Best studio headphones?

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risome wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 11:59 pm Audeze period https://www.audeze.com Hefty price but seriously the best.I adore mine .Its like having my Dynaudio studio speakers strapped to my ears :-)
Wow...they are seriously expensive headphones...

It'd be cheaper to strap a pair of Dynaudio monitors to your ears :tu:

Now,that's one I'd like to see :wink:
No auto tune...

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JCJR wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 5:40 pm Open back vs sealed for "public places" depends on context.

If you are sitting down in a noisy place to do some "critical listening" then sealed cans or isolating good seal earbuds would be nice. Planes, trains, terminals, fast food joint, a bench in a crowded park whatever.
If you need to do some "critical listening" in such places, something is not right in your life. So I'd suggest - fix that.
JCJR wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 5:40 pm But if wearing phones "on the go" walking, running, biking, driving, then isolation is undesirable. Higher risk of being injured by a vehicle that you didn't hear coming. Or you unfortunately didn't hear the bystandar yelling "Hey fella watch out for that falling piano!" :)
So who would wear any kind of studio headphones while walking/running? Especially the ones with the big pads, and those that slip off easily? Are you going to listen to music, or to your heart beating?

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chk071 wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 1:12 pm Did anyone try the Audio-Technica ATH-M40 X's? Reviews sound as if those are a good budget choice as well.
Yes, I love them, the 50s are great for listening to music if you like your bass, but I far prefer the flatter 40s for mixing (I have both).

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Awesome, thanks. :tu: I think i might treat myself, and get them soon. :)

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digitalboytn wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:42 am
risome wrote: Sun Aug 18, 2019 11:59 pm Audeze period https://www.audeze.com Hefty price but seriously the best.I adore mine .Its like having my Dynaudio studio speakers strapped to my ears :-)
Wow...they are seriously expensive headphones...

It'd be cheaper to strap a pair of Dynaudio monitors to your ears :tu:

Now,that's one I'd like to see :wink:
The Audeze are like strapping a pair of monitors to your ears. Huge beasts, at least the LCD-X I've used.

But I have to say, this is the only pair of cans I'd trust for mixing.
http://www.electric-himalaya.com
VSTi and hardware synth sound design
3D/5D sound design since 2012

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I do most of my mixing/mastering under headphones. I use a combination of Audio Technica ATH M50x and Sonarworks True-Fi Software. Ruler flat frequency response when using both together on my DAW (Reaper). Also sounds great with Spotify and YouTube. :tu:

Rick

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-A ... B00HVLUR86

https://www.sonarworks.com/truefi

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perfumer wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 5:03 am
JCJR wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 5:40 pm Open back vs sealed for "public places" depends on context.

If you are sitting down in a noisy place to do some "critical listening" then sealed cans or isolating good seal earbuds would be nice. Planes, trains, terminals, fast food joint, a bench in a crowded park whatever.
If you need to do some "critical listening" in such places, something is not right in your life. So I'd suggest - fix that.
JCJR wrote: Mon Aug 19, 2019 5:40 pm But if wearing phones "on the go" walking, running, biking, driving, then isolation is undesirable. Higher risk of being injured by a vehicle that you didn't hear coming. Or you unfortunately didn't hear the bystandar yelling "Hey fella watch out for that falling piano!" :)
So who would wear any kind of studio headphones while walking/running? Especially the ones with the big pads, and those that slip off easily? Are you going to listen to music, or to your heart beating?
I was just responding in context of the original poster query, "I've been looking at the Sennheiser HD660s for studio headphones. I wanna use them on the go (public loud places, etc.) as well as in the studio."

Am retired but in the past I had "idle hours" in noisy places like planes, or "quieter public places" such as doctor waiting rooms or hospital rooms where headphone leakage would be unfriendly to others stuck in the same place. When I was programming audio apps for a living, could work just as easy in a waiting room waiting on an elderly parent's doctor visit. Better than just sitting there for hours staring at a wall.

My favorite for that were etymotics earbuds, which to my ears have excellent fidelity and isolation. The only thing wrong with the etymotics that I could determine, was that they were more expensive than seemed reasonable, but sounded great and near-perfect isolation nonetheless.

I would choose etymotics or some other good brand of hifi sealed earbud for "audio programming work in public places". Plus, the isolation is so good that they act like good isolating earplugs on a plane or if working with power tools, even if you don't play music thru them.

Headphones would be too bulky to tote around IMO, compared to good earbuds.

I haven't had any open-back phones except an expensive set of stax electrostatic phones bought long ago. The stax needed such high voltage drive (either drive them with a power amp and step-up transformer, or a high-voltage, low-amperage amp special-designed to drive electrostatic phones). They sounded great and lasted for decades, but were not comfortable to wear on my head longer than about an hour, and were just too impractical except for listening in a livingroom easy chair or whatever. The signal level was so hot on the headphone cable that an electric guitar pickup would pickup the headphone drive if the headphone cable came within a couple of feet of the guitar. You couldn't just "plug them into anything". Had to go to too much trouble to use them.

But it sounded like listening to speakers in the room (except for minimal room acoustic contributions). No room attenuation at all that I could notice. If listening to music at "modest level" could carry on conversation with others in room same as if the music was playing on speakers in the room, rather than in the headphones. But others in the room could hear the phones leakage, and they would leak into live mics and were not much good for recording monitoring with live mics (or in live one-room studio situation) because of "no isolation" and "lots of leakage".

Have thought about trying some open-back Beyerdynamic phones. If I'm listening to music around the house plugged into the phone or pad tucked into a pants pocket, the sealed phones or etymotics buds are "too isolating". The household with just me in the house is not loud, but I don't like walking around "effectively deaf" because of the sealed isolation I don't need in a quiet house. Somebody could be pounding on the front door and I'd never hear it.

