The Samson SR850 are budget-friendly over-ear headphones intended for audiophiles. Their semi-open design helps create a wide, spacious soundstage, while their bright sound profile can bring out details in recordings and make it easier to hear imperfections. However, this sound can also cause ear fatigue, and some may find it overly harsh or piercing. Unfortunately, they're not very breathable or comfortable, and their small ear cups make them fit a bit more like on-ears than over-ears for some people. They also have a mediocre build quality and a non-detachable cable that feels like it could break easily.
Our Verdict
The Samson SR850 are good for neutral sound; they deliver sound quite consistently and have a wide, spacious soundstage. Their exaggerated treble response gives them a bright sound profile and ensures instruments have detail, brightness, and airiness. You may prefer this sound if you're looking for headphones to use for recording and mixing and want to hear imperfections in your audio. However, some may find it harsh or piercing. Also, while their sound has a bit of extra punch and boom, low-bass is slightly underemphasized, typical of semi-open headphones.
- Very good frequency response consistency.
- Spacious passive soundstage.
- Mediocre build quality.
The Samson SR850 are bad for commute and travel. They're intended for audiophiles and have a semi-open design that means they leak a lot of audio and hardly isolate you from any ambient sound. They're not very portable, either, since they don't fold into a more compact shape or come with a pouch.
- Lightweight and fairly stable design.
- Poor leakage and noise isolation, by design.
- Mediocre build quality.
- No case or pouch included.
The Samson SR850 are bad for sports and fitness. They aren't intended for sports use and can easily fall off your head when you make big movements or if the cable gets snagged on something. The ear cups aren't very comfortable or breathable, and wearing them at the gym may make you sweat more. Also, like most audiophile headphones, they don't have an IP rating for dust or water resistance.
- Lightweight and fairly stable design.
- Poor leakage and noise isolation, by design.
- Not very stable.
The Samson SR850 are poor for office use. Because of their semi-open design, they don't isolate you from distractions like background conversations. They also leak a lot of audio, so anyone sitting near you in a shared space can hear your music, even if you're listening to audio at moderate volumes. Their small ear cups aren't very breathable, either, and they may be uncomfortable to wear all day.
- Lightweight and fairly stable design.
- Poor leakage and noise isolation, by design.
- Mediocre build quality.
- No microphone.
The Samson SR850 are wired headphones, and you can't use them wirelessly.
The Samson SR850 are passable for wired gaming, as long as you don't need a microphone. You can use them to receive audio from PCs as well as PlayStation and Xbox consoles if you plug them into a controller. However, they aren't very comfortable or breathable, so they may not be ideal if you like to game for hours at a time.
- Spacious passive soundstage.
- No microphone.
The Samson SR850 aren't suitable for making phone calls because they don't have a microphone.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Samson SR850 studio headphones come in Black or Blue. The blue variant is mostly black with blue accents. We tested them in Black, and you can see the label for the unit we tested here.
If you come across another variant, please let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Samson SR850 are wired over-ear headphones intended for audiophiles and studio use. Their design is similar to the Superlux HD 668B, the Superlux HD 681, and the AKG K240 MKII, but they have a brighter sound profile. Also, like most semi-open headphones, they leak a lot of audio and block out virtually no ambient sound.
If you're looking for other options, take a look at our lists of the best audiophile headphones, the best headphones for studio, and the best headphones for music.
The Superlux HD 681 are better for neutral sound than the Samson SR850. Both headphones have a similar semi-open design, but the Superlux have a more balanced sound profile, which some may prefer. They're also much more comfortable and breathable. However, the Samson have a significantly better build quality.
The Superlux HD 668B are somewhat better headphones for neutral sound than the Samson SR850. They're very similar-looking semi-open headphones, but the Superlux have a much more accurate treble response, so they don't sound as sharp or piercing. Their audio cable is detachable, which is convenient if it gets damaged and needs replacing. They're also more breathable, but you may find the Samson's leather strap headband design more comfortable than the Superlux's cushioned headband.
The Philips SHP9500 are better for neutral sound than the Samson SR850. The Philips are open-back headphones with a much more comfortable and breathable fit. They're also better built than the Samson. However, you may prefer the Samson if your budget is tight.
The Samson SR850 are better for neutral sound than the Audio-Technica ATH-M20x. The Samson are semi-open headphones and have a much better passive soundstage performance. They also have a brighter, more detailed sound profile that some may prefer. On the other hand, the Audio-Technica have a closed-back design, so they leak less audio and block out more ambient sound.
The Samson SR850 are a bit better than the AKG K240 MKII for neutral sound. The Samson have a brighter, more detailed sound profile and significantly better bass accuracy, which some listeners may prefer. They're also less prone to inconsistent audio delivery. They may sound sharp or harsh to some, and the AKG create a slightly more immersive, speaker-like passive soundstage.
The Superlux HD 681 EVO are better for neutral sound than the Samson SR850. The Superlux are much more comfortable, more breathable, and have a more neutral sound profile that some may prefer. On the other hand, the Samson have a significantly better passive soundstage performance. Some may also prefer their brighter sound profile.
The TOZO T6 Truly Wireless and the Samson SR850 have different strengths, and you may prefer either, depending on what you're looking for. The TOZO are Bluetooth earbuds with a bass-rich sound profile. They're better suited for uses like sports or commuting since they passively isolate you from much more noise and have a much more compact and stable fit. On the other hand, the Samson are semi-open over-ear headphones intended for audiophiles. They have a much better passive soundstage performance and a brighter, more detailed sound profile.
