Best Headphones for Monitoring?

[Audiop]

Crossfeed, not crossfade.

You feed a signal across to the other side.

Needed (I guess one coould say) and good for some material, less so on other.


/Peter

[aaronsmith]

YUP

[AlexK]

Bought some DT770 80Ωs about three weeks ago - I already knew them well, but had never owned a pair. They're great! Extremely comfortable to wear at length, and they really do sound very, very good indeed! Big and open, very smooth. Maybe a little bit of top-end accentuation going on, but it's still smooth and accurate, just forward at times. Great for things like de-essing and adjusting early-reflection levels on mixdowns.

I have used them twice now for location recordings, and both times found they gave me far more than enough isolation, even on my first with them which involved being ~5m behind one of the main PA stacks.

My 01V96 headphone preamp isn't enough to drive them properly up to decent levels though. Fine for a little work in the studio but for anything involving critical listening or higher SPLs, it's no way near enough. My Fireface 800 amp does a much better job in terms of SPL, but doesn't sound as good. I need to invest in a proper amplifier as soon as funds will allow...

[AliGlenUig]

Originally Posted by aaronsmith

Ali..
What type of headphones do you have now? if any, open or closed. To me this is one of the big differences, some people are "used" to open and cant change back to closed, or visa versa.

I have a pair of extremely cheap sennheiser closed backs that I got a while ago just for listening to music. As I've only recently [ish] gotten seriously into audio, these'll be my first properly decent pair of headphones. But yeah, I'm used to closed backs.

Originally Posted by aaronsmith

Its very interesting to mix on one for an hour then jump to the other.
There is a Shockfactor, you get about 10-20 seconds before your ears adjust to the new sound. For me that's like the old standing out side the door trick. You can really see what's going on.

I can definitely imagine that this would be good. Wish I had some more cash to spend on two pairs!

Originally Posted by aaronsmith

But with all that detail, i find its easy to macro focus on something, and miss the big picture, what is the big picture, the MIX and that is what we really want to be able to see, the music as a whole. Does that guitar fit with that piano. does that kick stick out. is that balanced with that. M50s are perfect for seeing the mix in that way.

This is interesting. You've made the same point as my lecturer about the detail of the open backs, but he prefers it/thinks it's beneficial.
He feels that the closed backs trap the bass in, although I imagine this might have been taken into account with some closed back models that are supposed to be mix headphones as well.

I'll go try a few pairs out in the next couple days and see what I like.
Thanks for all your help/advice and for the settings - very useful!

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by AlexK

Bought some DT770 80Ωs about three weeks ago ... Extremely comfortable to wear at length ... My 01V96 headphone preamp isn't enough to drive them properly

I have the 770 80 ohms, as well - except mine are the M model.

Agree about the pads being VERY comfortable. Mine, being the M model, has a high clamping force on the head so is not comfortable for wearing a long time.

I have noticed that, despite being 80-ohm, they are rather hard to drive to good levels with some gear.

[AlexK]

Originally Posted by Brackish

I have the 770 80 ohms, as well - except mine are the M model.

Agree about the pads being VERY comfortable. Mine, being the M model, has a high clamping force on the head so is not comfortable for wearing a long time.

I have noticed that, despite being 80-ohm, they are rather hard to drive to good levels with some gear.

I have the 80Ω Pro version as a compromise between comfort and isolation. I use them a lot for personal listening too, and found the isolation with the Pro version was more than good enough (in fact very impressive).

Yes they are quite a difficult drive, despite being very sensitive and 80Ω, a lot of amps seem to have difficulty driving them properly. Not a big issue though, but I would strongly recommend a decent headphone amp to drive them properly...

[amfortas2006]

Originally Posted by Brackish

I have the 770 80 ohms, as well - except mine are the M model.

...

I have noticed that, despite being 80-ohm, they are rather hard to drive to good levels with some gear.

Could be, yes. It depends on your recorders headphone amp. My Sonosax minir82 has a headphone amp. that uses only about half it's strength to drive the 80 ohm Beyers

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by amfortas2006

It depends on your recorders headphone amp.

I've got the Marantz PMD661 and, even cranked to 100%, I can't get decent volume out of the 770s.

[hbphotoav]

Originally Posted by Brackish

I've got the Marantz PMD661 and, even cranked to 100%, I can't get decent volume out of the 770s.

I've had the same problem trying to monitor the audio hitting my Sony Z1 camcorders. I looked at a lot of small, battery powered headphone amps and settled on the Mini3 (The Mini³ Portable Stereo Headphone Amplifier). Simple design, robust build, 9v NiMH battery lasts 5-6 hours. Plenty of added level for my UltraSones in almost any situation. It's about half the size of a deck of cards.

Works for me.

HB

[edwinhurwitz]

Originally Posted by AlexK

Bought some DT770 80Ωs about three weeks ago - I already knew them well, but had never owned a pair. They're great! Extremely comfortable to wear at length, and they really do sound very, very good indeed! Big and open, very smooth. Maybe a little bit of top-end accentuation going on, but it's still smooth and accurate, just forward at times. Great for things like de-essing and adjusting early-reflection levels on mixdowns.

