Review and Buying Guide
Are you looking for the best open-back headphones under $100 on your budget? In this review, we break down the top 5 best open-back headphones under $100 that are available on the market. Actually, we tried to make the list based on their quality, popularity, price & user opinions.
Top 5 Open-Back Headphones:
The Open-Back Headphones Under $100
Number 05. Audio-Technica ATH-AD500X
[Details About Audio-Technica ATH-AD500X]
Audio-Technica ATH-AD500X. Audio-Technica doesn’t need any introduction. As it’s one of the top brands when it comes to audio-grade equipment, the ATH Series is the most used headphone around the world. For those who like open-back headphones, audio Technica has a full range of ATH AD headphones for them. One of them is the ATH AD500X. In terms of sound quality, the AD500X takes off from where the AD300 left off but manages to take the sound quality several notches higher.
The 53-millimeter drivers reproduce crystal clear audio with just the right amount of bass. You’ll find that the drivers are further away from your ear than with most headphones. This adds to the whole open feel and the sound stage is fairly wide too. From the specifications, you must have noticed that the drivers are larger than what you’d find on most headphones. For the price, the AD500X is the top choice in circumoral headphones for home use.
[Pros & Cons]
- Very light and comfortable fit with large and soft cups and airy adjustable headband
- High fidelity of sound at all ranges for professional use and audiophiles
- Breathable open cups allow to wear them for hours and provide a very spacious soundstage
- Detachable cable is safe to use in case it tangles over something in movement
- No carry case and unfoldable cups to carry and store it safely and in a smaller size
- The music leaks a lot and it does not block any noise from the surroundings for its open type
The Open-Back Headphones Under $100
Number 04. Samson Technologies SR850
[Details About Samson Technologies SR850]
Samson Technologies SR850. We’ve heard many good things about the Samson SR850 headphones. The plethora of positive feedback has made us very curious and we’ve decided to give these budget headphones a good run for their money. The quality of the sound is where Samson SR850 excels compared to the competition in its price range. The headphones immediately surprise you with a wide range of generous soundstages.
The headphones are capable of producing frequency responses from 10-Hertz to 30-kilohertz range which is great for headphones with 50-millimeter drivers. Samson SR850 is an extremely affordable pair of headphones that sit amongst the best budget open-back headphones on the market. Yes visually, they’re pretty plain and borderline boring at the same time, the sound they managed to create will leave some of the mid-range headphones jealous.
[Pros & Cons]
- Very good frequency response consistency.
- Spacious passive soundstage.
- Mediocre build quality.
The Open-Back Headphones Under $100
Number 03. Philips SHP9500
[Details About Philips SHP9500]
Philips SHP9500. Moving on we have the Philips SHP9500, the good thing about this headphone is that it’s extremely lightweight and has a new comfortable double layered headband cushion that isn’t only breathable, but can also be used for longer periods of listening sessions.
Powered by 50 millimeter high super drivers which utilize a neodymium magnet to reproduce all auto dynamics and deliver a well crisp base. Tighter mid and pristine high frequencies that are out of the way another badass feature of the SHP9500 is the way the driver is engineered. The audio channel is directly channeled into the ears. Even if your ears aren’t perfectly in the position. They’re designed to fit the ear’s natural geometry.
[Pros & Cons]
- Comfortable design.
- Good audio reproduction.
- Durable build.
- Big and bulky headphones.
- Open-back design, so they leak a lot.
The Open-Back Headphones Under $100
Number 02. Sennheiser HD 559
[Details About Sennheiser HD 559]
Sennheiser HD 559. No doubt Sennheiser has been one of the leading audio equipment companies. When it comes to making good quality headphones, the Sennheiser HD 559 is an over-ear open-back headphone that is powered by their proprietary Sennheiser 38 millimeter 50-OHM transducers. Sennheiser engineered transducers do not only help in delivering high-quality sound but an extremely low to no distortion.
An eye-catching feature of this headphone is the ear or ergonomic acoustic refinement technology which is built to channel audio directly into your ears for a more in-room-like listening experience. If you’re an avid open-back headphone geek then you know the usefulness of getting an in-room-like experience, and if you don’t know it feels more like a natural sound or a live stage experience, you get the idea. The Sennheiser HD 559 is a sensitivity of 106 decibels per milliwatt of power and an impedance of 50 OHMs which is considered a lower impedance.
[Pros & Cons]
- Great price/performance ratio.
- Good bass and sound stage.
- Forgiving of poor recordings.
- Some mid bass hump that slightly bleeds into mid range.
- Drivers aren’t as fast as better headphones.
The Open-Back Headphones Under $100
Number 01. GRADO SR80e
[Details About GRADO SR80e]
GRADO SR80e. Our top pick of the best open-back headphones under 100 is the Grado SR80e. SR80e is an open ear headphone that is built with a larger ear cushion and four-conductor cable which gives an improved on-stage sound. The GRADO SR80e is designed with a new polymer to damp resonant distortion which not only helps to virtually eliminate transient distortions but also reproduces sound in the upper and lower range of the frequency spectrum.
SR80e has a nominal impedance of 32 OHMs and a sensitivity of 99.8 decibels power which is considered a fairly lower impedance and a good sensitivity range. So, you don’t need to buy an AMP. This would perfectly work fine with low voltage devices such as laptops, audio players, and smartphones.
[Pros & Cons]
- Excellent treble and midrange detail
- Lively sound
- Tight bass
- Not the most relaxed sound
[Buying Guide]
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Sound Quality:
Audio files are not the only ones that should be considered about the sound quality of their headphones. Before commenting on any single pair of wireless headphones, consider audio quality is of paramount importance. These days many wireless headphones are equipped with APTX technology. Put it simply Bluetooth was never meant for high-quality audio transmission which means that audio is compressed making it sound worse.
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Controls and Pairing:
If you're used to wiring headphones then you are probably used to controlling things like volume or play and pause with the physical buttons along the wire. Wireless headphones however it can be very different. Many wireless headphones have controls on the earpiece themselves. Some of them are protruding but most modern ones have touch controls instead. A limited number can also be controlled by voice or by external apps. The control method and style are far more important than you might think. Menu manufacturers opt. for style rather than functionality, and it all depends on your needs.
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Frequency Response:
This is a spec that tells you the range of sound that the product is capable of producing measured in hertz. If you look on the box of any audio product this number is usually around 20 to 20,000-Hertz. With the first number representing the lowest frequency and the second representing the highest. This number varies depending on the product, but for reference, humans can only hear between 20 and 20,000-Hertz which is why that's a range most products aim for.
[Conclusion]
So, that was all about the top 5 open-back headphones under $100 just for you. Which one do you want to buy? We would love to hear from you. Please let us know and as always. Thanks for reading the article. Comment, and share with your friends if you found this article helpful.
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