Behringer BH 470 Studio Monitoring Headphones (BH470d2)

I will start by saying that I'm not an audiophile. I have only ever used cheap wired headphones and earphones to listen to music or videos. Many sound experts have said the sound of these headphones are not as neutral as more expensive headphones for being monitoring headphones, but I really wasn't going to use these as monitoring headphones anyways so I didn't care. With that said, the sound quality of these headphones is simply mind-blowingly good for the price.When I listen to music, I can make out distinct instruments and beats that I haven't been able to hear with my previous cheap $10 Sony headphones. If you like bass, these headphones have clean and thumpy bass which complements the music I listen to nicely. There's no rattle or unusual distortion like with other cheap headphones. The highs are not as prominent, but I don't have a problem with that. Voices (or vocals) sound way cleaner and clearer than my $10 Sonys.The headphones were comfortable at first, but they began to get too tight on my head over time. Also, these are over-ear headphones so if you wear glasses, it causes a feeling of being squished. Kids or those with smaller heads might find these to be more comfortable, but if you have a wider head like me, you can place the headphones over some books to stretch the band out a bit. I did that and the headphones are a lot more comfortable for me.Now, here's the crazy part. My brother has the Logitech G733 wireless headphones which are $100+ new. I thought I would compare his headphones to mine, thinking mine would be demolished in sound quality compared to his. Boy was I wrong. These headphones absolutely crushed the G733 in sound quality. In comparison to these, the G733 had rattly and muddy bass, slightly distorted vocals , tinny highs, and overall just sounded much worse compared to the BH470. Honestly, the G733 almost sounded worse than my $10 Sonys which is surprising given how many good reviews that headphone has. My brother might've gotten a defective unit maybe? But then again, other people have also complained about the sound quality of that headphone so I don't know. It is also a wireless headphone compared to a wired headphone, but people have said wireless headphones should be as good as wired headphones and it's also freaking $100+! When I showed my brother the difference, he was kind of surprised too. It's hard to believe anyone that bought a G733 would still believe the sound quality of those headphones are good after hearing the BH470 which is a fraction of the price.If you told me these headphones were $50-$100, I would probably believe you. The only giveaway that these headphones are cheap is the build quality and the product packaging (but who cares about that). Although, even for the price, the headphone construction still feels and looks premium. I have no problem recommending these headphones if you're looking for good and cheap wired headphones to listen to music or podcasts.

