Without soundstage effects, music times aren’t that enjoyable. Since you’re here looking for headphones specifically for soundstage, we have the same mindset.
The soundstage gives the illusion that sounds come from multiple angles which is also known as stereo sound. These headphones make you feel like you are listening to music from the speaker rather than from your head. It’s really satisfying for audiophile lovers as well as people who use it for the professional matter.
Let’s see our top best soundstage headphones.
| Image | Product | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
Best Overall  | 10 | Check Latest Price | |
Best Runner Up  | 9 | Check Latest Price | |
Best For Mixing  | 8.5 | Check Latest Price | |
Best Budget  | 8.8 | Check Latest Price | |
Best Comfort  | 8.6 | Check Latest Price |
The Top 5 Best Soundstage Headphones
1. Audeze LCD 2 Classic- Best Overall
The super-premium look is wrapped around huge earcups. Open-back style is accompanied by metal yokes to finish the overall body construction. Intended for audiophiles and soundstage, Audeze LCD 2 Classic over ear headphones are built to last with great durability.
It is handcrafted to provide the best comfort through long hours of use and the headband on the other side doesn’t have leather to cause pressure on your head. The earpads are made of soft memory foam.
The audio quality is unquestionable specifically the bass production will amaze you. The warm tones took their place with 100mm Planar Magnetic drivers and make the Audeze LCD 2 Classic sound more natural and realistic. The trebles are underemphasized, but the mid-accuracy is out of the world. The responses are spread evenly and the vocals together with instruments perform balanced.
The soundstage performance is at absolute power, it feels like the music is coming from the speakers instead of your head. It has a more open soundstage due to the closed-back design, however, it’s not very suitable for outdoors because it leaks the audio outside. The exclusive glass-infused nylon rings are rugged and that highly affects the audio quality.
Audeze LCD 2 uses braided wired connectivity that is really hard to break. Definitely a great pair of over ear headphones.
Technical Specs:
- Headphone Style: Open-back
- Dimensions: 11 x 11 x 7 inches
- Weight: 6.09 pounds
- Driver Size: 100mm Planar Magnetic
- Maximum SPL: 130dB
- Frequency response: 10Hz – 50kHz
- Impedance: 70 ohms
- Connectivity: Wired
Why Should You Buy It?
Excellent Built Quality
Comfortable
Open Sound and Warm Tones.
Great Bass Production
Super Sensitive
2. HIFIMAN Ananda-BT- Best Runner Up
HIFIMAN Ananda-BT is another pair of headphones to appreciate. This time the manufacturer came with an 80% thinner NEO “supernano” Diaphragm. Again the same style of open-back design is a perfect fit for the soundstage. Huge soft earcups and leather headband provide full comfort while wearing it and Window Shade Grill
Design is in charge of sonic reflect reduction.
The portability is a very nice bonus which is something rare in this type of open-back design. It also includes the removable booming microphones and a carrying case inside the box.
HIFIMAN Ananda-BT sound is focused more on balance between the audio and vocals, with a lack of low bass production. The solid sound will be a perfect fit for audiophile lovers. The soundstage performs excellent and because the sounds are three-dimensional makes it possible to feel the music from multiple directions. The treble accuracy is balanced which is why the sounds come more present and detailed.
HIFIMAN Ananda-BT features integrated high-performance amplification for HD Bluetooth codecs up to 24bit/96khz.
The wired and wireless connectivity via Bluetooth will give you a good 10 hours of playtime in just 2.7 hours of charge.
Technical Specs:
- Headphone Style: Open-back
- Dimensions: 10.87 x 9.76 x 7.17 inches
- Weight: 1.01 pounds
- Driver Size: Not Specified by Manufacturer
- Maximum SPL: 103dB
- Frequency response: 8Hz-55KHz
- Impedance: 35 ohms
- Connectivity: wired and Bluetooth (10h of playtime)
Why Should You Buy It?
Ergonomic Design
Wide Frequency Range
Detachable Microphone
High-performance Amp for HD Bluetooth Codecs up to 24bit/96khz.
