What studio headphones should I buy? Limit $500

[markgov]

Hey guys, just wondering if you could help me out with the above. I want a really good pair of studio headphones for recording, mixing and mastering.

Thanks, Mark

 

[iRaiseTheDead]

Good ones. xD
I've heard good things about AKG headphones

 

[markgov]

I tried out a pair of akgs for around 200 ish i think ad I wasn't too impressed for metal, they sounded good for hip hop sort a stuff but I found them to be lacking in highs and bass was weak. Or is that how studio headphones are supposed to be?

 

[iRaiseTheDead]

Oh really :/ I'm sorry. I've never personally tried listening through them (I don't think atleast) but I know when I was talking to some guys on here they spoke of them.

 

[markgov]

o ok cool i might give them another try : )

 

[asilayamazing]

i heard you want the flattest headphones possible for mixing. no added "color" i have a pair of 662-F-'s f for flat lol superlux makes them idk if the best but i hear good things about superlux i got em for around 50 on ebay used.


EDIT: im no expert but one thing ive learned is "studio" doesnt mean studio. lmao

 

[jsl2h90]

Sennheiser HD595's. AKG's aren't bad but I prefer these by far. Don't forget to grab a decent headphone amp if necessary. Price is a bit high atm but I got 'em for $120 on amazon which is a steal.
Amazon.com: Sennheiser HD595 Dynamic High Grade Performance Premiere Headphones: Electronics

 

[asilayamazing]

also i cant remember for what but depending on what your doing you may need two pairs. i think "closed" cans for vocals and drums and "open cans" for guitar. i may have that backwards tho. google what the use of open and closed design as well and figure out what u will be recording most and buy best suited design for that. IMO

 

[markgov]

are these headphones good for mixing mastering tho? And btw, the best headphones ive listened to so far were dr dre beats and i know that those arent the greatest lol

 

[asilayamazing]

are these headphones good for mixing mastering tho? And btw, the best headphones ive listened to so far were dr dre beats and i know that those arent the greatest lol

THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT FOR MIXING. dont get dre. OMG lol what u listen to to mix will affect the end result. dre are made to color hip hop. so it will throw off you mix. i suggest you google about mixing what phones are for what and what you need. you want flat headphones. not added treble or dre's added bass.

 

[ImaDjentleman]

i cant recommend Shure enough. I really dont like Akg's, but i own a pair of shure srh840's, and can only imagine how good the 940's are. they are flat, amazing for guitar, honestly i'd add a bit of bass to make it more even sounding, but people often complain about the 840s' sound-stage, which i think is fine (not great), but i've heard that Shure has fixed anyone's soundstage complaints with the 940s... SHURE!!11!1!!!!!

 

[Fiction]

I Have a set of AKG K171 which are fine for all I use them for, which is just tracking and late night mixes. They're fine until I can afford to drop some money on proper monitors. They're also fairly comfortable to wear for hours once they had been worn in.

 

[Scottckr]

I was struggling between Audio-Technica ATH-M50 and the Beyerdynamic DT-250 about a year ago.
I thought the Beyerdynamic sounded better but was a bit uncomfortable, the Audio-Technica also sounded really good but they were also extremely comfortable so I bought the latter.
I'm still very happy about these, I use them mainly for mixing and tracking guitars so don't know how they would do when tracking vocals.
These 2 headphones are what my teachers(I'm studying audio- and music production) recommended, and they are all pretty experienced with this stuff.
They are both about 240$ if I remember correctly.

 

[Larcher]

*signals the KingAenarion Bat Signal*

 

[KingAenarion]

Tracking, Mixing AND Mastering... I would recommend getting two sets.

A pair of comfortable and cheap CLOSED back headphones for tracking (particularly Drums and Vocals) and a pair of open backed for mixing.

With a $500 budget... Holy crap

If you're not tracking vocals or drums... 1 pair that will blow so many away...

Sennheiser HD650s

Holy Shit they're amazing.


If you do need closed back as well... Get the Beyer DT 990s for a pair of open backed, and any old closed back headphones that are comfortable

 

[oddcam]

Go look in headfi.org
They have a lot of info on questions like this

 

[asilayamazing]

Go look in headfi.org
They have a lot of info on questions like this

thats wher i looked to buy mine ended with 662-f superlux. cudnt remember what the site was.

 

[AliceLG]

I use the DT770s from BeyerDynamic, I'm quite happy with those.

 

[xeonblade]

AKG K240 MKII

 

[DivusPennae]

Gonna have to agree on the DT-770s, great pair of reference headphones.