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Sennheiser HD600, Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro?

#22
I really like the Sennheiser HD600 for mixing at home when I have to keep it quiet. I've tried many headphones for this, some of them a LOT more expensive than the HD600 but I've always come back to the HD600. They are one of the more neutral sounding headphones out there IMO. They are my favourite mixing headphone by far when I can't use proper studio monitors. Headphones will never be ideal for mixing of course but these are as good as it gets for me. It's all about "learning" the headphones though so others can work great too of course as long as you learn to adapt to their frequency responce. But with the HD600 you've at least got a reasonably flat/neutral starting point and less of a "learning" curve.

I haven't tried the DT880 but I've tried many other Beyerdynamic headphones (including their "studio reference" DT1990) and I've never liked them for mixing. I've always found them far too colored in the upper mids/highs. I absolutely LOVE Beyerdynamic mics but how they can call the DT1990 a "studio reference" headphone with those HUGE spikes in the highs is beyond me. They can be very fatiguing too because of those highs. Just my personal opinions of course and like I said, I haven't tried the DT880 but I've used several other Beyer headphone and I could never quite get along with them for studio work.

Having said that, as much as I love the HD600 for MIXING I would never use an open back headphone for RECORDING. Anything acoustic/vocals/mic'ed and you will have severe leakage. A little bit of leakage isn't the end of the world but if you use a metronome/click track it can REALLY build up over multiple tracks of leakage.

But even if it's only DI or MIDI I still prefer open back for recording. I find that the boxed in feeling gets me more "in the zone". But you will still have the Audio Technicas for that right? They're decent headphones. Not suitable for mixing AT ALL but more than adequate for recording. I just wish they would sit tighter on my head. I like recording headphones to sit really tight.

Another option on the cheap: Some of the ultra-cheap Superlux closed back headphones are GREAT for recording (wouldn't use them for mixing though). Surprisingly good sound. Some of them are far better (or at least more neutral) than the ATH-M50x IMO. Plus they're cheap enough that it won't matter when a musician accidentally breaks it, which WILL happen sooner rather than later in a studio. I keep lots of them in my studio. Just make sure you get the FLAT versions if you don't want a bass boost. Some of the Superlux models come with different voicings, with or without bass boost.

But for mixing the HD600 is hard to beat IMO.
 
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#23
HD600 user here and I echo what others have said above about comfort and sound.

The headphone amp you use can make a huge difference in getting the best out of high-end cans. Spend $600 on the phones and $29 on the amp and you might end up with a less than gratifying experience. Built in headphone jacks in lower-end usb DACS are typically not going to drive properly a good pair of Senns/etc. YMMV.
 
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#25
GrahamNN3 said:
My Sennheiser HD 280’s bought 8 years ago - have biodegraded - I’ve used them about 5 times.

I also have another cheaper set of Sennheiser headphones with the same problem.
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The faux-leather coating on mine is mostly peeled-off, but I’ve been using my HD-280 Pros since 2001; they are weathered, but still doing a great job.

I use them for tracking, where their sound isolation is really helpful - I prefer open back or monitors for mixing.
 
#26
DirtDog said:
I went from the AT M50 to the Sennheiser HD600 a few months back. Huge improvement. I’m using mine for tracking and mixing and they do well for both. I was skeptical of the open back design but am happy I went that route. If nothing else, I can wear the Senns for a lot longer than I could the A-Ts.... they are that comfortable. And they don’t suffer from the boosted bass freqs.
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Same experience here. The HD600 were just about the best money I ever spent.
 
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#27
GrahamNN3 said:
My Sennheiser HD 280’s bought 8 years ago - have biodegraded - I’ve used them about 5 times.

I also have another cheaper set of Sennheiser headphones with the same problem.
Click to expand...

My 280’s held up through a fair amount of use and abuse. When the pads got too trashed I ordered a replacement set. The replacement pads are a little tricky to install, but not awful. As far as I can tell the audio quality is the same and the only aging issue was the padding.
 
#29
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#32
ardgedee said:
Grados are good. The SR80 is a decent middle ground between the prices of the lower end models and the sound quality of the upper end models. Bass can seem kind of thin by modern standards until you're pretty high up the model line. Comfort is really polarizing though, they fit some people's heads perfectly and are pretty agonizing for other people.

HD600 are kind of soft and dark for my tastes. You won't really miss out on anything with them, but I prefer what I guess you'd call a more literal sound. They sure are comfy though.

DT880 are good all-rounders. They don't do anything specific thing super-well but don't fall short either. Again, pretty comfortable.

Don't get too hung up on the open back / closed back distinction. Closed back headphones are good for blocking out some external noise (although not nearly as effectively as in-ears) and the form factor can help enhance bass, but most closed back designs also tend to sound kind of nasal and boxy. There are exceptional-sounding closed back headphones that aren't nasal and boxy too, of course.

Headphones are pretty much a kind of audio clothing, what fits my head might not fit yours, so take my comments on comfort as a pretty vague guideline rather than a recommendation.
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ardgedee, I think one reason I didn't gomfor the Grados was the polarizing comfort factor. Being able to try the AudioTechnicas at Guitar Center was helpful.

Thank you for your takes on the HD600 and DT880 and especially open vs. closed back. Will keep them in all mind!

Good analogy on headphones like clothing!
 
#33
Spupilup said:
In the $500 and under market, when I was checking out closed back headphones I tried a number of brands and ultimately went for the Neumann NDH-20's. If you can find them somewhere, they are definitely worth checking out. If you want a real, professional monitor, you can't go wrong with Neumann. Neumann is a division of Sennheiser and while I think the 600's are great, they are more of a domestic than professional monitor.
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The Neumanns look really nice! Beyond what I want to spend but I appreciate it and good to know more about different manufacturers and where they stand in the recording world.
 
#34
There is a store in Portland, OR that is very good for advice/products: Echo Audio - Your source for the finest Home Audio and Hi-Fi Audio Equipment. Echo got into the headphone game a long time ago. Maybe take what you need (amp, iPod, whatever) to an audio store and try some out. For my Phil Jones Bighead impedance matching is very important if I want much volume. This was a long time ago, back when dinosaurs ruled the earth, but I also had Sennheisers biodegrade.
 
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#35
There is a fundamental difference between the pro audio world and the luxury hi-fi audio world when it comes to headphones: When pro audio engineers evaluate headphones, they are looking for accuracy, the ability to detect problem areas such as sibilance, and a realistic representation of the stereo image. Making the source audio sound 'good' is actually not a priority. This is not the case for the home luxury hi-fi market.
 
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#37
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#39
I guess I'm sort of in a middle ground, I want to be able to enjoy what I hear and I don't want boosted frequencies, or at least limited.

Still in the rabbit hole but learning what is good for certain applications. I don't mix and don't have a dedicated computer (yet) for recording . My Zoom H4N Pro is my learning tool, I usually use the Zoom's mics to record straight from my cab. Sometimes I'll record direct into the Zoom.

I'm learning good things here!
 
#40
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