The 5 Headphones With The Best Audio Soundstage In 2023
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It’s incredible how much of a difference an excellent audio soundstage can make in headphones, but choosing the right set can be challenging. That’s why we compiled this review of the best soundstage headphones you can find in 2023.
The best soundstage headphones are open-back headphones, as they let you hear every sound in the finest detail, while closed-back headphones are often more focused on amplifying the bass than offering a wide soundstage. The definition of the best soundstage headphones will depend on your needs and budget, so we compiled a list of the best options in several categories.
Best Soundstage Headphones reviewed in this guide
- BEST OVERALL: Sennheiser HD 650
- BEST BUDGET: OneOdio Pro-50
- BEST FOR FPS GAMING: HyperX Cloud Alpha
- BEST WIRELESS: Bose QuietComfort 35 II
- BEST CLOSED-BACK: Sony WH-1000XM5
Best Soundstage Headphone List
Sennheiser HD 650 Soundstage Headphone
Sennheiser labels the HD 650 series as audiophile headphones, and there’s an excellent reason for that. The HD 650 headphones were designed with the careful attention to detail that Sennheiser is known for, and they ensure that no sound gets lost.
The headphones are open-back, which is the perfect form factor for a wide soundstage. Additionally, the technicians hand-selected perfectly-matched driver elements coupled with highly-optimized magnet systems. This combination ensures minimum harmonic distortion while the drivers are perfectly positioned to provide clear directional audio.
One aspect that impressed us was its incredibly well-balanced sound output, especially on songs with powerful bass. An excellent example is Corona’s Rhythm of the Night RBX Euro Mix. Around the 40-second mark, the song outputs a range of different frequencies, coupled with one of the strongest bass lines found in any techno music.
Lower-rated Sennheiser headphones struggle with this, and you can hear audible pops and sound degradation. That’s not the case with the HD 650. Its drivers are not only perfect for creating a wide soundstage, but it can handle any combination of demanding sounds that you can throw at it with no pops or sound degradation.
When we look more closely at the soundstage, the HD 650 headphones outperform just about any of the headphones we’ve tested. It perfectly creates the illusion of a wide-open environment, and you can quickly pinpoint the supposed origin of every sound.
Whether it’s the club-like atmosphere that goes with the ear-popping basslines of euro-pop, the crowded open arena of a rock concert, or the intimate acoustic lines of an Ed Sheeran song played by a street performer, once you put these headphones on, you will instantly be transported to that reality.
The Sennheiser HD 650 is not cheap, but if you’re an audiophile looking for headphones with the perfect soundstage, the additional cost will be a worthwhile investment.
OneOdio Pro-50 Soundstage Headphone
OneOdio isn’t the brand that most people think of when they want to buy high-quality headphones; they definitely fit into the “budget” category. That said, the OneOdio Pro-50 is a surprising set of headphones at an incredibly low price.
The first thing you’ll notice is how comfortable and lightweight they are. The protein leather earcups rest gently around your ears and are barely noticeable once you have them on. The adjustable frame can easily fit almost any head shape and size. The headphones are so light that you will forget you’re wearing them, and that’s not really an exaggeration.
An astonishing factor was the sound quality. You don’t buy headphones at less than a third of the price of high-end units and expect them to blow you away, but the OneOdio Pro-50 managed to do just that with its full bass, high-resolution audio playback, and incredible soundstage. You can immediately pinpoint the location of each instrument in a simulated open-air environment.
The 50mm neodymium drivers deliver excellent sound and volume, perfectly coping with solid bass and high frequencies. However, the headphones seem to sacrifice a bit on the mid-range, where some sounds can come across as hollow or tinny. This mainly seems to happen when you listen to music at a very high volume, and then the highs and lows come across much more prominently.
The headphones have a removable audio cable with a 3.5mm adapter on one end and a 6.35mm on the other. You can plug either end into the headphones to easily connect to any size headphone jack. This is a significant benefit, but our concern is that the 6.35mm connector was a bit loose. This is a fairly common complaint from other users, too.
However, OneOdio’s customer service is exceptional. If you have any technical issues, they will get a replacement unit to you within a few days. For a budget set of headphones, these offer much more than you expect.
HyperX Cloud Alpha Soundstage Headphone
Apart from audiophiles, gamers are the ones who require proper soundstage headphones the most. They are especially useful for first-person shooter (FPS) or other first-person-based games where sound direction and spatial awareness are crucial. Unfortunately, that’s not something you will get with a budget set of gaming headphones.
There are many great headphone brands that cater specifically to the gaming market, but none have impressed us as much as HyperX, and the Cloud Alpha is particularly impressive.
