I’m looking to replace my Audio-Technicas because they stopped working (no bass anymore). I’m very used to mixing with the MX50s and I appreciate that they’re closed backs so I can use them next to my wife. But are they still the best in this budget price range of 130 eur or are there options that are better?
On my shortlist:
Audio-Technica ATH-MX50
AKG K-371
Røde NTH-100
Bayerdynamic DT-770
Purpose is to do mixing, not easy listening. Mud is my weakest spot, so I ideally want headphones that have a slight boost/tilt around the 100-400 hz range so I can hear the problems clearly.
Must be closed backs because I sometimes sit right next to my wife while she’s watching TV.
Edit: I decided to go for open back headphones instead. It’s now between the Sennheiser HD650 and the Bayerdynamic DT900 ProX.
I love mine. If mine died I’d buy another pair. I know the sound. I’m sure you’ll get devotees of other brands saying the same thing but for me the MX50 are just what I need for mixing.
I think if you were casually trying different sets, I’m very happy with AKG K-371, and while I can’t directly compare them to the MX50 I’ve been generally very happy with the performance and comfort in the price range. I’m not sure that I’d just randomly switch if you’re very accustomed to what you’ve been using but compared to my Sony I like these a lot, though I still use the old set sometimes because I know what they sound like and it’s good for reference.
The 50s are my everyday listen-to-movies-and-music phones. They have their own particular sound, like any other model of headphone.
I don’t know of anything better at the same price, although you could probably find something that sounded different.
Ideally, I wouldn’t use the MX50 as the only means of checking a mix, even if you do all your mixing with headphones; they don’t seem to give the most transferable results, in my highly limited experience… but more accurate headphones cost more, and the 50s are good for the price.
I think the K-371s are really highly rated for closed backs in this price range. IIRC they have a flatter frequency response than the mx50s and are excellent for mixing. Though the 50s are a bit more lively for listening to music.
Sometimes the 371s are boring and lack the “wow” factor.
The beyerdynamics have their own flavor that I also really enjoy though generally the high end is accentuated. I feel like I get the most out of music when I’m listening to the 990s and can notice the most detail. But I have to compensate on the low end a bit when I mix.
I think I might last a little longer in a session before my ears burn out with the AKG (vs sony specifically, also a little bass heavy). It’s slightly less taxing on the ears, probably because of the reasons you mention.
The ATH-M40x-s are better, because they don’t color the sound as much (which I guess should be important for music making, unless you mean for general music listening?).
Also, you can’t go wrong with Bayerdynamic DT-770, if you - or your significant other - insists on closed headphones
Good tip. I checked them out too but it looks like there are two versions. I assume I’d want the low-ohm version since I often plug it straight into my MacBook Pro.
And yes, this is for mixing, not enjoying music. I mix in the studio with Genelec 8030A’s, but I don’t always have the ability to step into the studio and close the doors, so I need something that allows me to have a view into the family activities while still being able to progress on mixing.
I know quite a few Grammy-winning engineers that swear by the Sony MDR-7506’s. Andrew Scheps has stated they were his headphone of choice against all others of ANY budget, Trent Reznor has used them extensively, etc. The one thing I will say is that you will want to replace the earpads after some time as they degrade, but they are an extremely linear headphone for their price point, outperforming headphones many times their price. I have a pair and I can say they are fantastic - I have a treated room with $4000 monitoring and calibration software and headphones that cost significantly more than them, and these stay in the rotation.
I believe new MBPs should handle high-impedance headphones well, as it was something Apple made a lop of buzz about on release of M1 MBPs? I’ve got 80Ohm DT-990Pro-s and use them w/o any issues with my 12’’ M2 Pro MBP directly plugging them in, but no idea if it would be the same with 250Ohm variant.
Regarding Rode headphones, they are a bit dark sounding, but I’m doing a somewhat high end work(game audio) on them, everything translates perfectly, I just need to double check if some VO’s need de-essing on other brighter headphones, but nothing too bad, there is one problem with them thou, overall they are constructed nicely, but there are 2 plastic parts (locks for adjusting headband), and if you take your headphones off with only one hand (weight shifts to one side, and it strains those plastic parts quite a lot, as more or less these headphones are mostly made from metal), they will break, one of the lock on my headphones is zip tied right now.
