The Most Expensive Headphones You Can Buy Online in 2025

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Sony, Apple, and Bose all make flagship headphones that are considered premium, with each retailing for between $400 and $500. But if you’re the type to filter high-to-low when shopping, there’s a whole world of cans that are much, much more expensive. 

One of the most famous is Sennheiser’s HE 1 headphones, which come with a built-in tube amplifier and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) on a block of Carrara marble (good luck bringing them on your commute). Less a pair of headphones and more a mission statement, Sennehiser designed them with the intention of creating a pair of headphones with no compromises. 

Sennheiser’s HE 1 headphones, which were listed for $60,000, were something of a sequel to the $16,000 Sennheiser Orpheus HE90, released in 1991. Unsurprisingly, you can’t walk into a Best Buy and buy any of these.

With that in mind, we sought to round up a by-no-means comprehensive list of the most expensive headphones you can actually buy online. Whether you’re Daddy Warbucks or just window-shopping, these are some of the most expensive headphones on the market.

For a cool 40 grand, you can order Warwick Acoustics’ Aperio headphones. Like Sennheiser’s HE-1 headphones, these wired headphones come with an amplifier and DAC, so you’re getting more than just a pair of headphones. The headphones themselves are open-back, electrostatic headphones with Cabretta sheepskin leather cushions. The whole thing ships in a heavy-duty, hard-sided rolling case, so you could theoretically travel with it. And hey, the shipping is free.

You can’t actually buy these in the United States yet, but for anyone with $13,000 and change (price converted from Euros) to spend on headphones, we imagine a plane ticket to Europe isn’t out of the question. They’re Hermes’ first entry into the world of wireless headphones, and they’re constructed from lambskin leather and a satin-finish aluminum that “echoes the equestrian stirrup.” Most of the headphones on this list are wired, open-back headphones for home use, but these are portable, noise-canceling headphones with a 30-hour battery life. 

Audeze primarily makes open-back headphones, but the Southern California company also makes gaming headsets and closed-back audiophile headphones. The CRBN2 headphones are an open-back, electrostatic design and require a separate headphone amp.  

If you can’t swing HiFiMan’s $50,000 Shangri-La headphones, you can instead pick up the much more attainable HE-R10 headphones, which cost $5,499.00. They’re closed-back, planar headphones featuring a pronounced wooden earcup and an ergonomic leather headband. The wired headphones come with 3.5mm, XLR, and 6.35mm cables. 

For just under $5,000, you can buy Focal’s Utopia headphones with free Prime shipping. They feature memory foam earpads and a leather headband, while the yoke is constructed from recycled carbon. They’re open-back headphones, so, unsurprisingly, they’re designed for at-home listening. The Utopia headphones feature a Beryllium ‘M’-shaped dome designed for “unrivalled purity, realism and transparency,” according to the brand. 

Meze Audio‘s Elite Tungsten headphones are constructed with a carbon fiber and leather headband, with a chassis constructed from a single piece of aluminum. The open-back headphones are designed for home listening, and they come with two different ear pad types for a comfortable fit. Unlike other high-end headphones, these can be driven by almost any audio source without the need for a separate amplifier.

Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay H100 are some of the priciest wireless headphones on the market. The noise-canceling headphones, which retail for $2,200, have up to 32 hours of battery life. They’re optimized for Dolby Atmos and feature head-tracking for an immersive audio experience. The drivers are made from titanium, while the earcups, headband, and carrying case are made from lambskin and cowhide leather. 

Sony’s headphones run the gamut, from the  $11 ZX Series to the $450 WH-1000XM6. What’s consistent across Sony’s audio offerings is a commitment to quality, as well as an opaque naming scheme. The Sony MDR-Z1R headphones are the brand’s most expensive headphones that you can currently buy. The $2,000 wired headphones feature sheepskin earpads and a magnesium dome with a liquid crystal polymer-edge diaphragm. Of course, they don’t come in a standard zippered case — instead, you get a stylish, cushioned storage box.