Classical music, also famously known as art music, is a very general concept involving the standard music of western countries of the world. It is the creation of musicians trained in the art of writing down music. It involves written musical notations so that other musicians are able to play it. It is also not to be confused with folk music, which is more of a generational practice, where future generations learn the art form by listening and seeing the ways of elders. Classical music is also different from pop and rock genres in the sense that, this is an art designed for ages, and not for an annual hit or a seasonal number, as is the case with the majority of rock and pop numbers.

The 18th century, which saw musicians, writers, artists, and philosophers taking cues from the classical art forms of the great Ancient Greece and Rome periods, is traditionally known as the Classical period. Classic word along with any other word representing a thing indicates the thing is relevant for ages, the same goes for classical music, it means that the music is for generations to love and learn from!

With the music now explained, and without wasting any further time, let’s straight jump to help you find your optimal match of headphones.  To experience true music, you need good headphones. That feeling of your favorite song playing, while the noises of the world slowly fade away, is divine. 

Also, there are a plethora of headphone technologies present right now, we have in-ear, on-ear, over-ear pairs of headphones, then we can find Bluetooth, noise-canceling, NFC play, etc. like features and vantages, that one should know about. Also, your own budget, your own convenience, your own usage environment should be the main factors in your choice of headphones. These could be used  for on-the-go purposes, or for a studio setup where it is plausible to deal with and connect to more sophisticated devices, which can provide better enhancement to the voice systems. There is so much more to know, and we’ll try to cover in this article most of it like the open back headphones which leak sound to the surroundings, or the closed back which keep your listening choices limited to you. There is also a choice between wireless and wired headphones.  Another thing while selecting headphones should be which genre you like or are interested in. The headphones can be used for various purposes such as calling, gaming or listening to your favourite playlist for hours. 

Classical music requires headphones with a good sense of rhythm and pacing, so even if the headphone is not laced with any of that fancy beat system or an all-around EDM friendly interface, the headphones may be worth looking at for enjoying classical music with all its beauty.

Our top picks for headphones in this genre:

Here are all the headphones we have selected for you. Time to dive deeper.

• AKG K702

Things working for:

• Patented Varimotion 2-layer diaphragm for enhancing actual frequency range
• Flat- wire voice coil
• Neutral tonality
• Lightweight and comfy with a soft leather headband
• Sense of timing best in the business!

Some things against:

• No voice-canceling
• No aptX support

 buy here

AKG is known for its exceptional build quality and the products come with the tag of a quality brand assurance. The headphones range they provide, cater to so many users, from different fields, different needs, different walks of life. 

The AKG k702 comes with a beautiful leather headband, which is rather soft and lightweight. The headphones also boast ear cups made of velour, a material very soft and gentle on the ear skin. The cups are really spacious, and thus ventilation after hours of music sessions isn’t actually an issue.

Coming to the sound quality, while the lows are sent a bit faded in the bg, the highs and mids are gloriously accurate and the user will get an immersing experience. Also, what becomes even more pronounced with time is the bass.

As the headphones aren’t really known for their voice isolation and voice canceling features, the headphones may seem a little less relevant in noisy places and outdoors. This is in spite of the fact that the open-back design improves the staging of the sound quality.

 

    2. Sennheiser HD 600

Things working for –

• Brilliantly accurate frequency response
• Active noise canceling
• Replaceable components (some)
• Over-ear, oval shape
• Exceptional build quality and lightweight
• Amazing cinematic spatial audio

Some of the things against:

• Muddiness, created by bass amplification
• sound stage: limited

        buy here

The second open-back pair of headphones we have on our list today is the Sennheiser HD 600, this particular set comes with an unmatched level of accuracy and an unbelievably neutral audio range for the palate. This is all thanks to the Neodymium drivers, the headphones get in their manufacturing stage. The bass quality comes next, where the headphones play subtle for the most part, barring the time when the bass boosting for mid and high riffs gets muddy.