Nice Balance between Vocals and Instruments
3. Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro- Best For Mixing
It wouldn’t be fair if Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro was left out of the list. It comes in gray and black color. I would say pick black color if you don’t want to deal much with a cleaning part.
This pair of headphones is made for audiophiles, professional mixing, and editing which basically addresses the extreme category of music lovers or those people who make music for a living.
The durability is at a high level without a doubt. A single-sided wire thankfully doesn’t tangle, and extremely soft earcups are made of velour to make sure you are comfortable while wearing them. The steel headband secures the fit in the open-back design.
With the 250 ohms impedance, I will leave the quality of sound to your imagination. Impedance determines how much can a headphone resist the electrical current.
I love how gently the bass response hits, it’s not too heavy and it’s not too unnoticeable either the perfect amount. The mid-tones and vocals put more emphasis doesn’t matter what genre you listen to. The cymbal hits and hi-hats are super clear, especially in the Alternative and Indie music genre. Lastly, the trebles show great power with no sharp sounding and the tonal depth provides an excellent acoustic source while mixing.
Technical Specs:
- Headphone Style: Open-back
- Dimensions: 8.7 x 4.7 x 9.1 inches
- Weight: 8.8 ounces
- Driver Size: 45mm
- Maximum SPL: 93.42 dB
- Frequency response: 5 – 35.000 Hz
- Impedance: 250 ohms
- Connectivity: Wired
Why Should You Buy It?
Comfortable
Wide Frequency Range
Excellent for Mixing, Editing and Mastering
Ultra High Impedance at 250 ohms
Very-well Balanced & Detailed Sound
4. Audio-Technica ATH-AD700X- Best Budget
Who says you can’t get a nice, professional headphone from a reliable brand at a budget price? Clearly, not Audio-Technica ATH-AD700X. The open-back design is big earcups and fully covered in a metal grill. The soft padded ear cups provide great comfort for your ears. The headband design is a little bit unique in comparison but looks nice with its adjustable leather headband design. The best part is ear cups being breathable at 36.14°F.
However, Audio-Technica ATH-AD700X isn’t very stable in design, so no physical activity or anything, just use it for professional matters or if you enjoy listening to something more than casual.
As for the sound quality, due to the design, it leaks a lot, but looking at overall quality, you will have more natural and realistic impressive audio production. Audio Technica ATH-AD700X kind of gives you the feeling of a lot of space between you and the music. Imagine a stage like you are listening to your favorite artist live, surprisingly it gives you that vibe. These headphones sound similar to some high-end models.
I would expect the bass response to be punchy and booming, instead, it nicely booms and has rhythmic precision. These budget headphones are definitely something you will love.
Technical Specs:
- Headphone Style: Open-Air
- Dimensions: 11 x 5 x 88 inches
- Weight: 1 pound
- Driver Size: 53 mm
- Maximum Input Power: 700 mW
- Maximum SPL: 100 dB
- Frequency response: 20 – 20, 000 Hz
- Impedance: 45 ohms
- Connectivity: Wired
Why Should You Buy It?
3D Wing Support
Ultra Lightweight
Affordable Price
Natural and Realistic Sound Quality
Spacious Sound and Great Dynamics
5. Audio-Technica ATH-M50X- Best Comfort
Let’s give a praise to Audio-Technica for giving a thought about design. The ATH-M50X besides black comes in gun metal, white, and metallic orange colors.
The comfort is top quality. A 90° swiveling earcups are extremely soft and foldable, so you can carry them anywhere you desire. The professional-level ear pads and headband have a stable fit and can withstand many harsh sudden drops, thanks to the premium built materials.
ATH-M50X is best for everyone, use it whether for mixing, tracking, DJing, or personal listening experience. It isolates the sounds perfectly, so you won’t miss a beat or a rhythm. Audio Technica uses Passive Isolation that performs successfully in this scenario.
The sound quality of ATH-M50X is impressive. The vocals are located on the right side and blend perfectly with instruments, especially acoustic guitar. The low ends scream I’m here and bass quality is on point, but at quiet tones, it isn’t very noticeable. Because the ATH-M50X targets the monitoring purpose or let’s say professional use, the trebles are excessively emphasized.
