Headphones?

Yeah Aja is a good one, even if you're not familiar imo.

My go-to speaker/headphone test albums are:

Peter Gabriel - So (mostly the perfect mixing in Red Rain but songs like Big Time are a good speaker test as well)

Tears For Fears - Songs From The Big Chair (though, Pale Shelter from the previous album is also good, those stereo guitars!)

Garbage - Version 2.0

Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works

Metallica - Black album

Autechre - Peel Session 2 (for the bass in the second half of Gelk)

Rival Consoles - Sonne (particularly Recovery, nice snappy sounds)

Those are just my favourites, albums that I've noticed really benefit from good speakers/headphones. I suggest just making a big playlist of your favourite stuff.

To test monitors, nothing works better than producing / mixing on them. But if I can just listen to tunes to try to apprehend them, I'd go for:

- anything by Alva Noto or Ryoji Ikeda: to check both ends of the freq spectrum and transient response

- most recent True Widow album: huge low end, tons of depth and such a great mix of tones

- anything by Leafcutter John: depth, movement, clarity, contrast... Leafy remains one of the most skillful sound wizard around 

- and anything and everything I know / love / feel like. Playing random different things in shuffle is really insightful. I remember playing anything from Windowlicker to Otis Redding via Dopplegangaz etc... when I got my Amphions and that was amazing to hear all those different eras / esthetics / gear contrasting each other.

When it comes to headphones, anything I'm quite familiar with on my monitors. FWIW, I have a pair of AKG K702 (also some Focal Spirit Pro.. that I don't like that much) fed by the SPL Crimson's HP amp, and I've been using them with Goodhertz CanOpener for a week or so, and am delighted by that combo. I'm now getting some pretty useful consistency 

  On 5/20/2018 at 7:21 AM, zaphod said:

i need some earbuds under 50 us dollars. any suggestions?

SoundMAGIC E10

BUMP

can i wreck headphones by having volume on high? ( when not in use ) for some reason i thought it didn't matter

edit: i always thought that's how you burn in headphones

Burn-in is a myth imo. It's more about your ears getting used to different sounding headphones.

It's definitely possible to damage headphones by putting too much signal through them, but I doubt anything within normal operating range (ie. of a headphone out) would blow them.

my interface can only get them so loud, so it's definitely not wrecking them... but then remembered the hole burn in thing. thanks modey

I've got a pair of Sennheiser HD650s paired with a Schiit Valhalla 2 and I love it. Can't listen with anything else besides my NADC316BEE which doesn't really do the headphones justice but it's fine if I don't wanna switch audio settings around. Probably replied to this thread before but cba to check :)

JVC earbuds from airport kiosk, before flight, having forgot my other pair at home.

Sony MDR7510 Pro.

If they come recommended by RDJ as awesome budget headphones, that's good enough for me.

At some point down the road I want to shell out for a high budget pair. Until then, I will do 0 research on high budget headphones as I'm both happy with the ones I have and am also currently poor because my roommate is giving me one month's notice that he's moving out.

  On 8/27/2018 at 5:09 PM, 747Music said:

Sony MDR7506 Pro.

If they come recommended by RDJ as awesome budget headphones, that's good enough for me.

 

At some point down the road I want to shell out for a high budget pair. Until then, I will do 0 research on high budget headphones as I'm both happy with the ones I have and am also currently poor because my roommate is giving me one month's notice that he's moving out.

Sry about your roomate - that's laaaaame! 

Sony MDR7510 Pro (yes I fanboid the shit out of my purchasing here after AFX mentioned them in that interview). I've used Sennheiser HD580 pro, and Grado Sr60's with larger earpads. Tested also some extremely higher end Grado's (can't remember which) but didn't have the $ to shell out plus I find the bass response even on higher end Grado's lacking. Here's my quick take:

1. Sennheiser's - like people have noted, excellent sounding headphones. In some ways, I'd call my experience with them more of a "listening" headphone than a mixing headphone. My 580's I found difficult to drive (when I had a Cowon player this took care of that to some degree) and found that they seemed to crap out after a number of years. Had to ditch em eventually. Still my favorite for listening, and if I ever come into some cash, I would buy these again in a heartbeat, but also get a headphone amp.

2. Grado's - I tend to prefer mid>high's boosted a little when listening, and Grado's seem to highlight that a bit more. I've heard Grado's accused of being a little too clinical and thin, but I sometimes prefer that in a listening experience. Very nice soundstaging, utterly lacking in the low end, but a steal for the price. If you get SR60's definitely get the larger pads. Warning when mixing that if you don't test against something with a good bass response you're going to (likely) overpower the bass frequency on your tunes. 

