At my studio the musicians get the Beyer DT150's (newer & more bass than the DT100's) they are very popular...

:)

I just picked up some Sennheiser HD580's for editing and mix reference on recomendation by a golden eared chum (but they are not closed backed) We need to be able to hear the phone & doorbell while editing!

:w:

Glad you're enjoying those Sennheisers, Julian. But if it's me you're referring to, I'm closer to aluminum than gold. Too many years in loud bands!

I've been using Sony 7506's and 7509's for tracking for some time, but I've been meaning to try the Beyers. Heard some in the store once, and they seemed to be not as harsh in the upper end as the Sony's.

I think there are some new Sennheisers out...820? that sound pretty good and are enclosed.Haven't heard um though...Anyone?

The reason I asked was because some headphones work well in pro situations but don't have the robustness of the DT100/DT150. For example the Sennheiser HD250(II)has an extremely thin (& I guess not too robust)connecting cable. The headphone outputs on some recording equipment doesn't have sufficient output to give realistic monitoring levels when close to a live band. Even using the high sensitivity and the excellent Sennheiser HD600 open backed phones on one recorder (away from the band) produced only average levels - I could maybe use a separate headphone amp from the line op's or should carry on searching for the ideal cans? (Or am I far too fussy???

That's one of the reasons I've been using the Sony 7506's. They are extremely efficient - any cheesy headphone amp will give you a ton of level in these cans.

I've been doing a bit of headphone comparisons lately and here's what I found:

AKG 240M: the 600ohm resistance kills them if you're tracking. They are the most comfortable however and my Rane HC6 headphone amp will drive them OK. Overall bass is muddy, and highs are not crisp. Good isolation.

Sony 7506: GREAT bass and GREAT highs. The best sounding of all. I like them better than Grados. Not as comfortable and not so hot isolation.

Sennheiser HD480: great compromise between AKGs and Sonys. Incredible isolation, moderate comfort, and better sounding than the AKG but the highs are not on a par with the Sonys.

I've also tried the Grado SR225s I believe they were. Great sound but somehow I still like the Sonys better. I didn't do a head to head with those though. It was just from memory so I could have been wrong. I love how comfortable they are though...

I'd have to endorse the AKG K240DF Studio-Monitor headphones.

:D

jlyle@qvc.com

I use a mixture of AKG240M's and the Senn 480 something or other's for tracking. The 240M's can only be used with my Stewart headphone amp because of the Ohmage. The Senns sound good on my crappy DOD460H, so I keep them there. I have one ancient set of Pioneer (!) headphones that I have had since I was 10. They are the perfect headphone for drum tracking. Loud as hell, great isolation, excellent headroom, very sturdy. I can't remember the model number off the top of my head, but I did do a search for them a few years back and they were discontinued in the '70's. So if they break I'm screwed.

I also run an RNC on the headphone mix to help control levels a bit. A comp on the headphone mix is a great way to keep that click track from taking your head off.

DT150's ... great. As Jules says more bass than the old DT100's. Upgrading mine bit by bit.