HEADPHONES

[elektrasoul]

What to buy? around £100 max.

i need good solid high quality cans. AKG / Beyer / Sony???

any recomendations? what yous all using?

[Ruudman]

I have AKG, Sennheiser, Ultrasone and Beyer.

Beyer DT250/80 (closed design) is very easy on the ears, relaxed top and no boomy bass response.
They're my to go cans when tracking.


ruudman

[Mr Funk]

Are they for tracking or mixing or both?

I'm sure you are aware already, but generally open or semi open back phones are used for mixing or general music listening, as they are meant to give a more natural sound?

Closed back's are used for tracking as they cut down (some more than others) sound leakage which can be picked up my the mics.

I bought some Beyer DT770 pro's which are closed back, with good sound isolation and are also meant to be good for mixing (Beyer made them to be a studio all-rounder). They sound good to me and are comfy. I like em for studio work. They are heavy in the low end btw.

[elektrasoul]

cheers, theyre mainly to be used for mixing, maybe a bit of tracking. i think im probably gonna go for some closed back ones.

the Beyer DT770 pro and also the DT250/80 could definitely be contenders.

now i need to go and find a good deal. would ebay be the best option?

[Mr Funk]

Yeah check out Ebay, why not?

If you are in the UK, Turnkey sell them at a good price and probably Digital Village. May be look at Thomann also if you are in Europe.

Also may be check out AKG K271's. They are nice too. The 171's are smaller, but still good.

[Bat Head Sound]

I like the old standard AKG 240's. Very neutral sounding headphones.

[Jay Kahrs]

For tracking I've found nothing better then the Audio Technica ATH M & D40 models.

Almost totally indestructable aside from the cheese whiz 1/4" plug, that's pretty easy to replace with a Switchcraft or something when it eventually breaks....but other then the plug I've had MANY pairs of those cans going strong for years & years.

Dropped, stepped on, thrown, cranked to high-hell multiple days & week for like 6 or 7 years and I think I've only had one blown driver in all that time.

Not the "best" sounding things in the world but they're decent enough. I like 'em more then the Sony 7506 which are just WAAAAAAY too bright.

They're also pretty inexpensive...

For general mixing & listening purposes the Sennheiser HD25's are my fav's. They don't quite hold up to 'artist abuse' though....not like the AT's.

[zkaudio]

Originally Posted by Jay Kahrs

For tracking I've found nothing better then the Audio Technica ATH M & D40 models.

Almost totally indestructable aside from the cheese whiz 1/4" plug, that's pretty easy to replace with a Switchcraft or something when it eventually breaks....but other then the plug I've had MANY pairs of those cans going strong for years & years.

Dropped, stepped on, thrown, cranked to high-hell multiple days & week for like 6 or 7 years and I think I've only had one blown driver in all that time.

I have had more pairs of those just "stop" working than any other cans EVER... Maybe I'm just bad luck? It's almost like wiring issues, I wish the cable was beefier

[DarkSky]

For tracking everything except iso vocals, I prefer AKG K281S headphones. Rugged, loud and clear and with auto-shut off, which is very convenient. Occasionally for drum tracking we also use Sony MDR7506 - but the AKGs do that job well also.

However, for mixing and iso (or solo) vocal tracking, my preference is with DT770 Pro.

If you can get more than one set, I'd recommend having a pair of both DT770 Pro and K281S but if you're presently constrained to only one set for both tracking and mixing, then DT770 Pro would be my #1 recommendation.

[Groove Dog]

you can probably find a pair of used sennheiser hd-400's in that price range.

they're open, fantastic for mixing, and you can tape over the ears with some gaffer's tape for tracking.

singers love 'em; but they're way too "soft" for tracking loud stuff like drums.

cheers!

[2Low]

Originally Posted by Jay Kahrs

For tracking I've found nothing better then the Audio Technica ATH M & D40 models.

