Good headphones for under $30?

[3nigma]

I need to buy a good pair of headphones to be able to mix and master a song with. I purchased a Sony MDR-v150 and well... It was $20, and had amazing reviews on every site I went on.

They're very weird. When connected to my iPod (no EQ set), they sound TERRIBLE. The bass is far too loud, and everything is in the mid tones. It just ends up sounding very muddy. My friend bought a pair of Skullcandy earbuds, and they sound FAR superior. I was amazed. But I don't want earbuds to do my mixing and mastering with.

On the other hand, when connected directly into my Laptop using Winamp and a custom EQ, they sound better. Even with the same song that was playing on my iPod, alot of the sounds are far clearer and more discernible. So I'm sort of stuck. Should I return them to the store, and buy something far superior that I could hunt for under $30, or keep them and tough it out? Hmm. Suggestions?

[Aled_King]

I got Sennheiser HD201, I think they're great for the price!

[Everybody]

Originally Posted by Aled_King

I got Sennheiser HD201, I think they're great for the price!

Those or the 202s look pretty good!
also check on equation 3070s

[joeym]

Do NOT mix and master with head-phones. Period.

[Treeline]

Problem is you're spending $20, not $200. And you're using headphones.

That said, get a pair of MoreMe cans. Great bang for the buck. Google moreme and you'll find 'em. Good cheap stuff.

[VomitHatSteve]

Originally Posted by Treeline

Problem is you're spending $20, not $200. And you're using headphones.

That said, get a pair of MoreMe cans. Great bang for the buck. Google moreme and you'll find 'em. Good cheap stuff.

+1 on the moremes (I can't vouch for $200 headphones since I've never had a pair. )

[3nigma]

Originally Posted by Aled_King

I got Sennheiser HD201, I think they're great for the price!

I ended up buying one of these. Freaking AWESOME. The sound quality is as good as a $100 headphone. Far better than I thought I would get for a $20 headphone. Thanks for the recommendation.

I think it'll be fine for mixing, since it doesn't add tons of extra bass or anything like my last did.

[thane1200]

I'll sell you these for $50.00. Better than headphones.

[doulos24]

ok here is a killer secrete in pro audio are you ready shhh get real quiet i want to tell you this secrete here it comes

YOU CAN'T @#$%@#$ MIX IN HEAPHONES IT WON'T WORK

[3nigma]

Originally Posted by doulos24

ok here is a killer secrete in pro audio are you ready shhh get real quiet i want to tell you this secrete here it comes

YOU CAN'T @#$%@#$ MIX IN HEAPHONES IT WON'T WORK

I'm quite broke. I can't buy no $200 sets. =/ So this will have to do.

[LemonTree]

I concur, you CAN mix in headphones and your mixes will sound fantastic........ in headphones

It's when you mix in headphones then expect your good sounding mix to still sound good through a decent pair of speakers it all starts falling apart.

If you're skint and you're learning then mixing under the cans won't kill you. Just keep in mind that when you finaly do get a set of monitors to mix properly that all your previous headphone mixes are gonna sound like ass. That's not because you mixed badly, it's because you mixed in headphones and the perception of what you hear in cans is always way off.

Monitort to mix, cans to check your stereo image

[suprstar]

I got some AKG K55's that were right around $30 a pair, they sound pretty good, and they're nice and comfy too.

[doulos24]

I'm quite broke to, but I bust my ass working 2 jobs to suport my habbit and still if i only had 20 dollars I'd look at desktop computer speakers before I'd look for headphones. One they will translate better and 2 when you get proper monitors you an use them as a second refrence set and cheap desktop speakers can be had for dirt cheap at a thrift store i got a pair of old mac speakers I still bring with me to mix with even when im using a 8,000 dollar monitoring chain

[owwmyfoot]

Hey brother, I know what it's like to have no dough. I'm in professional school and will be in considerable debt when I'm done. Listen to the people here. You can't mix in headphones. For computer based recording I think a decent set of speakers/monitors will do you more. The m-audio av30 (15 watts per side) or av40 (20 watts per side) will be much more useful to you than a set of headphones. The av30s are $99.99 with free shipping on ebay. They aren't technically monitors but more like high end computer speakers, but you will at least be able to get a solid mix out of them. have fun

[3nigma]

Okay I guess I get your guys' points now about mixing with stereo speakers. Besides the headphones I bought, I have one of these for my laptop. http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=ARC-EC-21-BLK

What do you think? They sound very decent, good bass features and 10x better than stereo speakers that come with most computers. Could I maybe mix with those, or buy one of the M-Audio setups?

[suprstar]

Honestly, I think I'd rather mix in headphones than on those things.. Anything that advertises power in PMPO screams 'Im selling cheap generic trash via deceptive marketing tactics..' I'd rather see '18w rms' than '560w pmpo' on the box. Computer speakers in general tend to have a very scooped sound to em, and the sub is basically a 1-note honker. Double so for cheap speakers trying to look higher quality than they really are (ie $18 560w ones) Those speakers have their place, I'd be perfectly happy playing video games with em, or stick em on an office or shop computer for music during the day, etc.. But you can't analyze music and get any idea of frequency response with em.

I realize you dont have any $ to put into this, so do what you gotta do. Give it a try, I predict you'll be burning mixes to cd, so you can listen to it everywhere else. Then you'll come back and blindly tweak the mix based on what you remember hearing elsewhere, not what you're hearing at your mixing desk. To me that'd be more frustrating than productive or enjoyable, hopefully you aren't turned off by the experience. It'll be a lot harder than it needs to be, and it's difficult to begin with!

[roguebear]

The bottom line with mixing is knowing your speakers, bottom line. It takes a while to get 'true' mixes on any speakers. There is also a lot of reference that goes on as well(taking it out to your car, your home stereo, etc.). I do know several engineers who will reference their stuff on a low end computer speakers because lets face it, most people are gonna be listening to this stuff on computer speakers. That being said, headphones cannot generally give you a good representation of whatever you are mixing. It distorts the way things are perceived.

[mixmkr]

Skip the moreme headphones for listening. I've got about a 1/2 dozen, and while they're supposedly bullet proof, they're pretty bad sounding. Ok for drummers, hearing click tracks, stuff along those lines... but don't expect to "fall into a mix" when tracking thru these. I have them as spares but honestly have probably only used them a total of 3 or 4 times over the last couple years. They do sound pretty bad... all midrange....which is great for volume... drummers, right?

Go to RatShack or Best Buy and try on some pairs for $30 and pick the ones you like best. That's kinda your options in this price range.

[Harvey Gerst]

Originally Posted by mixmkr

Skip the moreme headphones for listening. I've got about a 1/2 dozen, and while they're supposedly bullet proof, they're pretty bad sounding. Ok for drummers, hearing click tracks, stuff along those lines... but don't expect to "fall into a mix" when tracking thru these. I have them as spares but honestly have probably only used them a total of 3 or 4 times over the last couple years. They do sound pretty bad... all midrange....which is great for volume... drummers, right?

Hey, I've said that right from the start.

If you can find a pair of Radio Shack Nova 67's, they're great for serious listening. I also like the Sennheiser HD201 for cheap.

The MoreMe's work great for tracking, period!!

[mixmkr]

Harvey....yeah you did say that.

I will say, where can you get 6 sets of cans for under 2 bills that if I lost them all, I wouldn't be upset, but they all still work....?

I was "swayed" by the price but I'm finding that's not so important now that I'm over 16 yrs old!! (joe-king).

So folks...need indestructible tracking phones that will make ears of drummers bleed and bulge.... more me!

Besides, drummers don't know what sounds good anywazz