Headphone and Mic Recommendations

Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 1:42 pm

Hello, I'm looking to buy a new set of headphones to be used primarily with my DAW. It's been recommended to me that I get professional headphones that are "pure tuned" or "flat" so that there is no biased judgment of the final mix's equalization. Is that pretty much a standard with today's headphone monitors? Does anyone have any recommendations, and why? I've got a budget of no more than $120.

Secondly, I'm also looking to buy a mic for recording vocals as well as acoustic instruments. Would a condenser mic be best suited for this? And what specific models would everyone recommend and why? $120 is my budget cap on this item as well.

Thanx in advance!

Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 3:21 pm

The Sony MDR-7506 are good headphones that are pretty commonly employed for studio use. How 'flat' they are, I don't really know, but they're $99 and I like 'em. Smile

Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 4:13 pm

I use Sennheiser HD280PRO headphones - also about $100. For a mic ~$100 it's hard to beat the 57 or 58.

Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 5:28 pm

57 or 58? It helps if you tell me who makes them.

Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 7:00 pm

Shure SM57 or SM58. Might want to get used to people calling them 57's and 58's!

Razz

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:58 am

Just thought i'd mention this for anyone looking for headphones.

Sony MDR-V700 Headphones £20.99 (Free postage) from ebay.

I've just ordered myself 2 pairs of these (I use them for djing).

Thes usually retail around £70-80 in the UK. A great deal if you ask me.

Here is the link for anyone interested:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-BOXED-SONY-MDR-V700DJ-V700-PROFESSIONAL-HEADPHONE_W0QQitemZ230249900661QQihZ013QQcategoryZ14985QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Posted: Sun May 18, 2008 3:40 am

Did you have any luck with your head phones? I had read a couple reviews from some of those low "feedback" sellers on ebay selling headphones like those for those amazing prices that they were fake. Made me hesitant to order. I think I made it to the "Press here to buy button" twice.....

Let me know if you have any luck.

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 3:02 pm

EricUndead wrote:

Did you have any luck with your head phones? I had read a couple reviews from some of those low "feedback" sellers on ebay selling headphones like those for those amazing prices that they were fake. Made me hesitant to order. I think I made it to the "Press here to buy button" twice.....

Let me know if you have any luck.

Yeah, I got them, EVENTUALLY! lol

They took about a month to get here but all looks good. After buying them the thought of fake ones had crossed my mind but I thought it best not to worry about it and see how it goes.

The packaging, carry bag and the headphones look legit but I can't really tell as i've not bought a pair before. If they are fake they are a good copy. They also came with an operation manual but again i've never seen one before so cant tell if it's the correct one.

I've only had a chance to try them out connected to my pc and they sound fine but will get a chance to put them into proper use and give some feedback after the weekend.

The only reason I went ahead with the purchase was because the seller had a lot of great feedback reviews.

Would be great to know if there are any fake ones going about or even something that gives you a list of things to check if anyone knows of such a thing?

At the end of the day i'm not too bothered as it didn't cost me too much but if they were fake i'd like to warn others.

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 4:10 pm

I've just done some investigation...

There are numerous reports and reviews on these headphones and I found two useful:

http://reviews.ebay.com/Sony-V700-vs-Fake-DJ-Heaphones_W0QQugidZ10000000004764988

http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/How-To-Spot-Fake-SONY-MDR-V700DJ-Headphones_W0QQugidZ10000000004436156?ssPageName=BUYGD:CAT:-1:LISTINGS:2

The fake ones that were compared in these posts are SO obviously different to the genuine ones but my ones appear 99% the same as the "real" ones.

The only difference I can notice on mine is that there should be a "CE" logo and "Made In China" logo on the inside of the headband above the cups on each side. The confusing part of this though is that one of the posters said his "genuine" ones have a "Phillipines" logo as they are supposed to be manufactured in the Phillipines! Mine don't have any of these logos so they must be fake to a degree.

The only other thing that I can see different was the guy that mentioned the Phillipines as being the manufacturer said that the box should have "Made in the Phillipines" on it and not "Made in China". Mine has "Made in China". Although the same guy said the fake box had different dimensions to the genuine one and my box is the same size as the genuine!

Being completely honest I think they are definately fake as the price is a dead giveaway but they appear to have drastically improved compared to what some people have bought.

The chord, jack, paintwork, material, logos, cups, headband, carry bag all appear identical to the originals in comparison to what these guys have said to look out for.

I guess it all comes down to if they will sound good enough so i'll try them out properly and give feedback.

If they sound good i'm definately going to try and get a listen to a pair that were bought at retail price to compare the difference and let you know.

If there is a great difference I think Mr Chang will be getting some not so positive feedback! lol

Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 4:42 am

Right on, I'm glad I didn't go with those, because of all the hassle and lack of trust or something similar. I bought HD280s from a major retailer and I like them. I payed normal price but I know they are good. If yours are legit though, by all mean let us know because I would pick up a set just to compare. But man, I'm alway leery at the ebay of to-good-to-be-true deals like that.

Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 9:40 am

Be careful of the 280's, mix knowing there limitations.
http://www.dansdata.com/hd280.htm
He seems to know.

Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 5:58 pm

I have monitors for any real mixing. They are just mostly for setting levels and stuff at night when I'm up and the family is not. Ive read extensively not to do any real mixing with headphones.

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