Good Monitor Headphones

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:14 pm

anoteoftruth wrote:yeah I feel your pain.. anyone who knows that well usually learnt it the hard way haha. Damn Sony. They make a good gaming console I'll give them that but they are staying out of my studio haha.

Their bookshelf speakers are awesome, but their headphones are pretty bad. I use Skullcandy headphones, myself. Reasonably priced, and look cool to boot. And, they have a good well-rounded sound, which is the most important thing.

anoteoftruth · Post by **anoteoftruth** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:30 pm

I never tried the skullcandy ones myself though I admit some of them do look pretty cool. I'm sticking to AKG's in the studio but I am shopping around now for some personal headphones for outside and at work etc..

Brian G · Post by **Brian G** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:40 pm

Everyone has an opinion and that's good

. Maybe the cheaper Sony headphones are "bad" but the 7506's are one of the industry standards in Pro Audio world

. I can't say I have ever listened to their book shelf speaker, my preference for"stereo speakers is the upper end Polk. For the studio monitors I prefer Event APS 8's.

The AKG's are also nice, to me I don't think they are as comfortable as the 7506 though but I've only used the AKG's once or twice.

anoteoftruth · Post by **anoteoftruth** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 9:01 pm

I guess thats it at the end of the day, it just boils down to personal preferance. You'll never really know whats better for you untill you listen to all of them and see what you think sounds best in your opinion. I tried a lot of them on before making my decision, and even know technically the Sennheiser HD's and AKG 240s are similar other than the closed back vs semi open, when I listened to the Sennheisers, I just didnt like them. AKG's were the only ones I felt sounded right, and I would've never known that had I not tried every pair I could get my hands on.. I just suggest going to a music shop that has a large selection and asking to try them all out.. most stores will be more than happy to accommodate you.

Amos · Post by **Amos** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 9:08 pm

I use skullcandy headphones for my iPod because they look cool and sound OK... plus it's a freakin' iPod, when I care about audio quality I don't listen to mp3s !

For serious music listening (and synth tweaking) I use and recommend Ultrasone headphones. I have the HFI-700, which are discontinued now... there is an HFI-780 out to replace the 700 which looks and sounds even better. These are seriously nice cans, especially detailed and with the smoothest and most powerful low end I've ever heard in a headphone. Supposedly the sound reproduction goes down to 10 (that's ten) Hz... and it feels like it.

If I was trying to mix down tracks, I can't say the Ultrasones would be my first choice... they sound "almost too good" and lack a certain unflattering clinical sound that makes mixing easier... although when it comes down to it I would not recommend trying to mix down on any headphones, period. When it comes to pure audio enjoyment though, Ultrasone does it for me like nothing else I've personally experienced.

Note: I don't work for Ultrasone and they don't give me free stuff. I got a bit of a discount on the pair I have but they were still kinda pricey. Amazon has 'em for about $250.

Bryan T · Post by **Bryan T** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 9:35 pm

I'm a big fan of the Beyerdynamic DT-770 headphones. They isolate well and are very comfortable. And they sound great.

wavcatcher · Post by **wavcatcher** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 2:43 am

Headphones are a very personal decision as everyone's ears and head are literally shaped differently and therefor headphones sound different to different people. You really need to try them and wear them for an extended time to learn what works for you and what is comfortable to you.

That being said, I've Chief Engineered and freelanced in numerous studios (from personal to world-renowned in size) for 15 years now and I consistently find these headphones are my favorite, and are often available in top notch studio's because they are reliable, well constructed and sound great...
Beyer DT 770pro. My desert island headphones. Pretty flat for a closed ear design and nearly 30db of isolation- which is incredible.

Sony MDR7506 - Semi-sealed, lots of bass and treble. Great for synths and for editing as you can really hear clicks and pops.

And 2 points of caution,
I often see the Audio Technica headphones fall apart much quicker than other brands. I've seen this often enough that I've come to believe the AT headphones are cheaper due to cheaper quality materials. They do sound nice though. But I've seen the ear phone covering litterally flake off in pieces during their first couple day long sessions.

The Sennheiser HD280's have a strange phasey top end to me. Others seem to like them but they are unlistenable to me. (see my first point about how headphones sound different to different people.) I've had clients both love and hate them.

Good Luck, and I hope you can try before you buy.

sixsinisters · Post by **sixsinisters** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:05 am

wavcatcher wrote:
Sony MDR7506 - Semi-sealed, lots of bass and treble. Great for synths and for editing as you can really hear clicks and pops.

And 2 points of caution,
I often see the Audio Technica headphones fall apart much quicker than other brands. I've seen this often enough that I've come to believe the AT headphones are cheaper due to cheaper quality materials. They do sound nice though. But I've seen the ear phone covering litterally flake off in pieces during their first couple day long sessions.
.

I've been using few sennheiser's and not really happy with the sounds, but I admit for the price the px100 is hard to beat for mp3 player.

I was really about to change my mind from getting 7506 to M50, but I get your point about the reliability issue of AT, well at least we can always change the phone's cover/padding of 7506's very easy and available to buy.

And for some other reliability issues on AT, I don't think I would buy other pairs for less than 2 years at least. Cos I've read many ppl been really happy using 7506 for years and years.

Does the cable on 7506 detachable? Cos if it does, there must be replacement available to purchase. As long as the drivers good for long time, only the padding and the cable I will be concerned about.

Anyway, I'm not an audipohile and have cheap ears, so they don't worth expensive phones

, if it has a decent flat response, comfy, durable, then I'm good. I'm not gonna try those higher end ones so I won't whine

Thanx a lot wavcather.

wavcatcher · Post by **wavcatcher** » Sun Aug 23, 2009 2:18 am

Glad to help.
Alas, no, the 7506's don't have a detachable cable.

They do seem to last a long time though and the fact they can fold up in their little included pouch makes them very travel friendly. I've used em for live sound and location recording numerous times because of that feature.

sixsinisters · Post by **sixsinisters** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 4:20 pm

wavcatcher wrote:Glad to help.
Alas, no, the 7506's don't have a detachable cable.

They do seem to last a long time though and the fact they can fold up in their little included pouch makes them very travel friendly. I've used em for live sound and location recording numerous times because of that feature.

Hey wavcatcher,
Seems like I couldn't pass the offer on $85 shipped for the new m50's (that's even lower than sony's). Just when i was about to get that 7506's, I read so many stories about the hype on the high on that one and look for something else. But I'm sure it's a good headphones, but let's see how this AT work for me and I'll let everyone know about the durability later on, since I always took care of all my gears .. only time will tell.

Does anyone know if we could change the padding/cover of this m50? Thanks!