Studio Headphone preferences?

[jimcolossus]

I've talked to a couple of studio engineers who say its not a bad idea to invest in a nice pair of headphones instead of studio monitors. Especially for those of us stuck in dorms/apartments where volume can be an issue.

Anyone have any specific headphones they prefer? Or argue that monitors are the way to go?

(first post on here btw, been visiting regularly for a while though!)

 

[Purelojik]

welcome!

people tell me monitors are usually the way to go but headphones are good for tracking and reference. i dont have monitors and get a decent reference from my Beringer dt 770 pro's which i got from a friend who upgraded. before i was using the more affordable but less comfortable Audio technica ATH m40fs. which are good too. you just need something that is as flat and boring as possible.

it comes down to what you are familiar with. cause then you'll know if you need to compensate with certain frequencies. but there should be a couple headphone threads in this area and there are some workhorse ones which arent too expensive that you can try out and find your bearings. good luck dude!

 

[xeonblade]

I have AKG K99 atm, semi-open back ones.

I'd suggest them if ur in 50$ range, but if you have money to spend (around 150$) look at AKG K240 MKII. That's my suggestion from AKG, since I've only been using AKG.

You will probably want to buy open back or semi-open back because they have more realistic bass response than closed back ones. (because bass waveforms have big energy and they can't escape headphone cap easily so the bass is enhanced)

 

[Max_SMW]

I use headphones for both tracking and mixing. I have a pair of good monitors aswell, but if you don`t have a room that`s acoustically treated you can`t completely rely on monitors.

The problem with monitors is that they will sound completely different in different rooms or even according to their position in a room, that`s simple physics.
Headphones sound the same wherever you are, and when you get used to their sound you can judge your mix/sound right.
They simply put reflections and phase problems out of the equation.
If you have the chance to perfectly match your room to your monitors you can get used to them in the same way, but in most cases that`s an expensive and time-consuming way to go for a non-professional.

I use AKG K-701`s, which are great reference headphones. They reproduce crystal clear but may lack a bit of bass for what most listeners are used to.

 

[Geognosy]

Just remember that it's important to match your specific headphones to the properties of the audio source. If you're listening from a headphone out jack on a laptop, don't try to drive a high impedance set of cans - you'll need some kind of headphone amp. I have three different kinds of headphones, and they are all really different, but out of the 11 Rack headphone out they all sound worse at the same volume than from a headphone amp...

I track with headphones and mix with headphones and monitors, in a really bad room. I really like to track with open headphones in front of studio monitors, as that livens up the sound and gives you some body feel.

 

[Exit Existence]

Audio Technica ATH-M50's

Forget that they sound great, they feel like fine exotic leather couches on your ears

 

[TRENCHLORD]

This pertains more to those who mic cabs (especially double mic) and must do the tracking in the same room as the amp/cab.

Byerdynamic DT770M model is pricey as hell ($230) but really helped me tremendously compared to my old Sony MDR 7506 pair.

Much easier to set mic positions without being influenced by the cab sound bleeding through, and getting that second mic in near perfect phase with the first mic is a breeze now.

With the Sonys I'd always think I had it sounding right untill standing up and moving away from the cab and hearing the sound sucked. Just way too much bleed through.

EQing is much more accurate and when tracking you can hear the drums clearly enough to follow complex beats without a click track seperate or overlayed.

 

[ImaDjentleman]

shure srh840 or shure srh940. i am a headphone fanatic, and my searches have led me to shure. i`ve read previous posts, and i can tell you that everything that has been mentioned will be CRUSHED by the power of the shures haha. they also make a more affordable srh440 range ($100). I`ve yet to try them, but i`m pretty confident that they are awesome too

 

[TRENCHLORD]

shure srh840 or shure srh940. i am a headphone fanatic, and my searches have led me to shure. i`ve read previous posts, and i can tell you that everything that has been mentioned will be CRUSHED by the power of the shures haha. they also make a more affordable srh440 range ($100). I`ve yet to try them, but i`m pretty confident that they are awesome too

Those won't attenuate external sound as well as the 770Ms which are for drummers in a super loud live setting.

As for sound quality and normal mixing I'm not doubting what you say at all. Those Shures look great.

 

[Red32]

I am not a professional sound engineer, but my opinion is that the studio monitors are good for the equalization especially at a distance and headphones are good for monitoring of volume, effects parameters, fade in, fade out. I don't know could they replace studio monitors.

