SAMSONSR850 Professional Semi-Open Studio Reference Monitoring Headphones

TLDRIf you just want great sound for an absurdly low price, everything else about these headphones will be totally fine. Any complaint I have about these is purely to demonstrate that there are reasons to buy more expensive headphones if they fall within your budget. But for what these go for, I whole-heartedly recommend these for anyone who doesn’t know if the advantages of open backs are worth it, aren’t sure how much they want to spend but still want something that sounds good right now, is a just starting audiophile, is a creator on a budget, and/or wants a second/backup pair with little to no compromise on sound.SOUNDPurely based on sound, these punch so far above their weight that I really don’t care much about any of the other features. There’s not a ton of presence in the low end, but it is clear enough for anyone buying/expecting open backs. Absolutely fantastic for instruments and vocals, some of the clearest sounding mids/highs I have enjoyed for <$200. The overall stage is impressively wide and rich. I genuinely got confused listening to these at first because I kept hearing things from different parts of the room or my house, but it was actually just parts of songs I had never heard before. There is something magical about being able to hear things from far away clearly without that clarity crushing it into the vocals/instruments. There’s a good amount of sparkle in the top end can be harsh to some. I would recommend running these for 20-40 hours, either while listening or even just running off your phone overnight for a week, and then reevaluating. It’s not magic, but it can take a little edge off the top. If it still sounds harsh up in the stratosphere, I actually recommend lowering the volume before EQing these. When I was first burning these in, I found these harsh. But I realized that the high sparkle was giving a shimmer to percussion and synths that I had flatly not heard with other headphones before. I strongly recommend being open to what these do in the highs even if feels like too much at first. Synths and bass are okay, but don’t suffer in these areas any more than my more expensive headphones. Where I will say the bass excels here ties back into hearing things from far away with clarity with losing distance/space. Echos sound incredible on these, so real percussion resonates more than I’m used to hearing. It gives the bass more density without being louder or punchier. At <$40, I am genuinely shocked with how much I gravitate towards these for sound.BUILD/DESIGNThe entire build is plastic and doesn’t feel amazing, but somehow still feels and looks better than <$50 headphones from big companies (e.g. Sony, skullcandy jbl, etc). Granted, the design is completely derivative of a much more reputable brand, but for two Andrew Jacksons I couldn’t care less. The plastic headband isn’t the most rigid in the world, but the design makes the auto-adjusting faux-leather headband work easily and securely. By using a wired design instead of a solid headband, the unit is remarkably light. The earcups swivel in 360 degrees, albeit not very far. The 3.5 jack is very sturdy, but the side leading into the headphones is just okay, given it’s not replaceable. The earcups don’t feel great to the touch and have a crunchy sound when compressed, which can be annoying when adjusting or putting them on. This did get better over time after being worn in however.COMFORTAll these factors considered, the headphones are just okay in terms of comfort. For how light these are, I’m a little surprised that these create a slight amount of pressure on the top of my head. Obviously everyone’s fit will be slightly different, but the trade off with an auto adjusting headband is that the pressure on the faux-leather that pulls the band up is applied directly to the user. I thought the band was uncomfortable at first, but if I adjust the headphones, I actually find the cheap part resting against my head almost imperceptible. It’s only when the pressure has been applied long enough that I begin to notice. It’s not enough to stop wearing necessarily after short-medium listening sessions, but certainly worth adjusting every once in awhile. While I’m lukewarm on the pads in terms of build, they do a great job of keeping the headphones in place while in use. Despite feeling/sounding crunchy, I actually didn’t mind them for comfort. I thought I would feel the cheapness pressed right against my head, but just like the faux-leather band, it’s not the material itself that gets comfortable. In this case, the semi-on ear and tendency to sweat are more uncomfortable than the cushions themselves. The size of the cups belies that depending on your ear size, part of the cup may rest on your ear. While this is more preference, I think more people will notice sweating in these. It’s by no means horrible, but pretty much unavoidable.THE RESTThe cable is more of a studio length, but not a