3 negative
#5
HD 490 PRO

Sennheiser

$344.00

HD 490 PRO

66.8/100
147 opinions

Reddit score

RedDB's algorithmic rating based only on relevant Reddit opinions.

It uses one opinion per author: their highest-upvoted mention.

Evidence volume, recency, and votes affect the result.

The opinion count and sentiment bar include all analyzed relevant opinions; the bar does not represent the score out of 100.

6 positive0 neutral0 negative
#6
HD 25

Sennheiser

$149.95

HD 25

64.8/100
89 opinions

Reddit score

RedDB's algorithmic rating based only on relevant Reddit opinions.

It uses one opinion per author: their highest-upvoted mention.

Evidence volume, recency, and votes affect the result.

The opinion count and sentiment bar include all analyzed relevant opinions; the bar does not represent the score out of 100.

6 positive0 neutral0 negative
#7
ATH-M20x

Audio-Technica

$59.00

ATH-M20x

63.8/100
98 opinions

Reddit score

RedDB's algorithmic rating based only on relevant Reddit opinions.

It uses one opinion per author: their highest-upvoted mention.

Evidence volume, recency, and votes affect the result.

The opinion count and sentiment bar include all analyzed relevant opinions; the bar does not represent the score out of 100.

9 positive0 neutral1 negative
#8
K240 STUDIO

AKG

$51.99

K240 STUDIO

59/100
39 opinions

Reddit score

RedDB's algorithmic rating based only on relevant Reddit opinions.

It uses one opinion per author: their highest-upvoted mention.

Evidence volume, recency, and votes affect the result.

The opinion count and sentiment bar include all analyzed relevant opinions; the bar does not represent the score out of 100.

9 positive0 neutral1 negative
#9
ATH-M20xBT

Audio-Technica

$89.00

ATH-M20xBT

55.6/100
17 opinions

Reddit score

RedDB's algorithmic rating based only on relevant Reddit opinions.

It uses one opinion per author: their highest-upvoted mention.

Evidence volume, recency, and votes affect the result.

The opinion count and sentiment bar include all analyzed relevant opinions; the bar does not represent the score out of 100.

5 positive0 neutral0 negative
#10
VSX Platinum Edition

Steven Slate Audio

$299.00

VSX Platinum Edition

51.2/100
7 opinions

Reddit score

RedDB's algorithmic rating based only on relevant Reddit opinions.

It uses one opinion per author: their highest-upvoted mention.

Evidence volume, recency, and votes affect the result.

The opinion count and sentiment bar include all analyzed relevant opinions; the bar does not represent the score out of 100.

5 positive0 neutral0 negative
#11
DT 990 PRO

beyerdynamic

$199.99

DT 990 PRO

63.3/100
166 opinions

Reddit score

RedDB's algorithmic rating based only on relevant Reddit opinions.

It uses one opinion per author: their highest-upvoted mention.

Evidence volume, recency, and votes affect the result.

The opinion count and sentiment bar include all analyzed relevant opinions; the bar does not represent the score out of 100.

8 positive0 neutral1 negative
#15
HD 600

Sennheiser

$259.90

HD 600

66.4/100
193 opinions

Reddit score

RedDB's algorithmic rating based only on relevant Reddit opinions.

It uses one opinion per author: their highest-upvoted mention.

Evidence volume, recency, and votes affect the result.

The opinion count and sentiment bar include all analyzed relevant opinions; the bar does not represent the score out of 100.

5 positive0 neutral1 negative