I have used them twice now for location recordings, and both times found they gave me far more than enough isolation, even on my first with them which involved being ~5m behind one of the main PA stacks.

I have to agree with you. My only issue with them is that I've blown out drivers pretty easily. I don't monitor that loud. The first time they fixed it for free, but now they are blown again. So, I'm using the ATH-M50s until I figure out what I'm going to do.

[lightstrum]

Give the new beyerdynamic dt1350 a try. Best $300 I've spent in years.

[sonare]

Originally Posted by hbphotoav

I've had the same problem trying to monitor the audio hitting my Sony Z1 camcorders. I looked at a lot of small, battery powered headphone amps and settled on the Mini3 (The Mini³ Portable Stereo Headphone Amplifier). Simple design, robust build, 9v NiMH battery lasts 5-6 hours. Plenty of added level for my UltraSones in almost any situation. It's about half the size of a deck of cards.

Works for me.

HB

I went to the Mini³ website but it is not easy to find a price. Did you assemble yourself? Is there an AC adapter option to eliminate battery lifespan limitations?

Rich

[Sheikyearbouti]

Originally Posted by sonare

I went to the Mini³ website but it is not easy to find a price. Did you assemble yourself? Is there an AC adapter option to eliminate battery lifespan limitations?

Rich

Hey Harry, I was about to ask the same question. As well, what would you say about the sound quality?

It happens to me often to need some battery powered headphone amplification for cue mixes and monitoring and this could be a comfy solution.

[SPORT]

In the summer i usually mix with headphones. Here is a Spanish Hip Hop(amateur) track mixed and mastered withe the Shure SRH840.
produccionesX - Arte de Magia (Sport mix)

[bewareofdogs]

Mini3 is nice.
Check also this class A battery operated (almost) portable amp.
It can drive 8 ohms too.

A review is here.

Originally Posted by hbphotoav

I've had the same problem trying to monitor the audio hitting my Sony Z1 camcorders. I looked at a lot of small, battery powered headphone amps and settled on the Mini3 (The Mini³ Portable Stereo Headphone Amplifier). Simple design, robust build, 9v NiMH battery lasts 5-6 hours. Plenty of added level for my UltraSones in almost any situation. It's about half the size of a deck of cards.

Works for me.

HB

[hbphotoav]

Originally Posted by sonare

I went to the Mini³ website but it is not easy to find a price. Did you assemble yourself? Is there an AC adapter option to eliminate battery lifespan limitations?
Rich

It was $149, about 24 months ago. You have to go to another page to buy it built (YBM Audio products). Since I ordered it a week before leaving for Rome, I ordered the constructed option. As far as the battery life is concerned, you can just plug up the wall wart (or use a larger 12v battery) and never worry.

From the YBM description:

"Mini³

A high-performance pocket-sized headphone amplifier with active ground channel. A perfect companion for your portable media player.
Prices (Limited time offer):
US and Canada: $160 + shipping. Battery charger is included.
Elsewhere: $155 + shipping. Battery charger is not included, it can be sourced locally. Shipping is via USPS First Class International unless requested otherwise.
High-standard features:
High-quality Nichicon/Panasonic electrolytic capacitors.
Precision 1% metal film resistors."

Originally Posted by Sheikyearbouti

Hey Harry, I was about to ask the same question. As well, what would you say about the sound quality?

It happens to me often to need some battery powered headphone amplification for cue mixes and monitoring and this could be a comfy solution.

For my purposes (mainly balancing choral spots with the main array for direct-to-VTR capture) it does fine. Most of my serious listening is through my hifi or nearfields... I've never tried to do a side-by-side. I do know that I've not yet had to go back to the tracked audio to replace the live mix audio I tracked on the applicable projects.

Like I said, it works for me. Can't vouchsafe your experience...

HB

[Sheikyearbouti]

Thanks Harry. For this money it sounds like a good option. Even if it wouldn't be perfect for me I can still use it for the talent's cue mix. And that is the main reason why I am interested in it.

[funkyspacecadet]

Hi guys.

What would be a good set of headphones for me? Too many to choose from and I don't have a lot of knowledge in this area.

My first 'pro' pair of cans was my old and dying Fostex T40RPs. I currently use Sennie HD380Pro's which I love the sound of, but they are squishing me melon. I love the comfort of my Fostex, but the bass is lacking. Closed would probably work better on me as I have a small project studio at home in a small apartment, so I tend to do a lot of mixing and monitoring at night, and A/B between my monitors during the day for a few hours when I get home from work, so an accurate set of cans is very important to me.

I need something flat, accurate and above all, comfortable. Budget would probably be $100-180 USD.

They'd be plugged straight into my RME Fireface 400 for now, until I get a headphone amp. Might be buying a friend's Mackie Big Knob to replace my Samson C Control.

Love the 380 Pro's but they are killing me! Way too tight, and I've had them for quite a while and have tried stretching them, but I don't want to break them.

[chegment]

The Sony V6's are very popular in certain circles. As are the AKG 240's