Headphone Monitor

Giuseppe_Magnatti · 2013-10-11T21:43:01.000Z

Hello !

I own a pair of ADAM A7 and I am very satisfied with them…

Sometimes happen that I can’t use them due to quite hours, so I have to use my headphones which is a pair of Sennheiser HD 25-1 and unluckily the sound is dramatically different…

So I would like to have a suggestion regarding a better pair of headphones suitable for music production…

I saw the Sennheiser HD 800 but 1000 euro …

Thanks a lot to everyboby

nightfade · 2013-10-11T22:32:44.000Z

Focal Spirit Professional are my next set of headphones

Giuseppe_Magnatti · 2013-10-12T07:45:04.000Z

They Look nice and not expensive… I Will read some review on those… Thank you!

FmSafari · 2013-10-12T08:05:01.000Z

I use the Beyerdynamic DT 990 pro with 250 Ohm.

Choosed this open headphone version to get no pressure in my ears when wear it for a couple of hours. Also the ear pads are very smooth.
Their sound has a high resolution and give a good balcony for the music.

them

Giuseppe_Magnatti · 2013-10-12T10:38:05.000Z

How do you find them for music production?

FmSafari · 2013-10-12T11:57:25.000Z

… as wrote above … these are my headphones for exploring sounds with my machines. Have no other “pro” headphones used before.

guga · 2013-10-12T12:25:56.000Z

used a pair of sennheiser hd202 for years now but they pump the low end way too much and after a couple of hours of making music, you do need a break, actually, the brain does
…at the moment i’m trying to use different headphones, switching between normal earbuds headphones and an old pair of school headphones which seems to give (well…) a good response, at least, almost flat …

dubathonic · 2013-10-12T14:43:32.000Z

Check out this post and also [url=“http://www.elektron-users.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=28&func=view&catid=11&id=119803”]this post from EU.

Accent · 2013-10-12T15:32:49.000Z

I’ve been using a pair of AKG K271’s for 5-6 years and love them. I had a pair of Sennheisers before that (can’t remember the model), but the bass was too heavy and the highs were thin.

Giuseppe_Magnatti · 2013-10-12T21:33:59.000Z

I read all the post !!!

A lot of different ideas… what I noticed is that a lot of people is using the Beyerdinamics and this Grado looks good too…

Alessandro also but there are 3 different models… Probably I will go for the beyer or the sennheiser 600 but they are a lot expensive…

I was using till now Senny HD 25 and they are lier… when I send my tracks for mixdown everything is different… Is like that I make music with somebody in front of the speaker!

What surprise me a lot was a comment from a guy saying tha the best headphone are the worst headphone !!!

If you make something that sounds good on those it will for sure better on your monitors…

Is too easy if you have a very expensive headphone which have an excellent sound… Of course then when u translate your sounds on the monitors will be something different…

So @ the moment I am between Beyerdynamics 990 and Alessandro ms 2…

Which will be the best method?

Giuseppe_Magnatti · 2013-10-12T22:01:49.000Z

http://uk.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/vrm-box

this is veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery interesting !!!

check it out !

speak_onion · 2013-10-15T14:50:37.000Z

Two years ago I went to a store with many headphones and did a shootout between several. I ended up with Denon AHD2000s, which I’m VERY happy with and find to translate well to my monitors and provide a good check for low end.

Anyway, here’s what I wrote after trying very many headphones in a controlled environment.

I’ve had my Senn HD280 pros for like 5 years and I like them, but they are falling apart a bit, and I never loved how the low end sounded on them, so I started considering a headphones upgrade. I use my studio headphones mostly for sound design and compositionand as a check when mixing/mastering (my room is untreated) and for practicing my live sets (can’t get loud enough on the monitors to get “in the zone”).

I did some research last night on headphone.com and soundonsound and made a little list. Then, after work today, I went to B&H to try out some cans (that’s what they call headphones in the “industry”). I loaded some .wavs of songs I know well onto my phone, and I was able to plug that into the headphone amps they have set up and just compare compare compare. Here’s some notes.

General: More expensive headphones are A LOT better sounding than less expensive ones. Not just more pleasing (although that’s part of it) but switching from a $1k pair to a $100 pair you notice all the artifacts in the cheaper pair. I can’t think of much else I’ve experienced with such a linear price:performance ratio. Also, modern closed-back headphones are no shittier sounding in the aggregate than open-back ones. Someone figured out how to engineer good sounding closed back headphones, and I thank them.

Senn HD800: These sound fucking amazing and are super comfortable. They better for $1500. Tons of detail, everything flat, a terrific headphones experience. I can’t think of any reason anyone should ever buy headphones for $1500, though.

Beyer DT770: Sound great, plenty of low end, slight fizz on the top, clear, no perceptible distortion. No isolation and lots of bleed, so not really for me, but a decent pair of headphones.

