Which CLOSED headphones do you use?

[zeoy]

I use the 770s for many years for exactly the same things as you said you want to use them: tracking, mixing, mastering.
Very comfortable, built like tanks (severely abused by my two kids and still working as new). As most closed designs things can get warm when using them for long periods during the summer.
I use them for mixing my tracks almost exclusively. Of course I double check with my monitors but once I got to know them well I only need very minor tweaks.
Regarding the bass response I don't think that it's more pronounced. The 'problem' is that it's very extended so you end up hearing frequencies you would never hear with a reasonably priced nearfield system. I find it very useful when it comes to deciding about low cut freqs etc.
Great for reducing spill when recording acoustic instruments while monitoring the rest of the tracks.
It's my first pair of 'serious' headphones but IMHO they're highly recommended.

[morelia]

Thanks zeoy. I'm primarily flip flopping between the DT770 and the ATH-M50. I like the isolation provided by both, although I think the ATH-M50 was a bit better. The ear piece on the DT770 was a tad large (good comfort but a little leakage), and the ATH-M50 was only just a good fit (maybe long term would become annoying) but had great sound isolation. As far as sound goes I don't know what to say. I compared the DT770 to others, and the ATH-M50 to others, but not against each other. If pressed to comment I'd say the bass was stronger with the Beyers, and they also sounded more open (like actually listening to speakers). There is about $100 difference though so I'll probably do myself a favour and just go with one of those after another try..

[hibidy]

I can tell you that the beyers are actually better at keeping out surrounding noise. The AT's fit partially on my ears and I can hear things (like guitar strings) more with them.

ymmv

[morelia]

I can tell you that the beyers are actually better at keeping out surrounding noise. The AT's fit partially on my ears and I can hear things (like guitar strings) more with them.

It's hard to say for me because I tried those two in different stores. It seemed the opposite to me. But either one was pretty good.

[Meateater]

I've just ordered some Ultrasone DJ1s, which have this natural surround sound system and are rated quite good, but they are only £75 on amazon which is cheapo for them and theres only 1 pair left.

M

[morelia]

Ultrasone DJ1s

I didn't see those in any stores I went to. It's a shame because I'd like to try them all out, but the range here is quite small.

[DeepFiber]

I would get the hd 600 or the k601 for monitoring, or the hd 25 if you want soundproof, most of the rest is shit. dont even get me started on beyer or Atechnica or anything else, is shit.

I probably should mention again, I need circumaural, closed headphones.

Yeah the closed in huge capitol letters just wasn't enough

So what I forgot my reading glasses. Could happen to anyone.

[hibidy]

I would get the hd 600 or the k601 for monitoring, or the hd 25 if you want soundproof, most of the rest is shit. dont even get me started on beyer or Atechnica or anything else, is shit.

I probably should mention again, I need circumaural, closed headphones.

Yeah the closed in huge capitol letters just wasn't enough

So what I forgot my reading glasses. Could happen to anyone.

Well, you do know it wasn't meant to be an attack, right?

[DeepFiber]

Yeah I know

[chj]

I've had the Sennheiser HD280's for awhile but I splurged and got the ATH-M50's from B&H Photo $115.99, I'm glad I did.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4 ... tudio.html

So here's a Sennheiser HD 280 Pro vs. Audio-Technica ATH-M50 head to head.

Frequency response:
The ATH-M50's are bassier. I think it's a good thing. I've decided I disagree that you want as flat as possible. Almost every system anyone eventually listens to your music on will be warmer/bassier than flat. The HD280's get praise for being fairly flat, but my mixes with the HD280's were WAY TOO BASSY for the average system. Of course I realized this and adjusted, but why should I have to? If your mixes are too bassy, the ATH-M50's may help.

On the flip side, if your mixes have too much reverb hiss, the HD280's may help. When listening to some major label artists on the HD280's I hear excessive reverb. The room is hissing the entire song. This isn't revealed nearly as much on the ATH-M50's (and is non-existent on my in-ear Shure SE210's).

For purely listening enjoyment the ATH-M50's are better IMO. The HD 280's lack bass and are too bright. With the ATH-M50's and a flat EQ, I think music sounds exactly like the producer intended. Although I must admit on bass heavy songs I wonder if the bass is really supposed to be that crazy.

Sound isolation
HD 280's is the winner here. I've had people screaming at me with the HD280's on and not heard a thing. The lack of sound isolation on the ATH-M50's made them pretty useless on the subway. To be fair, my HD280's have never been on the subway. My in-ear Shure SE210's do a much better job. EDIT: headphone.com tests in a post below show the HD280's are a bit better at isolation than the ATH-M50s but both fall far short of the in-ear SE210's.

Soundstage:
Songs sound like they are in a much more natural space with the ATH-M50's. With the HD280's you can hear the separate instruments. But they are too separated, they don't blend like they should. The HD 280's sound clinical, whereas the ATH-M50's sound lush and spacious in comparison. (BTW - In the store I also tried the AKG K-701's, amazing soundstage, most headphones paled in comparison, the ATH-M50's held up pretty well for closed headphones.)

Volume especially with MP3 players:
The HD280's are driven more easily. I have to turn up the volume more on the ATH-M50's to get the same level on my mp3 player.

Street appeal
I wouldn't be caught dead wearing the HD280's on the street. The ATH-M50's look great.

Price
Most prices put the HD280's at around $100, I got mine for $79. The ATH-M50's are usually around $150, B&H's $115.99 is the lowest price I've seen for new ATH-M50's.

Overall depends on what your needs and biases are.

[morelia]

Thanks for the review. I intended to try the ATs again. I thought the isolation was pretty good.

[chj]

I just spent the day walking around the city with the ATH-M50's and the lack of sound isolation makes them unusable for this kind of use. Subway, cars, etc. I can hear everything.

To be fair, I realized I've never been outside the house with my HD 280's. So my initial criticism of the ATH-M50's sound isolation was actually comparing them to my in-ear Shure SE210's, which are very good at isolation. In a studio, you probably wouldn't need the same level of isolation. I just did some very unscientific tests and I do think the HD280's are better at isolation, but maybe not that much.


The video is the first in a series of 5 videos, it may be informative for those looking for headphones. The Denon D2000's come out the winner.

[morelia]

Thanks again. After demoing the ATH-M50, AKG 271mkII and the Beyer DT770, again, I went with the Beyers. In the end I decided all I could really do is select those I like the sound of the best, when comparing the listening experience to what I expect. This expectation is based on listening to my KRKs, in car system etc. I found the Beyers sounded most like sitting in front of speakers. I do think there is a larger bass boost with these that the others I was interested in but I think that is a good thing. I find one thing I always have to do after a mix is come back and reduce the bass.

Thanks everyone for the help in making my decision.

[chj]

Accd'g to this, there is bass boost in the beyers, but nothing out of the ordinary, the ATH-M50's are very similar.
http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompar ... hID[]=1043

Looks like I was right about the sound isolation as well. My in-ear Shure SE210's basically kill any over the ear headphones and the HD280's are better than the ATH-M50's. The Beyers are the best of three closed headphones.
http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompar ... hID[]=1043

[morelia]

Yes the bass boost is not so much excessive compared to others. It is a different frequency range to the others I was interested in though, which may have been what I noticed.