Reference / studio Headphones

[maz]

OK, I live in an appartment, and use Event Precision 8 active monitors for monitoring my mixes.

However being in an appartment and working on up-copy writed songs, I'm a bit paranoid now (thanks to my wife), and am looking to get reference headphones that would be equal to my monitors in terms of being neutral and able to help me with my mixes.

The few threads and reviews that I've read write highly about grado labs rs-2's, or sennheiser hd650's, AKG 701's, amongst others.

I have to admint that to me, the akg 701's seem to have better ravings, but I don't have real world experience with either of those. I have had grado labs in the past and their design always gives me a headache after a while, so they're out.

I wanted to see which headphones give me equal monitoring as my Event Precision 8 monitors.

THanks.

[AuraCore]

This probably won't help you much, as I don't know the Events and the other headphones you mentioned. I changed to 701s a couple of weeks ago from really old Senn 545s and I'm really excited about how much more transparent and detailed the 701s are. They need a pretty good headphone amp though. Haven't decided yet if my AKG Audioshpere 999 is up to that task.

Anyway, I can definitely recommend the 701s.

[maz]

I have a mackie 1202 which i was hoping to just use it's phones out. If not, then I guess I need to think about getting an amp for the headphones.

[Andrew B.]

I find the Sennheiser HD600s (predecessors to the 650s and availably fairly cheaply these days) to be beautifully neutral from highs to lows, and very comfortable to wear for long sessions. They work fine out of the headphone sockets of my Lavry black and my Benchmark DAC1. I wouldn't use them with an iPod or battery powered device though, since they need a bit of current to get going properly.

Andrew

[maz]

Cool thanks.

[raggedman]

I say you cant go wrong with a pair of the sony mdr-v6 phones...I had a pair years ago...they sounded sooooooo gooood!!!...I can honestly say those cans spurred me into engineering...and after they were stolen it seemed they weren't making them anymore...then I spotted a pair on Amazon about a month ago and snagged em...OMG!!!!!...everything I remember...I can actually mix on these all day and be totally confident that everything will translate perfectly

[luctellier]

HD650 would be an excellent choice. I have referenced, tracked with them many times and I liked them.

[Jonsey]

Another thumbs up for the HD650, great cans with out fatigue over long sessions

[maz]

I have a chance of getting the AKG k 701 for about $250. I'm very tempted, since it seems the headphones are comparable or might be slightly better that the s650's (or not, I don'/t mean to start a headphone war...).

For 250, I think they might be an excelent transparent headphones, unless the people who have used it see glaring faults with it. IF so, please please let me know (I can't listen to it before buying it, so I'm relying on your ears.)

Thanks

[quagga]

Sennheiser 600, even over 650

[tcause]

If you want to FIX you headphone sound, here's how... watch out for gushing here...

AKG 701s. I'm a big fan of the AKG range and the 701s are just jaw dropping...

Grace 902 is not only a really top of the head DtoA but has the best headphone preamp that money can buy. It will change your view on headphone monitoring. I just can't begin to express how much better it is than anything else I have heard including (unfortunately) the 904/6 neither of which include what I think is the 902s secret weapon... it bleeds signal from the left channel into the right and vice versa and achieves a more natural, in the room listening to monitors sound than the normal in the middle of your head sound. Its so good you will... ok.. I don't know what you will do, but I can tell you I reckon I spent a whole lot of time with my mouth hanging open and not being able to do much else than listen to my favourite recordings through this thing when I had it had home for a month or so...

[hogo]

Originally Posted by maz

I have a chance of getting the AKG k 701 for about $250. I'm very tempted, since it seems the headphones are comparable or might be slightly better that the s650's (or not, I don'/t mean to start a headphone war...).

For 250, I think they might be an excelent transparent headphones, unless the people who have used it see glaring faults with it. IF so, please please let me know (I can't listen to it before buying it, so I'm relying on your ears.)

Thanks

By chance, is that price used? cuz if you can get more than one at that price please share with me brotha!

[maz]

It's for a brand new one, but I will get back to you once I actualy confirm the price. I should know for sure by next Monday.

Oh man, the preamp idea is interesting, I was hoping to not use any... That's more money now to spend :P

[maz]

Quick question.

I have a mackie 1202 VLZ pro mixer board that has Headphones out.

I think the headphone out on the board already has an amplifier, (Not 100% sure, can you guys confirm). SO if the board has an amplifier for the headphones, do I still need to buy another headphone amp?

Thanks.

Here;s a link to my mixer board:
http://www.mackie.com/products/1202vlzpro/index.html

[mattssons]

Sennheisers or beyerdynamic if you need a heavyduty choice. /Toby

[maz]

I'm hearing that mackie 1202 VLZ pro (or any other mackie) might not be a good mixer to do monitoring on.

Since I'm using that board's headphone out, then maybe I'm buying a high-end headphone for no reason, since my board is degrading/coloring the sound anyways.

What od you guys thing? 1202 any good for monitoring? That's the only mixer I have, so I have no references to compare that with.

THanks.

[MichaelPatrick]

Don't take offense, but the Mackie isn't a good headphone amp. Get a good DAC like the Grace someone suggested or a Benchmark DAC1. This will benefit all your monitoring and make even your current headphones sound better.

With the Mackie and it's EQ circuits in chain you'll never be able to realize the full benefit of good speakers or headphones.

[maz]

Originally Posted by MichaelPatrick

Don't take offense, but the Mackie isn't a good headphone amp. Get a good DAC like the Grace someone suggested or a Benchmark DAC1. This will benefit all your monitoring and make even your current headphones sound better.

