Headphone Choice

[JDOD]

Afternoon gents,

I don't normally post in this part of the forum but here I go.

I don't have access or the space to get a proper pair of monitors - my recording gear is all connected to my stereo and TV in my living room. I do all my mixing/monitoring through headphones, then occasionally listen back on other platforms.

Listening back to all my guitar tracks is done through headphones, I'm sitting in a room with a blaring amp listening to what the mic is capturing through headphones etc.

What I'm after is a set of headphones that a) don't colour the tone at all, and b) are half decent at noise cancelling. Although the noise cancelling is less important.

Absolute limit of budget would be £100; I'm not a pro or a massive audio snob - I've used cheap unbranded headphones and technics headphones in the past which were all under £30.

I've never really researched what makes a good set of headphones and don't know what you'd expect to get for your money.

Is the information in this link relatively correct and relatively in-date with regard to brands:
Best Studio Headphones: The Ultimate Guide for 2015

 

[miroslav]

I wouldn't go with that list AFA those being the 7 "best"...etc.

For mixing (I assume, since you say no color) you want open-back...and one set that is not on that list that I would pick over any of the ones on the list...are the Fostex T50RP. Excellent wide range, high quality sounding phones...and they are not going to break the bank.

AFA closed-back...the Senn HD280 are supposed to be a great choice and a decent price.
IMO, for closed-back phones, which are going to be mostly used for tracking, you don't really need to drop= a lot of cash on something esoteric.

 

[JDOD]

I wouldn't go with that list AFA those being the 7 "best"...etc.

For mixing (I assume, since you say no color) you want open-back...and one set that is not on that list that I would pick over any of the ones on the list...are the Fostex T50RP. Excellent wide range, high quality sounding phones...and they are not going to break the bank.

AFA closed-back...the Senn HD280 are supposed to be a great choice and a decent price.
IMO, for closed-back phones, which are going to be mostly used for tracking, you don't really need to drop= a lot of cash on something esoteric.

Cheers, mate. That's what I was thinking - I have a cheapo pair of hard plastic shelled closed back ones which are great when you're standing in front of a loud amp! So I'll look up decent mixing ones and put my money there. Thanks for the recommendation - any others would be welcome.

 

[andrushkiwt]

the Senn HD280 are supposed to be a great choice and a decent price.

I use these for tracking and mixing (for the time being). I have nothing to compare them to, since they are the only thing i've mixed with. As with most headphones (i'm guessing), there's a learning curve to their sound. I bounce mixes out to my car, work headphones, and Turtle Beaches (gaming headset) for checking.

 

[JDOD]

I wouldn't go with that list AFA those being the 7 "best"...etc.

For mixing (I assume, since you say no color) you want open-back...and one set that is not on that list that I would pick over any of the ones on the list...are the Fostex T50RP. Excellent wide range, high quality sounding phones...and they are not going to break the bank.

AFA closed-back...the Senn HD280 are supposed to be a great choice and a decent price.
IMO, for closed-back phones, which are going to be mostly used for tracking, you don't really need to drop= a lot of cash on something esoteric.

Miro, they're actually the top of my price limit.

 

[Jake_JW]

I guess everyone has a different definition of 'colour' with regards to headphones/speakers. They all colour the sound in some way or other.

I haven't had a problem referencing mixes on my Audio Technica at50s but I would hesistate to call them 'uncoloured' or anything similar, the low mids are sucked in a little and the bass hyped quite a bit - I actually though the m30's were more neutral and less tiring for long sessions when I heard some the other week. Gah!

Both sets are worth a listen and common enough that quite a few people have them so trying them out might not be *too* difficult.

 

[Brian Miller]

I love my Sony MDR-7506 for tracking. I know some people think they have too much hype, but I've been thrilled with them.

 

[Steenamaroo]

I love my Sony MDR-7506 for tracking. I know some people think they have too much hype, but I've been thrilled with them.

Be careful with those. There are plenty of fakes out there. If they're cheaper than they should be, don't risk it.
Sennheisers and Beyers, as far as I know, aren't as commonly faked.

If you'll be wearing them a lot I find the Beyer 770s more comfortable than the hd280s.
I think they're actually heavier but they don't feel that way.