Cloud Alpha comes with DTS spatial audio, which offers precise sound localization and an immersive virtual 3D soundstage. That might sound like a lot of marketing jargon, but the results are there when you play. No other headphones have given us the same level of in-game immersion as these.
Being able to pinpoint the origin of the footsteps behind you with enough precision to take out the enemy with a single shot is something many gamers only see in YouTube videos, but these headphones make it possible. You will hear the direction and approximate distance, allowing you to turn around, aim and shoot without too much directional correction.
Another great feature is the sound quality. You get no loss between the highs, mids, and lows, even when there’s a lot of in-game noise to process. HyperX accomplishes this with its so-called dual-chamber driver system. The headphones process the high and mid frequencies separately from the bass, so there’s no loss in sound from any channel.
As perfect as they are for gaming, you might not want to use these headphones as your primary set for listening to music because the music playback volume isn’t great when you use them wirelessly. You won’t notice any issues during gaming, though, only with music.
Overall, the HyperX Cloud Alpha headphones are perfect for playing games with a brilliant virtual 3D soundstage.
Bose QuietComfort 35 II Soundstage Headphone
Many wireless headphones sacrifice quality and performance for battery life or faster Bluetooth signal processing. That’s not the case with the Bose QuietComfort 35 II, and it manages to give excellent sound quality while still offering up to approximately 20 hours of battery life.
As we can expect from headphone and speaker professionals like Bose, the sound quality is exceptional. It delivers perfect highs, mids, and lows with few struggles. The only problem we picked up was playing very bass-heavy songs at the top volume; there was a slight popping and some drop in the clarity of the mid-range frequencies.
The soundstage is excellent but not perfect. Since these are closed-back headphones, you don’t have a wide soundstage with its open-air feeling. It feels a bit more like a smaller, intimate setting, a bar performance rather than a band playing in an arena. Still, it’s better than the other wireless headphones available, and the Bose headphones’ directional positioning is spot-on.
Another mild complaint we have with this set of headphones is that they don’t have AptX support. AptX is an encoding algorithm that helps to compress the data packets as they travel to your headphones, speeding up your connection.
The lack of support is not a significant problem at all if you’re listening to music, but it shows when you start watching movies or other videos. There’s a slight delay between the video and the audio because of it. It’s so fine that it’s barely noticeable, and many people won’t be bothered by it at all, but some of us find the delay frustrating.
If you’re watching videos using software or an app that can increase or decrease audio delay, that solves the problem effectively.
Apart from that, Bose’s noise cancellation is great at reducing general background noise but not sudden, unexpected sounds. There are three settings, and the soundstage works best at the highest noise-canceling level, but even then, you will still hear things like doors that close suddenly. It helps to improve your environmental awareness, though, so maybe Bose did that on purpose.
Overall, if you’re looking for wireless headphones with a great soundstage, the Bose QuietComfort 35 II is a fantastic option. It’s comfortable, the battery lasts a long time, and the sound quality is impressive. Bose QuietComfort is as good as it gets without an audio cable.
Sony WH-1000XM5 Soundstage Headphone
The XM5 is the successor to Sony’s highly popular XM3 and XM4 range, and anyone who used those before will notice that the WH-1000XM5 does not disappoint.
One of the impressive things about Sony’s headphones is how much time and effort the engineers put into the little things that make the sound better and your life easier. These headphones are packed to the brim with such tiny features and perks.
For example, the headphones can be configured to automatically disable noise canceling whenever you speak. They will also pause whatever you’re listening to when you take the headphones off. Noise-canceling also runs on its own processor that will automatically adjust it according to your listening habits and environment.
The soundstage is as good as it gets with a closed-back design. Though you won’t have the same immersive experience as with an open-back set like the Sennheiser model, the headphones are pretty good at simulating a similar experience. Different noise-canceling levels can also improve or reduce the 3D soundstage experience, so keep that in mind and play around with a few options.
The sound range is excellent, particularly for people who like a lot of boom in their music. These Sony headphones have a strong leaning towards deep and powerful bass, and you can’t do much to adjust it short of using equalizer settings on the device you’re listening from.
These headphones are a bit of a puzzle. Our initial reaction was one of disappointment. Somehow we expected more from a pair of Sony headphones, and though the sound was absolutely exquisite, it wasn’t quite what we expected.
However, as we continued listening and started noticing more of its features, and probably as the headphones were “played in,” things gradually improved to the point where we absolutely fell in love with them.
After using it for a few days, most audiophiles will agree that the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are an excellent hard-backed option for anyone who wants to experience fantastic (if a bit bass-driven) sound and a good soundstage, combined with the reliability of a brand such as Sony.
