We’re back with another episode of our series “Andertons Scoreboard”. This time around the Andertons team rated their favourite pairs of cans in the price range £70-100, a mid-level budget for producers and musicians who really want reliable closed-back headphones for their mixes.
Our team tried different brands and types of closed-back headphones, ranging from AKG to Audio Technica to Shure, to give you as many options as possible. We rated them based on comfort, sound quality and build to give you an insight into the overall performance.
Check out the rest of our headphone ratings here:
Roland RH200
Roland‘s RH-200 Headphones deliver the power, comfort and accuracy needed for a variety of personal monitoring needs. With 40mm drivers, neodymium magnets and CCAW (copper-clad aluminum wire) voice coils, these professional headphones offer the clarity and sonic accuracy needed for mixing and silent practice. The RH-200 includes a gold-plated 1/8-inch stereo connector with 1/4-inch adapter, plus a high-quality cable with built-in strain relief.
Rating:
- Comfort – Our staff ranked how comfortable they found these on their heads. – 3.6/5
- Sound quality – Our staff rated how they thought these headphones sounded with this price point of £70-£100 – 3.7/5
- Build quality – Our staff compared how well the build quality and durability of each headphone was. 3.3/5
Final score: 3.5/5
Roland RH-A7
The Roland RH-A7 headphones are the perfect companions to a Roland digital piano. They’re comfortable and light with a secure fit, so you can wear them for extended periods of play. The open-air construction lets you have a conversation without having to remove headphones. Most importantly, RH-A7 headphones provide high-quality sound that lets you experience the complete, dynamic range of modern digital pianos. From delicate pianissimo to forceful fortissimo, these headphones handle every nuance and detail of your performance.
Rating:
- Comfort – 3.8/5
- Sound quality – 4.0/5
- Build quality – 3.2/5
Final score: 3.7/5
Audio-Technica ATH-M40X
The Audio Technica ATH-M40x professional monitor closed-back headphones are tuned for highly detailed audio. Featuring a strong mid-range definition, these versatile monitoring headphones are ideal in a variety of situations. Designed primarily for studio tracking and mixing, they offer added features for increased portability, making them a great choice for field recording.
Rating:
- Comfort – 4.0/5
- Sound quality – 4.0/5
- Build quality – 3.9/5
Final score: 4.0/5
Sennheiser HD280 Pro
The Sennheiser HD280 Pro Headphones are designed for professional monitoring and critical listening applications. The HD280 pro’s feature a closed-back over-ear design so that you get a comfortable fit over your ears with great isolation from the outside world and also minimal sound spillage when you’ve got them on. As a result, they’re great for tracking, because the headphones won’t bleed into your mic.
They’re less bulky than some of the professional monitoring cans out there whilst still being robust and flexible for a comfortable fit. What’s more, the headphones are collapsable so are great for travelling. The aforementioned fantastic isolation is really useful when you’re out and about.
Rating:
- Comfort – 4.1/5
- Sound quality – 3.7/5
- Build quality – 4.1/5
Final score: 4.0/5
Austrian Audio Hi-X15
The Hi-X15 are your faithful companion when you need a reliable sound source. Thanks to their closed-back construction that isolates external noise and comfortable foam pads make them suitable for countless situations. In-studio or on stage, on the train or at home. Their sleek foldable construction makes them easy to carry with you and their durable all-metal hinge and bow mean they’re extremely rugged.
In terms of sound quality, you can enjoy all the power and clarity of the Hi-X series drivers. The 44mm Hi-X driver, with its vivid transients and distortion-free reproduction down to the lowest frequency, works to deliver a true-to-life listening experience.
The Hi-X15 have a 25 Ohm impedance, which means they achieve optimal results both with high-end and low-powered outputs, such as your laptop or mobile phone.
- Comfort – 4.9/5
- Sound quality – 3.8/5
- Build quality – 4.5/5
Final score: 4.4/5
AKG K271
The K 271 Studio, while providing the same performance as the K 270 Studio, is much lighter and easier to use, and still provides a natural, pristine sound.
The closed-back, circumaural earphones provide maximum attenuation of high ambient noise. The K 271 Studio are also ideal for all applications where no sound must leak from the headphones. The headphones switch off automatically when taken off. Since this feature prevents headphone signals from spilling over into an open microphone it is highly appreciated by recording studio, live sound, TV sound, and broadcast engineers.
- Comfort – 3.4/5
- Sound quality – 3.4/5
- Build quality – 3.7/5
Final Score: 3.5/5
Vox VGH AC30 Guitar Amp Headphones
Sometimes silent practice is the only way to play! And what better option is there to get a great portable sound than through the Vox VGH amp headphones. Plug the VGH into your guitar and you’ve got an instant electric guitar tone. Designed in collaboration with respected headphone experts Audio-Technica, ensuring top class build quality and sound.
Practice just isn’t the same when you’re unplugged – you don’t get a true feel for what you’d hear when playing through a guitar amp. The amPhones are the best way to recreate true amp tone all thanks to new Valve Reactor tech also featured in Vox amps. The AC30 VGH deliver on classic Vox character and include three chorus, reverb and delay effects to explore.
- Comfort – 3.8/5
- Sound quality – 4.1/5
- Build quality – 4.3/5
Final Score: 4.1/5
Responses & Questions