KVR Audio

Agent of Random · Post by **Agent of Random** » Sat May 19, 2007 4:59 pm

Hi folks, I'm looking into investing in some quality headphones for mixing. Any recommendations? I'm thinking in the price range of between $50 - $100. Recs from headphone-listening enthusiasts and audio geeks will be equally appreciated.

bstageboss · Post by **bstageboss** » Sat May 19, 2007 5:16 pm

Sony MDR-V6. My personal choice for mixing for years now. I can hear EVERYTHING in those. Of course, keep referencing your mixes, but for monitoring, I recommend these highly. You can get them for about $95 (american). I've even seen them on amazon.com.
Check 'em out

Bennett · Post by **Bennett** » Sat May 19, 2007 5:31 pm

I've had good luck with Sony's MDR-7506 (bit hyped low end), AKG-240's (hard to drive), and Grado SR-60's. Most recently I've been using Ultimate Ears units (for tracking isolation).

For the money I think the Grado's have the best sound accuracy. Really full sound without any overhyped ranges. A bargain at $70 USD.

I mostly use cans for tracking, but once you "learn" how a particular set responds they are definitely useful for rough mixes.

bstageboss · Post by **bstageboss** » Sat May 19, 2007 6:03 pm

You're right about the Sony MDRs (the 7506s are what the V-6s used to be, BTW), but I wouldn't mind trying out a pair of those Grados. Thanks for the info, Bennett.

Agent of Random · Post by **Agent of Random** » Sat May 19, 2007 6:50 pm

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. On another forum I had a few people suggest me Beyerdynamic's DT 770. They're twice my price range, but I'd consider getting them if they are indeed as good as I'm told. Anyone have any experience with them?

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Sat May 19, 2007 6:54 pm

Agent of Random wrote:Thanks for the suggestions, guys. On another forum I had a few people suggest me Beyerdynamic's DT 770. They're twice my price range, but I'd consider getting them if they are indeed as good as I'm told. Anyone have any experience with them?

I have two pair, as well as mdr 7506 and audio technica ath m40s...beyers are awesome, the dt 770s cause the least amount of ear fatigue I've seen yet...the sonys are currently under the weather, but are awesome sounding...the audio technicas which are nicely priced are a surprise and worth consideration...but if you can get the beyers I don't think you'll regret it

bduffy · Post by **bduffy** » Sat May 19, 2007 7:17 pm

AKG rules! Get the best AKG you can find in that price range. Sony MDR7506's are pretty solid, I find them fatiguing in the highs, however.

Niklas R.S. · Post by **Niklas R.S.** » Sat May 19, 2007 7:17 pm

-AKG K240 Studio
My favorite.

Spitfire31 · Post by **Spitfire31** » Sat May 19, 2007 7:19 pm

Headphones are for monitoring while recording, not for mixing.

Perspective and reverb levels, especially, will be completely skewed compared to mixing on speakers. Been there, done that...

By all means, check your mixes with 'phones for iPod compatibility, but do your basic mixing on reasonable monitors.

/Joey

bduffy · Post by **bduffy** » Sat May 19, 2007 7:22 pm

Spitfire31 wrote:Headphones are for monitoring while recording, not for mixing.

Perspective and reverb levels, especially, will be completely skewed compared to mixing on speakers. Been there, done that...

By all means, check your mixes with 'phones for iPod compatibility, but do your basic mixing on reasonable monitors.

/Joey

Does someone always have to say this?

There's nothing wrong with doing some mixing on headphones, and when I'm at work and when my wife's asleep, I have no choice but to do a lot of mixing on headphones. You can get quite good at it, when you know what to expect and look for, and of course, always check and adjust your mixes on monitors.

And rememeber: you can catch details you might otherwise miss on monitors.

pough · Post by **pough** » Sat May 19, 2007 10:09 pm

bduffy wrote:Does someone always have to say this?

Yes. What, are you new here?

Agent of Random · Post by **Agent of Random** » Sat May 19, 2007 10:24 pm

Spitfire31 wrote:Headphones are for monitoring while recording, not for mixing.

No, headphones are fine for what I'm looking to do (pretty basic stuff, I'm very new to mixing). Using headphones to do serious pro-level mixing is an obvious "no no," but I'm not doing anything of that sort so I'm not going to shell out loads of cash which I don't have to get decent moniters. I go to a school that has pretty good studios, so I can always readjust things there if needed.

zircon · Post by **zircon** » Sun May 20, 2007 12:30 am

Beyerdynamic DT880s are what I use, 2003 model. They're semi-open and do a poor job of shutting out external noise, but this isn't an issue for me. I hear a ton of detail in all ranges and used them to mix about 80% of my new album, which I think sounds pretty good.

Cabinfever · Post by **Cabinfever** » Sun May 20, 2007 2:11 am

+1 for the AKG 240 Studio. I've done some mix work using them and the tracks got an approving grunt from the mastering engineer.

bduffy · Post by **bduffy** » Sun May 20, 2007 2:41 am

Cabinfever wrote:"an approving grunt from the mastering engineer."

Headphones for mixing recommendations?