Supercoolmike Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Hey guys. I didn't see if there was already another thread on this topic so I thought it should be good time to start one since it can be really important to some people when purchasing new headphones. I was also hoping to see different opinions between known brands (like Bose & Beats) and unknown Brands (that can only be seen shopping online like amazon) Hopefully this can be a learning experience for everyone. With that being said I'm currently looking for new headphones to make music with. I know that making music with headphones is probably not the most optimal environment to be in as a solution, but with my current setup and compromised situation that I'm in (and possibly others that can be in as well). Headphones are pretty much the only options that I have to go for me. For awhile now I have been using the Bose QC 15 headphones and I really like the noise cancellation because I like the isolation I get to whatever I'm listening to. However those headphones finally gave out on me and I am currently being forced to listen to all my audio stuff with my ps3 gaming headset, so its pretty clear that I need to get some new headphones. lol. I know that having a budget can also affect ur choices of headphones when it comes to quality, but imo I think any headphones that cost more than $400 is too much even for a studio environment. I have been debating on whether to just purchase Bose QC 25 simply because I enjoyed the Bose QC 15. My other choice I'm thinking of purchasing is the Audio Technica ATH-M50 0r ATH-M70X. If u guys have different headphones or different opinions/sugestions for headphones, plz feel free to say them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 (edited) I highly recommend either the Grado SR-60i (32-ohm impedance) or Beyerdynamic DT-880 (32-ohm impedance; I have the 250-ohm for the Beyers, but still). The Grados are ~$80, and the Beyers are ~$400 (but you can generally find them below $300 online). The Grados are ones I would recommend if: - You're on a budget - You want a frequency response with great midrange, crisp treble, and clean (not necessarily full, but very discernible) bass - You won't mind itchy ears for about a month as you break it in (it wasn't that bad), or the rather long cord The Beyers are ones I would recommend if: - You don't mind spending at least $200 or you found an awesome sale like I did (51% off, hot damn!) - You want to do some serious bass mixing and treble mixing, with an excellent midrange and stereo field to boot - You want nice comfort while wearing headphones and a long-lasting build (velour pads!) The difference between the Grados and Beyers actually feels quite minimal at first. There is a seemingly subtle improvement in the uppermost treble and low bass when you first try the Beyers, but here's what I've got: bass mixing that previously took me close to 16 hours on the Grados... I fixed up in less than half an hour with the Beyers. True story (I'm referring to at 1:55). The Grados have a bit of boominess (~4 dB) near 80 Hz and a bit less accurate bass, and the Beyers have a slight dip (~2 dB) at 2000 Hz but are overall quite balanced and have really nice bass. Note that I took about 6 months to really get into them before changing my mind. I still have both, and I've used the Beyers for almost 1.5 years now. The Grados were open-back, and the Beyers are semi-open, making the bass mixing quite clear and not muffled. =393&graphID[]=963&scale=30"]Frequency Response Comparison Also, some important notes: - Price doesn't actually correlate with headphone quality; I've had $60 Sony headphones that were much, much more band-passed than the $15 skullcandies I use right now (for just listening). I would say, try looking headphones up on http://headphone.com/ if they have it on record, to have an idea of how dull-or-boomy-or-whatever the frequency response is. - Look for headphones with a reasonable impedance. I often see 32 ohms, which seems pretty common. I would go for those. The higher the impedance, the stronger the amplifier you need to get headphones outputting at a normal volume. It also gives you a worse treble response on average (the higher the impedance, the more upper treble frequencies are attenuated). - If the headphones are not made for mixing, don't buy them for mixing (I think that's a given...). I see Beats all the time where I live, and I just internally face palm whenever I see someone sporting Beats. Your beats don't get any tastier on those! (I did try them, to be fair, and to be honest, they were OK but not great) Edited April 20, 2015 by timaeus222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supercoolmike Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 I remember putting on some beats for the first time and I immediately took them off my head. They are just so bad. lol When looking up the headphones you suggested timaeus, I came across these 2 interesting articles that came out last year and thought they would help fit in with this topic. and Spoilers: the Beyerdynamic DT-880 u mentioned is in both of them. http://www.wirerealm.com/guides/best-studio-headphones-for-mixing-mastering http://www.wirerealm.com/guides/top-10-best-studio-headphones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Strader Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 (edited) I'm in the crazy club of people who own high end headphones, but I don't even really use them that often... to be fair though, I've only made 1 song this year. I would recommend instead to get audio systems you're accustomed to, over years of experience with them or at least a year or two, and stick with them. I've been using the same wireless headphones for 5 years. I know how they sound, I know how they color audio and which frequencies in them are weak or non-present, like I know the right speaker doesn't play 2500hz. It's more important to be intimately familiar with something than to just buy super expensive headphones and think they will change everything for you and your music, because it really doesn't work that way. Though to be fair you can become intimately familiar with high end headphones and how they produce sound too. Just don't expect them to be the miracle cure right out of the box. A lot of mixes I have on OCR were written, mixed and mastered using $5 headphones. My wireless ones were $60 five