Best Headphones for a guitar amp (our top Pick)
Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
One of the most popular studio headphone sets now supports a wireless Bluetooth connection, in addition to the reliability of a wired aux cable. For the price, the ATH-M50x (BT) is extremely difficult to beat.
I'm digging up the best headphones for guitar practice. Whether you want the fullness of the over-ear design or you simply need to quiet things down for low-key playing, guitar amp headphones are a wonderful luxury. Headphones tend to be a breathe of financial fresh air for guitar players, because to get a good set, you don't have to spend as big as you might think. In fact, you might not have to spend much at all. We'll look at the headphones first, then chat more about pricing.
Best Headphones for Guitar Amps (top five picks)
phones | Name | Rate | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audio-Technica ATH-M50x | n/a | |
 | Sennheiser HD 600 | n/a | |
 | AKG k240 | n/a | |
 | Beyerdynamic DT 770 (honorable mention) | n/a | |
 | Sony MDR-7506 (honorable mention) | n/a |
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Our disclosure↬
The AKG k240 studio headphones. We actually bought and reviewed all of these headphones.
1. Audio-Technica ATH-M50x (BT) Wireless Headphones
Best overall value
One thing that I've really fallen in love with when it comes to headphones is having a detachable cable. With other headphones I've had cables that would break or tear, which meant I'd have to toss the entire set in the trash. A detachable cable would have saved me the heartache and wasted money. While plenty of headphones have this feature, it's nice that the ATH-M50xBT (which is a fantastic set of headphones in so many other capacities) has it as well.
Audio Technica recently added Bluetooth wireless compatibility to the ATH-M50x, making it the M50xBT. This adds a ton of flexibility, especially those monitoring through a computer or laptop that's compatible with Bluetooth.
We bumped the feature rating up three point and the value rating up two.
The purchase includes three cables; one coiled and two straight that are different lengths. You could even buy a longer cable, which is what I did with my set, since it gives you more leash when you're playing guitar.
I forget which one I got, but this HOSA CMM-115 is similar and gives you an extra 15 feet.
Price History (lowest among non-amazon retailers)
Price History for Audio Technica ATH-M50X Studio Monitor Headphones+4-Way Distribution Amplifier
Statistics
| Current Price | $163.90 | November 30, 2023 |
| Highest Price | $163.90 | April 13, 2023 |
| Lowest Price | $163.90 | April 13, 2023 |
Last price changes
| $163.90 | April 13, 2023 |
Quick Review Card
BEST FOR: Studio, instrument monitoring, casual listening
SOUND
n/a
FEATURES
n/a
PRICE/VALUE
n/a
OVERALL
n/a
- 38 ohms is enough to handle the extra noise of a guitar rig
- Cord is detachable
- Bass response sounds awesome
- Very comfy
- Expensive
2. Sennheiser HD 600 Open Back Headphones
Best open back headphones (for guitar amps)
While they're a little on the pricey side, the HD 600 series contains some of the most well-liked and highly-rated headphones available in the $300 price range. They're also insanely comfortable. They have a velour ear pad that feels like a soft pillow, along with a padded foam top that stays completely still. Once you get playing, you'll hardly notice they're there.
The tone of the headset is warm and thick, almost like a vintage blues amplifier, but with all the crisp attack you would expect from a modern set of headphones. Music from your MP3 player and guitar from a preamp both sound full and satisfying.
Impedance is 300 ohms which pairs with one of the wider frequency ranges you'll see at 12 - 39000 hz, meaning you'll hear every detail of your guitar's tone.
Checkout Crutchfield's article for a full explanation of ohms.
The kevlar coated copper cable is lockable and detachable, while the unit ships with a 3.5mm adapter, allowing you to plug into nearly any device. Sennheiser includes a two-year warranty with the product, provided you purchase the set from an approved list of authorized dealers, of which Amazon and Sweetwater are included.
The extra comfort provided by the cellulose fleece helps keep natural distortion down to around 0.1% meaning your guitar's gain is the only thing you'll hear without any added interference. If you have the budget, these are some of the best headphones money can buy under $400.
Price History
Price History for Sennheiser Hd 600 Open-Back Professional Headphones
Statistics
| Current Price | $399.95 | November 30, 2023 |
| Highest Price | $399.95 | April 13, 2023 |
| Lowest Price | $399.95 | April 13, 2023 |
Last price changes
| $399.95 | April 13, 2023 |
Quick Review Card
BEST FOR: Comfort, instrument monitoring, and bands
SOUND
n/a
FEATURES
n/a
PRICE/VALUE
n/a
OVERALL
n/a
- Extremely comfortable
- Sound quality is warm and guitar-friendly
- Detachable cable
- Two-year warranty
- Expensive
3. AKG k240 Studio Headphones
Best budget-friendly option
The AKG k240 headphone sets might be the best under $100, at least for guitar playing and instrument monitoring. In fact, they're way under that price point. 55 ohms of impedance and a detachable cable get the ball rolling on this affordable, pro-level headphone set from AKG. The price is alluring in the mid two-figures range in most markets. I've seen used options going much lower.
Hanging out on my dining room table, ready for review.
Bought and unboxed in our dining room.
The headband design is a classic self-adjusting system that is really comfortable and saves you the trouble of having to manually adjust them every time you put them on. In my opinion, this is an underrated feature for guitar players' headphones. It doesn't seem like much, but just being able to put your headphones on and play, without having to pull those ratcheting adjustment bands, is actually really nice. 15 - 25 kHz is the frequency range, which is fairly standard and won't leave any of your tone behind.
It's a solid go-to option for the studio guitarist.
