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Need help choosing new headphones

I

Inconnu

Nov 1, 2005
2,407
1,148
Montreal, Canada
#1
Hi there!

After years of use, my old Sennheiser HD270 are getting tired (physical wear, mostly).

I’m looking for a replacement. For recording and pre-mixing in my budget home studio. I’m completely disconnected in terms of what’s good in that market right now. I’d be very happy with a wireless solution if it’s possible.
 
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#6
I seem to have had a bad habit over many years of thinking I should try a new set of studio headphones for that late night mixing. I go to Gearspace (formerly Gearslutz) and search the threads. Buy something decently expensive, and then go back to ye olde humble set of Sony Mdr-7506.

In the end, I returned some and I have a quite nice box of headphones for a band for ampless recording and some sets in casual listening nooks around the house. The problem with a lot of those was that they were not flat, too flattering. Nice to listen to things on, but not for accurate mixing.

The Sony MDR 7506s don't surprise me when I turn my studio monitors back on, or anywhere else.
And I dont think it is just because I am used to them. I felt that way immediately.
 
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#8
Inconnu said:
Hi there!

After years of use, my old Sennheiser HD270 are getting tired (physical wear, mostly).

I’m looking for a replacement. For recording and pre-mixing in my budget home studio. I’m completely disconnected in terms of what’s good in that market right now. I’d be very happy with a wireless solution if it’s possible.
Click to expand...



Your HD270s have a pronounced mid scoop (which means they're bass and treble heavy) so they aren't really suited for mixing.

But the Sennheiser HD280s are a significant upgrade at not much more cost ($99 new) and they have a flat frequency response so they're great in the studio.

I've been using these for tracking for many years and usually prefer them over the much more expensive headphones I typically use for pleasure listening of music.

There are numerous excellent phones at the $99 price point that are widely used for studio work. My favorite is the HD280, but of course everyone has their own pick. Others have suggested the Sony MDR 7506s and the AKG K240s, which are both decent phones.
 
#9
Beyerdynamic DT770 phones.

Go someplace where you can try out several of the suggestions and I'm pretty sure I know which ones will go home with you.

I tried a few of the $99 phones and they either didn't sound good or they fell apart in a short time. I can post a photo of my Sennheiser HD280s if you want. They stayed together for 2 years. The side panels inside the band fell off, exposing the internal wiring and the padded top band started to disintegrate. I've seen a bunch of photos of these with duct tape, so it must be a fairly common occurrence.
 
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#10
I also like Beyerdynamic but use the open back 990 more than the 770. While both sound great, the open back makes the music seem a little less like it's inside my head. I guess the room you are in and any surrounding noise will affect an open vs closed back choice.

Also, I find these very comfortable. I can wear them for a couple of hours before I really need to get them off and take a break.
 
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#11
The ATH-M30's are nice for the money. I will also agree that the k240 are great. Personally, I have been impressed with the offerings from Yamaha. The MT5 and MT7 both sound great and are very neutral. I have always been a DT770 Pro fan, but the MT7's beat them out for my taste.
 
#12
Wanted to follow up on this thread. I needed another set of headphones for my studio and was looking at purchasing another pair of AKG K240 Studios as I really like the pair I have. Shopping around on Reverb these came up, Samson SR850 Professional Studio. At $55 new from Sam Ash with quite a few positive reviews I figured if I didn't like them I could send them back. They arrived today and they really sound great, excellent bass response - a little crisper highs than the AKG's, overall I'm very pleased. I think they will work pretty well for sessions - I like a little bleed through when we are recording live from the semi-open design. Looks like Amazon has them for $49.99. While the quality is not the same as the K240's but well made, for my needs I'm sure they will last a few years. Very light and comfortable. Thought I would share as I'm sure others are building their studio on a budget.

 
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#14
This question gets asked a lot here and there are a just handful of headphones that are always recommended the most (in order of increasing cost):

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)


Of course, there are many other worthwhile phones available, especially at different price points, but in the area of $100 (give or take a little bit) these 7 are always at the top of the list.
 
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#15
Had a similar experience earlier this year. I wore the life out of a set of Senn HD280's after about 12 years of use (which I really liked), but even with an OEM ear pad replacement kit in hand, I simply could not get them to fit my old phones. Asked the collective wisdom of TB and ended up with the Beyer DT770 Pro's (80ohm) and I've been very happy with them so far.

good luck OP!
 
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#16
My picks have long been the Sennheiser HD280 for tracking and the Sony MDR-7506 for mixing. The HD280 is closed-back, so you get less bleed. the MDR-7506 is semi-open, so you get a better balance. Next on my shopping list is the Sony MDR-CD900ST.
 
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#19
Inconnu said:
Hi there!

After years of use, my old Sennheiser HD270 are getting tired (physical wear, mostly).

I’m looking for a replacement. For recording and pre-mixing in my budget home studio. I’m completely disconnected in terms of what’s good in that market right now. I’d be very happy with a wireless solution if it’s possible.
Click to expand...

What did you end up getting? And since I'm here, I say if anyone is looking for open back type of phones, I love the Grado SR80 ($125) Great for listening, but excellent for recording/mixing, what you hear is what you get.

Edit: Also, very comfortable.
 
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