Which headphones for mixing?

[Bjazzman]

Looking for some nice headphones that will be good for mixing bass and recording with as well. some ones that have crossed my mind:

beyer dt 770 pro
sennheiser hd280 pro
audio technica ath-d40
sony mdr 7509hd

right now i have some akg k240 studio headphones so i'd like something different and better.

also i have a pair of tapco s5's for monitoring and don't have a subwoofer but i want a pair of nice cans so that i will know what the listener will hear. i think that is a great way of finding out how the bass will sound

[hbarcat]

I use the HD 280's and it's tough to beat them for $99.

But I'd consider trying out a couple of the Grado brand cans as well.

[Big John66]

I've had Sony 7506's for several years and loved them. I recently picked up some Senn hd280's and really like them also. They seem too sound just as good and fit my head a little better, although they are a bit heavier.You probably can't go too wrong with either one.

[Mads]

I love my DT 770 pro's...
And I recommend them to everybody.

[Matt Dean]

I use HD 280's... like hbarcat said, hard to beat for the price.

[jukap]

I personnaly tested that no headphone can correctly mix bass (and mix anything anyway) : I've had the AKG, now I'm in with the Beyer, both are different but very good products to pratice/record, but it is impossible to get a correct mix without the air a real speaker moves. There are always big differences (mostly levels, but also phase problems, compression, eq-ing, etc...) once you go to your monitors, then your hifi. Really there is no exception, sorry to say that (my wife and child would have somtimes been so happy I could leave them sleeping more quietly !...)

My opinion is you should keep your AKG for practicing / control (that's the one point : nothing beats a headphone for stereo control) and start saving for a good pair of monitors if you can.

[Loves2Jam]

dude ur an idiot

[Nick Kay]

Originally Posted by jukap

I personnaly tested that no headphone can correctly mix bass (and mix anything anyway) : I've had the AKG, now I'm in with the Beyer, both are different but very good products to pratice/record, but it is impossible to get a correct mix without the air a real speaker moves. There are always big differences (mostly levels, but also phase problems, compression, eq-ing, etc...) once you go to your monitors, then your hifi. Really there is no exception, sorry to say that (my wife and child would have somtimes been so happy I could leave them sleeping more quietly !...)

My opinion is you should keep your AKG for practicing / control (that's the one point : nothing beats a headphone for stereo control) and start saving for a good pair of monitors if you can.

Little secret: there's always going to be differences between your monitoring sources. That's why you mix on more than one monitoring source. You don't seriously think that most people are going to be listening to your mix on quality studio monitors, do you?

[jukap]

Little secret: there's always going to be differences between your monitoring sources. That's why you mix on more than one monitoring source. You don't seriously think that most people are going to be listening to your mix on quality studio monitors, do you?

Thank you so much : I just didn't think about that before spending 2000$ in my monitors. I feel so stupid now I know I put all that money away for nothing, especially when I already had the ultimate tool with my DT770 (and eventually a home cinema maybe, if I understand you as you understood me)...

Well, seriousely, this guy already has very good headphones for practicing and control, and he asks for some other potentially "better", "to mix" (and "to mix BASS" !!) : I'm no fool, he just won't get what he's searching for with all the references he gave. Anyway, he won't get what he wants with headphones, I guess even with a Stax.

I didn't read in his post "I'm fed up with my headphones and I want to spend money on something else even if I get the same kind of result" ; but if it was a good answer could be "go for any that you listed, they're all good and any will change your perception", isn't it ? I didn't read either that was implied a "please tell me what brand is the sexiest because that is really important", so I won't have to write "now follow the sheepleader, that's obviousely not me"...

But, Nick Kay, now we're both talking, is it really possible to read in YOUR post : "I can make a good (bass) mix with my headphones" ?

So, come on, please answer Bjazzman...

[RFord04]

A good pair of monitors will definitely help tremendously. A truly good pair of monitors will give a flat response, making it easy to make a good mix that will sound good on any speaker, not just nice ones, so I agree with jukap, monitors are more important than headphones.

IME, The HD280s are great for helping get a good recorded sound from the start, for the money anyways, but you'll never get an accurate bass response from them.

[Nick Kay]

Originally Posted by jukap

Thank you so much : I just didn't think about that before spending 2000$ in my monitors. I feel so stupid now I know I put all that money away for nothing, especially when I already had the ultimate tool with my DT770 (and eventually a home cinema maybe, if I understand you as you understood me)...

Well, seriousely, this guy already has very good headphones for practicing and control, and he asks for some other potentially "better", "to mix" (and "to mix BASS" !!) : I'm no fool, he just won't get what he's searching for with all the references he gave. Anyway, he won't get what he wants with headphones, I guess even with a Stax.

I didn't read in his post "I'm fed up with my headphones and I want to spend money on something else even if I get the same kind of result" ; but if it was a good answer could be "go for any that you listed, they're all good and any will change your perception", isn't it ? I didn't read either that was implied a "please tell me what brand is the sexiest because that is really important", so I won't have to write "now follow the sheepleader, that's obviousely not me"...

But, Nick Kay, now we're both talking, is it really possible to read in YOUR post : "I can make a good (bass) mix with my headphones" ?

So, come on, please answer Bjazzman...

The man makes the mix, not the monitors. If you can't mix on headphones, you need to stop blaming the cans and start blaming your ears. If there's an issue with phase, stereo field or resonance in the mix, you'll pick it up faster on a good set of cans than you will on cheap near-fields. I would never do any audio work strictly on one monitoring medium, but given the choice between $150 cans and $150 monitors, the answer is pretty obvious to me.

All that being said, though, I doubt anyone would notice a big improvement between the AKG K240s and the other options listed - the K240s are great headphones, if a little on the tinny side. Nothing worth salivating over, but once you get used to them, they'd do just fine for mixing. Just make sure to do a double-check on a more bass-heavy system and you're good to go.

[Vetchking]

Vetchking Here:

No Headphones for mixing.

Reference only......... Like NS10's.

Or listening enjoyment.

No Mixing.............. Later