Headphone Recommendations

nondas · Post by **nondas** » Thu May 21, 2009 5:35 am

My Sennheiser HD 202 headphones have had it and they weren't that comfortable anyway. So what would you guys recommend?

My requirements are:

1. Not in-ear headphones
2. Excellent sound quality (recording, music, moofies, whatever..a good allrounder)
3. Needs to be comfy, because I have ears like an elf, like Tanis from DragonLance.
4. Value for money

ta

Reece · Post by **Reece** » Thu May 21, 2009 5:56 am

while i can't vouch for their useability in mixing, since i'm shite at it, i can vouch for these headphones' durability and sound quality. plus they're pretty cheap.

sennheiser eh 150s.

mine survived almost a year and considering i kill headphones like nobodies business that's very good going. the earpieces aren't permanentaly conencted to the headband, so getting the lead caught under chairs and such (which happens to me alot) doesn't twist them about, the earpiece'll just jerk itself free of the headband and you just pop it back in and yer sorted.

plus, being a twat, in moments of rage i've twisted the headband like halfway around and it keeps it shape and doesn't break.

they're the only headphones i've ever broken and replaced with the same model.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Thu May 21, 2009 6:00 am

I reckon I'll be investing in a pair of Sennheiser HD280's in the next few months. I know that there's a set of Sennheisers that the people on the Music Tech course hear rave on about, and I think it's the 280's.

light rail coyote · Post by **light rail coyote** » Thu May 21, 2009 6:35 am

Sennheiser HD280 is really good for the price, and really comfy

Ian · Post by **Ian** » Thu May 21, 2009 7:04 am

get the 600's man.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HD600

super comfy and light and they make music sound like rays of sunshine shining out of god's arse down from heaven. And you can get pretty close translation to speakers mixing with them on.

nondas · Post by **nondas** » Thu May 21, 2009 9:19 am

Thanks guys. I'll check them out. Anyone know about (or own) these ones:

Audio-Technica ATH-A500:

Post by **Mike** » Thu May 21, 2009 9:21 am

Fucking hell though, 300+ bucks for headphones?

mcconnachiea · Post by **mcconnachiea** » Thu May 21, 2009 9:28 am

My Â£7.99 sony headphones are pretty okay.

But behringer have some pretty good stuff for next to nothing, check em out

Johno · Post by **Johno** » Thu May 21, 2009 10:47 am

A friend of mine is obsessed with stereo equipment & headphones etc..... always spending & upgrading his system. Anyways he has been banging on about these headphones for the last few months, I've tried them out to & they are bloody brilliant...... here are the links he sent me.

http://stuff.tv/Review/Grado-SR60i-review/
If you can get a set for Â£70 its cracking value
http://www.iheadphones.co.uk/sennheiser ... phones.htm

Try and get the SR60i instead of the old SR60 as they are like 15years old, but reveiws of SR60 were always good;

DanHeron · Post by **DanHeron** » Thu May 21, 2009 12:12 pm

I got these badboys:

Sennheiser HD 415

REALLY Comfortable, quite cheap (around Â£25), good sound and build quality.

nondas · Post by **nondas** » Thu May 21, 2009 10:54 pm

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Fri May 22, 2009 3:26 am

I have the HD 280s. they are like the SM57 of headphones. I can't say I would really recommend them though. Comfort wise they're decent until you start to approach an hour of wearing them and then they start to get painful. As for sound, they seem to have relatively flat frequency response except they have this weird midrange hump around 400Hz which gives this shitty ring to guitars. I like the bass response. I hate headphones/monitors with over-emphasized fake-ass bass. this is like not too much, not too little, pretty much just right.

I'm looking into getting a pair of Sony MDR 7506s, I've heard they're more comfortable and sound better.

nondas · Post by **nondas** » Fri May 22, 2009 4:00 am

Blahhhckgh, I just ate some shit fast food and it's making me sick. Yaahhhrg. Never again. Up yours, Red Roster.

mage, I'm getting the same feeling from what I've read about them. The online reviews I'v seen say that these cans are geared toward "monitor" style applications. So they don't "sweeten" up the sound. That's good, because all that fat would go straight to my lobes. They would also be on the upper limit to what I would pay for headphones. Thanks.

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Fri May 22, 2009 12:01 pm

Buying headphones is the same as buying monitors. You should really go somewhere you can test them out first. Bring your favorite "mix quality" sounding cd, the cd that you'd want all your mixes to sound like as far as bass, treble, etc go, then play it through the different sets of headphones in the store. You may suprise yourself and find that the cheapest brand sounds the best to you and that is all that should matter. Buy the headphones that will help you mix the songs the way YOU hear it. When I mix now a days, I NEVER rely on my headphone mix, I just use it as just another source to listen to the audio through and examine it to see if anything sticks out in that particular listening enviroment. You should honestly play the mix through just about anything you can until you get a mix that sounds good on all the sources. Then have it mastered...That will take it to the next level and it will be sure to sound great on anything you play it through.

Sloan · Post by **Sloan** » Sun May 24, 2009 12:19 am

mage wrote: I'm looking into getting a pair of Sony MDR 7506s, I've heard they're more comfortable and sound better.

DON'T!!!
My old drummer (the dickhead dude), had some of the Sony phones and I tried them out to see how they stacked up against the HD280's. Dude, they were harsh as shit, I had to get that shit off my head QUICK.

Those AT 4050's are supposed to be turning into the new standard headphones. I want to try them out.

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Sun May 24, 2009 6:44 am

Sloan wrote:
mage wrote: I'm looking into getting a pair of Sony MDR 7506s, I've heard they're more comfortable and sound better.
DON'T!!!
My old drummer (the dickhead dude), had some of the Sony phones and I tried them out to see how they stacked up against the HD280's. Dude, they were harsh as shit, I had to get that shit off my head QUICK.

ah, ok then. any idea what model those were? I know I used to have some a long time ago that I thought were crap as well, but recently someone suggested them to me. I think they meant the 7506s but I'm not sure.

Sloan wrote:Those AT 4050's are supposed to be turning into the new standard headphones. I want to try them out.

which ones are those? 4050s? Audio-Technica ATH-A500?

More Cowbell · Post by **More Cowbell** » Sun May 24, 2009 1:49 pm

Sloan wrote:

Those AT 4050's are supposed to be turning into the new standard headphones. I want to try them out.

I have those. They are flat as flat can get. You have no idea if you have enough bass in the mix. I H8 them. I don't rely on headphone mixes anyway.

kim · Post by **kim** » Sun May 24, 2009 1:57 pm

have good experiences with wesc bongo and skullcandy icon, first gives lots of bassboost though, second is not ideal for recording but more for ipod use when you're out but i use it for recording too because with the wesc one, eventhough the headphones are good quality, the cable isn't..or i didn't take good care of it, because it's busted so the signal fades in and out.

nondas · Post by **nondas** » Mon May 25, 2009 8:32 am

Thanks all, keep 'em coming. I'm going to go check some Audio-Technica ATH-A500's and the GRADO SR80i's tomorrow.

These are for home use i want them to be good allrounders for a bit of playpack recording, movies, music and whatever other shit comes out of my PC sound card and stereo.

heavium, is the cable busted where the cable meets earpiece? Does it only happen on one side? if so you might be able to open it up and see how bad it is. it might be a quick fix.

toez10 · Post by **toez10** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 5:22 pm

Monster's Beats By Dre headphones are probably the most amazing sounding headphones I've put on my head. If you can test em out, I'd recommend it. They're like a nice pair of studio monitors wrapped around your cranium.