Best Headphones for Podcasting: Closed-Back Only

Top Picks for You

The One Rule

Closed-back. Always.

Open-back headphones leak sound outward by design. Sitting a few inches from a microphone, that leak is recorded — your guest's voice, faintly, underneath your own track. It cannot be removed cleanly afterwards, and it is there in every episode you publish.

This is the single most common equipment mistake in podcasting, and it usually happens because someone read that open-back headphones sound better. They do. They are also the wrong tool here, for a reason that has nothing to do with sound quality.

Everything else — impedance, tuning, brand — is negotiable. That one is not.

Two things worth saying before the recommendations, because they will save you more money than picking the right pair:

Headphones are the least important thing you will buy. A microphone in a soft-furnished room with mediocre headphones sounds far better than the reverse. If your budget is finite, spend it in that order.

You are doing two different jobs. While recording, headphones only need to be closed and comfortable — you are checking that audio exists and levels are sane. While editing, you need to hear detail in the midrange, where voices live. A pair that is fine for the first job can be limiting for the second.

beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 80 Ohm Studio Headphones

The studio default, and it earns that. Closed, so nothing bleeds. Genuinely comfortable across the multi-hour sessions editing actually takes, with soft velour pads that are replaceable — the part that wears out first is a part you can buy rather than a headphone you replace.

The 80-ohm version is the one to get for this. It runs properly from an audio interface without needing a separate amplifier, unlike its 250-ohm siblings. If you are shopping this range, check the number on the box: the open-back DT 990 covered in our best wired headphones guide is a fine headphone and completely wrong for a podcast.

The 3-metre single-sided cable is a studio length. That is convenient at a desk and unwieldy anywhere else, and it is fixed rather than detachable.

Check Price on Amazon · $199.99 as of August 11, 2026 — check Amazon for the latest price.

Audio-Technica ATH-M30x Professional Studio Monitor

The value pick for editing, and the one to buy if you do your own post-production. Its tuning favours detail and midrange definition, which is exactly the region voices occupy — it makes plosives, sibilance and room tone easier to notice while there is still time to fix them.

Closed-back, low impedance, comfortable enough for long sessions, and it collapses for transport if you record in more than one place.

It costs meaningfully less than the beyerdynamic and gives up build quality and pad replaceability to get there. Our M20x vs M30x comparison covers the choice between the two Audio-Technicas in detail.

Check Price on Amazon · $79 as of August 11, 2026 — check Amazon for the latest price.

Audio-Technica ATH-M20x Professional Studio Monitor

The right pick if you record and someone else edits, or if you are starting out and the budget is going into a microphone instead. It meets the one rule, it isolates well enough to monitor a live source, and it runs from anything.

Its tuning leans toward low-frequency weight rather than detail, which is comfortable over long stretches and slightly less revealing when you are hunting for problems in a take.

The cable is fixed, which is the usual limitation at this price and the thing most likely to end it.

Check Price on Amazon · $58 as of August 11, 2026 — check Amazon for the latest price.

OneOdio Wired Over Ear Headphones

The pick for guest headphones. If two or three people sit at your table, you need two or three pairs, and buying several cheap durable ones beats buying one expensive one.

It also carries both 3.5 mm and 6.35 mm jacks, so it plugs directly into an interface or mixer without an adapter — a small thing that matters when you are handing headphones to someone who did not bring their own.

The tuning is bass-forward rather than neutral, so it is a monitoring headphone rather than an editing one, and it is bulky. For guests, neither matters.

Check Price on Amazon · $31.99 as of August 11, 2026 — check Amazon for the latest price.

How to Choose

You record and edit, and want to buy once: DT 770 PRO 80 Ohm.

You edit your own audio on a budget: ATH-M30x. Midrange detail is what editing depends on.

You only record, or you are buying a microphone first: ATH-M20x.

You need pairs for guests: OneOdio, as many as you have chairs.

You want to take calls on the same headset: a boom microphone is a different product — see best USB headset for work.

You want to spend more: spend it on the microphone and on soft furnishings before you spend it here. Our best studio headphones for home recording guide covers the upper end if you have already done both.

FAQ

Can I use open-back headphones for podcasting? Only if you are editing and never wearing them near a live microphone. While recording, they bleed into the track and that bleed is permanent.

Do I need studio headphones, or will normal ones do? Any closed-back headphone works for recording. Studio pairs help during editing because they flatter less, which makes problems easier to hear.

Does impedance matter for podcasting? Only in that a high-impedance pair needs an amplifier or interface to drive it. The 80-ohm DT 770 runs from a typical interface; a 250-ohm version would not, from a laptop.

Are wireless headphones acceptable? For editing, yes. For recording, no — Bluetooth adds latency, and hearing your own voice delayed makes speaking genuinely difficult.

How many pairs do I need? One per person at the table. Guests need to hear themselves and the remote participants, and a shared pair is not a solution.

What matters more than headphones? The microphone, and the room. A treated corner and a decent mic with cheap headphones beats the reverse every time.

Verdict

The DT 770 PRO 80 Ohm is the one to buy if you are buying once. Closed, comfortable across long edits, and repairable when the pads flatten — get the 80-ohm version, not the 250.

The ATH-M30x is the sensible cheaper choice if you edit your own audio, because midrange detail is the property editing rests on. The ATH-M20x is enough if you only record.

The OneOdio is what you buy several of, for the people sitting across from you.

Whichever you pick, check one thing on the box before you buy: closed-back. That single word decides whether your recordings have a fault in them that no amount of editing will remove.