Help with headphone choice

Electronic Music Production // Dark Arts
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stoned
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Help with headphone choice

Post by stoned »

Hey guys, I've been lurking these great forums for some times and now I made an account since i really need your help.

I've finally earned enough money to buy some real gear, but now I'm a bit stuck at choosing which headphones to buy even after extensive research.

My first headphones were the Sennheiser 280 hd pro which were good for starting out, then I had to switch over to the AKG Y50, which are pretty muddy but they served me well for a year.

So now I'm debating whether to go for the Audio Technica m-50x (sound great, love the bass but they same to have really harsh highs) or the Sennheiser 650 hd, which are a little over budget, but I'll be damned if I let food stand in the way of me having sick headphones. I'm a bit worried that the 650 are going to be a bit too flat for my tastes since I like a bit more bassy and energetic techno ie Keith Carnal, Cleric,...

Also I'm worried that my Komplete Audio 6 might not have enough amp to power the 300 ohm 650's.

Careland
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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by Careland »

I've got the m50 and I think they're ok at best to listen to but i wouldn't recommend them for mixing! Find them very boxy and too bassy.

I got the akg701 after them being advised here on the forum and after some getting used to i absolutely love em!

Think there's a couple of other threads on the forum aswell...

slowpilgrim
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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by slowpilgrim »

Read this:

http://www.subsekt.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1658

I've got a pair of AKG702s I can sell you, in excellent condition. You'll need a headphone amp as noted above.

stoned
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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by stoned »

Hmmm, my roommate has the AKG 712 pro and I must say while they have a great flat freq response and amazing headroom, they seem lacking in the lower end atleast for me, so I doubt I would like the 701 or 702 if I'm not a fan of the 712.

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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by Lost to the Void »

stoned wrote:Hmmm, my roommate has the AKG 712 pro and I must say while they have a great flat freq response and amazing headroom, they seem lacking in the lower end atleast for me, so I doubt I would like the 701 or 702 if I'm not a fan of the 712.
The 712 is nothing like the 701. 712`s are bass heavy, top light, not a production headphone really and certainly not flat.

you either want flat performance or not. 701s and 702`s are flat and transparent, which is what you need to produce reliably.
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stoned
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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by stoned »

The thing I'm worried is that these headphones will be the only ones I will have. And I would also like to use these for track searching and DJ-ing, hence why I'm worried that they might sound too flat.

Sorry I'm very confused by all this and really want to make the right choice.

Resin
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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by Resin »

I've got the AT 40x which are supposed to be flatter than the 50x – but the sound is very colored and bass heavy and I wouldn't recommend them for production. I use them for field recording and casual listening, but nothing critical.

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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by 1nfinitezer0 »

stoned wrote:The thing I'm worried is that these headphones will be the only ones I will have. And I would also like to use these for track searching and DJ-ing, hence why I'm worried that they might sound too flat.

Sorry I'm very confused by all this and really want to make the right choice.
I got some AKG k271s a while back and they have improved my mixes by a massive factor. They're a nice balance for price point.

I don't like them so much for DJing though. I worry that I'm gonna break them and they are sometimes not have good enough isolation to compete with the loudspeakers (depending on the stage setup). I'm looking towards in-ear monitors for that next step though. I actually preferred the ATH m40s for DJing since they had a boomy low end. Track-searching you actually want accurate and flat, so that you can get used to a proper representation of sound.

I would recommend just get something better than where you are and expect to move up in a few years.

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RWise
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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by RWise »

stoned wrote:The thing I'm worried is that these headphones will be the only ones I will have. And I would also like to use these for track searching and DJ-ing, hence why I'm worried that they might sound too flat.

Sorry I'm very confused by all this and really want to make the right choice.
Keep the production and DJing separate when it comes to headphones.

My studio stay in the studio. My DJ ones stay in my DJ bag.

You can get good DJing headphones for £40-60, so shouldnt break the bank to save up a bit and by both headphones for each purpose/
Dont take life so seriously :mrgreen:

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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by terly »

Yeah, you’ll want different headphones for producing and general listening/djing. Studio headphones will sound bass light to you if you are used to bass heavy headphones (most are)

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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by Lost to the Void »

Yeah, keep em separate, you can get DJ headphones cheap, they just need to be loud really.
And closed back obviously.

No point getting production headphones and then punishing them in DJ sessions.
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Plyphon
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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by Plyphon »

HD25's for years have been the 'standard' DJ headphone. They're terrible headphones really, but they isolate from the outside world well and have a thumpy low end with pretty abrasive top end, which is what makes them good for picking out the kicks and hi-hats when you're beat matching.

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Lag
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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by Lag »

I've been using the Sennheiser HD26 (not the 25) for both DJing and production for some time now. I do use nice monitors as my primary tool for production, but I use the headphones as the second line of control.
These have a much more transparent and precise sound in the mids and highs than the 25s, and they reach lower but the bass is a bit more loose. Their enclosure is better than on the HD25s, which is good for DJing, but the loose bass is not (compared to 25s at least) so I'd say their DJing practicality is about the same.
Anyway, I'd recommend them. The depth and detail on them is amazing. Also, nice to have a limiter on headphones for production purpose. My only issue with them is that they seem to be a bit tighter around the head than the 25s which results in pressure fatigue and you need to take em off every now and again.
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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by aoud »

What everyone else is saying is really good info.

The M50s are fantastic, but I only use them for checking the low end as the mids are a bit recessed sounding to me. The great thing is the lows are very properly stated, which can be overwhelming in headphones. If you have too much low end, it is very obvious on the M50s.

If you must mix/EQ in headphones for whatever reason, the 650s are a very good option and probably the most recommended.

Unless you need them 'very' loud, I don't think you'll need a separate headphone amp for the 650s, but try reading reviews on Amazon that touch on the point. You might get some more insight there.
stoned wrote:Hey guys, I've been lurking these great forums for some times and now I made an account since i really need your help.

I've finally earned enough money to buy some real gear, but now I'm a bit stuck at choosing which headphones to buy even after extensive research.

My first headphones were the Sennheiser 280 hd pro which were good for starting out, then I had to switch over to the AKG Y50, which are pretty muddy but they served me well for a year.

So now I'm debating whether to go for the Audio Technica m-50x (sound great, love the bass but they same to have really harsh highs) or the Sennheiser 650 hd, which are a little over budget, but I'll be damned if I let food stand in the way of me having sick headphones. I'm a bit worried that the 650 are going to be a bit too flat for my tastes since I like a bit more bassy and energetic techno ie Keith Carnal, Cleric,...

Also I'm worried that my Komplete Audio 6 might not have enough amp to power the 300 ohm 650's.

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RWise
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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by RWise »

https://www.sonarworks.com/headphones

Anyway tried that before? ^^

Its a frequency calibration software for headphones to flatten the response of your headphones. Theres a free online test you can try on the site. Just pick the brand of your headphones (they have most good industry known headphones on the list) and you can hear how they supposedly sound with a flat response.

Pretty cool to do but not sure accurate it is?
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Lost to the Void
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Re: Help with headphone choice

Post by Lost to the Void »

RWise wrote:https://www.sonarworks.com/headphones

Anyway tried that before? ^^

Its a frequency calibration software for headphones to flatten the response of your headphones. Theres a free online test you can try on the site. Just pick the brand of your headphones (they have most good industry known headphones on the list) and you can hear how they supposedly sound with a flat response.

Pretty cool to do but not sure accurate it is?
I think it`s hit and miss.
I didn`t actually like what they did to my 701`s at all, I found it much harder to work with them.
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