High quality headphones -flat freq response for monitoring

[zorrow]

BlueRedWhite has convinced me I absolutely need a pair of high quality headphones. What would you recommend that would have a flat frequency response and would be good for monitoring? A good quality/price ratio is a must, as I'm not a pro mixer/masterer, but still need to evaluate masters from time to time. Suggestions then? TIA!

[Bloozguy]

I've used AKG K240 for years. The Mark I's are only about $100 a pair and they're a good all-around studio headphone.

[Mitch]

Plenty of good suggestions here:

http://prorecordingworkshop.lefora.com/topic/8973849/Reference-headphones

[Teh]

I second the AKGs. Seem very transparent to my ears.

[unfun75]

I love my Sennheiser HD280's. They are universally 99 bucks but I managed to find some online for $89 last holiday season.

[burningyen]

I used HD280s for a long time. They're great for situations where noise isolation is key (e.g. live tracking with drums), but they're not particularly flat response. Generally headphones aren't recommended for serious mixing/mastering, but if you must, then people seem to like the Beyerdynamic DT880s (make sure you get the right impedance version for your uses). I like my AKG K550 set, but I know not to trust anything I dial in with them until I audition it through my Atomic CLR. Go check out the product descriptions and frequency response graphs at headphone.com.

[polara]

One more for the AKG K240s. I'm sure there are better ones out there, but they seem to have a very flat, neutral response. Ben is right though that that is just ONE avenue for checking your mix. I try to test through those headphones, and generic Apple earbuds (seriously, more people listen on those than anything else) and then in the car and of course a few different monitors and home speakers.

[dragan]

I use fostex t40rp , $85 nice , but not for mixing

[tomteriffic]

There isn't much that will get you "pro quality" mixes on cans until you get up into some serious bucks. Ben is right, though. You need to check your mixes through a variety of devices (earbuds, home stereos, car radios, etc.). I'll typically use two sets of studio monitors, my home theater system, a boombox, a car radio and headphones too. The headphones mostly get used for tracking and rough mixes, though.

That said, there are three sets that I typically use and go back and forth between: The AKG 240's, the Sennheiser HD-280's and the Sony MDR 7506's. They're all right at $100. The AKG's aren't as good with isolation and tend to be a bit bass-heavy. The Sonys have better isolation but a hot top end. The Senns have better isolation but otherwise don't offer much that the Sony's don't already have.

I'd like to audition a pair of the ATH-M50's They're closed back, reasonably priced and very well reviewed. $150 everywhere.

[Studio Custom]

Audeze LCD-2 are fantastic, as are their price, but I love mine.

[Tres Aardvarks]

Ben is right though that that is just ONE avenue for checking your mix. I try to test through those headphones, and generic Apple earbuds (seriously, more people listen on those than anything else) and then in the car and of course a few different monitors and home speakers.

Ain't that the truth. I forgot about that on a project I started working on, thought my tracks sounded great. Oh wait, I was wearing earbuds (my recording headphones went missing during one of our last THREE moves), and I didn't want to wake the kids up with the monitors. Crap. Ended up having to rerecord the bass part entirely. Since then I've bounced between earbuds, monitors, and the car. Maybe Santa will bring me a new pair of headphones!

[tomteriffic]

Oh yeah, on the earbuds... Odds are that the response on those will have a built-in top (and sometimes bottom) hype to compensate for the inherently midrangey nature of a small transducer like that. On our recent album, my BIL told me that the vocals were too far back in the mix. I told him to listen on something other than earbuds. He did and that was the last I heard of it.

The point is that you're not going to get whatever it is you're working on to sound awesome through all of these playback systems. The idea is to get it to sound decent/tolerable on as many of them as you can.

[ZR]

I use AKG K240's when I need them. And, I use Monoprice closed back headphones for tracking. these are inexpensive for what you get...good value.

[JohnnyB]

I was in audio retail when the AKG-240M's first came out, around 1975. At that time the universal studio headphone was the very light but excellently balanced HD414. The AKG 240 was designed from the ground up specifically for recording monitoring. It replaced the HD414 almost overnight. One of the goals of the AKG 240 was to create a common standard of playback for all recording projects (you know how those Europeans are for uniformity, e.g., the EU)--a way to take variations in control room monitors and acoustics out of the mixdown equation.

The AKG 240's had a fairly large main driver augmented by six passive radiators. The around-the-ear design was more for improving bass extension then for isolation, as they are an open-back design. Open back designs tend to sound more like speakers in free space. Closed back … well, that's why the nickname for headphones is "cans."

There was another variant of the 240 called the 240DF, for "diffused field." These were designed to sound even more like music in free space, came at a premium over the "M" (monitor) model, and were packaged with an individual frequency response graph. I had a pair of those and they were pretty damn linear.

The only drawback to these big AKGs was that they really needed a good headphone amp to sing, something I never got around to getting. Without it they were very comfortable, musical, and linear, but didn't have much top end or dynamic pop.

