Open back headphones?

[Rufio90210]

Hi,

So I've got my eye on the Sennhieser HD 580s on an auction, could get them cheap. But my concern is the open back element of the headphones, does this mean that if im singing to my track with the cans on and recording through my condenser mic.... that the mic will probably pick up the sound coming out my headphones ?

Thanks

Rufio

 

[Massive Master]

For tracking, you want closed-back headphones.

For listening and accuracy (as much as you can expect from headphones, anyway), you want open-back.

Not that all closed phones isolate very well - and certainly not that all open phones actually sound good. But as a rule of thumb...

 

[Rufio90210]

For tracking, you want closed-back headphones.

For listening and accuracy (as much as you can expect from headphones, anyway), you want open-back.

Not that all closed phones isolate very well - and certainly not that all open phones actually sound good. But as a rule of thumb...

Ok thanks, Im looking for some closed headphones that I can use as mixing reference also. AKG k271 & AT ATH-M50 do look good and everyone says their best for my price range but still I like to try and get a bargain and none of these sets are on EBAY

There is a Sennheiser HD 25-1 going on ebay though would these be good? Ive read that the D770s are good for what I want aswell but when I read about them it says they are heavy on the bass so how can this be good as a reference? I need neutral.

any recommendations appreciated.

Rufio

 

[Massive Master]

Headphones really don't work as a mixing reference... Sure, there are some that are arguably "better suited" for the task than others (almost all will be open), but even with those, you're never going to find truly "neutral" -- Not with your ears covered -- Not when 1mm is the difference between "anemic" and "boomy" in the lows -- Not when the sound reaching one ear doesn't reach the other (etc., etc., etc., etc.).

If you need isolation, go the isolation route. I wouldn't expect them to be a truly reasonable reference - nor would I expect an "audiophile" set (I prefer Grado Labs myself) to be a truly reasonable reference.

Good for editing? Sure. Noises & clicks and zeroing in on anomalies? Absolutely. Adjusting fades? No question. But when it comes to "the big picture" of "how does it sound?" they're not going to help much.

"Everything sounds good in headphones." I mean, you really have to wreck a mix before it doesn't sound listenable in cans. That's another thing I like about the Grado's - They're definitely some of the least forgiving cans I've used - But that still doesn't help with phase anomalies, low end coherency, spatial imaging, etc.

THAT ALL SAID: Crap, headphone leakage? I used to sing in the vocal room with a speaker blaring into the space (directly off-axis, but still in there). Unless you've got click tracks and overheads cranked up to 11 and you're whispering over a solo flute piece, you probably don't have much to worry about.

 

[Villain S Deeds]

If im singing to my track with the cans on and recording through my condenser mic.... that the mic will probably pick up the sound coming out my headphones ?

I've never used a condenser, but yeah I've had that problem with vocals and open cans. And if for some reason I turn my head and an earpiece gets really close to the mic, *Ouch!* feedback.

 

[cusebassman]

I recently went on an expedition for a similar set of all-in-one go-to cans. I've come to realize that they don't exist (at least not in my price range). I currently have 3 pairs of headphones that do different things well. Here's my experience so far, for headphones sub $150 new:

Sony MDR-7506: Sony MDR-7506 | Sweetwater.com

These headphones are the tightest fit of the phones I've tested, and when listening to music on an iPod, you need to enable the "Treble Reducer" EQ setting to smooth out the highs - these headphones are very bright. In the past, when they were all I had, I would end up getting great-sounding acoustic guitar recordings that only sounded great through these headphones - on every other system, the acoustics were boomy/muddy/lacked high end...

AKG K240 mkii semi-open: Amazon.com: AKG K240MKII - AKG STUDIO STANDARD SEMI OPEN 55OHM HP: Electronics

These don't hype the bass or high-end... at all. Music sounds almost drab through them with no EQ applied to playback. They are good for placing mics on acoustic guitars for me since the mid-range is somewhat higher than what you expect or ultimately want. As a result, the acoustics I've recorded have translated better to other systems upon system translating playback tests.

Because they are semi-open, you'll experience more bleed into the mics if you have the cans cranked and sensitive mics (for example, I can't use them when recording acoustic with omnis 2 feet from my head - after using them for mic placement, I switch back to the Sonys)

AKG K241 mkii closed-back: http://www.amazon.com/AKG-K271MKII-...OC28/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1328667943&sr=8-5

Despite being closed-back like the Sonys, these phones come the closest to what I expect music to sound like without applying an EQ filter on the iPod. Also decent for listening back when putting together quick test mixes, but I wouldn't use them for mic placement as there is a bit of hype on the lows and highs. They're better for tracking than the other AKGs since they are closed-back, but because they don't clamp to your head as tightly as the Sonys, you may experience just a hairs worth of bleed.

General note, the AKGs in general don't clamp as tightly AND they have a bigger space for your ear inside the cup, so they are more comfortable overall, but even closed-back models will cause a bit of bleed in some scenarios. This is all user experience, your mileage may vary.

Unfortunately, most will tell you not to mix on headphones, and I do agree. If you're travelling and want to work on mixes, they'll do, but be sure to check mixes on multiple systems before finalizing anything.