Headphones Advice...

[Patre]

Hi all,

Can you recommend a decent set of cans for under $200? I'll be mainly using it for late night (when the kids are asleep) recording/playback, light mixing (I don't like mixing through phones as they're not reliable), and to feed a playback for vocals. I'd like something that I can listen for a long period of time and that has about a 10ft cord.

Any weblinks would also be greatly appreciated .

Thanks,

Patre

[Ernest Buckley]

So many to choose from...

 

I have heard great things about the Audio Technica ATH-M50s. Thinking about getting a pair.

 

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ATHM50/reviews/#anchor

 

These are about $239 but I`ve been using them for about 5 years... Beyer Dynamic DT990s.

 

I know the Sony 7506s are popular but I find them to be a little harsh and The AKG 240s are sweet but they were always too soft. Wonder if they fixed that???

[Frantag]

 

So many to choose from... I have heard great things about the Audio Technica ATH-M50s. Thinking about getting a pair.

 

 

I have had a pair of these for a couple of months and I use them almost exclusively now. They replace a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M40fs which for 70 bucks did a great job over the 4 years I used them.

 

I also have been happy with Sennheiser HD-580 which I use for editing and mixing. They are open back so not great for tracking but they are the most comfortable headphones I've tried and they sound great.

[Alndln2]

Sony 7506's($99.99). Had everything but those were the only things on my head for the last 15 years. I'm getting another pair soon.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Sennheiser HD 280's are very good "all around" (tracking as well as critical listening) headphones, and they're well within your budget - you can afford two pairs.

[TimmyP]

Sony: Awful fidelity.

 

Senny 280: Passable.

 

Extreme: Maybe a little better (and the best isolation available, should you ever need it).

 

Grado: The best affordable phones I've heard. No isolation, but if they are just for listening, they are the way to go.

[Philter]

AKG K240 DF

 

Nice even response for headphones, and I find them to be the least fatiguing cans I've used. They also look cool. The best thing in my opinion is that they don't hype the low end at all, which usually is a real problem with translating from headphones to speakers.

 

You need a decent amp to drive these.

[alcohol]

I can give a thumbs up to the Ultrasone Blem 650. $139 at some places right now.

[Magpel]

 

AKG K240 DF Nice even response for headphones, and I find them to be the least fatiguing cans I've used. They also look cool. The best thing in my opinion is that they don't hype the low end at all, which usually is a real problem with translating from headphones to speakers. You need a decent amp to drive these.

 

 

I know there are many flavors of 240, and which flavor I have I am not sure off the top of my head, but three observations:

 

1. They sound great--and well described by Philter--not fatiguing. In find my Sennheiser 280s quite fatiguing by comparison...but then I think my ears are just critically fatigued at the moment.

 

2. They DO require some serious headphone amp power!

 

3. They are not the right choice for tracking--excessive bleed, with mine at least.

 

All in all I'm glad I have them. I bought a few of the Sennheisers to use for tracking.

[Ernest Buckley]

The Sennheiser 280s are nice, I use them mostly for tracking because isolation is nice, however for mixing... I find that they seem to accent the 5k region a bit too much for my tastes.

 

Probably the best thing to do is purchase 4-5 pairs and compare and keep your favorite.

[Patre]

While reading up on all these cans, I ran into this review on the Ultrasone HFI700 at http://techgage.com/article/ultrasone_hfi-700_headphones/4.

 

Although it's about $50 more than my budget, I'm impressed with the review. Has anyone had any experiences with these?

[Ernest Buckley]

I`ve heard the ultras but have not had the quality time with them to actually comment. However, I have not heard anything bad about them either. The salesperson told me that they sound excellent after the drivers have been burned in.(?)

[Phil O'Keefe]

Grado: The best affordable phones I've heard. No isolation, but if they are just for listening, they are the way to go.

 

Just a few problems with Grados IMHO - first of all, the really nice ones (RS-1 and RS-2) are anything but "affordable", although I do agree that they're probably the best "critical listening" cans I've ever heard.

 

The next issue is availability. Chances are there's not going to be a local store where you can go audition a pair - if there was one around here, I probably would have tried / purchased some of their less expensive cans - assuming they held up reasonably well to the higher priced units that I have heard.

 

Finally, they're not the most comfortable cans to wear for extended periods of time. And as you mentioned, there's no isolation to speak of, so they're definitely not suited for tracking.

 

As far as Ultrasones, I've heard them at trade shows, and Gearmike brought over a couple of pairs (IIRC, Proline 650's and 750's) to check out at a session once, and neither of us were particularly impressed with the sound - IIRC, there was a big hole in the midrange. YMMV, but I didn't care for them at all.

[Patre]

 

Grado: The best affordable phones I've heard. No isolation, but if they are just for listening, they are the way to go. As far as Ultrasones, I've heard them at trade shows, and Gearmike brought over a couple of pairs (IIRC, Proline 650's and 750's) to check out at a session once, and neither of us were particularly impressed with the sound - IIRC, there was a big hole in the midrange. YMMV, but I didn't care for them at all.

 

 

Quote from their site:

"Ultrasone headphones with the patented S-LogicT Natural Surround Sound Technology give a 3-dimensional sound impression

Ultrasone headphones with patented S-Logic

[Phil O'Keefe]

You should also ask Gearmike (moderator of the Live Sound forum) - we both heard the same basic thing - a very subdued midrange. They didn't sound balanced and neutral to me at all. YMMV, and I know a lot of folks seem to like them, but I really wasn't impressed.

 

And as far as the Grados go, just to make sure there's no confusion, the part of my post in bold was quoting TimmyP - the Grados I have heard (RS-1; about $700, and RS-2, about $500) sounded great, but were not what I'd consider "affordable". I have no idea how well some of their more affordable cans measure up to the standards set by their high-end models.

[Duddits]

Weighing in...

 

I like the Audio Technica ATH series, for comfort and sound.

 

I find the Senn 280s uncomfortable, the headphone equivalent of Steve Martin's "Cruel Shoes."

 

I also find the Sony 7506 harsh, bright, and hyped. Whenever I hand a pair of 7506s to someone to compare with something else, they're always surprised at how much they prefer the something else.

[recordingtrack1]

I use Direct Sound Extreme Isolation phones. About $80 bucks through MF. Actually, my wife bought them for me as a Xmas present, so I didn't have much say so in the deal. I found them to be solid and clean and they do a great job of cutting the outside contaminants. Also, when close miking, the signal doesn't get picked up by the mic.

 

Rt1:thu: