The 7 Best Headphones Under $1000: 2024 Audiophile Picks
The Best Audiophile Headphones for Everyday Listening
From closed-backs to planar magnetic, wireless, and more, the collection of headphones we carry here at Moon Audio is vast. No matter your listening style, favorite genre, or budget, we've got the perfect pair of headphones for you and to help you in your buying journey, we've rounded up the list of top-selling headphones for 2024. These are the best-selling audiophile-grade headphones under $1000.
Headphones Under $1000
Meze Audio 109 Pro Headphones
Lots of Energy & Warmth
Premium Meze Styling
At $799 the Meze Audio 109 Pro delivers an impressive quality at this price point. The craftsmanship of the 109 Pro, like all Meze headphones, is premium with a design that's similar to the 99 Classics. Meze is renowned for making some of the best headphones on the market and the 109 Pro is another meticulously crafted high-quality headphone by them. It's got a double headband frame with a self-adjusting headband and wooden ear cups. The ear pads have a soft felt finish and are thick to accommodate the large ear cup size of the 109 Pro.
The 109 Pro inherits Meze's amazingly wide soundstage and retains a lot of energy that creates a very organic sound. It uses specially-tuned dynamic drivers that deliver a lot of high-end clarity like the Elite and the warmer tone of the Empyrean at the same time. It has an immediate bass response — Tight, punchy, and not bloated whatsoever. Dynamic drivers deliver great bass and that combined with an open-back design gives you a very impactful and dynamic sound. The midrange is balanced and the high frequencies are crisp and clear. The 109 Pro is great for rock, blues, jazz, and alternative in particular.
We recommend pairing the 109 Pro with our Black Dragon Headphone Cable to smooth over any sibilance in the upper frequencies.
Dan Clark AEON 2 Closed Portable Headphones & AEON Noire Closed Portable Headphones
Smooth, Neutral-Warm Sound
Supremely Comfortable
Priced at $899.99, the AEON 2 Closed-Back Headphones from Dan Clark Audio incorporate all the elements of a truly great audiophile headphone: Great sound, design, and form factor, plus excellent comfort. With any pair of high-end headphones portability matters and the AEON 2 delivers on its promise to be a portable option for listeners. It folds into a nice compact design that's perfect for travel, especially with the included hard case.
The AEON 2 will deliver you a sound that's on the warm side of neutral. You'll get a present midrange, relaxed treble, and a tight, punchy, and impactful bass. Experience your favorite vocalists singing right in front of you with a soundstage that is intimate, up close, and personal. It can handle a number of genres, from the energy in Rock and Alternative to the smoothness of Jazz and Classical.
Our Silver Dragon headphone cable is a great match for warm-leaning headphones like the AEON 2 Closed, as it will pull out some of the obscured middle and high frequencies while adding some top-end resolution.
The AEON 2 Noire Closed-Back Headphones from Dan Clark are very similar to the AEON 2 Closed, just in a stylish black finish with slightly different tuning. At $899.99, the AEON 2 Noire has a richer bass, airier midrange, and a more lively top-end than the AEON 2 Closed. You'll still get the same great form factor, portability, and comfort. It's a great choice if you like a high-energy, slightly deeper sound and gravitate toward genres like Pop, R&B, and Electronica. We recommend pairing it with our Silver Dragon Premium Headphone Cable if you want a little more detail retrieval and resolution.
Focal Bathys Wireless Headphones
Best Sound Quality in a Wireless Headphone Under $1k
Great ANC Performance
Next up, a treat for our wireless listeners is the Focal Bathys Wireless Headphones. Don't let the wire-free status of these cans fool you, they're nothing short of exceptional. At $699, they've got arguably the best sound quality in a wireless headphone under $1000. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.1 with AptX and AptX Adaptive codecs, over 30 hours of battery life, and effective active noise cancellation, it's pretty on par with our other offerings. What makes the Bathys stand out however is the USB-DAC mode which can offer up to 24-bit, 192 resolution thanks to the integrated DAC and amplifier.
It's also the sound quality that sets it apart. Great soundstage for a closed-back headphone, the bass response is tight and thumpy, and the mids and highs are clear and detailed. It's got that great Focal audiophile sound, just in a portable and wireless package with noise canceling. Understandably it leans toward a more audiophile-friendly sound, and it sounds great with Classical, Jazz, R&B, Folk, and more. Personally, I love it with Hip-Hop, Pop, and Electronica–but that's because I love the Bathys' bass response.
Excellent sound. Excellent Noise cancellation. It’s not hard to recommend these as our top pick for a pair of wireless headphones. For the Focal Bathys, we recommend pairing it with the Silver Dragon Portable Headphone Cable for enhancing detail and widening the soundstage. For USB DAC Mode, we recommend our Silver Dragon USB Cable for the ultimate performance in digital transmission from your music source.
