Headphones?

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Old-Bugga
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Headphones?

Post by Old-Bugga » Thu Aug 21, 2014 3:40 pm

What are you using?

I am in the market for a nice set of headphones to use with Auria. I hear that the AKG240's are the most popular. The cheapskate in me is struggling with spending that much. Should I just bite the bullet or, are there some cheaper alternatives that really shine.

By way of an example I have read som glowing reviews of the much cheaper AKG44's.

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Re: Headphones?

Post by mrufino1 » Thu Aug 21, 2014 4:46 pm

You will get what you pay for. On the other side of the argument, if you learn the sound of your headphones they can work for you. I have sony 7506 and akg240mkII that I use and they both have their strengths. But good headphones (the ones that have a b on the side are not being referred to in that sentence) will be a great investment. My Sony headphones are 10 years old and still work really well. I have heard that the focal spirit headphones are the closest you'll get to mixing through monitors, don't know if that's true but perhaps someday I will be lucky enough to find out.

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Re: Headphones?

Post by TedBPhx » Thu Aug 21, 2014 4:54 pm

Your interface is a factor. Plug into the headphone jack or a bus powered interface? then you probably need to keep the headphone impedance at less than 50 ohms. Powered interface with a good hp amp then the 600 ohm sets become possible.

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Re: Headphones?

Post by Tarekith » Thu Aug 21, 2014 6:09 pm

I got some Focal Spirit Pro's recently to use when making music on the iPad, at least around the house. When I travel I use the Shure SE425's which are much easier to transport. But anyway, the Focals are amazing, completely blew me away how good they sounded. Mixed a song using those, and when I put it up on my mastering speakers later, I only had a couple tiny mix fixes to make. I was impressed.

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Re: Headphones?

Post by Washboy » Fri Aug 22, 2014 5:51 am

@Tarekith: I've been tempted by the Focal Spirit Pros but have been put off by reports of poor build quality (plastic parts cracking with light use especially). Do you have any comments on that score?

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Re: Headphones?

Post by Tarekith » Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:05 am

They seem very well built to me, way better than my HD25s were.

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Re: Headphones?

Post by Washboy » Fri Aug 22, 2014 2:26 pm

Tarekith wrote:They seem very well built to me, way better than my HD25s were.
Hmm. Thanks. I'll give them more serious consideration :)

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Re: Headphones?

Post by ppaul » Sat Aug 23, 2014 7:29 pm

I picked up some Beyer DT 770's on special for $179 recently, the 32ohm ones, which work best if your using the output of the iPad, if you can the 250 ohm ones work well either way

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Re: Headphones?

Post by mkeymont » Mon Aug 25, 2014 6:54 am

Hi,
Full disclosure: I work as an Audio/Visual Producer in the headphone department at Bose, although I'm not on this board to represent the company. Here's what I'll add to this: making headphones that sound accurate is not cheap, so if you're looking for good and cheap at the same time, you're already in trouble. You can buy $50 "studio monitors" too if you look around...

I've also heard good things about the Focal Spirit, but the complaint I heard about them was more about comfort. I'm looking forward to trying them out. I would also say that Grado and Sennheiser make some excellent headphones as well. I have the luxury of having alot of the best headphones on the market available to me.

My plug for Bose: Our QC20 in-ear noise canceling headphones are possibly the best headphones I've ever used for tracking vocals. With the noise reduction, you don't need to turn the track up, and even if you do, they don't leak sound back into the mic because of the eartip design. As an added benefit, you can turn on Aware Mode and get some of your live voice fed back into your ears, which makes it almost like your not even wearing phones.

Good luck in your quest for the perfect cans!!
Mike

JosephDignamMusic
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Re: Headphones?

Post by JosephDignamMusic » Fri Aug 29, 2014 8:49 am

I would love to hear more about these....

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevange ... ith-mo-fi/

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Re: Headphones?

Post by supanorton » Fri Aug 29, 2014 4:41 pm

JosephDignamMusic wrote:I would love to hear more about these....

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevange ... ith-mo-fi/
Blue have been dropping hints about these for at least a year though social media. They've really created quite the buzz, and they do make some good microphones. I'm saving for some real good headphones, but I'm only about half way there. The Tone Stack sale didn't help my headphone cause, but I'm very happy with the way my guitars are sounding through it.

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sodium
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Re: Headphones?

Post by sodium » Fri Aug 29, 2014 11:39 pm

As other posters have said, you do get what you pay for. That said, for me there'd be two factors in play. If you're using a headphone amplifier, and what tasks you want to cover.

I use 3 different types of headphones. All reasonably priced.

