Shure SRH1440 Professional Open Back Headphones Demo/Open Box  From Shure

The SRH 1440s are the perfect monitoring solution if you're working in a room with poor acoustics or just don't have the resources to pick up a pair of $1.5k+ monitors. The first time putting on a pair of these headphones is an eye-opening experience. The first thing that comes to mind is the comfortable and lightweight nature of these headphones, which after about 10 minutes of listening, one can practically forget they are wearing them. While the comfort is a strong plus, it's the depth and detail it provides that is the real strength. Open back headphones are known for their natural sound and impeccable detail, and while there are headphones out there that cost over a grand, it's hard to imagine needing more than what the 1440s provide to make your mixes sound excellent. The stereo imaging is very defined, allowing you to not just broadly pan a instrument left, but precisely nest it exactly where you want it within the stereo spectrum. Even if you own an exceptional pair of monitors from Focal, Neumann, or Genelec, having a pair of headphones to reference your mixes in a more controlled environment less affected by room acoustics is incredibly valuable. As either your reference headphones or your primary monitoring source, the SRH 1440s are one of the absolute best open back headphones within this price point.