Decent headphones to mix on under $150

Kingofpain678

Returned from the dead
alright, i know - good monitors + treated room = best way to mix HOWEVER, I only have entry level monitors which I do use but I can't use them all the time because loud music being repeated over and over as I tweak things tends to piss people around me off. I have a pair of AKG K240 studio headphones and a pair of logitech gaming headphones (stop judging me) but neither of them really give me a fair representation of bass frequencies. I find that bass is the hardest thing for me to hear and work with. maybe I'm going deaf? thats a real possibility I suppose....

ANYWAYS, i've been eyeing some audio technica m40x cans but the more I research the more I find people recommending a myriad of different headphones. AT m50x, beyerdynamic dt770 pros were also considerations.
Please recommend some headphones that might allow me to get the bass in my mixes somewhere in the ballpark of where it should be. I'm willing to spend up to $150.
 
Audio Technica ATH-M50's. Likely the best, and at about $120.00 or so, you can't beat it. I've been using them for years, and have my original pair from back in 2007. I replaced the earcups on those, and they're as good as ever. Well built, comfortable, and the sound is excellent. They're a bit leaky for tracking, but it's a worthwhile compromise.
 
I have 3 sets of headphones.

My AKG 240s are the most natural sounding. They are the closest to what I hear from my various speaker systems.
The Sony 7506s are much brighter. They are great for hearing fine details, pointing out noise issues, etc. When I use them for mixing, the sound comes out too dark and dull on other systems.
My Senn HD280s are more bass heavy than the others. Being closed back, they are good for tracking. I try not to use them for balancing the sound, things seem to come out too bright. They are fairly new, so maybe they need some breaking in.


The Beyer DT770s and AT M50Xs get lots of recommendations.

Something that I have noticed is that headphones seem to vary somewhat depending on the source. What works great on my interface doesn't sound the same on my laptop's headphone out. The Sonys tend to stay upstairs with the laptop, the AKG and Sennheisers are downstairs with the Tascam.
 
Something that I have noticed is that headphones seem to vary somewhat depending on the source. What works great on my interface doesn't sound the same on my laptop's headphone out. The Sonys tend to stay upstairs with the laptop, the AKG and Sennheisers are downstairs with the Tascam.

I think that may have something to do with impedance, thats one thing that the beyerdynamic dt770's have over the AT m50x is that you can purchase different impedance version of the headphones. like my headphone amp recommends an impedance greater than 60 ohms so I could buy the 80 ohm version of the dt770's where as the m50x only come in 32 ohms.
I'm still very torn between the two.
 
I have 3 sets of headphones.

My AKG 240s are the most natural sounding. They are the closest to what I hear from my various speaker systems.
The Sony 7506s are much brighter. They are great for hearing fine details, pointing out noise issues, etc. When I use them for mixing, the sound comes out too dark and dull on other systems.
My Senn HD280s are more bass heavy than the others. Being closed back, they are good for tracking. I try not to use them for balancing the sound, things seem to come out too bright. They are fairly new, so maybe they need some breaking in.


The Beyer DT770s and AT M50Xs get lots of recommendations.

Something that I have noticed is that headphones seem to vary somewhat depending on the source. What works great on my interface doesn't sound the same on my laptop's headphone out. The Sonys tend to stay upstairs with the laptop, the AKG and Sennheisers are downstairs with the Tascam.

I have two of those you mentioned and agree completely. Both around $100 or less.

The Sennheiser HD280s are the most bass heavy ones and use them for drummers and deaf singers. They seem very 'colored' and a bit too isolating for use for fine tuning of edits. Large pads isolate well over ears and hold pretty tightly to head.

Sony 7506 are what I typically use for myself when monitoring tracking of vocals in my control room, and for fine tuning edits. They are light and comfortable and tend to not be as fatiguing after hours of use. For someone like me that absolutely hates having things over my ears, these are the least intrusive for me.

I also have a couple of ATH M40x that I use for others to listen on. They are kind of between the two I mentioned above in sound quality and isolation. Not bad for disposable $60 headphones.

I myself don't mix on headphones so I can't say I can recommend any of these for that. Not my thing. I do use for alternate reference mostly the Sony's.

All these three I mentioned are closed back. I actually don't think I have ever owned a pair that were not...
 
Yeah, those HD 280's are great for drummers, but that's about it. They were the first "good" headphones I ever got, but after hearing the ATH 50's I can't bear to use those old 280's. Just curious, but you have the ATH 40's; have you used the 50's? I have the 30's and a pair of 40's, but the 50's are better I believe.
 
Yeah, those HD 280's are great for drummers, but that's about it. They were the first "good" headphones I ever got, but after hearing the ATH 50's I can't bear to use those old 280's. Just curious, but you have the ATH 40's; have you used the 50's? I have the 30's and a pair of 40's, but the 50's are better I believe.

Agreed about the 280's. I'll have to try the ATH 50's. My Sony's are getting worn out. Gaffer take holding the wire in place... LOL
 
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