The word audiophile means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. There’s also a stigma attached, and I won’t lie to ya: many audio aficionados can be a little snooty when it comes to gear. I’m not one of them.
To me, audiophile means you love music and want it to sound great, and if you like the way things sound with the gear you love, you’re one of us. You don’t have to spend $5,000 or more on headphones or an amplifier unless you want to.
Prime Day has always been a great time to get started without selling a kidney or mortgaging your house, and this year is no different. These awesome Sennheiser open-back headphones are on sale for $99.95 at Amazon, which is a whopping 58% off the regular retail price!
✅Recommended if: You need a pair of good open-back cans or want to get started building a headphone collection without breaking the bank.
❌Skip this deal if: You’re happy with the way your Bluetooth headphones sound or have no interest in a dangling wire tying you to your music player.
I have a pair of these and love them. You can find headphones that offer a better sound, but you’re going to pay a lot of money for a relatively small gain in quality. In fact, these rank as one of my favorites, along with “budget” picks from Sony and Hifiman. They sound a lot better than their price tag would indicate.
The perfect pair of headphones doesn’t exist, but if it did, they would inflect nothing of their own into your music; reproducing it exactly as it comes from the source. With a THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) of less than 0.1% these come really close. Close enough that you probably wouldn’t notice it at all.
Open-back headphones offer a unique experience, but come with drawbacks. If you are the type who carries around a portable headphone amp for your phone, don’t use these while out and about unless you want everyone to “enjoy” whatever you’re listening to. Outside of that, open-back cans offer a wonderful sound stage and almost sound like you’re listening at a concert instead of a chair.
Big over-ear headphones with wires aren’t for everyone, and I get it. You should use whatever you love when you want to enjoy your music. If you really like what you hear from a good set of wireless earbuds, save your $100 and put it towards the next Galaxy Buds Pro model.
If you want to try something different, know you want something better, or are just curious, you’ll be hard pressed to find a cheaper way to get started down the wonderfully frustrating and expensive path of the audiophile.
