If you take sound quality seriously, check out the best high-fidelity headphones and earphones we’ve reviewed. You might be in for some sticker shock, but there are a few budget-friendly pairs here that prove you don’t have to spend a fortune to elevate your listening experience.
Audiophile. Just using the word makes some of us cringe—or think of someone who makes us cringe. It just implies an air of exclusivity or snobbery, when what it’s meant to imply is someone who takes high-fidelity audio seriously. You don’t have to be the stereotypical sound snob in order to enjoy good audio, and if you’re looking for quality headphones, what’s wrong with understanding what makes them sound good? Let’s start with the acknowledgment that the world of high-fidelity audio gear knows no limits, and you can easily cobble together a list of the best headphones available for $5,000 and up (search term: electrostatic headphones). We’re not going there. Instead, we’re looking at the most audiophile-friendly headphones and earphones we’ve reviewed here at PCMag, where most of the $5,000 price tags we see are on high-end gaming PCs. We’ve done our best to accommodate tight budgets, as well as throw in some of the top-shelf pairs if you’re looking to splurge. Ultimately, the headphones you choose will come down to personal taste—there is no empirical ‘best headphone pair,’ thank goodness, so there are multiple styles to check out. Let’s take a look at the various concepts to consider if you’re interested in buying headphones—or earphones—that prioritize accuracy over, say, mega bass or gym-friendliness. What Is Flat Response? Many people associate audiophile-level sound quality with a flat response. Flat response-style headphones are equipped with sound signatures that don’t dramatically boost or cut various sub-ranges within the frequency range. This isn’t a negative by any means; flat response means accuracy, which is what most audiophiles are after. Of course, the term is quixotic—if it were actually possible to achieve perfect flat response, we wouldn’t have so many competing headphones and earphones claiming to offer it, while sounding slightly (or sometimes, dramatically) different from each other. Think of flat response as the ideal, from which nearly every pair of headphones is going to deviate from. To some, truly flat response can sound clinical. And there’s the modern dilemma that faces some mix engineers: Do you mix for flat response-style speakers, or for speakers that have more bass depth (which are much more common among consumers)? It’s always been standard for engineers to do the bulk of their work on high-quality flat response monitors, and then check their mixes on more affordable speakers and headphones.