With the Mackie and it's EQ circuits in chain you'll never be able to realize the full benefit of good speakers or headphones.

None taken. I bought that board so that I could have some kind of volume control when I use it with my Rosetta 200.

I guess I should've researched that part more, but frankly I was burnt out and just wanted to get a good board that would help me with my set-up.

As is, Im not using any of the EQ options on the mackie, just volume, and mute/solo, and routing to monitor listen with headphones, etc.) Which brings me to the next point of if the mackie color the sounds if I don't even use the EQ's on it...

Well, if you guys have any suggestions re getting a transparent mixer board good for monitoring, I'm all ears.

All I have are a pair of balanced 1/4" in (a pair from my sound card, the other from Rosetta 200), and XLR outs to my monitors. Also, at least one powered headphone out would be great.

Also, a volume control is a must.

Please let me know, greatly appreaciated.

Maz

[maz]

What do you guys think about Mackie Big Knob?

[songman]

No, not the Mackie Big Knob, I would not suggest it. However, I do suggest the SPL MTC2381.

[cele]

I bought new headphones (K701) for tracking and mixing last year and did some extensive listening with K701, HD600&650 and Beyerdynamics DT880.

Many recommended sennheisers but i disagree. They are really nice, comfortable and don't cause fatigue to your ears, but they really lack in accuracy and details and are too dark (esp 650). Because of that i think both DT880 and K701 are much better headphones for studio use. They are more detailed and neutral. I chose K701 because they are a bit less aggressive and tiring to your ears (and of course really good looking).

[MichaelPatrick]

If you want cheap passive monitor control, consider the Presonus Central Station. Don't use its DAC. I don't have a Mackie big knob but several people have told me that it is sonically challenged.

I use a 1202VLZ to monitor tracks while recording on location and it's great for things like that. It's just not good for anything critical -- and monitoring is critical. The Mackie's EQ circuits are in-chain at all times and they severely degrade the signal.

A DAC is crucial for good monitoring whether you're using headphones or speakers. I run the output of a Benchmark DAC1 through a Presonus Central Station (a passive signal path) to control speakers, and I plug headphones directly into the DAC1's built-in headphone amplifier. It's not cheap but it's worth every penny to hear the bits without color and degradation.

[maz]

Well, as much as I like to get the Benchmark DAC1, I'm a bit limited on cash, and also I already have a pretty good converter (Rosetta).

So, I'm trying to somehow make everything I have work with my budget and gear.

Since I have a good converter, maybe I should just get a passive mixer(such as the one you recommende), and a dedicated headphone amp (again, one that does not color the sounds and is better than the mackie.)


My other work-around is to A/B test the mackei, with A being my Rosetta directly connected to the monitor and B with the 1202 in the chain. THen use the 1202 EQ to match the sound of the A.

I did the above (without the EQing part) and definitly heard a sonic difference. 1202 does color the sound and was most noticable on the vocals. It gives a slight high around 4000's and lacks a bit in of the bottom. My wife said it sounds thinner...

So I'll try the above and if that doesnt' work, maybe I'll just forget about the headphone idea for now, just connect directly from rosetta to the monitors and turn the volume low

[maz]

Well, I kinda worked it out.

I was sending two simultaneous outs from my pc and Rosetta to mackie and to monitors.

I muted the pc out, and the sound from mackie was much more similar to Rosetta to Monitor directly.

I then played with the mackie EQ, increased the low(80) by .5, decreased the 2.5khz by ~.9 and 12khz by 1 and it sounds very close to being transparent (at least, I cant' tell the difference.)

I think for now its a good work/around. When it comes to real mixing/mastering, I'll just bypass the mackie and use Rosetta to monitor setup.

For now, I'll get the AKG 701 and get my sound in the general ball park, then modify it gently later with the mackie out of the chain.

THanks all.

[Marando]

AKG K701

I have them for about a week now and they start to sound better and better every hour I listen to them. Make sure you don't judge this wondefull headphone the first time you listen to them, they realy need some good burn-in time. I read on the internet it needs up to 300 hour!

I use them for about 4 to 6 hours a day now, and it's getting better and better, already beating the also wonderfull AKG K240 Studio headphones I have.

The detail in the low frequencies is just amazing. It's not bass heavy, but it just sounds so wonderfull and it's present!! WOW!! well.. everything about this headphone is wonderfull!!

[maz]

OK, after some more A/B testing, I just can't get the mackie sound out, even with EQing. Actualy I made it sound very similar, but it just seems that the sound without the mackie is "richer/fuller", almost like comparing 24 vs 16 bit.

Very odd.

Anyways, I'm back to finding a solution to my mess.

What I have is two sources that I need to combine and send to a pair of monitors, and I need a amp for my headphones.

Something similar to the coleman MKII/s. What do you guys think about Coleman? Is it much more transparent than the mackie?

How is the headphone pre-amp on the coleman?

Any other possibilities?

Thanks

[maz]

Interesting, I was just messing with my Presonus HP4 (I know iknow) headphone amp vs the mackie vlz, and I'm not sure now which one to trust.

The mackie sounded a bit more shril and and the HP4 just sounded warmer and less fatiguing to the ear.

Anyone else experience this?

The same was true when just listening with my monitors with HP4 vs the Mackie board.

They're probably both off, but I think the Presonus sounds a bit more true.

Cant wait to get my akg 701's.
ps, how is the amp on the Coleman mkii's?
tx

[maz]

Just got my K701's, brand new for $249.00.

They sound great, and I know they'll even sound better after a few 100 hours

pm if you guys wanna know where I got that deal.

Maz