Michael_DK
New Member
but the last statement about avoiding a wide frequency response is just not accurate.
What he mentioned was avoiding EMPHASIZED highs and lows (i.e. "hyped") - not a wide frequency response as such.
but the last statement about avoiding a wide frequency response is just not accurate.
Wow, interesting results here on the suggestions.
I had a set of the Sony MDR and although they had a nice sound to them and had a decent bass, I felt it was a step up when I went to Sennheisers. The clarity was night & day to me.
I use it more for monitoring and mixing, rather than just home jamming at night so maybe the lush sound of the Sony's is more enjoyable for that purpose. Also, Sennheiser has several models and the quality/performance varies on what model and how much you spend.
As far as tech tips on headphone purchases, pay attention to the "frequency response" in hz ratings, this is the range of tone they can produce, you want the low number to be as low as possible and the high number as high as possible.
For example:
-Sennheiser HD25 16hz - 22000hz approx $150.
-Sennheiser HD8 8hz - 30000hz approx $350.
The more expensive model has a wider range and will produce better lows and clearer highs, another case of "you get what you pay for".
Dead on! I agree with almost every word.My girlfriend has some Sennheiser HD 280 Pros and they're pretty decent too, but personally I find them more annoying to wear for a long time because they're heavier and tighter.
The biggest selling point for the Sonys I think is just how common they are. If you use them regularly and then find them in a studio or somethin', you'll know what to expect out of them. The 7506s are flatter than some of the other Sony headphones I've used, but they're certainly not the best or flattest out there and I'd be surprised if the higher end Sennheisers (or Sonys or others) didn't sound better.
I think probably anything mentioned in this thread will at least be decent, but none of the headphones I've ever used compare to a good set of studio monitors, so I'm kinda' spoiled now.
I use these a lot in my studio as well. A little ripe in the bass, but that helps when tracking, and the rest of the frequency response is very accurate. And as a plus, they don't fart out on the bass as some other cans will, and they reveal a ton of lower end detail.
The Beyer DT-770 are another set I use for tracking guitars especially. The Beyer 880s are similar open phones, and sound more accurate, but are more expensive - I don't know if that's a concern.
Others I recommend are the Grado phones - the cheapest ones are an absolute steal - and the A-T 50x.
I find the Sony cans truly irritating/fatiguing to work with for a long time. But we all have a different set of ears, and with headphones, the anatomy of one's head matters. A lot.
In my studio, most of the talent I bring in to do sessions seems to prefer the Beyer DT-770s over some of my other headphones. When tracking talent, I listen on the Blue cans, so they don't get that choice (call me selfish). I had the Sony cans for talent for a long time, but they sat unused, so I gave them away.
Also the Beyers come in 3 different impedances 32, 80 and 250 ohm. which is going to be best for playing through my guitar amp?
The only problem with an open back phone is during tracking, where headphone bleed has the potential to mess things up.
On Maerti's recommendation I'm going to try a set of the DT-1770s, even though they're three times the price of the 770, if they sound great, then party, bonus! I have yet to find a set of closed-back cans that I'd call truly flat in frequency balance, so maybe these will be?
I currently have three sets of closed-back cans on hand, and I use them for different purposes. I like the Beyer DT-770 for tracking, and I like the Blue headphones for this purpose as well. Because the Blues have tremendous bass clarity and go very deep, I find them also useful for checking for problems in the low end. However, both sets of cans have a little too much bass to mix with (or to double check a mix for accuracy).
For that purpose I use another German closed-back headphone by Ultrasone. I find them accurate and highly detailed in instrument placement, listening for reverb tails, etc. But they are easy to drive into splattiness when there's a lot of bass, so I find that I can't really track instruments with a big low end with them.
The best headphones I've had for checking mixes - or for any other purpose - are the Grado HP1000s, but they're tremendously expensive, and are open-back cans, so there's bleed. Mine had impedance that was a mismatch with my Neve summing mixer. So I sold them. I probably shouldn't have, but I hate having stuff in the studio that I can't make use of. However, I did sell them for more than I paid for them after owning them for 15 years, so there's that...
I also have a pair of Stax electrostatic headphones from the 80s, but I never use them because they require a power amplifier, and I have self-powered studio monitors. I probably ought to get them going again...
You could also check out the Focal Spirit Professionals. They sound very decent to me, for closed backs. Mind you, I don't have TONS of headphone experience, but did a lot of research some time ago.
They don't it everybody's heads/ears, though - the cups are relatively small.
Which model are you talking about? I won't argue that they aren't super durable -- they're not as durable as the DT770 or the Koss Pro 4AA, but they're more durable than other headphones I've had except for the pads. But they're not DJ cans. They are a little hyped (heavy bass and bright, slightly recessed mids), but the bass is tight, unlike most DJ phones I've heard.I had some of the Sony mentioned ...They are a little bass heavy being DJ cans...