I have decided to share a small unfinished sample of something I have been working on while sick.

I want to give a big shout out to another reviewer, Crinacle. His ranking list was the inspiration for mine. His neutral target is very close to mine, so for the sake of trying to use and create some form of a standard moving forward, I will be using his neutral targets as my standard for reviews.

I have picked a small selection of headphones to show off what the rating system may look like.

Nothing here is final, but this is an early version of my grading system and kind of how it will work in the future. I may expand it and make it more in-depth but I may not. Take nothing here as fact yet. The difference between many of these are also greater than I can show in a grading form which is why I will also show a small preview of how my list of recommended headphones may look.

Please don't compare Open back grades with closed-back grades for now.

Open-back headphones	Frequency Response	Technical Detail	Soundstage	Imaging
Sennheiser HD559/HD518	D+	D+	B+	D
Sennheiser PC37x	B+	C-	B-	C+
Sennheiser PC38x	A+	C+	B	B+
EPOS GSP500	B+	C-	C+	C+
Sennheiser HD579/HD558	B-	C-	B-	C+
Sennheiser HD599/HD598	B	C	B-	C+
Sennheiser HD650	A	B	D	B-
Sennheiser HD600	A+	B+	D	B-
Sennheiser HD660s	A-	B+	D+	B
Sennheiser HD800s	B+	S	S	A+
Hifiman HE4xx	B+	B-	B-	C+
Hifiman Deva	A-	C+	B+	C
Hifiman HE5xx	A-	C+	B+	C
Beyerdynamic DT880 600ohm	A-	B	B	B+
Beyerdynamic DT880	B+	C+	B	B
Beyerdynamic DT990	C+	C+	B+	B-
Beyerdynamic TYGR 300R	B	C+	B+	B-
Beyerdynamic DT1990	B- B+	B	B+	B-
AKG K612	A+	B-	A-	B-
AKG K702	B+	B-	A	B-
AKG K712	C+	B-	A+	C+
Koss KSC75	C	C-	C	C
Phillips SHP9500	C+	C-	C	C+
Phillips SHP9600	B-	C-	C+	C
Phillips X2HR	C+	C-	B-	D+
Phillips X3	C-	C-	C+	C-

Closed-back headphones	Frequency Response	Technical Detail
AKG K371	A-	B-
AKG K361	A	C+
Shure SRH440	A+	C
Takstar Pro 82	B-	C+
MH751	B	C+
Shade	B	C++
Audeze Mobius/HyperX Orbit	B+	B-
Audio Technica ATH-M40x	B-	C
Audio Technica ATH-M50x	C-	C-
Beyerdynamic DT770	C	C+
Meze 99	C-	B

​

Sennheiser HD6XX/HD650

• MSRP - $220USD (HD6XX)
• Reccomended Price - $200USD
• Max you should Pay - $220USD
• Frequency Response = A
• Technical Detail = B
• Soundstage = D (3 Blob-shaped)
• Imaging = B-

Pros:

• Top tier resolution and detail for the price.
• Unmatched timbre for the price.
• Unmatched scaling.
• King of vocal intimacy
• Does everything except staging very well at its price.

Cons:

• Very narrow soundstage
• 3 blob-shaped soundstage
• Slightly rolled off bass
• A tad warm and a slightly dark (but very smooth)
• High Clamp

AKG K612

• MSRP - $260USD
• Recommended Price - $200USD
• Max you should Pay - $220USD
• Frequency Response = A+
• Technical Detail = B-
• Soundstage = A-
• Imaging = B-

Pros:

• Nearly perfectly Neutral.
• Overall great detail for the price.
• Great staging.

Cons:

• Not great dynamics
• Very average speed and imaging
• Fixed Cable