All-Purpose Headphones

[UneducatedWeasel]

Hey all. I'm looking to pick up some good quality headphones to use. I don't have any speakers that I could use as monitors, and I'm in student housing, so they wouldn't always be appropriate to use.

I'm looking for something that will give me a pretty good quality. Comfort is a major factor, as I will use them when working in the production suites at uni for logic composition etc. The headphones provided by uni are uncomfortable before you even put them on, so I want to try and avoid that. I'll also probably do some basic mixing on them. Nothing ever that serious, mostly just the groundwork like edits etc. Any particular reccomendations?

Price range is somewhere around £100, but I can probably stretch it a bit.

Ta in advance for any help

[Coalescence]

I've got HD25's and love them to bits. Comfortable and sound sweet. A bit over a ton (about £120 i.i.r.c.) but worth every penny.

[UneducatedWeasel]

There is the HD 25-1 II, which I assume is either an upgrade, or simply a long-winded name: Sennheiser Worldwide - HD 25-1 II, professional monitoring headphones, high attenuation of background noise

Does that look like them?

Also, anyone tried the Denon AH-D1001K's? I've seen a few good reviews of them

[skiltrip]

I really love and highly recommend the Audio Technica ATH-M50.

I use them to mix when I can't turn on my monitors, or I just can't be bothered by ambient noise like the dog/family/furnace/etc.

I'd replace them in a heartbeat if I lost them or something.

[tINY]

I find that the pads fitting around the ears more comfortable - like the 212 and 280 Sennheiser models...



-tINY

[stag]

Beyerdynamic dt 250. Good for monitoring, good for mixing. Someone said it´s like having a desk hooked into the brain, I think it´s a accurate description. I check the mixes on several monitors doe.
They are comfortable. They leak very little IMO.

[weemies]

I love my Senn HD600's. I think they have a very balanced sound.

Edit: Nevermind, you said £100, the HD600 is a bit more.

[tabiggs]

I have to agree with Skiltrip. For listening, monitoring or just as a quick reference, I like Audio Technica ATH-M50's. Nice balance and very comfortable, even for extended periods.

[ForTozs]

bump. And what's the appropriate style for studio monitoring/mixing... Closed back, closed circumaural, etc? I haven't heard any input on Koss's and the Sony MDR-7506. Anybody like those?

[Pohaku]

+1 for the ATH-M50

[UneducatedWeasel]

M50 seems to be getting some love here. I'll have to see if I can try one out for comfort. I will probably go closed back so that I can use them to cut out anything around me, say if I'm doing edits or something on laptop. Then a loud room won't matter. Means I can go the the student bar for a bacon sandwich

[lblstudio]

+2 on the ATHM50s.

[borg64]

Originally Posted by skiltrip

I really love and highly recommend the Audio Technica ATH-M50.

I use them to mix when I can't turn on my monitors, or I just can't be bothered by ambient noise like the dog/family/furnace/etc.

I'd replace them in a heartbeat if I lost them or something.

Same here. And they are really comfy for those long night shifts.

If you decide to go for them, be sure to do a lot of reference listening early on (but this goes for any new piece of listening devices I suppose). I remember starting out doing strange things to lower frequencies when I first got 'em, as they are quite different from my AKG K240's - which I rarely use these days.

[chrizzle]

SONY MDR-7506 is my suggestion.

Till one month ago I'd have AKG K141/240 suggested, but I've tried the SOnys now, the are much more precise and a lot more comfortable and also not too expensive!

A good point is to wear the new headphones for a few hours and then see if it hurts somewhere ie at the frontside of the ears if you have glasses. try this with several HP and take the best ones!
SONY are unbeatable at this!
for my purposes they are superb!

cheers
c

[slaphappygarry]

I love my Beyer DT770's

They are so comfortable to wear and I love listening to music on them.

Sure, they are colored at the top and bottom but I find this helps me spot any nasty sibilance / low misplaced energy that is softened out on my main monitors.

G

[jaz49]

The sony's are great, but definitely on the bright side. When I first listened to a favorite Beatles CD(Rubber Soul) with them, I thought, "no way the Beatles intended to have their music sound this bright". Like others have written above, they're a lot better than the AKG 240's... in terms of detail...and bass. However, for casual listening I much prefer the AKG's. A lot of people seem to love the higher end Beyers if you can afford to go a little higher.

[Michael Winston]

The Sony's are bright but more comfortable then others I've tried.

A guy I've been tracking likes them better then my 280's and ask for them when he tracks because they are more comfortable.

[UneducatedWeasel]

With luck they might have some in my local music shop. If not I might need to make a trip to a larger store, or take a gamble on them. Anyone know how the sonys compare to the ath-m50 comfort wise?

[TeamBulimic]

+1 on the Beyerdynamic DT770's. I love them.

[KeithMoonwannabe]

+2 on Beyer DT770


I also + the ATHM50

[skiltrip]

I'd like to add a couple additional thoughts about the ATH-M50... (which i still love and recommend!)

They happen to be nice and snug on the ears (for pretty darn good isolation) while still being comfortable.

However, wearing them around the neck isn't comfortable at all as the phones kinda jab me in the throat. I tend to just slide them up and wear them on my head/forehead when talking to people in the control room or listening to my monitors. Kinda looks like you have Hellboy horns when you do this, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[UneducatedWeasel]

Quite a lot of replies to this! Seems to be a toss-up between the at, sony and beyerdynamic atm. Should be able to try them out at the weekend. Ta for the help!

[firby]

The best headphones I have for critical listening/mixing are akg 240df . I have everything Sony v700, 7506 and v900. The AKG 240DF beat all of those easy and pretty much beat the etymotic er4s which is the best ear canal phone I have. Haven't heard the beyer dt's . Sennheiser makes great cans too.

Akg doesnt make the 240dfs right now so you will have to work to snag them, the other 240's just aint the same.

[GordZilla]

Originally Posted by firby

The best headphones I have for critical listening/mixing are akg 240df . I have everything Sony v700, 7506 and v900. The AKG 240DF beat all of those easy and pretty much beat the etymotic er4s which is the best ear canal phone I have. Haven't heard the beyer dt's . Sennheiser makes great cans too.

Akg doesnt make the 240dfs right now so you will have to work to snag them, the other 240's just aint the same.

+1 for the AKG K240DFs

Un-hyped, even response, that work great for critical listening... bass is solid though a bit understated... and VERY comfortable for lengthy listening sessions. Reasonably priced as well.

I do have to agree they are not the best for casual/recreational listening.. and their 600 ohm impedence rating can tax some anemic headphone amps.

[allencollins]

Originally Posted by GordZilla

+1 for the AKG K240DFs

I love these headphones

Originally Posted by GordZilla

Un-hyped, even response, that work great for critical listening... bass is solid

Aren't the highs intentionally hyped in these though?
or is the bass rolled off more than say the standard k240s?

Not sure but there is a signifigant difference in highs and lows

[desotoslo]

I just want to say when you use whatever you get, try to acclimate yourself to mixing at moderate-low volume levels.

[Robert King]

Sennheiser HD650s