Good headphones for music production?

I

InCogneato

[H]ard|Gawd
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Hi, I'm wondering if someone could recommend me some nice accurate headphones for music production. I don't even know where to begin because I'm just doing this for fun, so I'm wondering what makes headphones accurate exactly? What do I look for?

Wireless would be a plus but more important would be accuracy/good for production and price (bang for the buck?). Thank you :)
 
Sony MDR-V6 or MDR-7506
Beyerdynamic DT150
Sennheiser HD25-1 II

My top 3.
 
The Sennheiser HD25-1 II are the most precise and isolated headphones i've used, which is why i own 2 pairs and a pair of HD 25 SP II. I still think they're worth a lot more than they're priced at.
There are a few reviews out there, even on head-fi
 
Audez'e LCD-2 Magnetic Planar Headphones. These are pretty much top of the line and I would suggest getting a USB DAC and Headphone amp (Burson HA-160) if you want to attach them to your computer. These have been compared to headphones in the 2k range and have a very flat response. You did not mention a price range so I generally go for the best of whatever I am interested in at the time.

http://www.audeze.com/
 
450 said:
Sony MDR-V6 or MDR-7506
Beyerdynamic DT150
Sennheiser HD25-1 II

My top 3.
Click to expand...

So far I'm leaning towards the MDR-7506 mentioned here. They're going for pretty cheap brand new on eBay from Chinese sellers. I asked one of them if they were authentic and they told me they "the speaker has changed, other stuff is the same." Can you guys comment on this? Do you think it's still worth getting them or should I spend double the money to buy it from a reputable online store like Amazon?
 
InCogneato said:
So far I'm leaning towards the MDR-7506 mentioned here. They're going for pretty cheap brand new on eBay from Chinese sellers. I asked one of them if they were authentic and they told me they "the speaker has changed, other stuff is the same." Can you guys comment on this? Do you think it's still worth getting them or should I spend double the money to buy it from a reputable online store like Amazon?
Click to expand...

Don't buy it from a Chinese retailer. It's fake.
 
At the very moment i'm using Sony MDR 7506's. Though V6's are identical and cheaper (the warranty is different). The people I know in mastering houses recommend them. I would recommend paying a bit more going for reliable sources (amazon sometimes has them cheap) rather than get burned getting cheap junk. Youll probably get a warranty too.

A good way of telling is looking at a frequency response graph; What makes a pair of headphones accurate is that a sound played of any frequency between 20-20,000 h/z will be produced at roughtly the same volume. Even if the line on a chart may look like its flying up and down, differences less than 3dB are going to be virtually indistinguishable. Also note that above 10,000h/z doesn't tend to matter so much, nor does some of the low frequencies. The way these graphs are recorded means there will be some anomalies, at certain points, and they are not 100% accurate.

1z57rq8.png

On this graph i've compared good headphones (7506's) vs bad headphones (skullcandy max bass) as you can see, the sony's response is much much 'flatter'. The chart is logarithmic, meaning that it goes 10s up to 100, 100s up to 1000 and so on. Meaning that the area of intrest is the second line from the left to the seconds line from the right (10,000) the rest doesn't really matter. You want to look for as little volume variation as possible. The side axis is volume, and so you want to lok for headphones that cross either of the 5dB lines as little as possible.
 
DeathPrincess said:
At the very moment i'm using Sony MDR 7506's. Though V6's are identical and cheaper (the warranty is different). The people I know in mastering houses recommend them. I would recommend paying a bit more going for reliable sources (amazon sometimes has them cheap) rather than get burned getting cheap junk. Youll probably get a warranty too.

A good way of telling is looking at a frequency response graph; What makes a pair of headphones accurate is that a sound played of any frequency between 20-20,000 h/z will be produced at roughtly the same volume. Even if the line on a chart may look like its flying up and down, differences less than 3dB are going to be virtually indistinguishable. Also note that above 10,000h/z doesn't tend to matter so much, nor does some of the low frequencies. The way these graphs are recorded means there will be some anomalies, at certain points, and they are not 100% accurate.

On this graph i've compared good headphones (7506's) vs bad headphones (skullcandy max bass) as you can see, the sony's response is much much 'flatter'. The chart is logarithmic, meaning that it goes 10s up to 100, 100s up to 1000 and so on. Meaning that the area of intrest is the second line from the left to the seconds line from the right (10,000) the rest doesn't really matter. You want to look for as little volume variation as possible. The side axis is volume, and so you want to lok for headphones that cross either of the 5dB lines as little as possible.
Click to expand...

Very informative! Thank you.
 
Good thread and great options. I'm tagging this thread.

I'm also looking for accurate headphones (minus the "bling" that endemic in high end headphones).

Ideally I'd like them to be closed and circumaural (as opposed to on ear). I'm leaning towards the new Sony MDR-Z1000, but will have to wait until they are more available in the USA.

Suggestions?
 
I personally use the Sennheiser HD280 pro for a few reasons the main one being price to performance ratio. No, they're not the best cans in the world but for ~$99 they'll do the trick and are relatively accurate if not the most comfortable cans you can get. Second is they tend to sound ok driven with just a decent sound card although they do benefit from a decent amp.

