I current have a pair of Sennheiser HD 650 that I use for mixing, listening to music, gaming etc. I primarily use them off a JDS Element IV Amp/DAC or directly from my elektron devices(Syntakt/Tonverk etc). I have owned these for 10 years and I’m in the market for an upgrade. I ordered the Audeze LCD-X but find them way too heavy to be enjoyable. I was looking at the Sennheiser 800s but understand they can have the same sub-bass issues as the HD650.
Check Hifiman Sundara, they are lighter
Check first 10 min of this video. They are talking about lcd x and Sundara
Here is also a videos of few Hifiman as well
One advice. Go to local store that sells headphones, bring your music, and test them out before buying
Look into the Neumann NDH30. I have not had a chance to try them yet. But based on the frequency response measurements, they seem fairly similar to the HD6 series, but with better low-end bass extension.
I have them, love its somewhat clear sound, nothing overhyped in the frequency domain but not boring.
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Agree that the ndh30 seem like a natural upgrade but I am concerned they are more of a side-grade. They retail for close to the same price I paid for the HD650. I am looking at the HD 800s but I keep reading that the sub bass isn’t satisfactory directly off of a groove box.
The HD800 S have an impedance of 300 ohms and a fairly low sensitivity of 102 dB at 1 volt, which makes them a really demanding headphone (compare to the DT 900 Pro at 48 ohms, 113 dB at 1 V and the NDH30 at 130 ohms, 104 at 1 V). You may occasionally run into an instrument that could drive that properly, but I personally wouldn’t bet on it. It’ll also be difficult to assess whether a specific instrument could or could not drive it as most don’t provide the specifications of their headphone outputs like an amplifier would – presumably because they aren’t such an important part of the design.
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You can’t go by price to determine whether or not a pair of headphones is an upgrade for mixing and mastering.
Frequency response measurements of the HD 800S look slightly worse to me for that than the HD 650.
Totally. I was addressing the psychological aspect. Seems like the NDH30 are great, I was more surprised that there isn’t a clearer winner in the $1000+ range. I will happily take the savings.
Thanks
Just ordered the basic version of VSX, on my doorstep in a couple of days. I suck at mixing, have no good monitors, cosy home studio corner but shitty acoustics, so I thought I’d give these a try and commit for a while. Already have a 770 and HD600, but going the route of chaining multiple pieces of software to make them better suited for mixing felt a bit cumbersome.
Any expert tips on getting the most out of the VSX? Will be using it in combo with Mac M1, Live and a Push3. (Phones out from the Push)
I recently tried the HD800s and I’ve been using the HD650 for many years (bought my first HD600 around 2003 or so…). First off, if you want to be able to pinpoint sound sources in the stereo mix and want to feel a sense of space, the HD800s excels at that. However, the frequency response is far from neutral and kind of wonky. And yes, do do lack sub bass almost completely, like the HD650. I really can’t recommend it if you don’t plan on using an equalizer.
However, if you do use an EQ - it will be one of the best headphones out there. Even adding tons of sub bass won’t drive it into distortion. With a proper EQ curve, the sense of space and the ability to pinpoint everything will still be there. Someone described it as if there was a bit of space around each instrument in the mix.
Don’t worry too much about amps, your JDS Element is more than adequate and the Elektrons will drive the HD800s properly as well. Not much difference to the HD650.
I ended up buying the Dan Clark NOIRE X instead because it comes with a very frequency response by default and delivers proper sub bass while also being a closed design. If I wanted to have only one good headphone for everything though, I’d go with the NOIRE XO instead.
Edit: Oh, and the most obvious move would be to use an EQ with the HD650… You already have an extremely good headphone at your disposal, so why not give it a try?
What do you use for EQ in a daw-less setup
You can check Arc on ear, scroll up a bit because we already talked about it
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You could always route your audio into an audio interface anyway… Sure, it’s not dawless but it’s a neat solution to record your performances as well.
Pleasantly surprised by these so far. I don’t do any mixing so won’t use for that, but they are pairing really well with my Nord piano and synths. They’ve got that forward sound that I look for in my Grados but really great bass too. Not cheap by any means but they do exactly what I want on the instruments side of things.
Bonus is that they’re easy to drive but seem to have the sensitivity or resistance in the right spot that quietens down the noisy connection on my Nord headphone out, noticeably quieter than my Grados
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It got a pair of DT 990 Pro X a few days ago, and while not the top tier like some other mentioned, these are my first open back headphones and it’s a huge step up from what I was using previously. I’m surprised at how much low end comes through. Very happy with them so far.
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I’d like to warn against Aune since the headphones I bought snapped apart on their own and they are giving me the hand. They claim that there must have been an impact and refuse to return them under warranty and they base this on a minuscule mark on the picture which is absurd. I babied these headphones since it was still within a week of the purchase and I wanted to keep the option of returning them. Has anyone else had issues with Aune?
+1 for DT 990 Pro X
Very satisfied with it. Especially for long sessions, my ears tire less quickly than on my previous ones.
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beyerdynamic HEADPHONE LAB Beyerdynamic released a free mixing plugin for their cans. It features calibration based on serial number (dt900, 700, 1770, 1990 only) and your head size, crossfeed, room sim and a general flat eq for your cans.
Edit: to my ears, the room sim sounds much better than DearVR mix. It also aligned and flattened both L and R cups which had minor differences. It is also great to be able to change the position of the virtual speakers. Tested with DT 900 Pro X. Very good!
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VSX 6