Hi!
Just got an Octatrack mkii and I would like to travel with it. I don’t mind plugging it for power. But I do need a portable pair of cans to write and mix on (as much as possible)
I have the amazing Beyerdynamics DT880 Pro but they aren’t really portable. I was thinking about getting an Audio Technica ATH-m50x or m40x, just because they can fold easily in my backpack or in the Octatrack’s case.
Great cans for beats (I’m not familiar with the 40s). Super durable too. Not great for mixing but that doesn’t seem to be your focus.
Maybe Sennheiser HD25 as well…
The 40s are pretty good to be fair as that’s what I was using until I picked up some DT990 pros the other day.
Perhaps someone else does not know, but the Chinese have learned to make very decent and at the same time very cheap headphones.
One grateful client gave me a “in-ear” model Revonext QT5 for testing. Hybrid headphones with 1 dynamic driver + 1 balanced armature driver.
Can recommend these too. After all these years this headphones still rock. The sound is very pleasant and steady (although a bit colored but not in a bad way) and they sit very comfortable as well.
And not to forget: they will last for a long time, even if you fold them day in day out.
Yep, me too! (although I now have dt880 pros for mixing ). I still use my my 40’s from time to time though, they’re good cans, and would make for a good on-the-go option 
Are the 880s better than the 990s for mixing? I was going to keep the 40s for referencing.
I’ve not tried the 990s so can’t really comment, but the 880s are marketed as monitoring headphones while the 990s are for listening (and apparently less flat I no their response). I’m sure you could mix well on either if you’re used to them though.
Curious - what makes the Audio-Technicas not so great for mixing? I have been using some M50’s for about 7-8 years now. I have noticed that when i go from headphone listening to listening on my monitor speakers, I want to make lots of changes. Maybe that’s what you mean? This has definitely led to me not trusting either my monitors or headphones. The trouble is, I haven’t been able to figure out which one leads to better mixes.
In my opinion the two main issues are that the bass is overpronounced and it has a very narrow stereo spectrum (closed back). I wouldn’t do any serious mixing on them. For tracking individual tracks, they’re quite ok. For serious mixing I always trust monitors before anything else.
As mentioned above HD25’s are a great choice, I’ve been using them for many years, they sound superb, not very bulky and very easy to replace cables and pads.