Another added bonus is if you end up playing out at clubs/edm events, headphones tend to come up missing and a $99 hit isn't the end of the world. Club DJ's and patrons have been known to steal everything that's not bolted down. I've personally had laptops, headphones, and mixers go MIA at club nights and know of at least one event where the whole turntable/mixer setup walked off at the end of the night somehow. Now of course I lock everything I can down and tend to pack up and leave immediately after my sets, but it's something to consider.

If you're just getting into audio production I would definitely advise spending as little as possible to get up and running, then add gear down the road. The folks here will try to steer you to the best of the best but I've found that audio gear has a tendency to elicit an addiction type reaction in certain folks(myself included,) be it headphones, speakers, production gear, or whatever. If you get into it be prepared to spend a lot of money down the road.
 
BTW the 7506s are on sale at amazon right now for $85. here
Use the [H]ard link (here) so [H] gets free monies if intrested.


Liver said:
Good thread and great options. I'm tagging this thread.

I'm also looking for accurate headphones (minus the "bling" that endemic in high end headphones).

Ideally I'd like them to be closed and circumaural (as opposed to on ear). I'm leaning towards the new Sony MDR-Z1000, but will have to wait until they are more available in the USA.

Suggestions?
Click to expand...

The MDR-Z1000s are about $550 :eek:
I know they have a greater frequency response (5 to 80,000) but the human hearing limitations make that kind of seem like marketing fluff.
Why I say that is you wont be able to even feel the sound in the ultra high frequencies, unless you are a bat. So if they are producing them perfectcally or not, you wont be able to tell. This might mean that the frequencies that you can hear (up to 22,000) will have a better response, but most sound cards and amps will produce nothing at that particullar frequency.
The sub and infra sound bass is actually more of a worry and kind of suspect. For a 50mm driver to produce 5h/z would be pretty amazing. Especially as high end 12 inch (and bigger) subs cannot, in fact the only sub that I know of that can produce that kind of frequency with much power was that 60 inch concept design, which wasn't really a proper subwoofer. Unless it is doing it via bass shakers, but then the frenquency response would be all over the place, not what it would matter at such low levels as sub bass is felt rather than heard.

That said, they might sound amazing. Or contain some new technology that overcomes the limitations that I layed out above, in a great sounding way. Would be good to see a frequency response graph for them! But I would definately hear a pair and compare it to other models before making that kind of purchse.

How much would you be looking to spend, and for what application?
 
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No real application just all around music, gaming and movie headphones.

I have many headphones at the moment. Many duplicates, I don't even want to say what I have in the closet for just in case they stop making them. I love the Sony sound.

I was going to buy the Sennheiser 800 series as my end all, but then I read the Sony MDR-Z1000 headphone was coming out. So my budget for headphones is around $1500.

I have promised myself to get rid of many many headphones if I buy the next "flag ship" headphone.

Btw. Did you find a US seller for the MDR-Z1000?
 
under 200$ I recommend the audio-technica M50, under 400$ the beyerdynamics dt880, under 600$ the ultrasone pro900. over 1000$ the ultrasone edition 8 is a solid contender to the senn hd800.
 
Anisotonic said:
under 200$ I recommend the audio-technica M50, under 400$ the beyerdynamics dt880, under 600$ the ultrasone pro900. over 1000$ the ultrasone edition 8 is a solid contender to the senn hd800.
Click to expand...

Ultrasone headphones are excellent but the total design needs to be reworked. They are one of the most uncomfortable headphones available. Of course ymmv.

I've owned them and was happier not to own them. Its unfortunate that they sound great because I beganto dread putting them on.
 
In general, you should take the "frequency response" graphs & stats posted by the manufacturers with a grain of salt. A flat frequency response is important, but there is a lot more to what makes a good/bad set of headphones.

The MDR-V6's/7506's are great cans to get you into "real" headphones. If you're used to consumer-grade bullshit, they'll likely sound pretty treble-heavy at first, but give yourself time to adjust to the new world of clarity you're opening yourself up to!

Other good recommendations in this thread are the Senn HD280's (my favorite cans for mixing are the Senn HD600's), and the Dt880's. My main cans are the DT770 Pro's and I really couldn't be happier... unless I was wearing the HD600's hah
 
If open is an option, and you have a proper amp, one of the most popular would be the AKG K702 (K701 is the same thing but with less features). Another very popular one, if you want bass impact, would be the Ultrasone Pro 900. These two seem to be the favorites among sound engineers at Head-Fi.
 
Liver said:
Ultrasone headphones are excellent but the total design needs to be reworked. They are one of the most uncomfortable headphones available. Of course ymmv.

I've owned them and was happier not to own them. Its unfortunate that they sound great because I beganto dread putting them on.
Click to expand...

Really? You must have a big problem with the weight or something... because as far as cups go I have to say my pro900 are the most comfortable I have ever worn by far, and so thinks my friend who rushed out to get some pro750 soon after he tried mine on... I agree the headband cushion could have been larger or thicker, but no biggie to me, and certainly no reason to scrap the design.
 
It all depends on what you're making. I mostly do Ambient and Drone stuff, so I use Audio Technica ATH-AD700s. The wide soundstage makes texture layering and placement super easy.
 
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