Question on headphones

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:11 pm

I have to use headphones for basic recordings of guitar, vocal..ETC:
I can only use monitors at certain times due to were I'm living at the moment.
I have to due a basic eq of the guitar, vocal,etc....thru the cans...then due a total eq and mix thru the monitors when I can.
What I don't want, is an eq thats really..OFF....due to doing it thru the cans.

What I see here on the site is most people are useing maybe 2 types of cans.

Beyerdynamic DT 770 pro-80 or the Sennheiser HD 280 pro.
I have also looked into the Sony MDR- 7509 HD...altho I can not find much info on that set.

The Sennheiser "seems" to have a problem with the low end...meaning that you tend to bring up the bass....but when you go to monitors...it ends up to be a bass heavy recording. This is just comeing from what people are saying...NOT from my own EAR....

Everybody has a different "EAR"

What I need is the right set of phones....that will come as close to a set of good monitors as possible.

Any input on this would be a great help.
Right now I'm leaning toward the Beryerdynamic stuff.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:26 pm

Look into the AKG K240, and Audio-technica M45 as well....

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 3:14 pm

Thanks Pfact.....but bottom line..I can't find any reviews on those phones. Nor could I check them out any place.....but then again I can't check out the others either......its a basic buy and see if they work or they don't.
But nobody lists these as what they use for the most part. As far as being close to monitor type phones.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 3:28 pm

I'm wearing a pair of HD280s at this moment and I'll say that if you can get them to fit your head properly, you will suffer a slight LACK of bass in your final mix ie it won't be as bass-ed up on the monitors. This is because HD280s are closed back and have higher bass levels getting to your ear than open headphones (I believe the Beyerdynamics are like this).
However I like dance music so I'm not complaining.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 4:56 pm

Well code..what I get from other people on this site is the Sennheiser...Is Lacking in bass...so you turn it up....so you get more bass then you want. At least in the mix. So you end up with an over bassed mix.
don't know about the head fit thing...

Both Cans are closed.....the only thing I hear is the Beyerdynamics don't have this problem........
Once again I don't know.....
what I do know is I have to eq the guitar and vocal stuff as close as I can..to whats going to come out of the monitor speakers.
Basically I don't want to end up with a super bassy guitar line...and will be a pain in the ass to correct.....LOL

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:05 pm

Oh right, didn't know that about the Beyers.
Well I would say the bass response is extended, perhaps there is a slight dip in the higher end bass, though I can't say I've noticed.

My problem is I have no monitors (5.1 surround, or some mildly crap PA speakers at our Church) and don't have anything to compare them to other than my old headphones which had crap bass anyway.

The fit thing, is that if they aren't adjusted properly, they dont close and the bass is just nonexistent. If you can get them to close around your ears the bass leaks less.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:31 pm

I've found the Beyer DT770 Pro have a slightly exaggerated LF response around 50Hz down to 20Hz. I'm sure this is more a function of the closed-back design than anything else.

However, if you're used to it, you can easily learn this trait and get usable headphone mixes on them.

The AKG K240S are some of the most accurate headphones I've used in regards to frequency and spatial cues.

I would still not advise mixing entirely on headphones, even if your alternative is a boom-box or computer speakers. There are just some things you'll never hear on headphones.

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:11 pm

There's your second vote on the K240S...you've gotta be able to find reviews they're highly recomended studio headphones.

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 10:52 am

Ok..I found some reviews on the AKG K240...the biggest thing people like is the comfort factor. Most of these people seem to useing these at work connected to an Ipod and have them on all day...LOL
In any case comfort is a good thing.
Bad thing is the cable connectors..seem to be, not so great.
Could be, I have never seen them so can't say on that.

The semi open back design seems to be what give's it that more" defined" (for lack of a better term)..sound. As compared to the Senn, or Beyer.
This can be a double edged sword for me.
IT's very hard to tell how people are really useing these from the reviews.
It may be a very good Phone, to mix with. But could be a problem trying to record with them.

Case in point would be Vocals..In a pretty much closed and quit room, since these are a semi open design....how much sound is coming out of the phones? Is that going to bleed onto the vocal track?

This may or maynot be a problem, but something I have to think about.

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 3:21 pm

Up date on reviews:
I found some headphone review sites....with a lot more reviews on the AKG K240's
The reviews seem to be all over the place..some of course say there great, but alot of others say they are very colored, overly bassy, very shrill high end.
I tend to disregard all the greater then sliced bread, or the reviews that completely trash the phones......and look at the middle..people who put some time into the review.
The thing that bothers me is....they are all over the place...and for the most part come out as colored phones.

The Sennheiser HD 280 Pro..has many, many reviews....but they all seem to be consistant.
If you have a fat head..these phones are tight.
The headband is plastic and may tend to crack.
They have very good isolation.

The people who say they seem to lack bass, are using them with Ipods at work or were useing a very colored headphone before. But thats all they say....90% seem to think the rest of the sound is excellent.
The people who seem to KNOW what these phones are supposed to be used for...say they are very uncolored...and flat...something you want ,for mixing or recording.

Based on this info...I think I will give the Sennheiser a shot...for the price it's hard to beat, the Beyer is double.
The isolation factor should be good for a vocal both.....and may be good enough for live drums(useing a headband to keep them inplace) I will"assume" a drummer can hear a click track or rythem track thru those over his own playing. But I guess I will find out. LOL

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 3:23 pm

Up date on reviews:
I found some headphone review sites....with a lot more reviews on the AKG K240's
The reviews seem to be all over the place..some of course say there great, but alot of others say they are very colored, overly bassy, very shrill high end.
I tend to disregard all the greater then sliced bread, or the reviews that completely trash the phones......and look at the middle..people who put some time into the review.
The thing that bothers me is....they are all over the place...and for the most part come out as colored phones.

The Sennheiser HD 280 Pro..has many, many reviews....but they all seem to be consistant.
If you have a fat head..these phones are tight.
The headband is plastic and may tend to crack.
They have very good isolation.

The people who say they seem to lack bass, are using them with Ipods at work or were useing a very colored headphone before. But thats all they say....90% seem to think the rest of the sound is excellent.
The people who seem to KNOW what these phones are supposed to be used for...say they are very uncolored...and flat...something you want ,for mixing or recording.

Based on this info...I think I will give the Sennheiser a shot...for the price it's hard to beat, the Beyer is double.
The isolation factor should be good for a vocal both.....and may be good enough for live drums(useing a headband to keep them inplace) I will"assume" a drummer can hear a click track or rythem track thru those over his own playing. But I guess I will find out. LOL

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 7:44 pm

+5 for AKG 240 as that is how many I have. But I also now got a couple pairs if the HD280's and like them a lot for tracking. There is a noticable difference in the bass sound between the two more than the lack in bass. AKG240 for anything serious. I've even mixed with only AKG240 more than a few times with complimentry results.

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 1:39 am

check out the new audio technica m50. awsome!

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2008 9:46 pm

I own the Beyers. They definitely are a bit bass heavy, but if you get used to them it's not hard to compensate. One really good thing about them is that they will take a BEATING. I've had them for about 3 years and I've really thrown them around. They are rock solid.

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 12:58 am

i got the akg 271 for $120 and i'm diggin em. pretty good as far as headphones go and they translate really well onto monitors

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