Please help me pick some headphones <$300!

kojdogg

kojdogg

bollocks redux!
[Please note that I've done extensive searches on this and other MB's about this before posting this here. Kind of want some fresh opinions from folks whose opinions and posts I'm used to and to get the "state of the debate."]

I am looking at getting some decent headphones (currently considering Sennheiser HD600's, Beyer 770 Pro's and Etymotic ER4P's), which I will probably have to do some mxing on because of noise level concerns (I work 9 to 5, live in a relatively small apartment with my girlfriend and probably would be mixing mostly at night and when she's sleeping). I'll be able to check them on my monitors-- modest Tascam VL-X5's, which I'll probably upgrade in the new year. I would like to be able to use them for tracking too, but that's not essential because I have some cheap phones for that.

The headphones have some inherent structural qualities which effect their utility-- the Senns are open backed (bad for tracking, better for mixing), the Beyers are closed backed and offer better isolation (better for tracking, worse for mixing), and the Etymotics are in-ear (would seem to be a good compromise between closed/open, but have a limited amount of earpieces).

I've seen a number of opinions on these models of headphones and have noticed some funny trends such as Europeans seem to prefer the Beyers over the Senns. I haven't seen a lot about the Etymotics, except for Big Ray championing them on GS over his Senns. If you happen to read this Big Ray, could you please elaborate on exactly why you prefer the Etymotics-- the measurable specs seem to favor the Senns? Also I understand you record/mix mostly classical music-- do you think the benefits of the Etymotics would translate to rock & singer/songwriter type music?

Anyone else have opinions on these models? Anyone want to suggest any alternatives (including other models in the series I mentioned (e.g. the Senn HD580's & 650's, the Beyer 880's and 990s, etc.)

Also I understand that headphone amps greatly influence the sound you get in the cans. I would be plugging into the headphone jack on my Mackie Onyx 1220, which I understand is not exactly a boutique headphone amp, however, atleast it doesn't add any unnecessary stages to the chain. Can anyone make a compelling argument as to it being a waste to use something like the Senns out from the Mackie?

Thanks in advance for any help with this! :D
 
First of all...do you need "reference" quality. Headphones, like speakers or monitors, come in all flavors to satisfy different types of needs. If your needs are for accuracy when recording audio--you need reference phones.
Decide if you want clear, clean accurate reproduction of your work....or super full, rich sound for personal enjoyment and narrow your search.
Good reference phones don't have to be expensive. Sennheiser 280pros satisfy a lot of audio techs, although I see a lot of the upper Sony's in use.
Some of the high end Sonys have a little too much "flavoring" for me, although I use three models of Sony and know which sound best for different applications.
 
I have the 770's. They are amazing headphones. You can hear EVERYTHING on them. The only drawback I see is that they tend to make everything sound a bit better than it really is. I use mine as a second reference, and to catch problems that I don't hear on the monitors, so it's not an issue for me.
 
See if your girlfriend will sleep with a fan or air purifier in the room. Some white noise helps me sleep and blocks out other noise.
 
kojdogg said:
[Please note that I've done extensive searches on this and other MB's about this before posting this here. Kind of want some fresh opinions from folks whose opinions and posts I'm used to and to get the "state of the debate."]

I am looking at getting some decent headphones (currently considering Sennheiser HD600's, Beyer 770 Pro's and Etymotic ER4P's)
Click to expand...

I'd vote for the Sennheisers. I've been using HD 540s since whenever they were new (20+ years, I reckon).

Cheers,

Otto
 
Went with the Sennheisers-- thanks a lot for your input everyone!
I'd seen a lot of good and bad comments on the Ultrasones, and was strongly considering them, but I read more than one comment that they are not great for checking bass frequencies, which I really need.
Thanks again everyone! :D
 
I have the HD650's. Get a decent headphone amp of some sort. They are pretty high impedance (I believe they are both 300 ohms @ 1khz) and need some power to get the detail they are capable of. They will sound good no matter, but you wont get your money's worth without a good amp driving them. For what its worth I use a little tube job from Antique Sound Lab. I think it might have been $100 off the bay. Makes a difference over the head tap on my mixer. -L-
 
lancebug said:
I have the HD650's. Get a decent headphone amp of some sort. They are pretty high impedance (I believe they are both 300 ohms @ 1khz) and need some power to get the detail they are capable of. They will sound good no matter, but you wont get your money's worth without a good amp driving them. For what its worth I use a little tube job from Antique Sound Lab. I think it might have been $100 off the bay. Makes a difference over the head tap on my mixer. -L-
Click to expand...
Thanks lancebug! How do you feed the amp though-- is it going straight from your D/A converter? I might have a problem because my D/A is integrated into the Mackie and if I run outs from the mixer and into a headphone amp, am I trading fidelity for gain?
 
Do you have any sort of monitor out on your mixer? I have a tape out on mine (-10db) that I use to feed the hp amp (also -10db). It probably is a bit of a choke point in terms of fidelity. Still, it makes a difference, versus trying to drive the 650's with the hp amp in my little mixer. I guess if I wanted the best possible fidelity, I should feed it directly from my 828, but that would mean tracking down a good hp amp that runs at +4, which is probably a lot more costly than the one I have currently. Nothing is easy is it?
 
lancebug said:
Do you have any sort of monitor out on your mixer? I have a tape out on mine (-10db) that I use to feed the hp amp (also -10db). It probably is a bit of a choke point in terms of fidelity. Still, it makes a difference, versus trying to drive the 650's with the hp amp in my little mixer. I guess if I wanted the best possible fidelity, I should feed it directly from my 828, but that would mean tracking down a good hp amp that runs at +4, which is probably a lot more costly than the one I have currently. Nothing is easy is it?
Click to expand...

Thanks man-- that's really helpful. Yeah I'm running my monitor outs into my monitors (brilliant eh?), but the mixer has some "main outs" I could use. Eventually I'd like to have something like a Central Station, however as I would like to add a 2.1 system to my setup in the not too distant future.
 
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