Best studio headphones?

[Dasheesh]

i already own samson's, i bought the edifiers for travel and fun. the samson's are more musical sounding, but if you want flat and clinical... and long wearing... go with the edifiers. the samson's distort at high and low registries. the edifiers will distort at high volumes (40 mil drivers). if you need a pair to plug into your instrument i'd go samson's, for production style work i would go edifiers. there are other under 80$ cans out there tho.

[SparkySpark]

i already own samson's, i bought the edifiers for travel and fun. the samson's are more musical sounding, but if you want flat and clinical... and long wearing... go with the edifiers. the samson's distort at high and low registries. the edifiers will distort at high volumes (40 mil drivers). if you need a pair to plug into your instrument i'd go samson's, for production style work i would go edifiers. there are other under 80$ cans out there tho.

Yes, I own several around the 100 buck mark, but I am not thrilled with their supposed flatness. Flat and clinical sounds like they could do the trick.

Thanks!

[fedexnman]

I just got the Beyerdynamic DT770 80ohmz , I've worn them not even an hour . .... Going from the Sennheiser 280pros , my opinion I can NOT stand them from tracking acoustic guitar , sounds booming ... They maybe good for mixing , which I'm not gonna even try doing ....I absolutely can't use these for tracking REAL Instruments or Vocals , they are also not very loud when tracking at normal non compressed non limited tracks . If anybody wants a pair of $130- 140 headphones for $100 hit me up ... Thanks .

[Dasheesh]

hey fedex, an hour isn't even long enough to do a burn in, but the thing about DT's is they are over built. the 80 ohm really don't do them justice. you need the 250 ohm, and then you need all kinds of amps and shit to get the best out of them. which is another 100-150. they over built the beyers for that price point. i'll tell you what i would spend on if i were going to throw money at cans. i haven't had a chance to try them, but i see adam has started making headphones. i'm interested to see what they can do. shure is making good headphones as well, but those things are tinnitus inducing. your ears will ring for the rest of your days. i bought the shure shr840. my ears have not stop ringing since. crystal clear highs, but they are loud, the staging isn't so good, and the hard plastic head band snapped! why spend money on that?

[fedexnman]

Man , I'm just get me some more Sennheiser 280pros . Lolz ... Mine are falling apart but still sound great . So , it's not like I don't have any headphones. A headphone amp and 250 ohms ones would've been better most likely. They were boomy in the bass department and boomy sounding on Ezdrummer2 ...

[SparkySpark]

Man , I'm just get me some more Sennheiser 280pros . Lolz ... Mine are falling apart but still sound great . So , it's not like I don't have any headphones. A headphone amp and 250 ohms ones would've been better most likely. They were boomy in the bass department and boomy sounding on Ezdrummer2 ...

Yes, they should be boomier than the DT880's I think. We discussed this recently in another thread (along with EQ correction pics).

[Dasheesh]

Man , I'm just get me some more Sennheiser 280pros . Lolz ... Mine are falling apart but still sound great . So , it's not like I don't have any headphones. A headphone amp and 250 ohms ones would've been better most likely. They were boomy in the bass department and boomy sounding on Ezdrummer2 ...

reliable classics. been reissued recently. nice compromise.

[fedexnman]

Yes , the old classic" if it ain't broke don't fix it ."... Headphones are broke but still work is what's funny .. and work very very well .

[percypandy]

im using AKG K52 for now, budget headphones, but im happy with it
thinking of buying Sony MDR-7506 tho

[Obsolete236871]

AKG K240 gives good performance for studio situations, relatively linear frequency response, you are definitely able to mix with those. I heard some guys saying that the original model from the 1970s had higher ohm impendance, but I have no idea how this would affect the sound quality. To my ears the current model sounds good, especially for 50 - 60 bucks (if you buy the MKII package, you will get two changable headphone cables and an extra velour pad).

