Headphones for Mixing and Listening?

  • Thread starter Thread starter moosensquirrel
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moosensquirrel

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Hey, all. I'll try to make this brief because I like to talk peoples ears off about this stuff.

I haven't owned a stereo in years and years that I simply enjoyed just listening to. On the other hand, I am studying to become a recording engineer, and I have too poor of a system for quality mixing. I'm a student too busy to work much, making minimum wage only a few hours a week, so we can't think of anything too grandiose. I am considering headphones because I believe the sound quality to be greater than I could get with book shelf speakers or studio monitors at the same price point.

What I want to buy: a pair of headphones neutral enough for listening (rock, jazz, classical) and accurate enough for mixing.

My budget is slightly flexible. I have $200 right now for headphones (cash from a returned birthday present). I can get more, but it takes time. Maybe I could buy some headphones around that price range or a little above, and a couple months down the road I could purchase a decent headphone amp and dac. My computer and recording interface will be my sources.

I found it easier to mix on my dad's Grado SR80 headphones than any book shelf speakers I have, and the SR80 is only $100. I have been thinking about middle of the road Grados, Sennheisers, or AKG, maybe even the Grado 325is or the Sennheiser HD650.

It would be convenient if they were a closed design so I could record with them too, but since I wouldn't want all my musicians wearing my listening cans, I should probably buy some $40 closed muffs down the road at some point anyway.

What have you got for me?
 
There's really no such thing as a headphone that's "accurate enough for mixing." That said - They're either made for "reasonable for listening" (as you'd find with the Grado's - Try the SR225's...) or isolation (Sony 7506's and such).
 
And you would be able to mix them okay until you can afford some speakers.

Just keep in mind that you may be disappointed with the results.
 
You mean that the mixes won't transfer well to other systems?
 
Massive Master said:
There's really no such thing as a headphone that's "accurate enough for mixing." That said - They're either made for "reasonable for listening" (as you'd find with the Grado's - Try the SR225's...) or isolation (Sony 7506's and such).
Click to expand...
Sennheiser HD 600's are pretty neutral. My pair (thru my Headroom headphone amp) sound almost identical to my studio monitors. You can A/B the two and just about can't tell any difference. The Headroom amps do have a crossfeed circuit that does a fairly good job of getting rid of that 'in your head' spacial problem that you get with cans. I'm not saying they are just as good as mixing on monitors but they are much closer than you'd think.
 
Yeah, most of us have learned that mixing on cans isn't a great idea because the mixes don't often transfer well to other formats. But I'm not alone in using cans to rough out mixes since I need to keep things quiet late at night (family sleeping). I always move to regular monitors for final mixing.

I haven't tried the Senn 600s but have heard a lot of praise for them and the 580s. For me, the best closed cans I've used are the ATH-M50 by Audio Technica. I can't say enough good about them--they're easily the best I've used--and would suggest adding them to your short list. They're available with coiled or straight cord.

From AT's site:

http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/0edf909675b1be4d/index.html

My review at Amazon (the first review, by J. Hanson):

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B000P62ND6/ref=pd_sim_dbs_e_3
 
Yeah, I was worried about mix translation when working with headphones. But I feel studio monitors just aren't an option for me yet. I would love a middle of the road pair of Adam's, or even just the A7's and a cheap 'studio' sub. But I think that for my options in the $200-300 range, headphones are the safest bet.

However, I'm not working on professional projects. You could say that any mixing I do at all is just practice work or a hobby. Whichever studio I finally land a job in should have sufficient quality studio monitors, and then the headphones will just be listening headphones.

I checked out the ATH-M50 cans. They seemed like a decent choice if I do decide to go the lower-budget route, maybe in the running with Grado SR80i. I currently have my eye on the AKG k702, or maybe the Grado SR225i or SR325is.
 
I ordered the AKG k702 headphones with the intention of eventually buying the Heed Canamp.

I know headphones aren't the most translatable for mixing, but for $250, they are a lot better than a pair of equivalently priced studio monitors.

Thanks to everyone who provided input, and best wishes.
 
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