headphones: Sennheiser HD-280 vs. Sony MDR-7506

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ALadInsane

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i need some headphones that will provide plenty of isolation for tracking in my one-room project studio, but also sound good enough (natural, flat, unhyped) to do some rough mixes and for acurate mic placement while tracking.

i'm thinking of getting either the Sennheiser HD-280 or the Sony MDR-7506.

any thoughts on these two headphone models?
 
i have the senn HD280 and i enjoy them very much. although i can't wear them for extended periods of time if they are not producing sound. it gives me a headache. but i think that is due to air pressure. i don't have a problem wearing them for a long time as long as there is sound coming out of them. I think they sound pretty good. i wouldnt mix with them because of proximity effect and isolation of your ears from a stereo mix. but i think they are definitely worth using as headphone monitors. they isolate fairly well.

those refurbed ones are actually tempting. i might get a pair to wear while i mow the lawn.
 
You can find this topic debated at some length by searching the head-fi boards. The Sony seems to win out, but not unanimously.
 
As with any type of speaker, I think you actually need to try phones in your studio. I did. I bought both the models you mentioned, and a couple of others, and found that (for me) the Senns were clear winners in comfort, isolation, and especially sound. I returned the others and kept the Senns.

But it's a personal thing.

Best,

J.
 
thanks for the responses, guys.

jeffree (or anyone else), any chance that you also tried out the extreme isolation headphones as well? if so, how did they compare to the senn hd-280?
 
For sound quality I love the 7506's. While I have some midline Paradaigm speakers in my home stereo I was completely amazed at how some of my CD's sounded through these things like especially good reverbs on vocals, strings, fat synth sounds and highats etc. Great punchy bass with amazing transients on the high frequency stuff but I would not call them flat.

Extreme Isolation headphones are great when isolation is key ie drummers hearing only the kit as the recorder is hearing it and mic placement on guitar cabs...you only hear what the mic is hearing and I think they are closer to being flat than the 7506's.
 
No, although I bought and home-tested five models total, I didn't try the Extremes. Isolation was an important factor for me, though, since I also use the phones for tracking as well as very rough mixing (before moving to monitors for more serious mixing). I was a bit surprised and glad to see that the Senns' isolation is actually rated better (-32db) than the Extremes'--I've had no trouble at all with headphone bleed during recording with the Senns.

I should mention something else that I like about the Senns is their very snug fit, which means a lot if you're wearing a guitar and moving clumsily around the studio while recording. They stay firmly yet comfortably on my head, even while bending over, which most of the phones did not do as well. I suspect, however, that folks with larger heads (I'm not joking) might actually find the Senns a bit too tight. But that's one more reason to test them yourself. One hour of personal testing made the choice easy for me.

Best,

J.
 
I've tried the extreme isolation phones before and I thought they sounded terrible. The muddiest headphones I've ever heard. When using the extreme isolations's, more than once, people I have been recording were having trouble with headphone mixes (so they and I thought) and after much futzing with mixes, I switched them out to the Sony's and everyone was instantly happy.
 
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