[SparkySpark]

im using AKG K52 for now, budget headphones, but im happy with it
thinking of buying Sony MDR-7506 tho

I wouldn't recommend the Sony MDR-7506 at all. They lie next to me in the sofa as I'm writing this - so Sorry 'phones! - but they are not neutral, in fact they are very sharp, which would screw up your mixes totally. Good for finding faults in vocals though.

[SparkySpark]

AKG K240 gives good performance for studio situations, relatively linear frequency response, you are definitely able to mix with those.

Yes, they are fantastic in many ways (like the dealer said to me: a lot of music for the price), and tey a re comfy and look great but my! - where's the bass?!?!?! Maybe you play rock, or even better, American folk music, and if so, they should work great, but the mixes won't work if you are in electronica of any kind. (I am referring to the K240 Studio.)

[Obsolete236871]

AKG K240 gives good performance for studio situations, relatively linear frequency response, you are definitely able to mix with those.

Yes, they are fantastic in many ways (like the dealer said to me: a lot of music for the price), and tey a re comfy and look great but my! - where's the bass?!?!?! Maybe you play rock, or even better, American folk music, and if so, they should work great, but the mixes won't work if you are in electronica of any kind. (I am referring to the K240 Studio.)

It's true! They have are lacking in the bass department. I would say they still perform well up to around 90 hz, but below the response is shelving down.

Actually, I do music that requires bass, but since I know how the bass will translate to bigger and more full range speakers, I can still use them.

To me the most important factor is the neutral frequency response in the Mids and Highs. I will only use them for mixing at nighttime (to not disturb neigbours) or when I want to double check certain issues in the mix. I use them equivalent to a microscope, to hear some elements in the mids and highs (where typically most of the magic is happening anyways, aside from kick drums and bass sounds, most stuff happens in the above 90hz range) more clearly / closely.

If you want to mix on headphones exclusively (which I don't recommend, if you want to produce a finished product that translates well), you would probably need headphones that combine the neutral frequeny response of the K240 with a better bass response, to close the gap of the last missing 60hz below the 90hz.

[SparkySpark]

It's true! They have are lacking in the bass department. I would say they still perform well up to around 90 hz, but below the response is shelving down.

...

If you want to mix on headphones exclusively (which I don't recommend, if you want to produce a finished product that translates well), you would probably need headphones that combine the neutral frequeny response of the K240 with a better bass response, to close the gap of the last missing 60hz below the 90hz.

Yeah, then we're on the same page.

I can't figure out why they don't do a "K250" or so, adding some bass. It would sell like butter (is that how the saying goes - it doesn't make sense at all... ). I'd buy them in an instant, and never look at 100+ buck headphones.

[JCJR]

I just got the Beyerdynamic DT770 80ohmz , I've worn them not even an hour . .... Going from the Sennheiser 280pros , my opinion I can NOT stand them from tracking acoustic guitar , sounds booming ... They maybe good for mixing , which I'm not gonna even try doing ....I absolutely can't use these for tracking REAL Instruments or Vocals , they are also not very loud when tracking at normal non compressed non limited tracks . If anybody wants a pair of $130- 140 headphones for $100 hit me up ... Thanks .

Ya dunno if break-in is real with the phones or speakers changing tone, or possibly just the user getting accustomed to a different sound.

I think you can get 32 ohm 770 which would be easier to drive loud. My 80 ohm 770 pros are always loud enough in my devices but sometimes need turning up near max.

Maybe I don't actually like phones all that much. All time fave remains the elderly etymotic er-4p which rarely annoy me.

First weeks with the dt770 pro couldn't decide if I liked em or not. Sometimes seemed too bassy and sometimes not. Sometimes seemed too bright and sometimes not.

Likely just a fickle ear. I can listen to the exact same song on the 770's on two different days and one day it sounds great and the next day it doesn't.

If I wasn't such a titewad would get some 32 ohm dt990 just for curiosity but more than likely would only like em about half the time.

OTOH maybe the characteristic of having several phones one only likes about half the time could be somehow useful doing quality control on a mix. Or maybe that idea is just silly.