Focal Azurys Measurements & Official Discussion

Dunno if this would fit your needs, but Sennheiser also recently released a new closed back called the HD 620S…

https://www.sennheiser-hearing.com/en-US/p/hd-620s/

I don’t think the cups on the HD 620S swivel to a flat position though, like on the HD 490 Pro. Fwiw, here’s a recent review and measurements of the HD 620S by DMS and Resolve…

And also a comparison of the Focal Azurys and Sennheiser HD 620S by DMS…

All the headphones discussed above (including the HD 490 Pro) are basic wired headphones with no noise cancellation features btw. The closed models will isolate better than open models though.

Other mfrs of good wired closed-backs you could look into include DCA, Denon, and Meze. Focal has a couple other models as well that might have slightly larger cups. And Sony also has a few nice closed backs.

If you want to lower your budget, then there are more options to consider. But the quality and comfort will probably go down a bit (or alot, in some cases). Some brands that might be worth a look are AKG (e.g. K371), Shure (e.g. SRH840A, SRH1540), Beyerdynamic (e.g. DT 700 Pro X), Sony, and perhaps also Rode, Austrian Audio and Neumann. I’m less sure about that last three because they’re newer to the headphone market, though not necessarily new to audio in general.

AudioTechnica also makes some nice higher end closed headphones. And some popular lower end gear. The cups on the AT M50X are quite small (and uncomfortable on my ears) though, so I’d suggest passing on that one.

Edit: Some more detail on the HD 620S was just posted here: Sennheiser HD 620S - Does It Deserve A Spot In The 6 Series?

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