Soundstage Headphone Buying Guide
What Is Soundstage In Headphones?
The word soundstage refers to the physical locations of musicians on a stage or in a studio. However, in the case of headphones, it relates to a virtual 3D environment in which listeners can perceive these locations virtually. This is made possible by high-fidelity sound recordings and specific headphone or speaker technologies.
When headphones have a good soundstage, it means that you won’t just hear the sound as if it’s coming from your ears. Instead, the sound should virtually surround you, allowing you to pinpoint the origin of each instrument in terms of direction and distance. The soundstage adds depth to your audio experience.
How To Test The Soundstage?
Testing the soundstage of your headphones is simple but ideally requires a song or piece of audio that’s perfect for it. To test your soundstage, simply follow these steps:
- Connect your headphones to whatever device you’ll be listening from.
- If there is an option to enable soundstage or 3D audio on the device, the headphones, or in the software, do so. Most often, this won’t be necessary.
- Listen to an appropriate audio track. The song or audio track should be known for offering a great soundstage. Two examples are:
- MrSuicideSheep’s Finding Hope – Paths. It might not suit everyone’s musical taste, but it makes exceptional use of environmental audio and soundstage to make different vocals and sounds come from different sides around the listener.
- This simple soundstage testing video by Woo Audio.
- Close your eyes while listening and try to determine where each sound is coming from. The more depth you experience in that perception, the better the soundstage of that pair of headphones.
How To Improve Soundstage In Headphones?
Most of the soundstage depends on the quality of your headphones, so the most effective way to improve the soundstage is by getting new headphones. But there are a few other things that you can try that will make a difference:
- Improve the sound quality. If you’re ripping audio from CD or vinyl, rip it at the highest quality settings possible. Try to go fully lossless if you can. Or, if you’re streaming music using a service like Apple Music or Spotify, set it to the highest audio quality settings. Higher quality means lower compression so that music files will be larger, but your soundstage won’t deteriorate.
- Get a DAC (digital to analog converter). Most modern music is digital, but our ears hear in analog. Amps and playback devices like your phone or computer already convert digital data to analog, but they don’t always do the best job, and some sound quality could get lost. Using a dedicated, purpose-built DAC could improve your sound quality and soundstage.
Our Verdict: The Best Soundstage Headphone
Undoubtedly, the Sennheiser HD 650 is the best soundstage headphone overall. It perfectly balances excellent sound quality, high-performance output, wide virtual 3D soundstage, and top-grade manufacturing. If you’re an audiophile, and only the best will do, you can get the Sennheiser HD 650 from Amazon.
Common Questions About Soundstage Headphones
Does Soundstage Matter For Gaming?
Gaming might be the most important use for a good soundstage, especially in the FPS genre. The advantage of hearing when an enemy approaches and being able to pinpoint exactly where they are without having to look will give a player an edge over any opponent. Furthermore, the ability to virtually “hear” the environment you’re in adds a layer of depth to the immersion of your game.
Do Earbuds Have Soundstage?
Some earbuds have good soundstage, though they are harder to find than over-ear headphones. Any earbuds with proper high-fidelity and high-clarity audio will have a good soundstage, perhaps even better than most of their average over-ear counterparts.
What Is Imaging In Headphones?
Imaging is the process of identifying the virtual location of an instrument or sound when you’re listening over a pair of headphones. It allows you to pinpoint the direction a sound would be coming from if you were there, live, with the band.
What’s The Difference Between Soundstage And Imaging?
Imaging is an integral part of the soundstage, but for the most part, imaging refers to the direction, while soundstage refers to the overall perception of the virtual 3D space. For example, you could think of soundstage as being the environment you’re listening in (like a hall or a stadium), while imaging refers to where a musician is standing in that environment.
For the most part, the two terms are so closely related that most audio enthusiasts count imaging and soundstage as one concept since soundstage would be nearly pointless without imaging.
References
What are the best soundstage headphones
What Is A Headphone Soundstage?
Bose QuietComfort 35 II review
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Headphones Review
What Is Soundstage? And How To Improve Yours
What Does Imaging Mean In Headphones?
Soundstage vs. Audio Imaging: Which Is More Important for the Best Sound?
John Wilson
As a writer and passionate music lover, I write and contribute to many interesting things, especially audio equipment. I have a unique perspective and often write about things that nobody else does. This makes me a great resource for anyone looking for new and exciting information. I hope that my writing can be a source of inspiration for you.
John Wilson
As a writer and passionate music lover, I write and contribute to many interesting things, especially audio equipment. I have a unique perspective and often write about things that nobody else does. This makes me a great resource for anyone looking for new and exciting information. I hope that my writing can be a source of inspiration for you.
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