Best headphones for bass?

[dtripoli]

I second the AKG K240. I've been using them for a couple of years. Comfortable and great sound. These were recommended by my audiologist as the best headphones to use for practice. Actually, he would rather I didn't use any headphones and earplugs instead.

Third on the AKG240's
I know nothing of headphones except that the really good ones cost as much as a used top of the line bass.
I wanted headphones that were reasonably priced and weren't closed, so I could hear if my Meth head neighbors were breaking in while I had them on....just kidding...not about the price though. Actually they were on sale at GC for something like $69 bucks so I grabbed them. They are decent quality and very comfortable to wear for extended periods and I like that the cable is detachable from the h-phones. I imagine if I was using headphones for recording/mixing etc. I'd probably go with a closed/more expensive product.

 

[Eddie Boy]

Save your hearing with semi-open or semi sealed, depending if you are a beer half full or a beer half empty type.

AKG K240 Studio Headphones - Over Ear, Semi-Open

Read the reviews on these. Hard to beat these with twice the price. I bought a pair as a kit when it was on sale for the same price: Sweetwater K240S Studio Headphone Package

"Great for mixing
I bought these to replace an old set Iv'e had for 25 or so years.. These have been the "go to" cans for many pro engineers for years. They are great for getting a final mix together before going to your'e field monitors.. I usually find having to make very few changes after going to the reference monitors. They take the room out of the picture, which can be a problem if it's not tuned correctly which most home studios are not.. To many null and hot spots make it difficult to get a handle on low end frequencies in particular.. Putting a good set of "speakers" directly over your'e ears is the only real answer..."

Seriously, read the reviews. AKG K240 Studio Headphones - Over Ear, Semi-Open Reviews | Sweetwater.com

I don't wear headphones much at home, but did test these with a 5 string and sounded very good to me.

Thanks - this helps me a lot as I was looking for a pair of not too expensive ones.

 

[Eddie Boy]

Hey can anyone recommend some good headphones under £50? Because I can't afford more expensive ones but I still need headphones to use so the neighbors don't complain.

 

[chadds]

Did I take a wrong turn? Is this the best headphones for Metal thread?

 

[panzerfaust]

how about shure srh940 ? any pros or cons ?

 

[chris_b]

How do headphones break up? You must be running them pretty loud to do that!!

I've got some cheap Sony headphones. They sound pretty good to my poor old worn out ears and make a good job of reproducing my tone at low volume levels.

I'm not sure I'd notice enough of a difference to justify spending more on a better set.

 

[Ringhammer]

The AKG240 semi-open set that has been suggested here are great, I like that they cover the ear but since they are "open" I can play along with music playing through the home stereo system.

The Bose that I mentioned at the opening of this thread are compact and probably designed more for all around use. They sound great for listening to music off the phone/iPad and can get pretty loud, but when running them off my amp and playing bass only through them, they will distort (break up). Seemed to happen at not too loud of volume.

 

[m-j]

Lots of suggestions/recommendations if you do a search oN this amazing site/forum as I did. I ended making a list of 5 and went to GC/Sam Ash/Amazon and ordered them and tried them out. The 4 I did not like I returned. The keeper for me was the Phil Jones Bass H850 Headphones. Sounds great for practicing using my Eden WTX264 and Peavey Max115. (I live in a 2 BR NYC apartment with a wife and 2 kids so practicing using headphone is a must). The others sounded good, but the deciding factor for the H850 was that they were so light on my head. The other headphones were too heavy.

 

[Luke the Fluke]

Another thread bump.
I had similar questions and ended up finding some AKG K240-DF on eBay for cheap - great sound but not very sensitive and 600ohm mean I need a hell of a lot of power to drive them.

 

[EmpInfNed]

I'm deciding between:

AKG K240
Sennheiser Hd 559
Koss Porta PRO

I head AKG K240 is not very confortable (especially for a long usage) due to a constant pressure in the lower back part, is it real?

Sennheiser Hd 559 seems me very good especially for the non-leather pad that I found more comfortable.

Koss Porta PRO is fully open but they seems good, but I head it changes too much bass eq.

I don't know which one to choose

 

[Bassiclees]

These are AMAZING and totally under the radar:
UR40
KOSS UR40's can be had for $30, are ultralight and incredibly comfortable, they fold, have 40mm drivers, 15-22,000 Hz response (way lower than many others) and perhaps most importantly once you adjust to open back you'll want them all the time.

 

[m-j]

I still stand by what I wrote on July 4, 2019 as I am using the same headphones.

 

[bass-shy]

The truth of the matter these days is that there really isn't a "best". There are many, many great options for headphones that can handle low frequencies very well.

In my collection, I have Sony MDR-7506, Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, Shure SRH-840 and AKG K-245 that I rotate between. It is hard to say that any of them are "better" than the others, just different in relatively subtle ways. For practice or tracking purposes, I have used all of them and have been very satisfied with the results.

 

[keyofnight]

Nice to see this thread revived. I currently use Grado RS-1 for music making, and Grado SR-60e for general music consumption. If I'm practicing bass quietly, I'm either unplugged, or I'm using the RS-1s. I find Grado headphones sound more "intimate" and "realistic" than other headphones, because of their signature modest/clear bass, midrange detail, and complex treble.

That said, I'm weird. But I'm not alone. lol

 

[brgtr3]

I have the Sennheiser HD280 Pro's, got them in 2019. Love the comfort and the sound, but one of the channels has gone out so get no sound in left ear. Is this a situation where it's cheaper to buy a new pair, or to repair? New one's are only $90 at Amazon, so hard to believe it's worth repairing (if I can even find a repair shop). TIA

 

[Kaplan]

Shure SRH840. Really fullrange sound and robust construction.

 

[hbarcat]

This question comes up often enough that I just post this standard answer.

For practicing bass at home, I recommend spending in the $80 -$160 range. Anything less is too much of a compromise in quality, and spending more is probably diminishing returns.

These seven phones seem to be the ones that get recommended thr most on TB, for this purpose:


AKG K240 ($80)
Sennheiser HD280 ($100)
Shure SRH440A ($100)
Sony MDR 7506 ($100)
Audio Technica ATH M40X ($120)
Beyerdynamic DT 770 ($160)
Audio Technica ATH M50X ($170)

 

[spector_boogie]

I recently upgraded my older and lesser model A-Ts to the Audio-Technica ATH-M50X. They sound a lot fuller and deeper. There's other stuff that's good in the price range, but, I like how A-Ts sound so that's what I stuck with. Would highly recommend.

 

[Bassiclees]

Just got another friend Koss UR-40's and of course they are blown away. $35 for foldable 40mm drivers with open back.