Headphone Recommendations Please

[VitaminD]

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

I have the 700 Pro X headphones. They sound really nice and have a nice cushy velour seal. But I find they are pretty heavy and do clamp a bit, which makes my ears sore after a couple of hours of continuous usage. Closed back though so they're great for making the world disappear around me.

I also have the old Sennheiser HD555's still going. Those are considerably lighter and without the clamping effect, which means I can wear them all day if I need to. The only downside is there isn't a ton of bass extension. They're also openback so there is bleedthrough with the sounds around me.

[FJ5]

But you might need to look at decent headphone amps to it. Normal phones out on interfaces are usually not good enough. If somebody find low end less detail, could be why they just use regular phones out.

This can’t be stressed enough. Before (or while) you decide on pro/semi-pro headphones, be sure you have an adequate amp to drive them. If you underpower your headphones with an inadequate amp, like those found on many cheaper interfaces, you won’t realize the full benefit of them. I also found this out the hard way, i.e., buying a pair of BD DT880s and trying to power them with the useless headphone output on my old MOTU interface. Once I upgraded to a dedicated Drawmer monitor system with two high impedance headphone outputs, the difference was night and day - like going from an AM radio to a theatre sound system.

Hi, could you expand on this? As a home (very amateur!) producer I'm considering the VSX's to replace my Sennheiser HD 280s but wondering from your post whether they wouldn’t be any good with my MOTU M2.

MOTU don't provide much info on the phones jack but reviews of it seem impressed by the power of the jack. I've seen one review describe the impedance as "190mW @ 55 Ohms" but it's not clear where this info is from - no mention of it on website or user manual specs. The specs simply talk about dynamic range (115 dB) & max output level (12.5 dBu).

Thanks!

[Stopani]

Senhiser HD 600s + Sonar Works Reference is the combo that's working for me.

[cryophonik]

But you might need to look at decent headphone amps to it. Normal phones out on interfaces are usually not good enough. If somebody find low end less detail, could be why they just use regular phones out.

This can’t be stressed enough. Before (or while) you decide on pro/semi-pro headphones, be sure you have an adequate amp to drive them. If you underpower your headphones with an inadequate amp, like those found on many cheaper interfaces, you won’t realize the full benefit of them. I also found this out the hard way, i.e., buying a pair of BD DT880s and trying to power them with the useless headphone output on my old MOTU interface. Once I upgraded to a dedicated Drawmer monitor system with two high impedance headphone outputs, the difference was night and day - like going from an AM radio to a theatre sound system.

Hi, could you expand on this? As a home (very amateur!) producer I'm considering the VSX's to replace my Sennheiser HD 280s but wondering from your post whether they wouldn’t be any good with my MOTU M2.

MOTU don't provide much info on the phones jack but reviews of it seem impressed by the power of the jack. I've seen one review describe the impedance as "190mW @ 55 Ohms" but it's not clear where this info is from - no mention of it on website or user manual specs. The specs simply talk about dynamic range (115 dB) & max output level (12.5 dBu).

Thanks!

Yeah, my BD DT800s are the 600-ohm versions and my old MOTU 828mk2 interface headphone outputs were rated very low, at something like 32 ohms IIRC. The HD280 Pros are rated at 64 ohms, so they are a much better match for your M2, assuming it is rated at 55 ohms. I also have two pairs of HD280s and my MOTU drove them just fine, as well as my AKG K240s (55-ohm version). I just googled it and it looks like the VSX are rated at 37 ohms, so I would imagine your MOTU would be fine.

Maybe a VSX owner could confirm, but it seems that most consumer-grade interfaces would have adequate headphone amps to power the VSXs.

[legendCNCD]

I am using Topping L30 with VSX. Perfect. The previous one was Aphex Head4 or something like that, comparing it to Topping it was awful sounding. Topping is clear.

[FJ5]

But you might need to look at decent headphone amps to it. Normal phones out on interfaces are usually not good enough. If somebody find low end less detail, could be why they just use regular phones out.

This can’t be stressed enough. Before (or while) you decide on pro/semi-pro headphones, be sure you have an adequate amp to drive them. If you underpower your headphones with an inadequate amp, like those found on many cheaper interfaces, you won’t realize the full benefit of them. I also found this out the hard way, i.e., buying a pair of BD DT880s and trying to power them with the useless headphone output on my old MOTU interface. Once I upgraded to a dedicated Drawmer monitor system with two high impedance headphone outputs, the difference was night and day - like going from an AM radio to a theatre sound system.

Hi, could you expand on this? As a home (very amateur!) producer I'm considering the VSX's to replace my Sennheiser HD 280s but wondering from your post whether they wouldn’t be any good with my MOTU M2.

MOTU don't provide much info on the phones jack but reviews of it seem impressed by the power of the jack. I've seen one review describe the impedance as "190mW @ 55 Ohms" but it's not clear where this info is from - no mention of it on website or user manual specs. The specs simply talk about dynamic range (115 dB) & max output level (12.5 dBu).

Thanks!

Yeah, my BD DT800s are the 600-ohm versions and my old MOTU 828mk2 interface headphone outputs were rated very low, at something like 32 ohms IIRC. The HD280 Pros are rated at 64 ohms, so they are a much better match for your M2, assuming it is rated at 55 ohms. I also have two pairs of HD280s and my MOTU drove them just fine, as well as my AKG K240s (55-ohm version). I just googled it and it looks like the VSX are rated at 37 ohms, so I would imagine your MOTU would be fine.

Maybe a VSX owner could confirm, but it seems that most consumer-grade interfaces would have adequate headphone amps to power the VSXs.

Cool, thanks for the info.

[andymcbain]

Hi, could you expand on this? As a home (very amateur!) producer I'm considering the VSX's to replace my Sennheiser HD 280s but wondering from your post whether they wouldn’t be any good with my MOTU M2.

MOTU don't provide much info on the phones jack but reviews of it seem impressed by the power of the jack. I've seen one review describe the impedance as "190mW @ 55 Ohms" but it's not clear where this info is from - no mention of it on website or user manual specs. The specs simply talk about dynamic range (115 dB) & max output level (12.5 dBu).

Thanks!

I never mix particularly loud so maybe take this with a pinch of salt, but I've frequently used VSX straight out of my Macbook Pro's headphone out and always thought it sounded fine.

[MathieuHouse]

Behringer dt 990 pro is so good at details

I think you mean BeyerDynamic

Sorry yes BeyerDynamic DT 990 PRO

[Jac459]

Maybe not a very current one but I have excellent result with the focal elegia.
It has an excellent audiophile sound and is extremely easy to drive. It is also closed so good to do music everywhere.
Very durable, very confortable, I can wear it for hours.
The default eq wasn't fully flat though so you need to add an EQ match (like 100% of headsets).

[swilow11]

I'm using the ATH-M50X which are great but feel quite bassy. Slightly too different to my monitors which is a bit frustrating, but nice and clear mid range. Great isolation too.

I've tried applying EQ on the master bus to correct for some of the issues but this feels imprecise and is not ideal.

[jmichaelkober]

Sony MDR-7506 user here, worth consideration in my opinion.