years ago and I have the AKG Q 701 were $200 Note that all prices are higher than they were at time of purchase Edited April 20, 2015 by Brandon Strader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nase Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 i've said it b4 somewhere, but: superlux headphones are amazing for the price. i got the HD681EVOs for under 30 euros, just to test if they live up to the praise on some forums. i can't comment too much on them, only tested them for a while, but they really didn't seem much worse than AKGs, which is sort of the point since superlux used to produce some parts for AKG or something. they cost a quarter. they're serviceable headphones for the studio. probably not great, but decent. i'm using some AKG headphones from my dad that he wasn't using, K301. they're not ideal for studio, but i'm kind of liking the sound of them (very spacious) and they're super comfy to wear. they work well for me, but i don't mix with headphones primarily. so if you wanna go pure headphones, it might be wise to spend a little extra. if it's a 50 50 thing for you, lower cost cans can be enough. there may be some coloring of the sound that you'll get used to, but really, there are amazing low cost headphones around these days. i think people tend to be a little conservative with brands and word of mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nase Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I would recommend instead to get audio systems you're accustomed to, over years of experience with them or at least a year or two, and stick with them. I've been using the same wireless headphones for 5 years. I know how they sound, I know how they color audio and which frequencies in them are weak or non-present, like I know the right speaker doesn't play 2500hz.It's more important to be intimately familiar with something than to just buy super expensive headphones and think they will change everything for you and your music, because it really doesn't work that way. Though to be fair you can become intimately familiar with high end headphones and how they produce sound too. Just don't expect them to be the miracle cure right out of the box. great advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowlerhat Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I have only had one pair of headphones in my whole life, and I got it half a year ago, but I nonetheless really recommend the Beyerdynamic DT-880. It's not really fancy or anything, but everything just sounds so... Right. You can simply hear anything that's happening. But... The only comparison I've got are my IPhone earphones, so I'm no expert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nase Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 generally the usual names dropped in threads like this one are sennheiser, beyerdynamic and AKG. i may be forgetting a brand or two but you get the drift. i liked 3 of 4 AKGs i've had so far, and sennheiser does pretty decent low cost headphones from my experience (haven't tried the studio ones). i never went much over a 100 euros with headphones, but i had this habit of breaking them so i got a few over the years. it seems the industry made another leap in the last couple years, both headphones and speakers. makes me happy that midrange stuff is so good. i got a couple of presonus monitor speakers for 170 euros, and i love them. plus headphones for <30 bucks that i'd use no problem if i had to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonectric Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 My other choice I'm thinking of purchasing is the Audio Technica ATH-M50 0r ATH-M70X. ATH-M50 has been my sole pair of non-earbud headphones for 5 or 6 years now. They're on my head 95% of the time I'm sitting at the computer. I like 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakos Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I have to say that Timaeus helped me to get my actual headphones (Grado SR-60i) and so far are the best headphone that I had in a long long time, so my tip will be to listen to Timaeus, he understand about the topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpretzel Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 You can now get AKG 240's for under $70... I have two myself (Hans Gruber voice). http://www.amazon.com/AKG-240-Semi-Open-Studio-Headphones/dp/B0001ARCFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429925581&sr=8-1&keywords=akg+240 Can't go wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeaudio Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 You can now get AKG 240's for under $70... I have two myself (Hans Gruber voice).http://www.amazon.com/AKG-240-Semi-Open-Studio-Headphones/dp/B0001ARCFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429925581&sr=8-1&keywords=akg+240 Can't go wrong. Completely agree! That's a steal for lower than $100. I have a pair, and I do not regret buying them at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 You can now get AKG 240's for under $70... I have two myself (Hans Gruber voice).http://www.amazon.com/AKG-240-Semi-Open-Studio-Headphones/dp/B0001ARCFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429925581&sr=8-1&keywords=akg+240 Can't go wrong. The only thing I'd say about that is, if you wear them, do they make your ears scrunch up a bit if your ears are too big? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nase Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 The only thing I'd say about that is, if you wear them, do they make your ears scrunch up a bit if your ears are too big? could be, yes. all i remember is they weren't perfectly comfy to wear over the course of a night. my ears aren't so big but my head is. but they're good cans and price is nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown Alias Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I love my Sennheiser HD 380's, wonderful for mixing, as far as I know doesn't have any heavy EQ on them. If you can't get studio monitors I'd really recommend these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayeser Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 I've had the Sony's, the AKGs....but somehow I just end up using my CAD Sessions Headphones all the time. They were around 70-80 bucks I believe, and they've got great response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.