Tracking: Its important to find a set for tracking that have minimal bleed, can deliver quality sound at a sufficient level if you're in a room with acoustic instruments, eg drums or pianos etc. For that task I use Sennheiser HD280 Pros. Not terribly expensive but I find they are good bang for the buck and fill the criteria I mentioned.

Monitoring & editing: By the nature of the task, you'll want these to have a good balanced tone range, not overly emphasising either end of the audio spectrum. I use Audio-Technica ATH-M50s. They are a very comfortable fit, have a good audio reproduction and are perfect for long hours of precise listening. Again, not overly expensive.

Mixing: for this you need sonically precise, super comfortable cans as you will be wearing them for long periods. I ended up buying AKG K240 MkIIs. Good bang for the buck, super comfy and good reproduction.

As noted by another poster, impedance when using a headphone amp changes a lot of stuff so that might be something you could look into. Good luck and let us know what you settle on.

PS @mkymont( the Bose guy), tnx for the info. As an aside I bought a set of domestic Bose Noise Cancelling cans for use on a recent trip to Paris Quiet Comfort 15s. They were really great on the long flight from Australia to Europe and I thought Id give them a whirl when I was tracking some drums recently. What I discovered was that they had an inbuilt limiter than kept in way too early for use in a studio. Do you in-ear plugs have the same limiting technology, and if so wouldn't that be a problem when using them in high gain studio situations?
"get down off that cross we could use the wood..."

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sodium
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Re: Headphones?

Post by sodium » Fri Aug 29, 2014 11:48 pm

Tarekith wrote:I got some Focal Spirit Pro's recently to use when making music on the iPad, at least around the house. <SNIP> the Focals are amazing, completely blew me away how good they sounded. Mixed a song using those, and when I put it up on my mastering speakers later, I only had a couple tiny mix fixes to make. I was impressed.
Good rap. But just checked on those puppies, they aren't cheap..

But as alwys, its good to check at Gearslutz....here a recent comment titled "Audio Technica ATH-M50X vs Focal Spirit Professional"

' I have both. The Audio Technica's are great, but to me, hands down the Focals win. Better stereo field, separation, and clarity, and they work well across a wide style of music for me. That being said, the ATs are more comfortable, hands down. If you're looking to use them in the studio, I would deal with the less comfy but "better" sounding Focals. If you were looking for something for your daily commute, I'd go the other way."

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much- ... ional.html

and the initial thread...
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/product- ... hones.html


Damn this forum, its costing me a bomb!!! :D :lol: :shock: :P :roll: :lol: :D
"get down off that cross we could use the wood..."

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Re: Headphones?

Post by mkeymont » Sun Aug 31, 2014 9:28 pm

"PS @mkymont( the Bose guy), tnx for the info. As an aside I bought a set of domestic Bose Noise Cancelling cans for use on a recent trip to Paris Quiet Comfort 15s. They were really great on the long flight from Australia to Europe and I thought Id give them a whirl when I was tracking some drums recently. What I discovered was that they had an inbuilt limiter than kept in way too early for use in a studio. Do you in-ear plugs have the same limiting technology, and if so wouldn't that be a problem when using them in high gain studio situations?"
That's the microphone that makes noise canceling work. Unfortunately, with any ANR technology the circuit is going to try to reduce and the result in a high SPL situation like that is limiting.
Mike

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Re: Headphones?

Post by mrufino1 » Mon Sep 01, 2014 10:29 am

mkeymont wrote:
"PS @mkymont( the Bose guy), tnx for the info. As an aside I bought a set of domestic Bose Noise Cancelling cans for use on a recent trip to Paris Quiet Comfort 15s. They were really great on the long flight from Australia to Europe and I thought Id give them a whirl when I was tracking some drums recently. What I discovered was that they had an inbuilt limiter than kept in way too early for use in a studio. Do you in-ear plugs have the same limiting technology, and if so wouldn't that be a problem when using them in high gain studio situations?"
That's the microphone that makes noise canceling work. Unfortunately, with any ANR technology the circuit is going to try to reduce and the result in a high SPL situation like that is limiting.
Mike
Get custom in ears if you want real noise reduction, much better. Not as expensive as you might think. I used mine recently while tracking, and it made a huge difference in getting guitar sounds, where I could really hear what changes moving the mic was making. Plus, my entire week of tracking, as well as my live gigs where I use them, are ultra quiet in terms of the overall volume I use. That is very comfortable and welcome. As my musician friends keep asking me, "what?" I can still hear quite well, about to hit 40 in a month and would like my hearing intact for a long time to come.

If you don't want to or can't swing custom in ears, the drummer tracking phones do have good noise reduction, although I find that they sound very stuffy and midrangey, so good for tracking but definitely not for critical listening. Or you could get earbuds and buy $10 landscaper noise reduction earmuffs to put over your ears.

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