Audio Technica ATH M50: Good presence in whole frequency spectrum, some weirdness in the low mids (boxines? I’m not sure what that means) that makes bassy instruments sound slightly less bassy, also less than comfortable.

Sony MDR-7509HD: Mostly ok, but something is weird in the bass area. It’s like sounds <150Hz (dub bass, 808 kicks etc.) somehow seem to have a shorter decay? Maybe it’s a “lack of detail” in the low end that makes tails disappear? Weird. DNW.

AKG K240: Pretty flat, but fizzy on top. Not much isolation. Pass.

Senn HD25: Least comfortable headphones ever, and they don’t sound very good either. Somehow less detailed than the HD280Pro.

Denon AH D7000: Whoa fuck. As pleasing and detailed as the Senn HD800, but with slightly less “hype” in the low end. Perfect headphones atmo, but $1k.

Senn HD280 Pro: My old friend. You are out-classed in this field. Where is your low end? I always knew that wasn’t your strong suit, but you’re just embarrassing yourself next to some of these guys. Best in your price range, though.

Some super fancy Grados with wood on them for $1k that I didn’t note the model number of because I never actually considered them:Everything sounds so good and pleasing (not flat, but nice in all the right ways), except some fizz at the very high end. Completely ridiculous looking, though with the wood on them.

Ok, I’m not going to by headphones for $1k, so the Denons and Senns I loved are out. I could be happy with the AKG or Audio-Technica ones, BUT one pair I wasn’t able to try was the Denon AH D2000. Looking at info on headphone.com these should be almost as good as the more expensive Denon models, but they are only $225. Even though I didn’t try them, I think these are the right ones. I’m going to sleep on it, and then prob order them in the morning.

Astrolab · 2013-10-15T15:28:30.000Z

Ok, you have an ADAM A7 pair.

But… what about the acoustic of your room?
Is it perfectly OK?

I have an Opal Event pair and the HD-25 + the HD 650. They are all independantly awesome. But as my room is not treated, I cannot compare them.

HD-25 and HD650 are true references. But they sounds totally different. Sound is more precise, powerful but more flat in the HD-25. The listening on the HD-650 is more sweet.

The only thing I know is that for my mixes, I starts to listening on my Opal pair and then after on the HD-25 or HD-650 for details.

And in that way, I’m happy with my mixes and masterings:

TrondC · 2013-10-15T18:12:19.000Z

I used the Denon AH-2000 for almost four years before the cable started crackling and the left side sometimes dropping out completely. The hi-fi guys said the repair would be a new cable, which would cost a whole $200 (!), but theese are really that good, I am considering to get them fixed. I bought mine new for around $500, and never looked back. I also have Adam A7’s, and I found the Denons to be super helpful when working on details and deeper bass sounds

Giuseppe_Magnatti · 2013-10-15T20:00:26.000Z

""Astrolab"":

Ok, you have an ADAM A7 pair.

But… what about the acoustic of your room?
Is it perfectly OK?

I have an Opal Event pair and the HD-25 + the HD 650. They are all independantly awesome. But as my room is not treated, I cannot compare them.

HD-25 and HD650 are true references. But they sounds totally different. Sound is more precise, powerful but more flat in the HD-25. The listening on the HD-650 is more sweet.

The only thing I know is that for my mixes, I starts to listening on my Opal pair and then after on the HD-25 or HD-650 for details.

And in that way, I’m happy with my mixes and masterings:

Stream Snow White - The buried mirror mix edit by Aeryal | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Stream Time Lapse, by Aeryal by Aeryal | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Hi Astrolab… your tracks sound very sweet
My room is not treated, is a living room…

I have a pair of ADAM A7 and TANOY SRM 15X which is maybe the best monitor they ever made… they are of my father but sometimes I use it…

I have to say anyway that the room is more important than your monitor…

So as I don’t have a treated room I am trying to solve the problem in this way…

[ol]
[li]I will keep my Sennheiser HD 25 as an headphone can only change your earing experience…[/li]
[li]I will use my monitor just to listen what I am doing with my machines, then I will record every single sound in LIVE 9 and with the use of a spectrum, pink noise and a very cool plugin which i recommend VERTEX DSP MULTIINSPECTOR i will mix the pattern in the best way comparing it with some top chart tracks[/li]
[li]I am thinking to buy a VRM BOX as well, for 100 euro is a good deal…[/li]
[li]I learn that it really helps you before you arrange your track to compare the spectrum of your pattern with a spectrum of a top chart track as I sad above[/li]
[li]then as I have 2 OT I will load all the sounds accurately equalized on live on my 2 OT and play with them without having to play with the volumes… Of course b4 loading the tracks check that the volume on each track is the same for all the other so you won’t loose your work[/li]
[li]aT the end if your room is not treated is not much you can do… Or you pay somebody to do your mixdown or you can follow some of the things which i mentioned above… anyway each one as his own method…[/li]
[/ol]

Thank you !