3. MDR7510's - here's the deal: Audiophiles that I've spoken to have scoffed that Sony isn't technically in the business of audiophile equiment, and these are not the highest quality phones you can buy. But, as compared to the headphones above, these have been completely solid in terms of mixing - in the sense that whatever I mix to sound the way I want on these headphones, it has translated well to any other system. I.e., I used to mix on grado's, then go to play in my car and things sounded off . . . or switched to my (now sadly gone) Vandersteen's and levels seemed off, even from what i heard in the car. Same things w/ Sennheiser's etc. I don't know why, and this is probably a matter of also getting better at eq'ing and such, but these things just work. I can mix on these and be pretty much assured that if I like what I hear in the earpieces, I will like what I hear when it's blasting out of anywhere else, and it will stay pretty much consistent across systems in terms of sound. One caveat is that, though the freq response goes down to something fairly low, there does seem to be a dropoff in the low end that might be worth keeping an eye on if your music is exceptionally bass heavy. 

my 2 dollars  

  On 8/27/2018 at 5:44 PM, T3551ER said:

 

  On 8/27/2018 at 5:09 PM, 747Music said:

Sony MDR7506 Pro.

If they come recommended by RDJ as awesome budget headphones, that's good enough for me.

 

At some point down the road I want to shell out for a high budget pair. Until then, I will do 0 research on high budget headphones as I'm both happy with the ones I have and am also currently poor because my roommate is giving me one month's notice that he's moving out.

 

Sry about your roomate - that's laaaaame! 

 

Sony MDR7510 Pro (yes I fanboid the shit out of my purchasing here after AFX mentioned them in that interview). I've used Sennheiser HD580 pro, and Grado Sr60's with larger earpads. Tested also some extremely higher end Grado's (can't remember which) but didn't have the $ to shell out plus I find the bass response even on higher end Grado's lacking. Here's my quick take:

 

3. MDR7510's - here's the deal: Audiophiles that I've spoken to have scoffed that Sony isn't technically in the business of audiophile equiment, and these are not the highest quality phones you can buy. But, as compared to the headphones above, these have been completely solid in terms of mixing - in the sense that whatever I mix to sound the way I want on these headphones, it has translated well to any other system. I.e., I used to mix on grado's, then go to play in my car and things sounded off . . . or switched to my (now sadly gone) Vandersteen's and levels seemed off, even from what i heard in the car. Same things w/ Sennheiser's etc. I don't know why, and this is probably a matter of also getting better at eq'ing and such, but these things just work. I can mix on these and be pretty much assured that if I like what I hear in the earpieces, I will like what I hear when it's blasting out of anywhere else, and it will stay pretty much consistent across systems in terms of sound. One caveat is that, though the freq response goes down to something fairly low, there does seem to be a dropoff in the low end that might be worth keeping an eye on if your music is exceptionally bass heavy. 

 

my 2 dollars  

 

The sound is extremely clear and especially crisp all through the low-mids to the highs. I also find the low end is lacking just a bit, but I generally just mix the bass with my monitors instead. I prefer to mix really only low bass sounds on speakers anyways so I can get the right feeling in my chest as well as my ears.

I think a huge plus for the MDR7510 Pro's are that it has exactly the same level of clarity through those low-mids all the way to the highs. Where as many "better" headphones have better quality sound but some sweet spots in the frequency spectrum end up sounding even crispier.

The crispiness balance is important. 

Crisp enough the whole way through > very crisp and even crispier in some spots.

Another reason I think I'll be sticking with the MDR7510 for the time being.

My 2 cents to add to your 2 dollars.

I hope my Audeze Mobius ships soon...

I'm ready for any set that's not the shitty 5-year-old Sony MDR-ZX100s I have now that have the synthetic leather skin constantly peeling off the foam padding. I don't do earbuds tho.

no love for shure? i am sad. i have a pair of shure SR840s that are flat as fuck and super comfy. they were my only for mixing headphones forever, but i just listen to everything on them all the time. very flat. great for mixing. great cans for live sound also. 

live sound guy rant here. if i hear steely dan or that fucking deftones song again i am going to strangle a puppy

  On 8/28/2018 at 6:59 AM, nerver said:

no love for shure? i am sad. i have a pair of shure SR840s that are flat as fuck and super comfy. they were my only for mixing headphones forever, but i just listen to everything on them all the time. very flat. great for mixing. great cans for live sound also. 

 

live sound guy rant here. if i hear steely dan or that fucking deftones song again i am going to strangle a puppy

I know, right! I also wonder why people mention them so rarely. I have mine for 6 years and they are amazing, Use them for everything and know how they sound inside out, would be such a bummer if they died and I had to learn a new ones. Highly recommended. 

  On 8/27/2018 at 6:53 PM, 747Music said:

 

  On 8/27/2018 at 5:44 PM, T3551ER said:

 

  On 8/27/2018 at 5:09 PM, 747Music said:

Sony MDR7506 Pro.

If they come recommended by RDJ as awesome budget headphones, that's good enough for me.

