Headphones

[Chacotaco]

I'm looking for headphones that I can use for recording Bass, guitar and vocals and also can be plugged into an Amp for silent practicing. In short I'm looking for a " do everything " pair of headphones and the price is not an issue. Thanks in advance.

 

[petrus61]

Also in the market for new cans. Subbed.

 

[Johnny Crab]

Used a number of different cans in various studio settings. Some were better than others but like fast cars, you get to the point of diminishing returns and then some get into the "too fragile to bring everywhere" tag or the "so high priced that only folks liking to brag on owning expensive gear" have them.

The current ones in use here are SONY MDR7506's with a pair at home and one in my cubicle at work for lunchtime practice if I have time or HAVE TO learn a new song. The set at home is about 4 or 5 years old and the pads are starting to flake off the black material, new pads are about $30 IIRC, the set at work is about 6 months old. 1st set paid $99, got a pair for my drummer for last Christmas, the pair at work(newest) was about $80 new at amazon with prime/free delivery.
Amazon.com: Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone: Musical Instruments

I'll check with our house venue pro-sound FOH guy(about to leave on a world tour and leave his understudy in charge for 6 months) and check with a friend(FOH for Journey) as to what they use for ya'll.

 

[Robroy]

I swear by the ones in my avatar. There are "stellar labs" sold by MCMelectronics.com. The bass is so clean and powerful that the first time I tried them I thought I'd left my subwoofer on. To be clear, it is not that the bass is "loud". It is that it is very deep and flat.

And they are absurdly light and comfortable. They are over-ear and I can and have worn them for 8 hours straight. They are also durable. I've dropped that pair a LOT and ran over the cord with my chair's wheels more times than I can remember.

I have five pairs because they are only about $20 a pair. They are the ones with the black and red look. I like them better than my hundred dollar Sennheisers and my Koss pro4AA's.

 

[Chacotaco]

Thanks for the responses. I'm looking at these
AKG K712 Pro Open-back Mastering and Reference Headphones
Does anyone have any experience with these headphones?

 

[bholder]

I went through this a while back and settled on the AKG K-240. Meet my needs, great sound, they do get a little warm after prolonged use, but being semi-open, not as bad as some. FWIW.

 

[Chacotaco]

Well I'm torn between these headphones
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x Open-back Dynamic Reference Headphone and the AKG's, I could use some help choosing.

 

[Badwater]

It depends on if you want to hear ambient sounds while you're playing or if you want total isolation. AKG 240 Studio is great if you want to hear whats going on around you while you play. The Sennheiser HD 280 pro is a great isolation studio monitoring headphone. Both deliver great sound for recording and mixing. They are by no means audiophile quality. But they are a great value for studio work.

 

[Wfrance3]

I dig my AKG K240s. Versatile and cheap! I'm sure you could spend/get more, but try these. Even if they're not exactly what you are after they could be one of the 2 or 3 pairs you have "around". That's how mine started and they kinda gravitated into that comfortable pair that I usually grab.

 

[DirkP]

Well I'm torn between these headphones
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x Open-back Dynamic Reference Headphone and the AKG's, I could use some help choosing.

The AKG's are very good, I have the K701, which are very similar to the K712. The K712 have more bass response and a removable cable.
If you want to record vocals, I would prefer a closed design (feedback! or the mic records the leckage from the headphones).
Headphones for monitoring purposes are different than headphones for mixing.

I own the K240s and the K141 too and as much as I liked them in the past, the newer designs are much better. The 240 and 141 were designed in the 70s and much has improved in headphone-design since then.

Although I like the definition of the K701, the headphones I use the most are not that popular among bass players or in studios, but among dj's: the AKG K267 Tiesto.

