8 Best ASMR Headphones for Relaxation

Do you like listening to ASMR recordings? Do you want to relax with sensual sound or music? If the answer is yes, I want to share what I’ve found to be the best headphones for ASMR.

Apart from my selection, primarily you need to know that there are no specific headphones just for ASMR. Among many choices, you can choose good-sounding headphones depending on how you want them.

You may want portable in-ear headphones or high-end headphones. Some people may want to listen to ASMR while sleeping with Headband headphones. I hope you find a good pair to bring your senses!

What is ASMR?

The term ASMR “Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response” is a non-clinical term coined by Jennifer Allen, beginning with online forums and discussion groups.

Also, there were two psychology researchers at Swansea University who published the first research on the phenomenon. Since then this sensory phenomenon is still being disputed more or less, and yet it has been in great use and inattention from a lot of users.

The reason why is that a lot of users have the common experience of feel-so-good and extremely calm and pleasurable.

According to Barratt and Davis (2015), researchers said, “individuals experience a tingling, static-like sensation across the scalp, back of the neck, and at times further areas in response to specific triggering audio and visual stimuli. This sensation is widely reported to be accompanied by feelings of relaxation and well-being.”

Some groups of ASMR enthusiasts has self-reported in the forums that ASMR helps to reduce their anxiety and depression. Also, is helpful for sleeplessness problems. 

Why Choose ASMR Headphones?

ASMR brings up an amazing sensory experience mainly through the Youtube platform with its varied concept. That is why we need the best headphones to experience ASMR so that we can take advantage of its best.

The ASMR makers are often whispering or quietly talking to you about their various themes. Such as meditation, reading, guided visualization, hypnosis, vlogging, storytelling, cooking, and so on.

If your sandbox is already opened, you should be on the ball. Let’s go find the best one for your sensory experience. 

The Best ASMR Headphones for Relaxation Reviewed

Here is a list of our top recommendations, along with a quick review of each headphone so you understand its pros and cons.

1. Sennheiser HD 569 ASMR

• Wired, Closed-back, Over-ear
• Noise isolating
• 23 Ω, 10 – 28,000 Hz
• E.A.R Technology

The Sennheiser HD 569 headphones have great technology and their feature ‘Ergonomic Acoustic Refinement’ (E.A.R) has been designed for a more natural acoustic sound and delivers directly into your ears for a more in-room-like listening experience! It definitely drives you toward audiophile reproduction.

A lot of users experience a very good midrange sound from the Sennheiser headphones and also a rich and clear bass. Those who listen to the ASMR content with this well-balanced range would ever be the ones to enjoy it.

Noise isolation is fairly good enough with a natural tonal balance to listen to the ASMR in your private space and its closed-back shells would make you even feel closer to the detailed sounds.

But if you are looking for a great noise-canceling feature from Sennheiser headphones, I highly recommend Sennheiser HD 598 Cs headphones.

Pros

• The headband is flexible and very durable 
• Clean highs, mids, and substantial bass
• Sound is well-balanced and smooth
• Excellent sound quality
• Very comfortable to wear and large enough for any ears

Cons

• The earpads are not very durable 

2. Beyerdynamic DT 770

• Wired, Closed-back, Over-ear
• Powerful isolation of ambient noises
• 32 Ω, 5 – 35,000 Hz 

Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones are professional in the sound of sub-bass, flatter passband, clear top-end, and are also articulate at louder volumes.

This pro series of Beyerdynamic headphones are also well known for music production or monitoring purposes. So when listening to music with this pair, you may realize what the music producers wanted you to hear from an EQ balanced perspective. 

By all means in the context of the best headphones for ASMR, these pro 32 Ohm headphones are highly suitable for ASMR purposes. You can listen to music from small portable devices like mobiles or laptops without the need for an extra headphone amp to boost the higher signal. 

You may want to consider if you are a traveler persona, these headphones can be bulky for your portable use. Otherwise, this quality pair is so worth having on your side.

Pros 

• Very clear, neutral, detailed resolution sound quality
• The ear cushions are encompassed the whole ears and comfortable  
• No need for the extra amp, designed to use with mobile devices 
• Durable  

Cons  

• Bulky for portable use

3. Sony WH1000XM3

This Sony WH1000X M3 has upgraded the noise-canceling feature and is one of the best high-end headphones in its series. It has improved the quality and its superb noise-canceling. Because of their slick and light comfy design body you can easily wear them on a daily basis.

General touch controls are very functional, but it may take some moment to get used to. Otherwise, you might click a skip button instead of the volume up. 