Still, they are definitely some of the best soundstage headphones out there.
Technical Specs:
- Headphone Style: Closed-back
- Dimensions: 11.4 x 10 x 4.1 inches
- Weight: 10.1 ounces
- Driver Size: 45mm
- Maximum SPL: 98 dB
- Frequency response:
- Impedance: 38 ohms
- Connectivity: Wired
Why Should You Buy It?
90° Rotatable and Foldable in Both Directions
Affordable Price
Extremely Comfortable
Awesome for Mixing, Tracking, DJing, Personal Listening
Spacious and Clear Sounds
Passive Noise Isolation
Important Things to Know About Soundstage Headphones
What is Soundstage?
The soundstage which is also known as speaker image is the composition of pretending or non-existing three-dimensional sounds that come from a stereo speaker. The main objective of the soundstage is to make the audio quality accurate and detailed.
Soundstage in headphones makes the surround sound effect more efficient and enjoyable to the audience. It is mainly for professionals and audiophile lovers.
The headphones mimic the heart of the sound, the left, and the right side to give you the feeling of natural real-life stage joy. The sounds from the headphones create the illusion of music coming out in different directions.
How do the Soundstage Headphones work?
There is no one correct answer to that. Many features and factors have an impact on the quality of headphones. The same headphones may perform differently in various environments. Let’s see what are other factors that have a huge impact on how the soundstage headphones work.
Room Acoustics
For Soundstage headphones, the room acoustics are your ears. The design of the headphones either opened or closed is the number one thing to look for in order to find what is suitable for you.
The surroundings around the headphone or stereo speaker affect how sound is produced and how a soundstage is created. The location of the stringed instruments in the room can be identified by the listener when an instrument is played or when a collection of instruments is joined to create a song. Additionally, it is possible to imagine the incorporated locations of the various instruments. Visualizing where and how these instruments are played can be made easier by the sound that bounces off of walls and other surfaces.
Where an instrument was performed can be firmly decided using ambient cues. It denotes where an instrument is placed. An instrument is regarded as being near to the listener if it is louder than other instruments in the mix or combo.
Gaming
Another factor is that each headphone has its own soundstage and is different. You have decent nice headphones and you have way more sounds where you can hear your enemy’s footsteps from the distance. Hardcore gamers know how important the details are, it’s like the decision between living and dying.
The soundstage headphones make the sounds come from any direction, so you can visualize in your brain where exactly the enemy is moving. The soundstage headphones best perform in FPS type of games. The reason is obvious, isn’t it?
What Type of Headphone Designs Perform Better in Soundstage?
The answer is pretty simple. If the design of the headphones is open-back provides better sound quality which is perfect for audiophiles. The other design is closed-back headphones where it’s doing impressive work by isolating the noises and eliminating the ambient noises, but the downside is sound leakage. Closed-back headphones usually tend to leak the sound outside more and open-back headphones tend to isolate the sounds inside and much less or no sound leaking appears.
So, you decide what is your main point of getting one. Just know that it mostly depends what are the key specifications rather than the design.
A Brief Summary
Soundstage headphones have many purposes, to give you the satisfaction of clear sounds and create that illusion of spatial surround sound.
The design plays an important role (open-back and closed-back). Pick a closed-back design in case you hate sound leaking, but an open-back design is more for professional use and gives more natural and realistic sound quality. Of course, it also depends on the chosen brand and key features.
Soundstage headphones work according to the room acoustics and can be used for different purposes such as mixing, tracking, DJing, or personal listening.
Further Reading
Remember, there are always alternatives that mainly target headphones for mixing and mastering, headphones for HTC Vive. For high impedance, these high impedance headphones will help a lot. Additionally, there are headsets for the quiet voice. You should definitely check them out.
Composer & Audio Engineer
I’m a composer and audio engineer crafting sonic magic. Combining my skills in rhythm, harmony, and sound synthesis to create the ultimate auditory experience.