If I was gonna use phones driving the car or walking outdoors, would want some kind of "leaky" solution so I could hear the music but not be deaf to the environment. But open-back circumnaural phones would seem too bulky. Maybe there are good quality smaller non-sealed phones the sit atop the ear.

I gather that conventional "cheapie" earbuds as come free with ipods and other mp3 players, laptops, phones, pads, are intended to be non-sealed and let some environmental sound in. But my ears must be shaped weird, never could figure out how to use conventional earbuds. No matter what I do they just fall out of my ear.

There are various cheap "sport phones" or buds that stay on pretty good and do not block environmental sounds. Not exactly hifi though.

So maybe the OP would want more than one set, rather than trying to find phones that would work for several situations.

For public isolation, I'd get Etymotics (or shure or westone) earbuds. But I never tried any but the etymotics and probably wouldn't dump $500 "as an experiment" on shures or westones just to see if they happen to sound better. Maybe they do, or maybe not. Without an "earbud store" for on-site testing, it would be expensive experimentation.

For public non-isolation, I'd get some small cheap-ass non-sealed phones.

For home listening in a quiet environment, no "live one-room studio recording" or recording close to live mics, I'd get open-back phones if they sounded good. Even real good closed-back phones have a slightly "boxy" overtone.

For monitoring in loud environment or close to live mics I'd either use closed-back phones or highquality earbuds.

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JCJR wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 7:50 pm So maybe the OP would want more than one set, rather than trying to find phones that would work for several situations.

Indeed. "In studio" and "on the go" don't really mix. Might as well go for a combo with a mic and beer can holder with straws.

I've had AKG K702 and Philips Fidelio X2. Both are semi-open, the AKG "lacks" in bass department, the Philips was better for certain very specific kind of music and gave more of that "boom". I only bought the Philips because after tripping on the detachable wire of my AKG for the 10,000th time, it broke, and I kind of wanted to try another pair of cans. Used the Philips for about two years, sold it, and repaired my AKG by violently tearing apart the cup because I didn't have patience for "proper" disassembly (which AKG had apparently made inconveniently difficult), replaced the connector with a bit of solder and a zip tie, and now it's functional albeit ugly.

The AKG are much better phones than the Philips IMO, soundwise. However the build quality is a travesty, headband is uncomfortable, the cheap rubberbands have long since given up, ear cushions seem cheap and subject to rapid wear (mine are squished to the point where replacing them would make sense not just for comfort but better positioning and alignment of the drivers), and overall the materials and parts feel like a $10 Chinese product. They were my first non-crappy headphones though, and the best I've owned, sound fine (especially in mid to high range) and are comfortable. I'd never go for closed phones again as every pair I've tried feels and sounds suffocated in comparison, whereas the AKG actually makes me forget I'm wearing phones. Bought them 10 years ago and still enjoying them.

I think my next stop will be Sennheiser HD 800. :-) But that'll be when I have about 2000€ to blow on a luxury, so not very soon.

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The Focal Spirit Professional is a very neutral sounding headphone with crisp transient response and really good isolation - though sadly discontinued due to issues with the headband breaking. Occasionally goes cheap second hand and is still worth a look.

I'm intrigued by the new AKG K371 - https://www.akg.com/Headphones/Professi ... /K371.html

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Last edited by Obsolete317542 on Sat Jul 11, 2020 1:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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I also have some 80 ohm Beyer dt770. They sound ok. I mean they don't sound bad and everything has to sound like something. :)

I like my old etymotic er4 earbud fidelity better but either one can get boring. Don't like using either phones or earbuds more than about an hour at a time.

Generally prefer the homemade studio monitors EQ'd in the amateur treated room.

The 80 ohm dt770 are loud enough on my phone, pad, laptop. At least on typical "loud mastered" music. But that is with the portable device volume turned up near max. If working with quiet not-mastered, not compressed audio then possibly the 80 ohm dt770 might not be loud enough on some portable devices.

Also maybe some portable devices would clip and distort if you turn them up near max on loud mastered songs? In which case maybe you couldn't even get a loud song loud enough without distortion, on some portable devices?

Have been tempted to try some dt880 or 990 open back. Either 32 or 80 ohm.

Did some searching but couldn't find a description why 80 ohm fidelity might be somehow better than 32 ohm fidelity. If fidelity happens to be about the same, then 32 ohm would seem a no brainier because you can always turn down a signal that is too hot, but you can't always turn up a signal that is not hot enough. :)

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andymcbain wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 12:24 pm The Focal Spirit Professional is a very neutral sounding headphone with crisp transient response and really good isolation - though sadly discontinued due to issues with the headband breaking. Occasionally goes cheap second hand and is still worth a look.

I'm intrigued by the new AKG K371 - https://www.akg.com/Headphones/Professi ... /K371.html
The listen professional are the replacement model for the spirit pros. I have them and would highly recommend
I'm Kinda a big Deal

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Sony MDR-7506

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Passing Bye wrote: Wed Aug 21, 2019 9:09 pm Sony MDR-7506
So what do you do with the harshness of the Sony (see my post above)? Use Sonarworks or ToneBoosters? Or set an EQ curve yourself? Or are you just used to its sound?

I am really trying to making the 7506 work for me, so I wonder what makes it work for you. Or perhaps you don't have vocals but only do instrumental stuff?
Thu Oct 01, 2020 1:15 pm Passing Bye wrote:
"look at SparkySpark's post 4 posts up, let that sink in for a moment"
Go MuLab!

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