These headphones present a clear sonic upgrade sound quality level. This spacious sound gives a feeling that the instruments are harmonizing as if you were in an open room. With their greater detail, listening to the ASMR purposes seems a reasonable idea. 

Pros

• Lightweight and fairly comfortable
• Battery life is incredible also fast charging
• Great sound – the bass, mid and high you hear them clear 
• Powerful noise canceling 

Cons

• The Bluetooth connection might be slow when switching from one device to another

4. Bose QuietComfort 20

• Wired
• Acoustic Noise-canceling
• Active EQ digital-quality audio
• Aware Mode: lets you hear what’s around you
  

The Bose QC 20 headphones tend to be equalized in a range of pitch. Bass and high ends are good but mid you hear a bit flatter than other range.

Although when listening to all genres of music it feels the sound is very smooth and quite balanced. Their decent sound quality will boost your experience of ASMR and pleasurable.

Surprisingly, the ambient aware mode works so well in their noise cancellation feature. When using aware mode is powered by a rechargeable battery that plays for up to 16hours.

The QC20 in-ear headphones have three sizes of ear tips that cone shape wings embrace the area of your ear holes. It’s very comfortable though, depending on your ear shape might have differential criteria. 

It would be great for someone who’s looking for strong noise cancellation features but doesn’t mind the high price and wearing full-size(over-ear headphones).

Pros 

• Remove well the incidental background noises
• Great sound quality
• Very comfortable to wear
• Turn On/Off noise canceling depends on your need
• Convenience to have the Aware Mode 
• Good portability 

Cons  

• The charger cable is short

5. Shure SE215-K

• Wired / wireless
• Noise isolation: up to 37dB 
• Detachable Bluetooth communication cable

Their superior sound quality is always in the first place when talking about Shure SE215-K in-ear headphones. They give great value to hearing the balanced spatial sound and weight and richness of bass.

If you listen to a piece of orchestra music you have a lot of details through this pair. So how could it be to hear such as ASMR record? The Shure company describes the sound of the SE215 as warm and detailed, that’s what you will get from it.

The ear tips are shaped a bit prominent that you would be experimenting to find the right foam for your best fit. Available in wireless and wired versions with detachable cables that paired most phones, laptops, and tablets with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity provides up to 10 hours of battery life!

Pros 

• Clear, balanced, and neutral sound quality yet good bass
• Excellent noise isolation 
• Comfortable to wear
• Lightweight, low-profile shape with optimized nozzle angle

Cons  

• The cord is thick and the cable is long. 

6. TaoTronics TT-EP002

• Bluetooth, wireless
• Active noise-canceling
• Monitoring Mode 
• Built-in MEMS microphone
• Charge 1 hour, play 15 hours

These Taotronics in-ear headphones are surprisingly qualified at an affordable price! If you are on a budget this in-ear pair could be one of the fair options. When talking about noise cancellation, seems everyone has different expectations about it.

The fact that we can’t expect the in-ear Headphones to do the best job for perfect noise-canceling. They won’t cancel much on the high-pitched noises yet work very well at the low-frequency sound such as an airplane noise or any sort of white noise.

What’s unique about is the monitoring mode feature. If you are around people and need to be aware of your surroundings, you can press the monitor button when active noise-canceling is on. 

Pros 

• Quite balanced sound quality
• Stiff cable prevents tangling
• Pretty good quality of the microphone
• Very comfortable to wear almost don’t feel

Cons  

• Feel a little weight on the power unit and is dangling

7. Perytong

• Bluetooth, wireless
• Level of Noise isolating: Mid
• Charge 2 hours, play 10 hours

Perytong headphones are a headband design with wireless speakers inside the band. This headband type is very comfortable for sleeping. It’s perfect especially when you want to listen to ASMR while sleeping.

This is also like a mask when you want to lull yourself in a laydown posture. The price is quite cheap among others but it does a good job as a pair of headphones. The fabric is quite thick and very soft.

Some said that it is great for the winter or for meditation. And of course, for the sports to hold the sweat while listening to your music.

On its band, there is a volume and track skip buttons that are easy to use but you need to hold them down quite a bit. One thing you should be aware of is the size of the band. It normally fits most of the head sizes. But if you think you have a smaller head than average, it can be a little slippery. 