I’m going to preface this by saying that I’ve compared the Behringer BH 470 headphones to both cheaper, and far more expensive headphones. It should seem as though the $160 Beyer Dynamic DT 770 Pro 80 Ohm headphones aren’t a fair comparison at all, but the thing is, the Behringer BH 470 headphones don’t sound like $20 headphones at all, they clearly punch above their weight.Now, the misleading thing comes from the Beyer Dynamic DT 770 Pro Headphones, which at its price point, can’t be used to mix music because much like the Behringer BH 470 Headphones, they color the sound far too much to be transparent, or neutral sounding. The DT 770 Pros accentuate bass slightly, and they overly boost high tones, which makes listening to them for long periods of time uncomfortable. And from a build quality perspective, they look like they cost roughly the same because the Behringer BH 470s look expensive. The plastic is actually of a higher grade than the DT 770 Pros. Both have a somewhat overly tight headband that takes time to break in. The DT 770 Pros have a nice sounding midrange and the lows are crisp. I’m using both with the Motu M4, which has no issues pushing either, though it takes the 1:00 position for the DT 770 Pro 80 Ohm headphones to sound full, versus the 12:00 position on the BH 470s. While it’s evident that there’s a wider sound range on the DT 770s, that’s where it’s favorable aspects end. The highs are harsh sounding on the DT 770s. On the Behringer BH 470s, the highs sound slightly muffled, and the bass thumps more powerfully. This is why neither one are suitable to do any kind of music production with.The Behringer BH 470s are easy to listen to for long periods of time. They also produce a sound range that’s much higher than many headphones in its price range. While the far more expensive Beyer Dynamic DT 770s sound great at first, after about 15 mins, the highs make them uncomfortable to listen to. Both headphones are close back, and over ear, so while neither have active noise cancellation, both do a good job of preventing sound leaks. I then compared the BH 470s to my similarly priced Sennheiser HD 206 headphones. In that case, the Sennheiser Headphones were more transparent than both, essentially putting the HD 206 headphones in a nearly neutral position that makes them ideal for music producers on a tight budget to mix audio with.That brings me to another point, while the Sennheiser HD 206 Headphones sound relatively neutral for music production, with clear highs and mids, but nearly non exsitant bass, the Behringer BH 470s provide a more fun listening experience. They feel sturdier than the Sennheiser HD 206 Headphones which cost just slightly more. They also have a better build quality than the $100-$120 entry level Beats Headphones, in addition to sounding better than them as well. As noted before in my comparison with the Beyer Dynamic DT 770s, the entry level Beats models and the Behringer BH 470s can’t be used to properly mix audio. This is essentially why I mentioned that the Behringer BH 470s punch above their weight, especially when their low price point is factored in. The material quality of the BH 470s also feels very good overall, and that observation is not simply based its lower price point either. The BH 470s really do sound better than the the entry level Beats headphones, with a very similar bass response too, all while costing anywhere from $80- $90 less depending on the model. The BH 470s also provide a more comfortable listening experience, though the headband really does need to be broken in because it’s relatively tight for people with larger heads. The Beyer Dynamic DT 770 Pros also have the initially overly tight headband issue. The highs aren’t harsh on the Behringer BH 470s the way they are on the DT 770s, and while the mids aren’t as defined, nor is the overall sound stage, the BH 470s shouldn’t come that close to headphones that cost significantly more.If you’re looking for a neutral pair of headphones to mix audio with in the $20-$30 price range, the Sennheiser HD 206 Headphones are the best ones that you can get. That being said the HD 206 build quality isn’t great at all. After a year of very careful use, the HD 206’s faux leather ear padding begins to shed badly. Those are the only headphones I’ve owned that did that, and it happened the exact same way with a replacement pair of HD 206 headphones. If you want a pair of headphones that have powerfully accentuated bass, decent mids, and slightly muffled, but easy to listen to highs, that meet, or exceed entry level Beats headphones, the Behringer BH 470s are a very good choice. The DT 770s are in a strange place for me because much like the BH 470s, they can be used by a performer recording vocals, with very minimal sound leakage at higher volume levels, but they aren’t neutral enough for mixing music at any production level. The entry Beats level headphones, and even their higher price models, still overly accentuate bass. You’re not missing anything by getting these headphones over the $100-$120 entry level Beats headphones, unless you’re only buying them for style purposes.The real reason you see Beats headphones so often on well known celebrities is entirely due to Universal Music Group, which owns Interscope, the music label Jimmy Iovine headed. Universal Music Group/Interscope also owns Def Jam, Bad Boy Records, and the now defunct, but once infamous, Death Row Records. This is what made the death of 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. all the more tragic. Interscope profited heavily off of both artists, and literally almost all of the major Hip Hop labels with legendary and iconic artist rosters. When Dr Dre left Death Row Records, he started Aftermath Records, which is also ironically a subsidiary of Interscope Records, as is Shady Records, and G-Unit Records. Universal Music Group, as the owner of all of the above, all but required all of their artists to wear Beats headphones in their videos, appearances, televised studio tours, and whenever Universal funded sporting events, they required coaches and athletes to wear Beats headphones as well. Given that Universal has one of the largest shares in the music industry, it was inevitable that Beats would sell well. When Apple purchased Beats, Jimmy Iovine had a controlling stake in the business because he proposed the initial deal to Dr Dre, since Dre was synonymous with producing some of the most well known Hip Hop songs throughout the late 80s all the way to the early 2000s. He also had an aura that gave the Beats brand credibility that Jimmy Iovine simply couldn’t achieve with any other partner. Dr Dre’s Hip Hop caché is nearly untouchable, rapping with, but mostly producing music for NWA, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Rakim, 2Pac, Nas, DMX, Eve, Mary J Blige, 50 Cent, Akon, Eminem, and the list goes on. With Apple, the largest company in the world, acquiring Beats Headphones, their reach became much wider, bringing the Beats brand to a huge array of artists that had a mandate to be seen wearing them. While artists sometimes record with Beats Headphones in a vocal booth, the legendary and prolific Hip Hop producer DJ Premiere had an interview where he met with Dr Dre to collaborate on a project for an event. DJ Premiere remarked that he never actually saw Dr Dre mix any music with Beats headphones at all when cameras weren’t rolling. The only time he actually wore them was to listen to the tracks after the final track mixes and masters were completed.With all of that being said, you’d be hard pressed to find any headphones like the Behringer BH 470s in the $20-$30 price range which feel this well constructed as they do. It would also be very difficult to find headphones that sound as good as the BH 470s for simply listening to music, that is, if powerful bass is your primary desire.

4 stars because they seem a little bit bassy.However, it makes you wonder what you've been listening to before. It's kind of relative and difficult to find something truly neutral at any price point.These are super comfortable. The sound isolation is fantastic. They clarity of the signal is great. Just for trying them out, I've played a variety of genres through them, and the depth and clarity is fantastic.They're also pretty classy in brown.Very happy for my applications. Bedroom practice for electric guitar, electronic drums, and listening to music.I've always had great experiences with Behringer products and with other Music Tribe brands (like Bugera).

I use these as monitoring headphones while recording a podcast. The cushions are comfortable for extended wear (I wear them for 3-5 hours at a time), they look nice, and they're super cheap for full size headphones. They feel pretty plasticky, but that's to be expected.As far as sound quality goes, they aren't super transparent and I wouldn't use them to edit anything. They're good enough for my specific needs, but the sound is more biased toward low and midrange frequencies and they can sound a bit muddy at times. But for ultra-budget monitoring headphones, you really can't go wrong.