ATH M40fs

[Jay Kahrs]

Originally Posted by zkaudio

I have had more pairs of those just "stop" working than any other cans EVER... Maybe I'm just bad luck? It's almost like wiring issues, I wish the cable was beefier

Check that weak-ass 1/4" TRS plug.

9 times out of 10, whenever I've had an issue with them it's in that spring-relief plug. Replacing it with a "real" Neutrick or Switchcraft (I find the latter easier to solder) usually solves the problem, especially if it's the infamous one-side drop-out.

But really, I bought 6 or 7 pairs of 'em about that many years ago...one blown driver, one is now rattling (found 'em the other week)...one pair was lifted and the rest are still going strong. That's WAY more then I can say for any AKG can's I've bought like the 141's...they seemed to blow up anytime I looked at 'em cross-eyed.

[DarkSky]

Originally Posted by Groove Dog

...and you can tape over the ears with some gaffer's tape for tracking.

Except that a) AFAIK soundproof gaffer's tape has not been invented yet, and b) if the venting is blocked, the frequency response will be significantly altered and 'phones that are designed to be open are not going to be anywhere near flat when operated with the vents blocked (in the same way that blocking the bass reflex port on a speaker system totally KOs the low end...).

[vk all day]

I just want to add something to this thread. I recently lost my Audio Techinca ATH-M30 Headphones and was like "son of a b!itch now i have to buy new ones" so I started reading threads and blah blah and my final decision was that I should buy the same pair again. Right before I bought them I found them and thank god I did. These headphones are great for tracking as far as isolation goes and I find that if I get a mix correct in the heaphones then play it on my monitors it's pretty much dead on. During my "lost headphone crisis period" i threw on some junk heaphones and I wanted to throw up. It just made me appreciate how good these are. My basic thoughts are these are great for tracking and quick mix on a budget type headphones and getting better quailty would require me to spend at least $250 on a pair. BUT why spend that much on a closed design? Anyway that is just my personal opinion. Hope it helps any of you with your decision.

Thanks,

Vince.

[dial_it_in]

I know everyone has different opinions on this but I think the Sennheiser cans are the best. Not many people talk about Sennheiser regarding cans but they really are great sounding. Really nice low and high end. You can wear them all day on 11 and they won't hurt you or your artist. They are a little expensive but well within the 100 pound range. a/b them with a few others. That's always the best thing to do regarding buying new cans. Take some music you know really well to the store and try out different kinds. Oh, one more thing, they create a nice seal on the head as opposed to akg etc...

[SiliconAudioLab]

Sony 7506 are the benchmark reference.

[NesNeedsGear]

Originally Posted by 2Low

ATH M40fs

yep. nice, flat, and non-fatiguing.

I love them for listening to music, tracking, and referencing.

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by Jay Kahrs

For tracking I've found nothing better then the Audio Technica ATH M & D40 models.

I agree. I have been buying (and then selling) lots of high end phones (Senn 650, Ultrasones, Beyer, etc.) and I still haven't found any that sound as neutral as the AT M40's to me. I am still searching.

[Groove Dog]

Originally Posted by DarkSky

Except that a) AFAIK soundproof gaffer's tape has not been invented yet, and b) if the venting is blocked, the frequency response will be significantly altered and 'phones that are designed to be open are not going to be anywhere near flat when operated with the vents blocked (in the same way that blocking the bass reflex port on a speaker system totally KOs the low end...).

give it a shot. unless you're monitoring really loud, there won't be much more than normal bleed, and with the little bit of tape over the open backs they're still much more open and natural sounding than most closed back speakers. i've known many engineers who've done it over the years, myself included, and it works great for a lot of singers.

if you're doing really heavy music, they might not be so ideal, but the bonus is that they're great mixing cans too!

seriously though, try it if you get a chance before discounting it completely.

[J.D.]

personally, i would never mix in headphones. it was so refeshing not to have to cut the top end on the send to the headphones, which i did with the sonys, when i got some of the AT phones. and they's cheap!

jd