 

At some point down the road I want to shell out for a high budget pair. Until then, I will do 0 research on high budget headphones as I'm both happy with the ones I have and am also currently poor because my roommate is giving me one month's notice that he's moving out.

 

Sry about your roomate - that's laaaaame! 

 

Sony MDR7510 Pro (yes I fanboid the shit out of my purchasing here after AFX mentioned them in that interview). I've used Sennheiser HD580 pro, and Grado Sr60's with larger earpads. Tested also some extremely higher end Grado's (can't remember which) but didn't have the $ to shell out plus I find the bass response even on higher end Grado's lacking. Here's my quick take:

 

3. MDR7510's - here's the deal: Audiophiles that I've spoken to have scoffed that Sony isn't technically in the business of audiophile equiment, and these are not the highest quality phones you can buy. But, as compared to the headphones above, these have been completely solid in terms of mixing - in the sense that whatever I mix to sound the way I want on these headphones, it has translated well to any other system. I.e., I used to mix on grado's, then go to play in my car and things sounded off . . . or switched to my (now sadly gone) Vandersteen's and levels seemed off, even from what i heard in the car. Same things w/ Sennheiser's etc. I don't know why, and this is probably a matter of also getting better at eq'ing and such, but these things just work. I can mix on these and be pretty much assured that if I like what I hear in the earpieces, I will like what I hear when it's blasting out of anywhere else, and it will stay pretty much consistent across systems in terms of sound. One caveat is that, though the freq response goes down to something fairly low, there does seem to be a dropoff in the low end that might be worth keeping an eye on if your music is exceptionally bass heavy. 

 

my 2 dollars  

 

 

The sound is extremely clear and especially crisp all through the low-mids to the highs. I also find the low end is lacking just a bit, but I generally just mix the bass with my monitors instead. I prefer to mix really only low bass sounds on speakers anyways so I can get the right feeling in my chest as well as my ears.

 

I think a huge plus for the MDR7510 Pro's are that it has exactly the same level of clarity through those low-mids all the way to the highs. Where as many "better" headphones have better quality sound but some sweet spots in the frequency spectrum end up sounding even crispier.

 

The crispiness balance is important. 

Crisp enough the whole way through > very crisp and even crispier in some spots.

 

Another reason I think I'll be sticking with the MDR7510 for the time being.

 

My 2 cents to add to your 2 dollars.

 

Nothin' wrong with a 202    - Yeah, well said. Crisp all the way through, which is better than a mixed bag of crispiness (mixed crisps?). Agreed about the speakers for low end too -  headphones just won't ever have the hit of a subwoofer. Enjoy!

started with a pair of Sennheiser 280HD Pros and now got the 380 version. They're just so good all around for general all-purpose use. Others are more specialized have different better sound ranges, but the Senns' really have no weaknesses per se, and they're perfect for a beginner or on a budget. Aside from being a tad bit heavy on the bass side of things sometimes I really have nothing bad to say about them except a couple of minuses on durability, as one poster said earlier. But really that takes a lot of dropping and wear and tear if you don't treat 'em well.

I tried Bose and I strongly disliked 'em. Overpriced.

I kinda want a Sennheiser RS 165 RF wireless set now. Good reviews and ratings from what I've read.

Umm...bump


Ended up going with Monoprice headphones, which I just now unboxed after it arrived just two days ago. Here it is: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=8323

Figured it's a new year, and it's time I got a decent new set if I want to get back into making music. Hell, I think it's been a good 3 years since my last SC upload.

using AKG since forever..K171 MK II..Studio On-Ear..

AKG must be changing something in their product lineup , because the K281 MKII is going terrible cheap@moment in eu-land..85€..ouch..was always something like 160-199

https://www.thomann.de/gb/akg_k271_mkii.htm

What do you guys think about AIAIAI headphones?

Anyone tried them out, or own them?

I've been fiddling around with the configurator on their page and came up with this

https://aiaiai.dk/headphones/tma-2/s01h04e05c02

I have a pair with the same speakers (S01), but with the E06 (leatherette) pads instead.. and the default cable/headband options. They're awesome. I don't tend to use them much anymore because I have the nuraphones, which are way ahead in terms of isolation (I use headphones mostly at work and on public transport so isolation/no sound leakage is important), but I'm definitely not going to sell them.

Cool. So your main reason for not using them as much anymore is noise cancellation, otherwise, sound quality is good?

Sound quality is among the best I've heard. They're not flat sounding, so not good for monitoring, but the bass is deep yet balanced and everything is crystal clear. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

As iococoi mentioned above AKGs seem to have plummeted in price so I think you'd probably get a better bang for you buck with these - https://www.amazon.co.uk/AKG-Reference-Open-Back-Over-Ear-Headphones/dp/B001RCD2DW/ (they're great reference/monitoring headphones - I payed double for the earlier 701 model back in the day and am still happy with them 10 years later)