Headphone advice please

B

bluesmouse

New member
I am getting together a home studio to make rock/blues demos and I need advice on a good pair of headphones to buy. I have been told by a friend that they will need to be low impedance and fully closed as I will be using them to monitor other tracks while I play guitar or sing and I will then be using them to mix finished songs. My budget is around $125 max.
Please help! I have no idea about headphones.
Cheers,
Bluesmouse.
 
bluesmouse said:
and I will then be using them to mix finished songs.
Click to expand...

Don't do this if you want a decent mix. Believe me, I know.

What you mix in the headphones will not be reproduced accuratly on other speakers.

As for headphones, most pro's use Beyer, Sony or Sennheiser I believe.
 
I agree, don't do the final mix on headphones. You really would be surprised how different the balance can sound on headphones as opposed to speakers.
 
AKG K-270s. They are great, very sealed, and on ebay I got some for $85. The new extreme isolation headphones are supposed to be good too.
 
Despite warnings from my colleagues, I do much--but not all--of my mixing using phones because I'm dealing with a noise issue in my home studio. Folks are right when they tell you to avoid this: the sound is different in cans and speakers. That said, though, I'd add that you can do much of the rough mix in phones, especially if you become *very familiar* with your phones by listening to lots of well recorded music through them (e.g., Steely Dan's latest). Then I connect my DAW to my home stereo and make all of my final adjustments, especially related to EQ. So yes, do your final mix using some type of external monitor, but (in my opinion) you can use a good set of phones to get your sound in the ballpark--if you have little choice. My final recordings, using a Yamaha aw16G, sound surprisingly professional if you AB them
with commercial CDs, and that's the approach I use.

So which phones? Most people would agree that there are several in the $100 range that are quite good, depending on your personal tastes: AKG, Sennheiser, AT, and Sony all make popular, highly rated models for about $99. I'd suggest trying them in a store while using a CD that you know well. Better yet, although a bit impolite to some, you could order several models from an online store and then return all but your favorites. I have to admit that I do this occasionally because I feel the need. (Shame on me?)

Good luck with your decision!

J.
 
Yo Blues in Bb Mouse:

Go for the Beyer 250 cans. They should be in your price range. Nice and comfortable and are closed cans.

Green Hornet :D :p :cool:
 
I've been looking around on Harmony Central and the EX-29 Extreme Isolation phones by Direct Sound get good reviews. Does anyone have any experience of these?

Bluesmouse.
 
I have about 4 different types of headphones, in addition to my regular monitors, and I find that if I can get a mix to sound good on all 5, then it will pretty much translate to anything. That's not to say that I've accomplished this often. :D

The AKG K240's are good, with flat frequency response, albeit a little bass shy. Great for checking for sibilance/harshness.

The Sony MDRs are just the opposite -- They're quite colored and bass-heavy, but they extend all the way down to 10 hz, so they're excellent for checking bass and otherwise subsonic stuff that your speakers/monitors might not be reproducing.

In tracking situations, I give the the sony's to the guy(s) who keeps whining about not hearing enought bass -- usually the bass player, :D but sometimes the drummer; and the k240's to the guy who's the most critical.
 
I've found that really old headphones work incredible. Like something from the 80's where each earpiece is as big as an apple and made of thick plastic. If it looks like something a hellicopter pilot might wear - you're good to go. Check your local thrift store.

But yeah - dont mix with headphones.
 
jeffree said:
Chessrock, which AKGs are you using--the M or S? Just curious.

J.
Click to expand...

I though I'd jump in here and give my input (sorry chessrock). Now, I had the M version of the K240 for a while and was very happy but was fishing around for a good preamp 'cause my portastudio was having a hard time with bringing enough volume to the K240. They're 600 ohms. Anyway, I then traded in the M version for the "improved" S (studio) version which had a lower impendence (55 or so I think). The next day I brought the S version back. Needless to say, I'll never trade in my M's ever again. The S version is just a hyped up M version. All I wanted is the lower ohms so I wouldn't need a preamp and I though the S vers had that changed and only that. I felt scammed when I found many other differences. The S version is TOO trebly and sometimes even too harsh, at least to my ears. It is COMPLETELY different from the 600 ohm version M. It's probably a pro-consumer version. I'm sticking to my M version but will certainly need a preamp soon ;) I was thinking of getting a cheap stereo receiver. I think that will do. I'm also in the market for some closed ear "cans" for vocal overdubs that sound kinda like the "accurate" AKG240M's but are a closed ear design to block out any sound. What do the PRO's use ? My budget is about 100 US. I was thinking the Sony MDR-7506 or the Sennheiser HD280Pro from all the reviews I read. What do you guys think ?

Thanks,

Daniel
 
Good feedback. I'm also curious about the models you mention, especially the Senn 280s. They're currently available for $85 (shipping/tax included)--you can find the supplier's website under the "Related Equipment"/"headphones" thread on the www.aw16g.com site. One of the experienced users there really likes these 280s.

Anyone eslse have experience with these Sennheiser cans?

J.
 
Yeah... I'd go for the AKG K240M also... they're pretty much an industry standard. Treat them carefully though... they look much stronger than they really are (don't drop them on a concrete floor). New, they're around $99 if you shop.

I tend to mix with both monitors and headphones, because most consumers listen to music on both. You'll notice a dramatic difference in reverb levels, but you'll have a much better idea of how your panning and stereo imaging is holding up with cans, unless your mixing room and monitors are really dialed in.
 
I got the Sony 7506's and the AKG K-270s's. I would highly recommend the 279's over the 7506's just because they are dead quiet for recording and sound good listening afterwards. The 7506's are great but bleed at medium volumes. I had a lot of bleed problems, then got the 270's and have had no problems.
 
What about a headphone that will lower the db sustaintlly noticable. I want to be able to moniter a mix at a live venue thou my computer, as i'm getting a different signal then what is being heard thou the PA.

Only headphone i know about are the RadioShack race headphones.
"The RadioShack Noise-Blocking Race Scanner Headphones are ideal for use in noisy locations like race tracks. They effectively block out external noise — up to 20dB"
They run for $60, but are mono which sucks, but doesn't really matter in moniteroing the sound.

Any other ideas for noise-cancleing headphones?

Chris
 
Yeah, the best noise cancellers I've found (and just ordered, after some heavy research) are the Sennheiser 280s: -32dB reduction. Wow. Check out their pros and cons via the editorial links on the Sennhesier.com site. Someone tipped me off to the best price on-line: $85, tax/FedEx shipping inc., at newegg.com.

J.
 
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