 

[pushpull7]

KNS 8400 Studio Headphones KRK SYSTEMS

I've had so many. These are the best closed cans I've had. (unless you need to "feel the bass" then you won't like them.

 

[KingAenarion]

I am not a professional sound engineer, but my opinion is that the studio monitors are good for the equalization especially at a distance and headphones are good for monitoring of volume, effects parameters, fade in, fade out. I don't know could they replace studio monitors.

You've got that the wrong way round. In the place of ultra flat monitors in a treated room, good headphones are going to be better for nitty gritty EQing than cheap and nasty headphones.

Headphones are bad for balancing anything because they skew the stereo field. They're good if you need to hear things much closer and more defined at times, but a good set of monitors in the right room do that anyway.




Good monitors set up correctly in a room treated properly > headphones every time

Good monitors > headphones for mixing a whole mix in an untreated room.

Good monitors < headphones for little nitty gritty stuff (like editing and EQ resonant cuts and whatnot)

Bad monitors in an untreated room < headphones

Bad monitors + bad headphones = not much difference

 

[drjeffreyodweyer]

I got the beyerdynamic dt 770 pro and Im really happy with them.

 

[ZXIIIT]

Audio Technica ATH-M50's

Forget that they sound great, they feel like fine exotic leather couches on your ears

+1

I have these and a set of BX8A monitors, very helpful, still suck at mixing though lol

 

[Thep]

A great deal are Shure SRH440 and upgrading the cups to the 840 model's cups. The 840 cups make them significantly more comfortable, and they're only about 20 dollars.

 

[jeb]

ath-m50 for the win!!! love them!!

If you are on a f*** budget = panasonic htx7, 30$ can't beleive how good they sound for that price!

 

[Red32]

You've got that the wrong way round. In the place of ultra flat monitors in a treated room, good headphones are going to be better for nitty gritty EQing than cheap and nasty headphones.

Headphones are bad for balancing anything because they skew the stereo field. They're good if you need to hear things much closer and more defined at times, but a good set of monitors in the right room do that anyway.




Good monitors set up correctly in a room treated properly > headphones every time

Good monitors > headphones for mixing a whole mix in an untreated room.

Good monitors < headphones for little nitty gritty stuff (like editing and EQ resonant cuts and whatnot)

Bad monitors in an untreated room < headphones

Bad monitors + bad headphones = not much difference

I agree with you completely, but don't forget that middle and far monitoring is possible only with monitors. What for? Hi frequencies decay very quickly on a distance. With headphones and near monitoring field you'll never know how to set your hi frequencies, that's why I wrote that monitors are good for EQ. And one more - I always passing by bad studio devices. At least I try to buy very good stuff and there is no question about bad monitors or headphones. There is one method to use bad monitors for mixing the whole mix: you can use a lot of different headphones and monitors and compare your mix with proffessional mixes to check all the details.

 

[sh4z]

So much to like about this thread. I used to use Sennheiser EH-150's I now I have a set of Sennheiser HD 212Pro, Does anyone have any opinion on these for mixing ? They were not purchased for this purpose but I have been using them primarily on my PC. I have minimal experience with any of these Headphone's you guys have been suggesting. My guess is the Senny's both have a bias towards bass (I like this for music but I suppose this is not so useful in mixing) .. compensation might be required.

Although.. if you know what "sounds good" with these headphones then perhaps flat frequency response may not be required...

This is all very interesting!

 

[KingAenarion]

I agree with you completely, but don't forget that middle and far monitoring is possible only with monitors. What for? Hi frequencies decay very quickly on a distance. With headphones and near monitoring field you'll never know how to set your hi frequencies, that's why I wrote that monitors are good for EQ. And one more - I always passing by bad studio devices. At least I try to buy very good stuff and there is no question about bad monitors or headphones. There is one method to use bad monitors for mixing the whole mix: you can use a lot of different headphones and monitors and compare your mix with proffessional mixes to check all the details.

Yea having terrible monitors to mix on is a good idea, yes. That's why the Yamaha NS10Ms or Auratone mix cubes are/were so popular. Make a mix sound good on those, and it will sound good on anything.

 

[torqueofficial]

Any of you have tried the Ultrasone Pro? I saw Nolly using them .