cheapest best headphone for mixing?

[julienlavanchy]

In terms of value for money I find the beyerdynamics DT 990 Pro hard to beat, neutral and transparent and an overall great headphones

[V0RT3X]

KRK KNS8400 are pretty cheap and i was able to get some good mixes done on them.

[gentleclockdivider]

Not neutral , but a must have are the sony mdr 7506 , paired with the beyerdynamic dt880 pro
If it sounds good on both cans, it sounds good in general

[mixyguy2]

Funny I've always heard that the 7506 was neutral (whereas the AT X0 series are not - a bit bass heavy).

[andymcbain]

Funny I've always heard that the 7506 was neutral (whereas the AT X0 series are not - a bit bass heavy).

I think it depends on your frame of reference. I would consider my HD650s to be the most neutral sounding that I own, but I can also see why some refer to them as "warm" or "dark" sounding, and even "thin" - as they do lack a bit of sub.

[SparkySpark]

Funny I've always heard that the 7506 was neutral (whereas the AT X0 series are not - a bit bass heavy).

Well, the more I've studied freq compensation charts, the more I've come to understand there are no neutral headphones. That said, compared to my other, more expensive headphones, the 7506 give better mixes. I prefer to build my songs using open-back headphones, but use the 7506 to do the actual level mixing.

I went to Paris last year, and in one of the biggest music shop (the one close to the Pigalle quartier), they have a wall with, say, thirty studio headphones, all hooked up to the same music. So one can listen to a track one is familiar with on every set of headphones and see what one prefers. To me, the 7506 (which I hadn't tried before) won hands-down, listening to Enjoy the silence and a Kate Bush track I am familiar with. When I tried them in my hotel room, first I was disappointed by the sharp highs, but they went away pretty quickly. I actually got a second pair yesterday, and have let them run hooked up to a music playlist for some hours to take the edge off.

[mixyguy2]

I haven't looked through the whole thread, but did the OP ever define "cheap?"

Anyway I would first say get open or semi-open back for mixing (you can get away with closed back more if you are also mixing using your speakers). These are all under $100 and I've been hearing good things..FWIW:

Superlux 681
Samson SR850
AKG 245
AKG 240
Philips 9500
AT 245

[lesnow]

I recently got some Sennheiser HD599 for roughly 100$ on Amazon. They are my first semi-open back headphones, and I have to say that I've really been enjoying them, and I feel like they have a good flat response that translates well to my speakers. I also have the Beyerdynamic DT770, which have been my go-to for the last years, got them for around 140$ three years ago.

[t3toooo]

Beyerdynamic Custom Studio ( Grab them in a sale )
Great Headphones but IMO, they need some Juice, a bit stronger Headphone-Output.

[calamitycrush]

Just a quick question that's probably best here than in a new topic, seeing as it was inspired by reading this thread.

For the longest time I've mixed through a pair of really cheap in-ear headphones (the same ones that I do general music listening through), figuring that I'm used to hearing all other music coloured by their slight bass-heaviness so if I can get my stuff to not feel glaringly out of place mix-wise when it comes up between 'proper' songs on shuffle, it should be fine.
But it turns out I actually had a pair of Superlux HD 681 headphones in the house all along - I'd got them ages ago with an electronic drum kit but never used them that much (on the grounds that they made my ears warm and uncomfortable after I had them on for more than a couple of minutes... )
Recently I tried switching to using these for mixing (and general music listening, so I can get used to the fact that frequencies over 10kHz exist ), and while I'm able to make something that sounds fairly nice through them, the moment I go listen to it through anything else it just sounds really off. I guess that could be a combination of mixing to overcompensate for the fact there's less bass and more treble now, unconsciously trying to make it sound how it would through the old headphones, combined with a dash of generally poor production technique on my part.

So i suppose my question is, do I aim to make things sound alright over a wider range of phones/speakers even if it sounds a bit odd through the HD681s (with probably the flattest response curve of the lot), or do I aim to make it sound good through the HD681s even if that results in things sounding a li'l bit janky through other things?

Thanks in advance

[Passing Bye]

Aim for overal translation.

[MadDogE134]

hyped freqs won't get you translation. my suggestion is to get Sonarworks for cans... not the whole system package and look on their site for the profiles for headphones they cover and choose the cheapest from the list. if i am not mistaken the AKG 240 Studio (semi open back) is reduced priced and goes on sale for pretty cheap... also the sony mdr 7506 are pretty reasonably priced. i am sure both of them are in the profile list if i am not mistaken. sonarworks' software will flatten most of the hyped freqs so you can tell what you are actually doing.

main thing to guard against when using cans for mixing is to reference on speaker systems like your home stereo, computer or car to double check your work. also cans are not the best in 3D soundstage... the spread and placement of the individual parts... it can be deceiving. again check your work on other speaker systems for soundstage. it will be trial and error for a bit if you are just learning but you will get the hang of it eventually. although many will argue you can't mix on cans... Andrew Scheps does it all the time and so do many others. it can be done. just always double check your work. cheers

[BONES]

According to what I read on this forum its the same as a not expensive model of Superlux and theres just Focusrite brand name added.

And, in turn, the Superlux look exactly like a line of AKG headphones, so I imagine that's where they both come from.


I have the Focusrite version and I think they are rubbish. You'd be much better off with a pair of AKG K90s, maybe K92s now, which I think offer really good bang for your buck -

[sm500]

I'd personally skip sonarworks: it's 50/50 if it sounds better or worse.
https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq ... RANKING.md
Or Oratory's eq usually works most of the time better than sonarworks + it's free!

AKG K371 is pretty cheap (you can find for about $80 or less) and the EQ does work great!
I actually preferred them to mixing more than the Sundara 2020 version oddly enough!

Audio Science review has good reviews and RTings too. You can pick up a cheap headphone amp for $100-160 that's literally state of the art.

[calamitycrush]

Thanks for the replies

I think for now buying new headphones/software is going to have to wait sadly just cause I'm in the middle of moving house and kind of trying to not spend unless it's essential. But in the mean time,

main thing to guard against when using cans for mixing is to reference on speaker systems like your home stereo, computer or car to double check your work. also cans are not the best in 3D soundstage... the spread and placement of the individual parts... it can be deceiving. again check your work on other speaker systems for soundstage. it will be trial and error for a bit if you are just learning but you will get the hang of it eventually. although many will argue you can't mix on cans... Andrew Scheps does it all the time and so do many others. it can be done. just always double check your work. cheers

I'll definitely try that, I'd never considered that there would be much difference with listening through regular speakers but it does make sense.

I'll maybe have a look into doing some mild EQing to negate the quirks of my current headphones, but in hindsight I think my main issue was I was just trying to mix while still unused to their general sound and feel; trying too hard to mimic how the track would have sounded through my really cheap in-ear phones.