Grado RS1x Headphones
Grado Signature Sound
Unique, Wooden Housing
The Grado RS1X is a trifecta of sweet looking woods. They combine Maple, Hemp, and Cocobolo into an amazing-looking ear cup, and along with the RS2X of the Reference Series, provide some nice warm tones for your music too. The RS1X uses the newer X series driver, which is a larger 50mm driver that’s tuned specifically for the tri-wood RS1X. It’s great for a lot of genres, specifically rock and folk, and the tone is even good for heavier music like metal and grunge. The wood adds a nice body to the mids that help guitars sound chunky and rich. Like the rest of the X series revamps, you’ll get some new sturdier cables and headband padding, and those changes alone go a long way to enhancing the comfort of a great-sounding headphone. We’ll have more Grado’s coming up, but the RS1X is the top of the Reference Series line by Grado. And yes, it sounds just as good as it looks.
Audeze LCD-2 Open Headphones
Warm, Rich Tonality
Signature Audeze Styling
The Audeze LCD-2 Open-Back Headphones are the original and game-changing product that propelled Audeze into a world of rave reviews from audiophiles and review magazines alike. The beautifully hand-crafted LCD-2 delivers audiophile quality, low-distortion sound that beautifully articulates the power and nuance of your favorite music. The Audeze LCD-2 transducers are the most forgiving of the LCD Collection, with an exclusive magnetic structure providing completely uniform magnetic flux distribution across the diaphragm. The full sonic potential of the LCD-2 is revealed when driven by an external headphone amplifier or integrated amp. Impedance is 70 ohms. Every component of the LCD-2 is precision engineered with one goal in mind: Recreate the sound exactly like the artist intended.
We recommend pairing the Audeze LCD-2 open-back headphones with the Silver Dragon Premium Cable for Audeze Headphones. The Silver Dragon will give a big boost in instrument separation and detail. You'll get added clarity with some top-end sizzle. It's a wonderful match for the warmer and bottom-heavy LCD-2 and LCD-3.
HiFiMan Arya Stealth Magnets Headphones
More efficient than original Arya
Detailed in a relaxed way
The update to the original Arya, the HiFiMan Arya Stealth Magnets Headphones are detailed and transparent—the perfect combination for classical compositions. The stealth magnet technology essentially allows waves to pass through the magnets without generating interference. The sonics are detailed and transparent, and the dynamics are absolutely stunning. Hifiman’s tech is the real deal when it comes to premium sound quality. The new version is a little more analytical than the original, which was warm-leaning. The Arya Stealth Magnets is a big improvement over the original, so if you like the HifiMan sound, it’s hard to get any better in this price range.
Dragon Cable Recommendation: The Silver Dragon Premium Headphone Cable will add top-end resolution while enhancing detail retrieval.
Priced at $499.95, the Sennheiser HD 660S2 is the update to the HD 660S over-ear headphones. The main difference between the 660S and the update is a better low-end response, with bass that extends down to 8 Hz. Let’s face it; nothing makes the music feel dramatic the way a powerful bass response does. You’re going to feel more emotion from your music. With a crisp bass, excellent mid-frequency response, and a gentle, pleasantly natural treble, the HD 660S2 has an expressiveness that immerses you in every nuance of the music. We enjoy the HD 660S2 with rock, folk, blues, classical, and vocals of all flavors.
The 660S2 has an open and airy sound with great precision, so you will be able to “see” the musicians in their respective spots on the stage. The balanced and natural-warm sound features gentle yet detailed treble, and a to-die-for midrange that makes it fantastic for vocals. The coil in the HD 660S2 was revised to match the legendary HD 600 & 650, resulting in an impedance of 300 ohm: Better electric damping and lower weight with improved detail retrieval. This headphone is lightweight and comfortable, with sumptuous velour ear pads and an ergonomic headband design.
Dragon Cable Recommendation: Silver Dragon Premium Headphone Cable to add some top-end resolution.
Honorable Mentions: IEMs
Meze Audio ALBA Dynamic Driver IEMs
Meze Audio's newest IEM the Alba is perfect for everyday listening in any scenario. The Alba vividly emphasizes every aspect of your favorite songs with a neutral, warm-leaning sound signature. Built with daily listening in mind, the Alba is extremely comfortable with an ergonomic shape that nestles comfortably in your ear and provides excellent noise isolation. As a single dynamic driver IEM, the Alba is easy to use and can be driven by your smartphone using the 3.5mm to USB-C adapter cable. This specially-made adapter features a built-in DAC/Amp combo to ensure an immersive listening experience. The adapter also features an LED indicator that turns on when properly connected. Designed for those who dance to their own beat, for the curious and the free-spirited, the Alba IEM comprises a perfectly accessible and qualitative introduction into the world of elevated audio enjoyment.
Sennheiser IE600 Earphones
The Sennheiser IE 600 is a great option for audiophiles who want an IEM with a small footprint and a natural, detailed sound. The IE 600 is not as neutral or detailed as the flagship IE 900, but it's pretty good on both of those counts. The sound is relatively intimate, as you'd expect with an IEM, but the IE 600 still does a pretty good job with imaging and keeping various instruments and vocals in their respective places. While appropriate for a variety of music styles, the IE 600 works especially well with vocals, acoustic music, folk, blues, and Americana — anything that calls out for a natural yet expressive presentation. I enjoyed it with stringed instruments, and I especially enjoyed it with vocals. Some might prefer a bigger, wider sound for genres like classical or jazz, but the IE 600 is more than up for the task of making your music sound fantastic with a more intimate presentation.
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