These are closed headphones with a special feature (some Beyerdynamic headphones offer a similar feature): they have a kind of bass-reflex system that you can change. It's not an EQ, it works in a mechanical way. You can change the settings between Studio (neutral), stage (more bass) and club (even more bass).
I love that feature. If you want to have fun just playing bass and don't go to very high volumes, you simply use the club-setting. But if you're just listening to music or mix, you use the studio-setting.
Another feature I like: it has removable cables, just one cable, but you can connect it to the left or the right capsule.
Very comfortable, if you don't want to fight with the cable all the time.

 

[Chacotaco]

Thanks all for the replies. Pulled the trigger on a pair of
Audio-Technica ATHR70x's, unfortunately I saw this

 

[Chacotaco]

Thanks all for the replies. Pulled the trigger on a pair of
Audio-Technica ATHR70x's, unfortunately I saw this when I was looking at headphones and "accidentally " bought it too....

 

[abracadunphy]

Pick some AKG stuff, don´t look for a lot of specs, unless you have a very healty ear, all sound very similar.

 

[rodsnhawgs]

Love my Grados. Hard to beat for the $$
Amazon.com: Grado SR80e Prestige Series Headphones: Electronics

 

[LowDownHawkeye]

The current ones in use here are SONY MDR7506's with a pair at home and one in my cubicle at work for lunchtime practice if I have time or HAVE TO learn a new song.

My SONY MDR7506's are a few years old. I use them mainly in three situations: silent bass practice using a Line 6 POD HD500, silent drum practice with electronic drums, and with an Aviom personal monitor when playing acoustic drums at church (where their closed-back, over the ear design also controls the sound pressure level at my ears). They're comfortable, and sound great as monitors. Highly recommended.

 

[Sid s]

I use AKG K 702 and they are fantastic.

 

[MCF]

Used a number of different cans in various studio settings. Some were better than others but like fast cars, you get to the point of diminishing returns and then some get into the "too fragile to bring everywhere" tag or the "so high priced that only folks liking to brag on owning expensive gear" have them.

The current ones in use here are SONY MDR7506's with a pair at home and one in my cubicle at work for lunchtime practice if I have time or HAVE TO learn a new song. The set at home is about 4 or 5 years old and the pads are starting to flake off the black material, new pads are about $30 IIRC, the set at work is about 6 months old. 1st set paid $99, got a pair for my drummer for last Christmas, the pair at work(newest) was about $80 new at amazon with prime/free delivery.
Amazon.com: Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone: Musical Instruments

I'll check with our house venue pro-sound FOH guy(about to leave on a world tour and leave his understudy in charge for 6 months) and check with a friend(FOH for Journey) as to what they use for ya'll.

The 7506 is a decent headphone. I bought mine in the early nineties. I've replaced the earpads twice. They were perfectly fine up until I started using them to practice my bass. The right ear developed a buzz, and nothing I tried fixed it. And I really couldn't stand the pressure on my ears after about an hour.

I bought the $100 Phil Jones headphones a year ago. I like them. Great for practice and more comfortable than the Sony set. At least for me. Check them out on Phil Jone's website.

 

[physics]

I have both the Audio Technica ATH M50x and the M70x. I use the M50 for monitoring my bass when I'm around others, they're both closed-back and provide good isolation.

For greater isolation I would suggest looking at the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro.

 

[Gizmot]

I use AKG K271 Studio and they're excellent closed back phones. Another model that works well is the AKG K181DJ. The K 181 never got the recognition or the success of the other models, but it is an excellent closed back phone. If you can find them, get an Austrian made set instead of Chinese ones.

 

[40Hz]

I've got a set of the Sony MDR-V6 headphones and couldn't be happier. They're inexpensive, sound really clean and uncolored, and go down to 5Hz (that's five hertz) so they're ideal for bass. And because the response is so flat (no bass boosting) - and goes from 5Hz-30KHz - you can wear them for hours without getting ear fatigue.

You can get them for around $70 at many places online like Amazon.

There are arguably "better" headphones. But nothing can touch these at the price. You'd need to drop at least an additional $200 to get something just a tiny bit better. Small wonder they've become an industry standard.