​

Your headphones matter.

​

The Life Environments audio experience begins with a delightful experience. Your choice of headphones or ear buds is a great place to start.​​​

 

 

All Life Environments immersive audio experiences are designed exclusively for headphones or ear buds. While you access our experiences on a video platform for instructions, our immersive experiences are aurally based. This heightens your senses while allowing your mind and brain to interact with each experience in healthy ways. Life Environments delivers the lifelike backgrounds - and you provide the experience!

Because our experiences are calibrated specifically for headphones and earbuds, they will NOT sound accurate through your stereo or have therapeutic value. Headphones and ear buds allow additional information to be delivered through a process known as aural spatial induction, or ASI. Unlike “bone conduction” acoustic technology with poor sound quality, ASI is a proprietary process designed by Life Environments that leverages the aural isolation characteristics of over-the-ear headphones and increased surface diffusion response to deliver a highly realistic aural experience. This technology delivers an audio experience that both you and your brain will love!

So, you are probably wondering which headphones are the best. Are super expensive cans better than cheaper ones? Are ear buds effective? What about noise-canceling technology? Bluetooth anyone? There are many questions surrounding headphones and ear buds you likely have.

The great news is that quality headphones do not cost a great deal – and both extremely expensive and cheap ones can ruin your experience. All Life Environments immersive experiences are designed to be experienced on headphones or ear buds and not through stereo speakers.

We produce our immersive experiences calibrated to Audio-Technica ATH-M50X headphones – the same headphones used in almost every professional recording studio today. The reasons for their popularity are many but include affordability (typically less than $150 USD), and the fact they are “reference” headphones that do not color sound with extra bass, midrange or treble. This means you are getting sound almost exactly as it was created.

​

To make your life simpler, we have developed a list of tested headphones for you to consider. Each of the headphones listed below are available through Amazon, so purchasing them will be easy for you, and if you don't like them, returns are easy.

IMPORTANT! You never want noise-canceling headphones to listen to our experiences as they cut out important frequencies. If you already have them, please make sure you can turn noise-canceling technology off.
 

Note: We do not make or take commissions on the products we recommend below. While you may see an Amazon affiliate link, we have discontinued our Amazon Associates relatsionship as to eliminate any appearance of impropriety. Each suggestion below is based exclusively on our studio testing.

 

​

Audio-Technica

Audio-Technica manufactures some of the most used reference headphones in the world. The legendary ATH-M50x can be seen in almost every audio and film studio in the world. Excellent reproduction quality and reasonable price points make Audio-Technica a favorite among studios worldwide.

 

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x - PREFERRED

Professional Studio Monitor Headphones, Black, Professional Grade, Critically Acclaimed, with Detachable Cable
 
Rating: 4.5/5
 
Notes: We calibrate all immersive experiences to these headphones. Great choice for the money!

See on Amazon…

 

Audio-Technica ATH-M30x

Audio-Technica ATH-M30x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones, Black

Rating: 3.8/5
 
Notes: Although less dynamic that the ATH-M50x above, this is a good choice for budget phones.

See on Amazon…

 

Audio-Technica ATH-R70x 

Professional Open-Back Reference Headphones
Rating: 4.7/5
 
Notes: Although the priciest Audio -Technica option at about $350, these are great choices if you want exceptional sound. Being open back, however, means that others can hear what you are hearing – and these are not noise isolating meaning that you can hear what is happening around you as well.

See on Amazon…

 

​
 

Sennheiser

Sennheiser has a longstanding reputation for exceptional products.
 

 

Sennheiser HD 280 Pro

Rating: 4.1/5
 
Notes: As a more budget-priced model, these headphones deliver pretty good sound for the price point and are a favorite among casual headphone users.

See on Amazon…

 

Sennheiser Consumer Audio HD 569 

Closed Back Headphone, Wired
Rating: 4.4/5
 
Notes: As a midrange model, these headphones deliver good sound for the price point. More importantly, they only require 23ohms to power them, putting them well within the range of the power delivery of most mobile devices.

See on Amazon…
 

Sennheiser Consumer Audio HD 560 S 

Over-The-Ear Audiophile Headphones - Neutral Frequency Response, E.A.R. Technology for Wide Sound Field, Open-Back Earcups, Detachable Cable
Rating: 4.4/5
 
Notes: As a more midrange model, these headphones deliver good sound for the price point. The only downside is they are 120ohm headphones, meaning that mobile devices will not drive them well as they typically put out less than 60ohms. In other words, these are more suited to powerful stereo systems than mobile devices.

See on Amazon…

​
 

Beyerdynamic

Beyerdynamic is another studio favorite. Nice quality  phones with a flat sound response and great construction – and famously comfy. You simply cannot go wrong with any of these options.

 

Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 32 ohm

Limited Edition Professional Studio Headphones

Rating: 4.6/5
 
Notes: A midrange model, these headphones deliver good sound for the price point. At only 32ohms, these are great for mobile devices too!

See on Amazon…

 

Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 80 ohm

Over-Ear Studio Monitor Headphones - Open-Back Stereo Construction, Wired (80 Ohm, Grey)

Rating: 4.6/5
 
Notes: Another nice midrange model, these headphones deliver good sound for the price point. At 80ohms, these can be powered by most mobile devices but may be at a bit lower sound level. These are open back meaning that you can still hear the world, and the world can hear you as well. Take this into consideration when purchasing. Still, a wonderful sound experience!

See on Amazon…

​

​

 

Focal® – the Luxury Option

Yep, these are a bit extreme, but if you're into the finest in detail and tone separation, here is where you want to be if you're either wealthy or a trust fund baby!

​

​

Focal® Clear MG

Rating: 4.9/5
 
Notes: The Focal® Clear MG. At about $1500 these aren’t for the faint of heart. However, if you’re an audiophile, these will sing to your soul. Crystal clear audio with exceptional separation of frequencies means and only 55 ohms to drive them, you hear absolutely everything in pristine clarity on every device! When you combine these features with Life Environments immersive experiences, you indeed have an ear-watering combination!

See on Amazon…



So, does money equal quality? Well, sort of – but rarely in the headphone world. Would we go out and buy the Focal® Clear on a normal day? Nope. However, our testing showed the Focal® phones were indeed exceptional in terms of audio performance and experience. Can we recommend it? We can – but only if you have ~$1500 sitting around to spend.

So, are most expensive headphones worth it? Actually, no in most cases. Most color the audio with extra bass or treble and deliver experiences that are not realistic. The phones we have listed are all tested by us and approved. More expensive headphones by notable manufacturers, including Bose® and Beats®, failed our testing.

 

So, there you go! 

Now you have several great quality tested phones to choose from! Just remember that quality matters but doesn’t have to cost an arm and an… ear!

Here are some great shopping tips:

 

• Look for Reference headphones

• Never uses noise-cancelling headphones. They sound terrible and strip out vital frequencies from Life Environments immersive experiences.

• Look for phones ideally requiring from 32-50 ohms for mobile device uses. Phones requiring more than 80 ohms require a separate headphone signal amplifier.

• Try to remain between $100 to $200 for the best audio quality to price ratio.

• If you want the best audio experience we’ve tested, Focal® Clear MG is your best bet – but it’s also our most expensive suggestion. That said, is the difference in audio quality between the Focal headphones more than 10x the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x priced at roughly $150? No. But it is quite a lovely experience nonetheless!

​​

​