 

[Brian Miller]

Be careful with those. There are plenty of fakes out there. If they're cheaper than they should be, don't risk it.

Mine are real (Guitar Center). Your warning must have been for the OP.

 

[Atkron205]

I use these for tracking and mixing (for the time being). I have nothing to compare them to, since they are the only thing i've mixed with. As with most headphones (i'm guessing), there's a learning curve to their sound. I bounce mixes out to my car, work headphones, and Turtle Beaches (gaming headset) for checking.

I have 3 pairs of the HD280 pros, I use them on drums and the singer I play with likes the click track stupid loud in the phones,with my old phones a few times the click bled into the mic, have not had the issue since I switched him to the 280s. I love them.

 

[JDOD]

I'm gonna stick with my current crap pair for tracking and get a nice (ish) pair for mixing in the new year.

 

[Jesse A]

Another vote for the Sennheiser HD280 pro headphones here. Sennheiser claims that these cans can attenuate up to 32dB of noise, they do not provide any actual data for the frequency of this noise however. I can say that I have owned the same pair of HD280s since 2008 and only now do I finally need to replace the headband due to wear. That is another great feature of these headphones, all user replaceable parts. They do have the ability for a lot of volume as they are only 64 ohms impedance.

 

[Chili]

I've got the HD280s also and there was an adjustment to make. They are suppose to be flat, which is good, but I was surprised with how lifeless "flat" can be. I recommend them with the caveat that you listen to a lot of reference material.

 

[diggy_dude]

They are suppose to be flat, which is good, but I was surprised with how lifeless "flat" can be.

So true.

It would be hard to go wrong with an old favorite like the Koss PRO4AA. Thousands of pro audio users spanning four decades.

https://www.koss.com/headphones/over-ear-headphones/pro4aa

 

[mixsit]

I was aware of this site;
Build A Graph | headphone.com
But just found this one too;
Headphone Data Sheet Downloads | InnerFidelity

 

[JDOD]

All, got my tone nailed so its gonna be time to start preliminary mixing.

Choices are:

Fostex T50RP and Samson SR850 - These are both semi open so they're probably OK for tracking too (i'm currently using a cheap fully enclosed set)
Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro or AKG K 701 - These are both open so should be good for mixing (I'll stick to my shit closed back ones for tracking)

Anyone got any more experience of these?

 

[antichef]

I know it's out of the budget (but not much? You've got those fancy £ things) but I can heartily recommend the Focal Spirit Pro - great for tracking

 

[einstein magoo]

All, got my tone nailed so its gonna be time to start preliminary mixing.

Choices are:

Fostex T50RP and Samson SR850 - These are both semi open so they're probably OK for tracking too (i'm currently using a cheap fully enclosed set)
Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro or AKG K 701 - These are both open so should be good for mixing (I'll stick to my shit closed back ones for tracking)

Anyone got any more experience of these?

Old man, weak ear opinion:
I have two of the SR850 and like them a lot. Reading in here for the last few years the Senn HD280 Pro had many favorable reviews so I added a set of those. A/B'ing them, in my old shot ears, they sound quite similar. I also find that although the 850s are "semi-open" they don't seem to bleed-out into my mics, AND I got two pair for the price of the one set of HD280s! For my purposes, I find the Samson just as capable for tracking as the Sennheisers.
I'm not cork-sniffy about stuff and I think the SR850 are pretty good. When tracking, I use the two brands interchangeably and don't notice any major issues either way. Don't buy two pair on my advice. Get one and see if you like them first.

 

[JDOD]

Just posting back cos einstein messaged me to tell me I forgot about the thread. I went for the AGK in the end, mainly cos I got a good deal on them, I think they may have been discontinued.

Anyway, I'm really happy with them. It's worth mentioning that I've never spent this much on headphones before so they're bound to sound great to me, they're actually marketed as reference headphones and I find I can hear music is far more detail. They've influenced a few mixes I've done in a very positive way.

The non subjective stuff. They're hugely robust and very comfortable!

 

[einstein magoo]

Cool. I was just curious what you ended up with. Hope they work well for you.