With the only fault mentioned above, the road ahead for the headphones is all gay. The lows on this thing are really accurate and don’t even fade away like in some of the other devices listed here.  The device otherwise is very well calibrated for all the ranges, especially the highs.

Sennheiser can be trusted for its brand image and the name it has earned in the market. The absolutely powerful beats and the soothing vocals can’t easily be forgotten. Moreover, in this particular model, some of the parts are replaceable making it easier in case of impact breakage and/ or malfunctioning. The form factor in the entire model (lower side), in contact with the body, is soft and really lightweight. Thus, easy on the head. The detailing on this pair is quite amusing and will send a melomaniac in a dizzy hearing all the missed tunes in classics.

3. Audio-Technica ATH- AD700X

      Things working for:

• Over-ear, wired headphones
• Pocket- friendly, affordable
• Large drivers
• All-round natural sound quality
• Extremely comfortable with self-adjusting headband

 Things against it:

• Lacks bass quality
• The form factor is bulky

                                           buy here

These particular headphones are best known for user-friendliness when it comes to headband adjustment. The unique self-adjustment of the headphones is a gem of work on the part of Audio Technica.

The pair has almost all the features of higher-end headphones, but the team at Audio Technica has done a tremendous job to cram all the features into this one at such an affordable price! The headphones have an open back design with sufficient breathability and comfort provided. The pair is great with keeping neutral when it comes to dealing with tones. Though the headphones do not have noise isolation or canceling, the bass boosting makes the device okayish to carry around in noisy places. 

The drivers are almost foolishly large at 53mm and deliver more than clear treble. The midrange is delivered at 38 ohms of impedance. 

The headphones are really stylish on the outside with large round buds with metal mesh on the outside. They are really bulky and good to use for home and office purposes only, also considering the voice canceling levels on this one! In the box, is a 3.5mm to 3.5mm wire and a 6.3 mm adapter, making it possible to connect various other instruments. 

So, concluding the pair delivers a beautiful loud, crisp, and clear sound discredited only by the lack of good bass quality. The pricing makes it a great option and contender for your consideration.

4. Beyerdynamic Amiron

Things working for:

• Over-ear, wired headphones
• The best bass details
• nice treble handling
• organized natural sound 
• Extremely snug fit.

 Things against it:

• Wireless is a top option in this day and age
• No noise isolation

   buy here

These beautiful ear cups made of Alcantra microfibers (fiber with a texture pretty similar to suede material) and velour are the first things on our discussion list. They do have a real bulky look, the headphones, but the snug fit is so comfortable that you wouldn’t be able to tell them from a headband! Obviously, Beyer has done an amazing job on these and without doubt, these can be worn for long periods of time.

After comfort, we come to the sound quality on these, which are second to none. There is not much fading of the lows and the mids really shine.

They’re open-ended, and therefore there is no such thing as privacy with them. They leak and sound like a sieve. But the mere throw of the soundstage is enough for you to consider these headphones.

 

5. Philips SHP9500

Things working for:

• Over-ear, wired headphones
• average Noise-canceling
• Extremely affordable
• Breathable ear cups
• Extremely comfortable snug fit from cushion

Things against it:

• Build quality, not up to the mark
• High volume tampers audio quality
• Bass quality not good

                                buy here

A decent pair of headphones, at a price more decent than the headphones, the Philips SHP9500 is an absolute classic for classical music lovers, to savor the genre without denting your wallet. Though the build quality did take a hit for the pricing, the metal is still ample in the headphones, so that the pair can be used in everyday life efficiently. 

The cushioning is amazingly comfortable with a double-layered headband cut down for around the head. The ear cups are breathable and facilitate the wearing of headphones in hotter, irritable places. The cables are another asset with a length of a whopping 1.5m cable, which enables you to move more freely while they are on you. 

The pricing is the main advantage of these headphones, as, at a price of merely half the mainstream headphone’s prices, it is offering almost all the features one could think of. 

