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Best Drop open-back planar headphones?
I am very interested in getting some open-back planar headphones. I heard a pair of Stax headphones and fell in love... but they are out of my price range... heck my car did not cost that much... but that said... do the Dekoni Blues or the HiFi Man 5xx come close enough? Anyone have any experience with them? I mostly listen to jazz but also like almost every other kind of music. My current headphones are Sony 1000XM3s and I like them well enough... but would prefer an open-back design so I don't feel so isolated and would like to get a bit more realistic sound... thanks in advance...
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keyboard_arrow_downMaverickAH
757
Feb 15, 2022
The best "Drop" open back planar headphones would be the Drop + Dan Clark Audio Aeon Open X, but I'm guessing they're out of your price range. Within your price range, we have the HE-X4 ($129), the HE-4XX ($180), the Dekoni Blue ($210) & the HE-5XX ($220).
The first thing I'd say is to not compare your XM3's with any of these headphones. Two completely different animals for completely different purposes.
If your budget is really tight, I'd say get the HE-X4 as an introduction to planar headphones. If you're looking to make just one purchase & call it a day, I'd probably lean toward the Dekoni Blue due it's better bass performance.
If you can spend more, I'd urge you to look at the Hifiman Sundara or Deva Pro. Both will offer better performance than any of the aforementioned & in the case of the Deva Pro, you'll still maintain Bluetooth capability.
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