Headphones Recommendations please

Steinberg Lounge
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Hi All

I think it’s time to change my Senny’s - they’re getting on a bit and I suspect their degrading slightly.

I use a UR44 interface and mostly mix rock music - with occasional other genres

I’d be very keen to hear what everyone is using Can wise and what they think of them? Many thanks! - Jon

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As well as my Sennheiser HD203 & 206 (such different sound from each of them) I have invested slightly more in BeyerDynamic DT990 Pro 250 ohms. Observations: Possibly a bit light on bass and although the eq profile shows a slight uptick higher up they sound a bit dull to my ears compared with my speakers. However that could be down to my high frequency loss.

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There was this summertime thread in the Dorico forum that might be helpful:

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Yeah - I had read that one, thanks

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Thanks - thats helpful

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I have about a dozen models, including the fancier models ($$) and the best results (akin to full-size monitors) by far are with my ER4SR from Etymotic.
Down side is the comfort of in-ear plugs is fine only for 2-3 hours max for me…

If in-ear is not your cup of tea? Then at any given price point, a pair of open-back will give much better results (to my taste) than closed-backs, if of course your surroundings allows for it ??

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Forgot to mention the DTs are super-comfortable for extended periods.

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thanks thats great

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Austrian Audio Hi-X 65.
I run them without correction software although they are not all linear up to the top end. Nevertheless, they have a fairly linear response and good representation…
Very decent bang for bucks. If you are looking for a boomy powerful bass than they might not be your first choice, though.

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It is so confusing with all the many different brands of headphones available to us, my hearing has deteriorated over the years (coming up to 72 years old), I have to wear hearing aids to compensate, they work well with my over ear headphones, I bought the TB Morphit app to find out if I could find a simulated brand that suited my hearing loss at the higher frequencies, there are too many to choose from and the difference between them all is astonishing, there are that many frequency curves that emulate different models that I now don’t know if what I am hearing is correct. I now use a pair of JBL FLEX Bluetooth earbuds with a EQ app, the Latency is very small and ok for mixing, the sound quality is good.
I wish I listened to my elders when I was younger about noise damage from rock concerts and heavy machinery!

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Every one uses different headphones - and for different reasons!
These are mine - Audio-Technica M50x.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Audio-Technica+M50x+review&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

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Excuse me for asking, have you got good hearing and are you able to hear high frequencies ok without the headphones, and do the Audio-Technica M50x have a flat response so that you hear exactly what is being played without being coloured by powerful drivers?

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  1. I can hear up to around 1500 Hz in my left ear, maybe 6000 Hz in my right. The meters come in handy! I also get second opinions on my mixes, people who I know have excellent hearing.
  2. No pair of speakers or headphones, at any price point, has a “flat” frequency response - the graphs in the reviews demonstrate that.
  3. Speakers and headphones are such a personal matter, you either have listen for yourself, on a long term basis, or go by reviews. The M50x’s were always well liked by reviewers.
  4. The M50x’s do the job for me.
  5. I’m 70, and used to be a chronic abuser of volume when wearing headphones, mostly late at night to avoid upsetting the neighbours. I rarely use them now.
    When I’m cooking, my wife won’t come into the kitchen because I have the music turned up so loud.
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Thank you for the information, I will look into the M50x’s.
I am almost two years older and equally guilty of chronic abuser of volume in my younger day.
:beers:

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You surely have a decent number of songs that you have been listening to on all sorts of speakers, headphones, earbuds, audio systems in cars and so on for ages. Songs you know in and out. Use these songs as a reference point - which headphones sound good to you and convey as much details as possible. Which come closest to provide you with relevant information to mix. You could also use a correction software like SoundID which has averaged correction curves for many headphones. Works really well on some cans, especially if you are not considering to buy the most pricy models (which may or may not be better suited).
At stage 2 try to remix an older project from scratch and see how you are doing. Check your mix on different systems. How does it translate? Hear how your mix sounds on speakers if you are walking through the room or hear it from another room.
You need to check this yourself: what suits your needs best. You will have a better insight/understanding after each trial and error. Relax, cause you will probably end up buying another pair in two years time. That is not unusual as your ears will get trained more and more and you will know much better what you are looking for.
I would go for a pair of open back headphones. Again, maybe something else ticks all the boxes. Only you can know which one it is.
Good luck!

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For “mixing” you probably want to look at open backs as Reco29 mentioned.

The big unknown variable is … what is your budget? There is such a variety of options it can be painful trying to make a choice. I’ve been there. About a year ago I broke down and got the Shure SRH1840. Fairly expensive (for me, at least) but worth it due to the comfort level and detail I had never experienced before. I still have my trusty old (antique almost at this point) AKG K271 MKII (closed back) which I use for tracking vocals. The closed back AKGs are pretty harsh on the eardrums after long periods of time in a mixing situation.

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Just a quick note on the AKGs: The 271 MKII (use them for tracking, too;)) or the older 240s are cans that profit immensly from correction software like SoundID.

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Hi Reco29,
That’s a whole lot of good advice, of course it all makes sense what you have written here, I will definitely go through your list and make some new judgments on my hearing before I shell out for a new set of headphones.
Many thanks :beers:
Mike

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I have thought about open back headphones, but they might cause a problem because most of the time I am sat with my iPad using Cubasis 3, my wife sits next to me most of the time and I worry my constant editing will get on her nerve, I suppose I won’t actually know unless I try a pair, but I don’t want to regret buying something I may regret. I am using a pair of OneOdio Studio headphones from Amazon, they weren’t that expensive but they have a great sound, but I am not sure if theses headphones enhance the sound I am listening to?.
I am thinking about it now :thinking:

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In that situation, you might actually want to consider “in-ear” headphones.