big deal. These run at 32 ohms, which is important because at this price, you can’t be recommending headphones that require a dac that costs more than the headphones themselves (that being said you can use a better dac, and yes, they sound even better). That coupled with the autoadjusting headband means anyone can pick these up and they will sound/feel great. You don’t need extra equipment or to fiddle with the fit, they just work. They sound great with content, Spotify, flacs, with or without a dac, with everything and in every way. I use these for two main cases: going for walks and listening to music with other people. For $35 i don’t worry about damaging my more expensive headphones while I’m out and about plus I can hear my surroundings clearly and walk safely. When I’m listening to music with other people, I can talk to them about the music without hearing my own voice in my headphones. While these are two very specific cases, I hope they demonstrate that these don’t need a perfectly quiet room to sound amazing, even though that’s obviously where they sound the best. I’ve been learning that hearing music in all its spaciousness interacting with the literal world around me often sounds better than a perfectly isolated, but relatively stuffy closed back. I used to think I preferred balanced sound across the board, but these have a bass roll off and sparkle in the highs that bring out a side to many instruments I didn’t realize I care about. These headphones add a shape and quality to different sounds that have broadened the way I think about and appreciate listening to music.

It's been a long time since I wrote a review for Amazon, but these headphones were worthy. If you read some of my older reviews, you'll know that I was a complete KOSS fanboy where headphones were concerned. I had been wearing Koss PortaPros & bought the slightly less expensive SportaPros for my Parents & Kids. Simply put I loved them ... But I had been wearing them for more than 5 years and felt it was time for a change. I was looking for something sturdier & heavier and was interested in going back to an Over Ear design,. I started looking at Koss models that fit those requirements, but soon started seeing other brands that were better rated & less expensive. These won me over with a combination of good reviews & price & I have to say I am more than satisfied. At first I was expecting a big difference compared to my Koss headphones, but that wasn't the case. Do they sound better - yes, but not so much as the casual listener would notice. But the more I used them, the better I liked them. As I said I was looking for over ear cans because I was looking for some passive noise isolation w/o having the additional circuitry for noise cancelling. These more than deliver in that respect. They provide a good seal in keeping outside noise out w/o COMPLETELY eliminating it. This is good for work so that you can get pretty immersed. but you can tell if someone is trying to get your attention. The other thing I noticed was that the sound was noticeably warmer than my beloved Koss'. This was especially noticeable when listening to good quality recordings with horns (I was listening to Big Big Train's "Victorian Brickwork".) The one concern I had was that these are semi-open backed & the sound "leak" would be distracting to the people around me in the office. Thankfully, that is not an issue unless you REALLY crank the volume, and the sound on these is so clear its not really needed.My one complaint, really is not mine. The other reason I was looking at over-ear headphones was for my son. He has just started at college and was looking for similar noise isolation as I was. The only thing is that he listens to alot of hip hop & likes a lot of bass. In that regards I'm not sure he is really going to like these. The bass seems just fine to my ears, but I'm not sure they will be earth shaking enough for him. I'm taking them with me to see him this weekend so I will let you know. Additionally, I am looking at ordering a pair of Audio Technica M20's as well. If he likes the Samson's, I will take the M20's. if Not we'll just swap. Stay Tuned ...UPDATE: Okay, I got the ATH M20x's, thought they sounded better (although I prefer the fit & feel of these) but since the Bass response on the ATH's was better my son took those & I got the SR850's back. BUT, that's not the end of the story. A friend recently bought an expensive Fiio headphone amp, that I liked a lot. But I was not about to spend 4 times the cost of my headphones on an amp ! But I started looking at their product line & ended up buying the Fiio E6 (you can find my review on Amazon as well) for less than 30 bucks. Paired with these, I think they sound better than the ATH M20x. Granted the if you added the Amp to those, I think they would once again come out on top, but I am not planning on buying the Amp for my son (he can get his own) and I thought these were more comfortable than them anyway. So everyone is happy !