Best Headphones for Mixing

[HcDoom]

Sorry, but that sounds like typical headphone mix. Overblown lows, muddy mids and weird highs. People, mix on monitors and use headphones for reference only. If headphones were enough, than no studio would invest in mid or high range monitors.

Maybe it does, but thousands of people have downloaded my music and it is played on internet radio stations throughout the world...so, I'll keep doing what I am doing and you can listen to music mixed on high range monitors, if that is what you choose.

Artistic wise, your music is good...but mix wise? Doesnt sound good, sry! Imagine your music properly mixed, who knows how much would that wider your audience.

[estimated]

Samson SR850 cans,... I watch Pensado show some effects... and I’m thinking “are you sure you clicked the bypass?”.

I have a suspicion that we've seen the same video with the same cans and the same result. Though I do wonder how much detail is lost in the audio codecs and compression used for this type of video.

[andymcbain]

I think hearing them at the store would do more to reinforce the "sticker" info I already know about them: the HD 650 will sound mid heavy, the DT 990 will have a V shape and pronounced sibilance.

See "mid heavy" isn't even how I would describe them at all. I would say "balanced" personally. But that goes back to what we said about objectivity/subjectivity.

Good luck with whichever you choose!

[jochicago]

I want to thank everyone again for helping me out with this decision. I ordered the DT 990 Pro, they'll be here in a week. The decision was made simpler by the cost difference. I was leaning a bit that way already, but they are also half the cost of the HD 650.

Before we wrap this up, can we touch on the merit of the Sennheiser HD 820? I imagine they come in a hard shell case with a key lock.

[himalaya]

The high end Sennheiser headphones have a much more refined sound. I tested the HD700 or the HD800 ( can not remember which it was now) and in direct comparison to the HD650 they had a more detailed sound, especially in the top end. It was the sound I wanted but could not afford at the time. I wonder how the 820s sound.

I'd like to compare the HD800 (and maybe 820) to Audeze LCD-X which I have used and love. The Audeze LCD-X are supreme. The only headphones I've tried so far that I could mix on.

[Niowiad]

I want to thank everyone again for helping me out with this decision. I ordered the DT 990 Pro, they'll be here in a week. The decision was made simpler by the cost difference. I was leaning a bit that way already, but they are also half the cost of the HD 650.

Before we wrap this up, can we touch on the merit of the Sennheiser HD 820? I imagine they come in a hard shell case with a key lock.

Platinum case personally delivered by the Chancellor of Germany.

[enroe]

... can we touch on the merit of the Sennheiser HD 820?
I imagine they come in a hard shell case with a key lock.

Platinum case personally delivered by the Chancellor of Germany.

Haha, yes.

But in fact it's all about the stiffness and the weight of the
membrane.

[Butwug]

Toneboosters Morphit + Goodhertz CanOpener in the master chain, was a game changer for me. I went from not having mixes translate at all to anything besides the headphones, to being able to make mix that translates really well. Morphit is 1/3 of the price of Sonarworks Reference 4 and is at least, as good, if not better. Mixes translated better for me with Morphit. Remember to turn these plugins off before exporting audio.

Im using AKG 240 Studio headphones by the way. The semi open back design is magic. Havent touched my Audio Technicas since I tried the 240s. Not sure what exactly it is but the open design gives me a sound that isnt as precise as Audio Technica, but translate more to real world, like car system or airpods.

[enroe]

I own both, the HD280s and the HD650. The difference in quality is like night and day. Overall, I just dislike the HD280s due to their very harsh sound. They have great isolation, but everything else is off (for me), even the bass. The HD650 are smooth, go loud without any fatigue, which I can not say about the 280s. Push the 280s up in volume and experience piercing top end. This is evident when comparing the 280s vs 650 side by side.

Having said that, I wouldn't choose the HD650 now, and instead I'd try the HD600. The HD650 have a few dips in the top frequency spectrum, which mask certain areas, something that the HD600 do not suffer from (as I hear from owners of both, the HD650 and HD600).

But this slight 'veiled sound' (as others call it) took me by surprise at first. I thought there was something wrong with my HD650...I suppose being used to overly bright headphones before (HD280s and an old set of Audio Technica) didn't help in my perception of the HD650 either...Still, in a direct comparison to AKG-701 I was able to hear better detail in the mix with the 701, than with the HD650. However, the HD650 just sound more 'sexy' than the AKG701. For me the HD650 is a perfect 'hi-fi' headphone: never gets fatiguing, always sounds lush with a luxurious low end (perfect for home cinema use, as an example).

Also, if you want to stay closed back, try the AudioTechnica M50x (I own these as well). They have a very nice sound. Everything is in place. Lotsa bass, mids and highs, without any major issues. I often use the M50x to hear into the top end of a mix, since I just can not trust the HD650s to reveal how it sounds up there. Then, again, the HD650, have a nicer soundstage.... argh! I'd love to hear the HD600...