The bass quality takes a hit, with a voice quality depreciation when played at higher volumes.

So, in all the headphones can make you enjoy decent quality classical music for a price much less than that of its competitors. Sure, there are some problems, but it is at their cost only that the pair has been made so affordable.

Further deliberation on the headphone market and customers: 

Now that you know about the top 5 headphones for classical music, as much as we do. While buying a new pair of headphones, there are a lot of things to consider. Firstly, there is this list of choices we provided you with earlier in the article. You should and must get through each of the choices carefully in the list and opt for the ones which suit you. Then you need to look within your purse and prepare a budget for the buy! The third step is to dive nose deep into the list we have provided, and search for the best option. 

So, what are you waiting for, get going with your new gadget purchase, and we assure you won’t regret getting anything from this list.

About our review process: we have a rigorous and meticulous reviewing process.

For our review process, we take all the necessary inputs from the market and assess things from there on, if needed, we use the headphones ourselves for a time period of 2 weeks and for really long durations at a time. Thus, leaving no stone unturned to get the best to you!

Below are explained the drivers used in the listing above:

There are majorly 3 types of drivers, dynamic, electrostatic, and planar.

• Dynamic Drivers: these are the most common in headsets in today’s day and age. They feature magnets, which further have a voice coil, this coil, when attached to the diaphragm, responds to the air movement and creates the sound. These are also the most affordable ones of the 3 driver types.

• Planar Magnetic Drivers: Planar magnetic drivers are really heavy. This is because they feature an even twin magnet diaphragm. The drivers are exorbitantly priced, due to the twin magnets only. The 2 magnets actually make up for the non-existent distortion, which is the main feature of these headphones. These are actually not quite suitable for classical music, owing to their weight and price.

• Electrostatic Drivers: these are really heavily priced, and majorly used in high-end devices, i.e, not even in some of the professional studios. The headphones use very thin stationary diaphragms. These diaphragms rotate when they receive audio signals. The main performance or you can say the main advantage of these headphones comes to light only when plugged in with amplifiers.

Some of the power requirements:

This space is for the tech lovers who want to know what actually powers the headphones.

• Sensitivity: although it is not the all-important factor, clearly, can’t be overlooked when considering good headphones for classical music. Its relation to impedance is what is of utmost importance. Sensitivity, generally means, loudness which is measured in decibels. Higher the sensitivity, lesser you have to fiddle with the volume button/ knob. The higher sensitivity leads to a higher power, which when coupled with lower impedance is the bargain.

• Impedance: the upper limit of electric current that the drivers can withstand, is called the impedance of the driver. The best headphones have an impedance range of 8 to 600, and the impedance is measured in ohms. The input impedance of the pair majorly depends on the output impedance of the device playing the music in the first place. Simply, the higher the little ohm number, the better the current flow, resulting in better voice quality.
• Comfort: this is self-explanatory to a great extent, an hour-long sub ride could seem like a lifetime if the headphones on you aren’t comfortable enough. The cushioning should be as comfortable as possible, maybe velour or memory foam. Self-adjustable bands are the most used ones nowadays and save a hell of a lot of time for the user.
• Soundstage: it gives the spatial recognition of each beat, each instrument, etc. in the playback. It is particularly useful for classical music, as unlike other genres, it involves an array of frequencies played simultaneously. The soundstage has the ability to provide stereo imaging. The Open back headphones have an upper hand in generating this excellent soundstage. It gives a hall like feeling to the listener, as he is no longer confined to a ‘thing’ on his ears, but well-orchestrated layered music.

Conclusion

The article tells you the top 5 headphones from various price ranges for classical music. The AKG offers the highest sensitivity with a low price range, while the Beyerdynamic is for the elite, but offers everything under the sun that you might need or can possibly think of. The Audio Technica offers almost all of these features at a very affordable price change, alas, at the expense of somewhat lower build quality. The AKG is also the lightest, while the Audio Technica comes with self-adjusting headbands.