While it's not super expensive, it still has all the trimmings of what we need and expect out of the studio-quality headset. Considering the great price point, you've got what I would consider one of the best studio headphone sets from a value perspective.
Quick Review Card
BEST FOR: Instrument monitoring, recording, and casual listening
SOUND
n/a
FEATURES
n/a
PRICE/VALUE
n/a
OVERALL
n/a
- Great price point
- Detachable cable
- Adapter and cable included
- Self-adjusting headband feels great
- None
Do I need to understand all the technical stuff before I buy?
Absolutely not. Here's why: Truly understanding what makes a set of headphones work, and work well, requires some college credit. It's truly just a lot of in-depth signal processing that you don't need to know. In my extremely limited understanding of it, I'd sum it up this way:
- Frequency range: EQ quality and tone variance - the higher the better
- Impedance: A speaker's ability to handle higher audio levels and external input - the higher the better
In my own search, these are the two "technical" indicators that I've kept an eye on. Otherwise, I've relied on aesthetics, brand recognition, features I like (i.e. a detachable cable, comfort, etc.) and personal experience. I'd encourage you to do the same and not worry too much about the signal-processing aspect. The tangible factors are enough to get you a good set. Focus your energy there.
Related Articles
Written by Bobby on Amps and Roundups
Written by GC Editorial on Headphones and Roundups
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Hi Bobby,
I’m using a tube amp with an emulated line out/headphones out. What impedance headphones would you recommend to get decent volume and tones out of that? My 16ohms set that I use mostly with portable devices gets very low volume out of the amp.
Or would a digital interface be the way to go?
Thanks,
JB
Can you address the issue of creaking/squeaking noise coming from the headphones themselves, e.g. the headband, the padding, etc, whenever the wearer moves his head or jaw? I have this problem with an expensive pair of Shure headphones and I’m really over it. How often is this a problem, and which brands overcome the issue?
I’ll be honest, we’ve tested a lot of headphones in-house, and have never run into this issue. Which set of Shure headphones specifically is having the issue? Let me know and I can dig a little deeper for ya. Sounds like a fairly bizarre issue.
Hi there. Just wondering if there are any wireless headphones out there that compete with the ones you’ve listed here. FYI, I play through a Focusrite Scarlett 2I2MK2 interface if that makes any difference.
Hey Gerald – to be honest, this is an area that I haven’t experimented with much. When it comes to instrument monitoring or any kind of mixing, I prefer to have a hard-wired connection, since Bluetooth can be a bit slower.
I’ve heard people say good things about Sennheiser’s RS 185. They’re expensive though: https://amzn.to/2KFPxWc
Sorry I can’t be more help here, but I would (personally) be willing to bet on the 185s, if you don’t mind spending a little more.
This non-Bluetooth solution works for me:
Connect amp headphone out to PC with guitar jack to usb lead.
Plug PS4 gold wireless headset usb dongle into PC.
Open Windows sound settings recording tab and check ‘listen’ for the new usb input.
Set PC sound output to PS4 wireless headset.
Good quality (cheap – £50) wireless over-ear headphones with no latency (because not bluetooth).
Thanks for sharing, Steven.
Any preference on open-back vs closed back? I was thinking of getting the Sennheiser HD 599 and the come in both open back or closed back version.
If you’re playing live, or with other band members where you need to hear what’s going on in the open air, the open back model might be better. For more isolation, individual practice or tracking, closed back is the way to go.
Personally, I prefer closed back.
Ear buds a no go idea unless you want to be tone deaf? They keep trying to give me buds I found some vintage nano headphones 32ohms no bass.
Buds can work. They just have to be the really nice “in-ear monitor” type. For direct instrument monitoring, I still prefer over-ear designs.
I couldn’t find a print button. Wanted to print it out and give to my neighbor!
Hey Maggie – I added a “Print Friendly” button to the bottom of the article, which lets you print or save a PDF. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Sir, I want to ask are the headphones you gave in your list can be “directly plug-in” in a guitar amplifier without using a third party gadget? second, what is the ideal impedance and frequency response of a headphone to be qualified as a good headphone for a guitar amplifier?
Hey Roy – I’m fairly certain all these headphones require (and most ship with) an eighth to quarter inch adapter. It’s a pretty common mod.
As for frequency range, 10 – 30,000 Hz is typical, while 40-50 ohms is what I would aim for. It’s subtle, but the more range, the more aspects of the sound you’ll be able to hear. 10 – 30k captures just about everything most guitar amps can produce.
Hope this helps.
Hi, I just wanted to check with you if it’s okay to connect the headphones directly to the multi effects instead of the amp. I don’t have an amp yet but should I buy one instead? In terms of sound quality will the direct connection to the multi effx be degraded than connecting it to the amp? I’m just curious thanks in advance.
Hi Anton – do you mean plugging the headphones into a multi-effects pedal? If so, which pedal are you referring to? If it has a headphone out, with a volume control, it should probably be ok. You’ll just be getting a line-level signal instead of an amplified signal, which won’t sound as good.
What you need in this situation is the Carl Martin “Rock Bug”…around $190 new but I got mine from Reverb.com used for $99. Its an awesome gadget that’s actually an amp simulator. The chain is: Guitar > Pedalboard > Rock Bug > Headphones. There’s a master and guitar volume, and XLR out, but what really makes this great is the RCA input. Just get an 1/8” to RCA cable and you can connect your phone or tablet to it, then bring up your choice of backing tracks on YouTube and jam the night away! This is the absolute best thing of all the items I’ve research for this application. Anything else is a waste of money. Learn it. Live it. Love it.
Thanks, Jeff.