Pros 

• Very good for sleeping 
• Comfortable for exercise 
• Decent sound quality
• Affordable price 
• Excellent battery life 
• Lightweight and breathable material 
• The speakers are adjustable and movable 

Cons  

• May slippery for a smaller head
• Speakers jam into ears while sleeping on the side

8. Joseche Wireless Eye Mask Headband

• Bluetooth, wireless
• Level of Noise isolating: Mid
• Charge 2 hours, play 9 hours

This Joseche product is an eye mask headband type and for some people, this could be the best ASMR headphones for sleeping. What a special feature! A sleeping mask and headphones combination is a really useful one.

Bluetooth can pair very easily on every device. Fabric liner separated from stitching so you can take out the Bluetooth module and be able to fully wash it. The size is 20 – 26.5 inch has a velcro elastic strap for closure. The mask is adjustable in any size and also the position of the speakers if you want. 

You can cover your eyes and fall asleep nicely with ASMR records. But if you are a side sleeper, it may bother you because the control button is on the side of the headband headphones. If you find the correct position with your ears and the speakers it will not be a problem. 

Pros 

• Comfortable to wear
• Easy to use and set up 
• Washable
• The mask has an additional pad for your nose
• Very soft material
• Good sound quality
• The mask blocks out any lights
• Adjustable the size of the mask and speakers 

Cons  

• No good for a side sleeper 

How to Choose Headphones for ASMR

Generally speaking, there are no specific headphones just for ASMR. But there are a lot of headphones that are nearly too close to perfect. Before buying, We have a few considerations to look at.

Comfortability

If you really want to enjoy listening to ASMR, You should set yourself in a very comfortable position as well as relax your body and mind. Obviously, the headphones should not bother you when flying with their sounds. 

Noise-canceling

I would argue that noise-canceling headphones are one of the admirable advancements in our technology. The point of ASMR is to listen to very sensitive detailed sounds. You have to be in a quiet and private space to focus on the sensational experience. That’s why a noise-canceling feature could be one of the important values. 

High audio quality

This is fundamental. But there is no fine line between feeling good in sound quality and actual quality. It means everybody receives good sound subjectively and might have different preferences. And yet, there are the best headphones for ASMR needed to have good quality within the standard. 

What Types of Headphones Should I Choose for ASMR?

In addition to objective performance, A good sound is also significant for psychological factors, hearing environment, and individual preference. Therefore we would find the appropriate headphones depending on their purpose. Of course, we are here looking for the best headphones for ASMR. 

A multimedia type

The multimedia type of headphones is specialized in movies, games, and multimedia appreciation which specializes in spatial sound. It’s also user-friendly.

Choose a closed-back type

There are two different outer shells of the ear covers, the open-back, and the closed-back. The open-back headphones have a perforation on the cover shells. It means the air and sound could go through the shells in and out.

Thus it will not give you the feeling of density as much as the closed-back type and also in terms of noise-canceling. Although the good thing is that the pitches between low, mid, and high would come very naturally and unbiased.

On the other hand, the closed-back headphones have a solid covered shell that makes you feel like you are completely alone in the world.

For sounding like ASMR contexts, closed-back headphones would be appropriated more than open-back headphones. And yet if you want to have a balanced sound, you would wear open-back headphones but have to listen only in a quiet place.  

Choose your wearing methods

No matter what type of headphones, there are always a few different methods that would fit your ears. Especially for ASMR, a Headband type of headphones is exceptional. Otherwise, typically are in-ear, on-ear, and over-ear headphones.

In-ear headphones come as small earbud tips. You wear the tips to the ear canal. On-ear headphones have smaller ear pads than the Over-ear which means the pads press against your ears. Because of that, they do a good job of isolating noises thanks to their pads by sitting on the ears.

Over-ear headphones are enclosed fully around or over the ears so the sound could be richer than other headphones. 

Enjoy Your Head Orgasm

The Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response ASMR is like a physical tingling sensation triggered by particular audio stimuli. When listening to it, it almost feels like the sound touches you physically.

With this advantage of ASMR, we naturally get relaxation out of it. Somewhat it can be associated with our very earliest experiences of babies and parents sharing an intimate bond. How sensitive and emotional it might be.

A technical point of all the best headphones for ASMR is focused on the sound quality to fulfill the ASMR experience. However, the Sony WH1000XM3 wireless headphones are a cut above the rest. 

Because of their well-balanced, enriched sound quality with the great noise-canceling feature, adapt them to improve your sleeping quality as well as for your relaxation purposes. Whatsoever, all that matters is how to make yourself feel good and comfortable.

And if you want to look at more options, I suggest checking our selection of Headphones for Classical Music and Headphones for Producing And Mixing because most models will still do great to provide a powerful and rich ASMR experience.