Headphone Recommendations Please

[cryophonik]

I recall reading that those Slate Audio headphones fall apart. Is that still the case?

AFAIK it was the first generation, and they also replaced the defective units.

No. They completely redid the headband that used to crack. They even changed manufacturer because Steven got so pissed off about the bad quality. Now every VSX headphone has a proper metal headband.

What's cool though is that they have been replacing the broken headphones 100% for free (even paying the shipping) without any questions asked. By far the best customer support ever in this whole audio industry.

Good to know. I was considering buying a pair a while ago, but the reports of the cracking headbands quickly turned me off to them. I already have several pairs of excellent headphones, but I like the idea of the VSX cans.

[roman.i]

Is there anything better at around this price point? (or cheaper)

Thanks!

Drop 6xx

[zebrasive]

DT 770 Pro's have always been reliable for me over the years. I'm definitely curious on trying out the Slate VSX headphones based off of the replies in this thread.

[legendCNCD]

Yep. Slate VSX's. (Especially Zuma mids for me )

[chickenpickin]

I use sennheiser hd-6xx which is basically an hd-650 being sold by Drop.com at a decent discount. For mixing, I pair these with Realphones running on my cpu outputs. This works pretty well when you dial back the correction a bit and also gives you room simulations (basically channel bleed and IRs). The hd-650 and hd-6xx are both power hungry though, so you will need a headphone amp unless your interface has sufficient power. I can definitely hear a degradation when plugging them directly into my laptop—this might be the origin of some of the comments about poor bass. Hope this helps.

[therushisloud]

Another vote for DT 770 Pro. They are reliable and have a very even sound. Some versions need a headphone amp to help drive them.

[_leras]

Is there anything better at around this price point? (or cheaper)

Thanks!

Drop 6xx

What are these? Just a cheap knock off?

[roman.i]

What are these? Just a cheap knock off?

A "budget" version of 600 or 650, not sure.
As far as I know these are made in a Sennheiser factory.
Quite comfortable and sounds ok for $200.

Switched to them after selling DT 770 pro. Stay away from this sibilant crap.

[_leras]

What are these? Just a cheap knock off?

A "budget" version of 600 or 650, not sure.
As far as I know these are made in a Sennheiser factory.
Quite comfortable and sounds ok for $200.

Switched to them after selling DT 770 pro. Stay away from this sibilant crap.

I guess good value if they really are sennheiser quality... Seems cheap, they are priced like the hd400 so I'm doubtful these are actually 650s...

I have 650 and they sound great to me for listening, but seemed to be soft in the high end. For me they didn't work for mixing if I switched back and forth with my monitors. (Could have been needing a headphone amp, or room issues who knows).

I've had great success, however, mixing with beyerdynamic DT 1990. They are amazing headphones BUT do need a correction curve as they have a big sparkly bump around 8k. Impressive dynamic response and clarity though, and super sturdy build.

I will also reference on a pair of sennheiser amperior, which are my main listening headphones, basically a slightly improved hd-25, which I find very helpful. I think hd-25 like the op has should be pretty good for mixing if you know them well.

[legendCNCD]

Cant make anything from lowend on most of these suggested headphones, even K712Pro's lowend is a miss. VSX is the only one I trust to hear low and reverb tails etc.

[MadDogE134]

three i like:

Slate VSX (great referencing package)
Avantone Planar Red (can't shake a stick at planars)
Ultrasone 900 Pro (offset drivers give a great soundstage/3D image for cans)

sry none are cheap but if you plan on relying on cans you need to get the best you can afford and learn them. (same with monitors) the cheapest was the planars and they are fairly new on the market. the original 900 Pros are discontinued i think but the new ones also have the S-Logic system i do believe and the VSX have had their bumps in the road but they have worked hard to fix the build quality and the support for them was stellar plus the accompanying software compensation is top notch imo

cheers

[t3toooo]

Open: Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X
Closed: Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X

[solit]

Producing with HD 25 is uncomfortable as hell, especially on long sessions. But if you don't bother about the ergonomics you should try to calibrate them for a while by demoing Sonarworks, Realphones, or any good calibration software. Then you can compare the results with your old works.

[MathieuHouse]

Behringer dt 990 pro is so good at details

[cryophonik]

Behringer dt 990 pro is so good at details

I think you mean BeyerDynamic