We've upgraded our Headphones Test Bench to 2.0! This update brings several key changes to our tests and usages, making it easier than ever to interpret our sound results based on your personal preferences. You'll also find a brand-new interactive graph tool featuring multiple targets (including our own!) for you to explore and compare.
For a full breakdown, check out our changelog, which includes detailed commentary from our test designer explaining the rationale behind our update.
We'd also love to hear your thoughts: your feedback helps us keep improving, so join us in the comments!
Test Results
The Samson SR850 have a very similar design to the Superlux HD 668B and the AKG K240 MKII. They have an all-black design and round ear cups with a retro look. Like the AKG, they have a leather strap to cushion the headband.
They're adequately comfortable. They're light and don't clamp onto your head with too much pressure, but the ear cups are small, so they feel almost like on-ear headphones instead of over-ears. Your ears are also likely to touch the drivers, which can be annoying. People with small heads may find the headband a bit big too. Funnily enough, they can feel more comfortable when you put them on backwards.
They have poor breathability. They trap much more heat against your ears than other semi-open headphones that we've tested, like the Superlux HD 668B or Superlux HD 681. This may be because they have small ear cups, so your ears come into contact with the padding, which is covered in cloth instead of faux leather. They're likely to make your ears feel hot if you use them for long listening sessions, so you may need to take a break every once in a while.
These headphones are lightweight but fairly bulky and not very portable, like most over-ear headphones. The ear cups don't swivel or fold, so they take up a lot of space in a bag or backpack. They don't come with a case or pouch either.
These headphones have a mediocre build quality. They're made of plastic that feels a bit cheap. The cloth and faux-leather ear cup padding is very easy to remove and feels like it could rip. The non-detachable cable also seems like it could eventually break with repeated use.
They have a fairly stable fit and should stay in place during casual listening sessions. However, they aren't intended for sports use and can fall off your head if you make exaggerated movements.
The Samson SR850 have a bright sound profile, with an exaggerated treble response that ensures vocals and lead instruments are present and detailed. This sound can work well for audiophiles or studio work since it can help you hear imperfections in a recording. However, it's not ideal for everyone since some sounds are harsh or piercing, which can be fatiguing to listen to. The low-bass range is also slightly underemphasized, which is normal for semi-open headphones. Unfortunately, they don't come with any sound customization features such as an EQ or presets.
They have very good frequency response consistency. Their bass delivery can vary a bit depending on the headphones' fit, seal, and positioning on your head, and users who have thick hair or wear glasses may experience a drop in bass. However, it should be less noticeable than with many other over-ear headphones, like the JBL E55BT Wireless or the Sony WH-XB900N Wireless, and overall they sound consistent each time you wear them.
The Samson SR850 have good bass accuracy. The low-bass range is slightly underemphasized, so mixes are missing some thump and rumble, but that's to be expected with semi-open headphones. The rest of the range is overemphasized but well-balanced, so mixes have a bit of extra punch and boom. However, some users may find they sound a bit muddy.
The Samson SR850 have excellent mid accuracy. Vocals and lead instruments sound present and accurate, although a slight amount of overemphasis in the low-mid adds a bit of clutter. There's also some overemphasis in the high-mid that makes instruments and vocals sound a bit intense and harsh.
The Samson SR850 have poor treble accuracy. The overemphasized low-treble makes instruments sound harsh, while the even more exaggerated mid-treble makes sibilants like S and T sounds seem very piercing.
They have decent peaks and dips performance. There's a long peak across the bass range that adds thump, punch, and boom to your audio. A dip in the mid-mid nudges vocals and lead instruments towards the back of the mix, and a deeper dip in the low-treble hurts the comprehensibility of those elements. Finally, a peak in the mid-treble makes sibilant sounds, such as cymbals, seem piercing and painful.
The Samson SR850 have an excellent imaging performance. Their weighted group delay falls mostly below the audibility threshold, resulting in a tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. Our unit's L/R drivers are also well-matched in amplitude, frequency, and phase response, so objects like instruments and voices should be accurately placed in the stereo image. However, our results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.
The Samson SR850 have a very good passive soundstage performance. Their semi-open design helps it seem very open, spacious, and quite natural. It may not be quite as speaker-like as the AKG K240 MKII, though, and their sound seems to come more from inside your head.
The Samson SR850 have a great weighted harmonic distortion performance. All frequencies fall within good limits at normal and high volumes, resulting in clean and pure audio reproduction.
These are the settings used to test the Samson SR850. Our results are only valid when used in this configuration.
They isolate you from very little ambient sound, which is normal for open and semi-open headphones. They don't block out background conversations or rumbling bus and plane engines. While they do a better job of cutting down high-pitched noise like the hum of an AC unit, they still offer a mediocre performance in this range.
The Samson SR850 leak a lot of audio, which is expected for semi-open headphones. The audio that escapes is quite loud and full-bodied, so people around you can hear what you're listening to, even in a moderately noisy environment like an office.
These are wired headphones and come with a non-detachable 1/8" TRS cable. There's also a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter so you can connect them to an amp.
The Samson SR850 are compatible with PCs via analog connection, but they don't have a mic, so you can only receive audio.
You can plug them into a PlayStation console's controller, but they can only receive audio since they don't have a microphone.
They're compatible with Xbox consoles if you plug them into a controller. However, they don't have a mic, so you can only receive audio.