Best Open-Back Headphones Under $300

If you are in the market for a new pair of headphones, and you are unfamiliar with the advantages of open-back headphone design, there is no time like present to learn what open-back headphones are, how they work, and to examine a handful of the world's best open-back headphones under $300.

More than likely, most headphones you have encountered before have been of the more traditional, closed-back construction, where the entire ear cup is built from a solid material, such as plastic or metal, which keeps sound from leaking out.

While this design is convenient, particularly if you are planning on using your headphones in public places (like on an airplane, or in the office), unfortunately, the tradeoff is that the music you listen to will often sound muddied, with all of the instruments overlapping each other in aurally unpleasant ways. Liken it to listening to your stereo system from within a closet with the door closed.

What Benefits Do Open-Back Headphones Provide?

If closed-back headphones are like listening to a stereo in a closet, then open-back headphones are like listening to a live outdoor concert, where you can truly hear the different instruments entering your ear from distinct directions and locations, the way they were intended to be heard.

You can describe this sensation of being able to differentiate and separate instruments as "soundstage," and, by and large, open-back headphones have a much larger soundstage than closed-back headphones.

That Soundstage

Open-back headphones achieve this larger soundstage simply by using an ear cup material which allows sound waves to escape. This is often achieved through the use of a metal mesh grate covering the ear cup, as opposed to a solid piece of material.

$300 over budget?

We understand if $300 is perhaps more than you would like to spend on a single pair of headphones.
Rest assured that more affordable open-back headphones exist.

Drumroll...

10. Fostex TR-70 Dynamic Headphones

Driver: 40mm, Dynamic

Impedance: Comes in both 80 ohm and 250 ohm versions

Frequency Response: 5Hz - 35kHz

Weight: 298g (80 ohm) / 304g (250 ohm)

9. SoundMAGIC HP200 Headphones

Driver: 53mm, Dynamic

Impedance: 32 ohm

Frequency Response: 10Hz - 30kHz

Weight: 288g

8. Beyerdynamic DT 990 Premium Headphones

Driver: 45mm, Dynamic

Impedance: Comes in 32 ohm, 250 ohm, and 600 ohm versions

Frequency Response: 5Hz - 35kHz

Weight: 290g

7. Audio Technica ATH-AD900X Headphones

Driver: 53mm, Dynamic

Impedance: 38 ohm

Frequency Response: 5Hz - 30kHz

Weight: 264g

6. Grado Prestige Series SR325e Headphones

Driver: Dynamic

Impedance: 32 ohm

Frequency Response: 18Hz - 24kHz

Weight: 357g

5. AKG Q 701 Quincy Jones Signature Headphones

Driver: 45mm, Dynamic

Impedance: 62 ohm

Frequency Response: 10Hz - 39.8kHz

Weight: 235g

4. Philips X2/27 Fidelio Headphones

Driver: 50mm, Dynamic

Impedance: 30 ohm

Frequency Response: 5Hz - 40kHz

Weight: 380g

3. Shure SRH1440 Professional Headphones

Driver: 40mm, Dynamic

Impedance: 37 ohms

Frequency Response: 15Hz - 27kHz

Weight: 345g

2. HIFIMAN HE-400i Planar Magnetic Headphones

Driver: Planar Magnetic

Impedance: 35 ohm

Frequency Response: 20Hz - 35kHz

Weight: 370g

1. Sennheiser HD 600 Professional Headphones

Driver: Dynamic

Impedance: 300 ohm

Frequency Response: 12Hz - 39kHz

Weight: 260g

Those are 10 of the best open-back headphones under $300 currently on the market from top headphone brands.

We hope you enjoy the large soundstage and outdoor concert-like headphones experience.

Happy listening!