if you want the best price on overear headphones that are loud and have enough bass response
DEFINATELY get the AKG K-52
DEFINATELY get the AKG K-52
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Looking for Headphones
- Thread starter Mr Goodnight
- Start date
- Apr 29, 2003
- 9,078
- 9,800
- Disclosures
- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
Assuming that by "no budget" you mean, you dont want to cheap out, but you're also not wanting to spend thousands of dollars on a pair of cans, you'd be hard pressed not to find diminishing returns above these two: Audio Technica MTH 50X and Beyer DT-770, both of which sound great for bass.
Also, if you're using the headphone out on your fender combo amp, and not using a really high Fidelity DAC and/or headphone amplifier, spending more than those cans I mentioned is definitely getting you into the diminished returns category. IMO
Also, if you're using the headphone out on your fender combo amp, and not using a really high Fidelity DAC and/or headphone amplifier, spending more than those cans I mentioned is definitely getting you into the diminished returns category. IMO
A Set of Sony MDR-V6 or MDR-7506 will work really well. However, I'd recommend immediately replacing the pleather earpads with Beyer Dynamic pads - they fit the Sony.
The Fostex headphones are also very good for bass players. They can take the same abuse as the MDRs and the AKGs.
Lol at the Stax ear-speakers. I own an old set, and you would never want to use them for your bass. That much bass signal into them will cause the diaphragms to bind or "lock up" temporarily - it sounds like the air is being sucked out of your head. Not a pleasant feeling.
But they do sound amazing for music.
The Fostex headphones are also very good for bass players. They can take the same abuse as the MDRs and the AKGs.
Lol at the Stax ear-speakers. I own an old set, and you would never want to use them for your bass. That much bass signal into them will cause the diaphragms to bind or "lock up" temporarily - it sounds like the air is being sucked out of your head. Not a pleasant feeling.
But they do sound amazing for music.
I am exstremely satisfied with my Sennheiser HD 380 Pro studio headphones, they got a broad quite flat frequency response, reproducing a very clear realistic audio image, and they are excellent both for listening to music, practicing bass and guitar, as well as for recording/tracking and music production/mixing.
Though unfortunately this model has been discontinued, but it seems like the Sennheiser HD 300 Pro is it's successor.
I strongly advice against buying cheap headphones, and to be sure to buy some that was made specifically with music production in mind, aka studio headphones, the difference is quite obvious when you have tried the real thing, cheap headphones in general gives a really unrealistic audio image and often have the bass boosted, making them sound muddy and boomy in comparison.
Though unfortunately this model has been discontinued, but it seems like the Sennheiser HD 300 Pro is it's successor.
I strongly advice against buying cheap headphones, and to be sure to buy some that was made specifically with music production in mind, aka studio headphones, the difference is quite obvious when you have tried the real thing, cheap headphones in general gives a really unrealistic audio image and often have the bass boosted, making them sound muddy and boomy in comparison.
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These are the headphones I've recently tried and have found them all to have buzzing distortion to some degree.
ATH-M50XBT
ATH-M40X
Mixcdr E9 Pro
Phil Jones Bass H850 - less buzzing than others, good bass but muddies other frequencies a bit, these are supposedly "designed for bassists" but it appears PJB just OEM'd these from another company I'd never heard of. The inside of the head band is stamped "Edifier engineered and manufactured in China". Edifier sold these under their own name for $40-50 less with the same model number, H850.
So much for PJB's painstaking efforts to design these specifically for bassists!
Jabra Elite 85H - couldn't really try these because, per complaints at other sites, they wouldn't charge! Returned them.
My latest are KLH Ultimate One. At $300 these are really expensive in my book but I thought they might be worth it. Music sounds fantastic! I hear things in songs I'd missed before. They have barely perceptible buzz and I'm trying to decide if that reduction is worth the extra coin.
It's interesting to note that these are the only semi open cans in the bunch. The others are all closed back. I may need to explore open backs which I've avoided because, ideally, some isolation would be nice.
Testing procedure:
Headphones connected to the headphone jack of my Yamaha MG10XU mixer, Ibanez Promethean amp head, TC Electronics RH450 amp head; several basses (active and passive) with 2 different instrument cables.
This isn't electrical interference of any sort. From my experience most headphones just can't handle live bass.
The search continues
@ProdigalBassman ,
You're experience seems a bit odd. Are you sure it isn't you? Something to do with your hearing/ear structure that doesn't like headphones? How loud do you have them turned up?
You're experience seems a bit odd. Are you sure it isn't you? Something to do with your hearing/ear structure that doesn't like headphones? How loud do you have them turned up?
Good questions / points. Volume is moderate, though that's subjective of course.
Just today I enlisted my daughter's help and, after setting up as I use them, had her listen through the same cans at my volume, while played. She heard the buzzing also but she was less aware of it.
I previously used old open back Sennheiser until they died and hadn't encountered this. Could it be a closed / open back issue?
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I purchased the Edifiers based on numerous reviews here on TB and on Basschat. I'm loving them! Here is an accurate review: Edifier H850 Hi-fi Over-Ear Monitor Audiophile Headphones Black - Reviews
I'm surprised the hd650 would be good for bass. Not disagreeing, just surprised. I'm at Ratings.com right now (their analysis of headphones is often quoted at headphone sites) and they list the low frequency extension for the hd650 at 72 Hz, which their frequency response graph shows a significant bass roll off starting at 115 Hz.