Vooow! Thank you for your excellent descriptions!

[b0se]

I come from a headphone background, having owned the Abyss AB-1266, HD600, HD800, LCD-2 and LCD-X. The Abyss are a different beast, but they are, of course, wildly expensive. I sold them after getting the Kii Three's.

Just bought the Focal Clears and am breaking them in. They are exceptional, early impressions - *perfect* for mixing. Great clarity, depth and balance. I've been testing them specifically for mixing; making key decisions with them then referencing against the Kii's. Every time I'm surprised how well placed things are.

They won't be going back :¬)

Running via Violectric V281 HP amp. Highly recommend, it squeezes out every last ounce of potential from any headphone you connect to it. Superb transparency and balance.

V281 + Clear = mixing dream team.

[jochicago]

I got TB Isone, and I'm experimenting with Morphit.

Definitely a bundle of fun. I'm at very early stages of making sense of this stuff, but already I feel I can potentially simulate the sound of my monitors in the headphones. I'm not sure why I would want to do that, I feel it kinda defeats the purpose to bring in the same flaws of my room into the cans, but for someone else this could be a solution to mix at night with cans if you'd want to hear something that sounds more like your monitors. Or if you have limited access to a studio, you could save a preset that makes your cans sound like a room you trust, then you can mix with cans more comfortably when you are away.

I think the direction I'm headed is to use the cans with these plugins to simulate an expensive mixing room. A clear sound but with natural crossfade, time+space delay and other monitoring-like effects, so it sounds like I'm listening to high quality monitors in a well treated room, not my flawed room or simply headphones.

I wish I knew what X headphone sounds like...
One cool feature of Morphit is the simulation tool. Once you have applied the neutral correction to your headphones, you can then engage the eq to make your headphones adopt the curve of any other pair on the list. It's fun to hear what other headphones sound like and can act as a great reference tool. From a short test the sounds were mostly what I would predict from my research. So if you are considering getting a particular model and want to know how it compares to yours, I highly recommend giving Morphit a demo. For fun and because we've been talking about it:

HD598 vs HD599: the 599s are way bass-ier.
HD598 vs HD600: pretty similar, the HD600 lift the treble because it needs it, so more balanced.
HD600 vs HD650: very similar. Same deviations but the 650 is more gentle about it, so a bit cleaner.
HD650 vs HD800: what I would call flatter (natural): a bit less of the upper bass excess in the 650, and a lift in the treble.
HD800 vs DT990: Brighter. The DT990 feel more open, but they are heavy in the sibilant area and that can get annoying depending on the material.

Obviously this is just eq curves. Nothing to say about the quality of the audio reproduction itself.

[enroe]

Obviously this is just eq curves. Nothing to say about the quality of the audio reproduction itself.

Your last sentence here is the crucial statement.

These eq-curves can be adjusted with a good equalizer. Even a very cheap
departmentstore-headphone for $ 20 can be equalized so that is sounds
best. "Best" regarding eq-curves! Or "adequate" like your room monitors.

But ...

... it's not the eq-curve. It is how impulses are transferred. That is
what you can see here:
°

harm dist 500 hz sinus - hd600 akg k601 k271.png

°
The left peak - here in yellow - is the input. An ideal headphone
would have only this yellow left peak - and nothing else!

All the other peaks right from the big peak are the reason
for a hued, muddy and gelatinized sound.

[an-electric-heart]

Can we talk about amps now? I currently use AKG K240s straight out of my soundcard, all this talk has me about to buy Beyerdynamic DT990s... but now I read that they absolutely must have an amp... that's annoying, because I guess for studio use you need a pretty good one. I imagine a bad one would colour the sound of the headphones in a bad way?

[b0se]

Can we talk about amps now? I currently use AKG K240s straight out of my soundcard, all this talk has me about to buy Beyerdynamic DT990s... but now I read that they absolutely must have an amp... that's annoying, because I guess for studio use you need a pretty good one. I imagine a bad one would colour the sound of the headphones in a bad way?

Amps make more of a difference than you might imagine.

Are yours 250 or 600 ohm?

[an-electric-heart]

Can we talk about amps now? I currently use AKG K240s straight out of my soundcard, all this talk has me about to buy Beyerdynamic DT990s... but now I read that they absolutely must have an amp... that's annoying, because I guess for studio use you need a pretty good one. I imagine a bad one would colour the sound of the headphones in a bad way?

Amps make more of a difference than you might imagine.

Are yours 250 or 600 ohm?

I haven't bought them yet, I'm planning to order them this coming week. Yes, the ones on my Ebay watch-list are the 250 ohm version. My current AKGs are only 50 ohm.