headphones for practice

[moorewr]

What headphones do you recommend for private practice (w/o speakers)? All I'm looking for is a good set of 'phones that will reveal the sound being put by my amp, in my condo, w/o disturbing my neighbors.

Thanks,

Bill

[BluesWalker]

I like my BOSE on-ear headphones.

[synaesthesia]

Sony MDR 7506

beware of cheap fakes from China though.

[jazzblade]

Sony MDR7506 Less than $100 and really balanced and light. Fold up nice and have a 1/4 1/8 plug-adapter built in so the slip right into your I-Pod or w/e.

I have using a pair of their MDR-V6's (the predecessor) since 1997 and have NEVER had a problem. You can get replacement ear pads from B&H photo for around $15 bucks if u ever need them.

[Jeff Scott]

Sennheiser HD 280 PRO

[Ebelow]

Originally Posted by synaesthesia

Sony MDR 7506

beware of cheap fakes from China though.

+1 to SONY MDR 7506
my no. one choice

[crucislancer]

I've been using a set of Sony MDR CD50 headphones for years, great frequency response. I'd bring them to all the recording sessions I've done as well. They don't make them anymore, but I'm sure there is something comparable on the market.

[Jim Carr]

I like Sony MDR V-150 headphones for bass practice--they are compact, inexpensive, and efficient. However, I prefer a set of AKG 240 cans in the studio, if the engineer can crank them up.

[JxBass]

Happy with my Grado SR80s.

[Jazzdogg]

If you're concerned about disturbing others while you're playing, or you want to block outside noises, you might want to take a look at the GK Ultraphones, which is what you get when you combine a comfortable 29db hearing protection ear muff with SONY 7506 Professional Studio Monitor Headphones.

They are the brainchild of Gordy Knudtson, the drummer for the Steve Miller Band. Every time I let a drummer use them, they want to keep them. I use 'em to monitor the board when playing live and recording, and they're great:

http://www.gk-music.com/ultraphones.htm

[georgestrings]

Grado SR60s work quite well with my Pandora for practicing bass...



- georgestrings

[thehamsterman]

Sennheiser HD280 pros are good, as are the AKG K240S

[rnilson]

I use a Sennheiser HD595 they have an open back design which I find a lot less fatiguing than a sealed can.

What are you using for you headphone amp?

[needmoney]

The Sony's are great all round headphones (7506), but I have used mine for bass practice, and even with the EQ flat (no bass boost) the cans flap on low notes on the E-string. Not sure if mine are faulty though as it may only be one speaker..

[SactoBass]

Sony 7506. Yep, those are the ones!!

[Muaguana]

Reference headphones, the kind designed for audio engineers. Also, I prefer closed-back headphones because I don't like blasting my ears to cancel out the background noise. A fantastic closed-back pair that I've personally used for monitoring, mixing and mastering have been the Audio Technica ATH-M50 phones, voted among the Top 10 Best Headphones by www.headphone.com, and a steal at around $110 (cheapest I've seen is $105.)

But I don't recommend going solely by what other people suggest. If you're willing to make a sizable investment, do as much research on the prospective models as you can - which you'll want to do anyway, since not many people here have actually told you why the headphones they suggested are good choices. www.headphone.com has a lot of valuable information on a lot of phones, even frequency response charts (which you sometimes can't even get from the manufacturer's website,) so I recommend starting there.

[PhiDeck]

If you are able/willing to spend ~US$200 the BeyerDynamic DT770M may fit your needs.

If you decide to go that route, you may want to make sure that your headphone amp has active EQ. The isolation of the DT770M is quite good, which means that, even in a somewhat noisy environment you won't need to drive them as loud as you would if the isolation were less. Consequently, Fletcher-Munson curves may apply, requiring some bass boost.

[Hawaii Islander]

I used AKG171 closed back headphones for quite a while. They sound great, but are tight fitting and hurt my ears after wearing them for a while. I switched to Ultrasone Proline 650 which sound just as good, but are much more comfortable than the AKG's. Both are closed back designs, however the Proline 650's are over the ear as opposed to on ear like the AKG's.

[jazzblade]

Well as Muaguana stated, there are reasons I like the Sony's. First off is Bang for the buck. Around $100 retail is what I think is the price point for really decent sounding headphones. Secondly, You will probably find more of these headphones in recording studios around the world than any other model. It shows that these are meant for critical listening even at the price point.They are closed back which I think give better coupling of the bass to your ears so you don' have to turn them up very loud to hear yourself, and, they are comfortable for long periods of time.(They fit over your ears)

They can take a fair amount of abuse. Any headphone can be 'blown" if your not careful, but after all the years I have used both models, I have yet to pop a driver.

MF, ZZ sounds, 123, American Musical all sell them so next time you get a 20% off e-mail or coupon, it is a steal at that price.

Lets be reasonable, you asked for a good pair of phones for practicing. Headphone are as personal as a pair of speakers or your tooth brush.. Let your ears and wallet guide you when you have a list from us to audition.

[baron665]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfeWfnFCy-Y
Get the Sony 7506 (or any other headphone) and make your own version of the GK Ultraphones.