Headphone Advice for quiet at-home practice

[peterpalmieri]

Right on, man. I didn't make the call just yet so all suggestions are certainly appreciated.

Don't get me wrong I love my 280s and since they don't touch your ears they are very comfy to wear for long periods. When I'm working with other musicians who I can't hear through the cans, I'm constantly lifting one up to chat.

All depends on what you want more.

 

[Lindsey]

You can't go wrong with a pair of AT M50 for anything you want to do. I use them for practice, tracking and general listening. Excellent value and you won't find yourself needing to upgrade in the future.

 

[Big Hoss]

Avoid bass boosting headphones like the plague. You want Studio monitor type headphones. Those Sennheisers you are looking at are real winners. I have had a couple of pairs of Behringer Studio headphones, the 3000s I think they are called, that have been pretty good for the last year or so.

I know Behringer doesn't get much love here, and that's fine, I just know they sound great, have held up for like I said about a year now no problem, and are super comfy over my ears for long duration use. They do everything I want or need.

Avoid AKG, I have had 2 pairs of those that suffered premature deaths without being abused... The cable they use is simply too fragile for normal use of more than a week...

 

[peterpalmieri]

I'm not sure which model AKGs you are referring too, but my experience has been the polar opposite. I have a pair that must be going on 10 years old, without issue. Not only has the cable held up but it is removable and replacable. I use them to practice daily and they travel in my gig bag too. My kids use them and when they take them off they just drop them on the floor.

 

[Big Hoss]

I had the AKG K44s that lasted me less than a year, and were horridly uncomfortable. K77s same thing. One of the guys i jam with has a set of K240s that lost their connection too. They all seem to fail right where the 3.5mm connector and cable meet, the wire breaks. The K44s and K77s were hideously uncomfortable on me, although I have used my friends K240s and when they work, they work nicely. My K77s hit the trash as they were THAT uncomfortable, the K44s got a replacement plug and have been working fine since, but they hurt my hears after about 15 minutes of use.

I wish my experience with AKG was as positive as yours, lots of folks report great results with them, I cannot report the same, wish I could...