I would think that in the ensuing 38 years they've improved them a bit. There are several higher priced variants on that original design, including (at least it looks that way to me) the Quincy Jones model.

I've been using Sennheiser HD580s for about 15 years. They're no longer made, but the HD600 is basically the 580 with a more resonant-free housing. Although they benefit from a good headphone amp, I've found them to work well regardless and have better transparency and more extended top end than my 240 DFs did.

Unless you need to monitor in a noisy environment, I think around-the-ear open back 'phones give better results.

[Hamer Time]

Having tried Sein HD 280's, Audio Tech ATH-M50's, BD 770's, I am now using BD 880's 250ohm Premium and so far are my favourite. The ATH-M50's are the most uncomfortable.

I wear spex and the 880 Premiums fit more loosely so they don't push them against your head. If you don't wear spex then get the Pro's, they're less expensive for the same phones but with tighter head band. If you plan on using them with an mp3 player then get the 32 ohm.

I don't think there are any completely flat response headphones, find the eq curve for them and use an EQ to cut the peaks.

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/4913/880990compare.png

Also a useful tool for using headphones is a speaker/room sim. This one is cheap and works quite well, demo available and only $20...

http://www.toneboosters.com/tb-isone/

[mathman]

I just got a pair of audio technica m40fs

Not as highly rated as the m50's or the AKG but they are half the price. Still a big step up from any of the other headphones I've owned. Sound is very detailed while mixing and recording.

Happy camper here!

[JohnnyB]

Assuming Zorrow's still looking, I've done a little more research and I find this product description from headphone.com interesting, which says in part:

The K701 are nowhere near their acoustic potential out of the box; patience and a long burn-in period gets rewarded with pristine accuracy and an expansive, spacious soundstage image that directly competes with $1,000 cans. Highly recommended world-class audiophile sound at a WAY lower price than many headphones of this caliber.

They're available from Amazon for $277.95, and the Quincy Jones variant is just $219.95. The K 701 does have a slightly flatter frequency response (less upper bass boost) than the Jones version.

• K701 response curve
• Q701 response curve

Form-follows-function comfortable and bad-ass lookin', too:

[hamerhead]

JB - given a choice, which do you take - the K701s or the Senn HD600s?

[Feynman]

I can't speak to monitoring use, but I use the ATH-AD700 for listening and am still in love with them.

I have spent some time with the Quincy Jones cans and something just doesn't fit the bill for my tastes with those. I don't know exactly what it is, but it's almost like they are too forward, or synthetic, or some otther tough to nail down term. I have heard good things about the K701s but have no experience. I know some places (goodcans) think they are much nicer than mine, and others (Stereophile) say the difference is slight. For the ones I own, you can find reviews ranging from "these are crap" to "these are amazing." My own impression is that they are great.

I have no informed opinion on the matter between the 701 and mine, but I got mine for under $90 and am still pleased with them.

Any of the AKGs in that form factor are a very comfortable design - they feel light on the head and I can wear them for hours without any ear or head discomfort. They are rather large though.

I broke some of the plastic on mine, and AKG sent me replacements for free - I thought that was nice customer service. The 701s certainly appear to be a higher quality build.

Edited to add for Hamerhead's question,which wasn't even to me: HD600s are phenomenally good. My gut would tell me that it would be hard to be unimpressed by the HD600 when compared to anything.

[JohnnyB]

JB - given a choice, which do you take - the K701s or the Senn HD600s?

They're close enough that I could only pick one through direct comparison. My own experience would tilt toward the HD600 because I've had a pair of HD580s (same mechanics, not quite as rigid a housing) and have had no urge to change or upgrade, andI liked them better than the AKD240DFs I had just before. OTOH, that was 15 years ago and things change.

If you don't mind the size, you might go with Feynman's suggestion of the Audio Technica ATH-AD700. When they came out Stereophile Mag instantly named them a Class A recommended component. I've heard they're also very comfortable.

[Disturber]

Ultrazone. Beats most of the competition in this thread by a mile. Great for mixing.

http://www.amazon.com/PRO-750-Closed-Back-Professional-Headphones/dp/B003USCCFA/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1386335842&sr=1-3&keywords=ultrasone+pro

"The Pro 750s sit at the high end of the market for closed‑back phones, costing more than the standard studio models from the likes of Beyer, Sennheiser and AKG. I doubt many studios could justify buying lots of pairs for musicians to use, but if you spend a lot of time listening to and making music on headphones, and want to find the pair that suits you best, you should definitely try them out. Having got used to the way they sound, I would be as happy to mix on these as on any other pair of closed‑back phones I've tried, and happier than on many! "

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep11/articles/ultrasone-pro-750.htm

[Armitage]

I think the Sony MDR-7506 is a smoke'n set of headphones. There all over too.