Headphone Recommendations?

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EOengineer

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One of the drivers in my ATH-m50x is going and I’ve been thinking of moving on anyway. I’ve been lukewarm on them.

What are you guys using in the < $250 range? I’m looking at the DT-770 but I’m not sure it won’t be a step back. I am partial to Beyer though.

I’m hoping I might stumble over a Black Friday deal.
 
If you can stretch it a bit get a Sennheiser HD600 or look of the Massdrop HD6xx.
I would not get anything else (went from ATH M40 to DT880 600 ohm to AKGs then Hifiman and Sennheiser).
 
2dor said:
If you can stretch it a bit get a Sennheiser HD600 or look of the Massdrop HD6xx.
I would not get anything else (went from ATH M40 to DT880 600 ohm to AKGs then Hifiman and Sennheiser).
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I’ve used the HD600 for years and agree they are great. I may decide to grab another pair but had been considering trying something new for the hell of it.
 
I’ve been using the DT 990 Pros. If you’re only concerned about tracking and casual listening I can suggest them, but there’s some EQ stuff going on with the high end that does NOT translate to mixing/tweaking tones very well at all. My other gripe is the attached cord, which will most likely get damaged well before the headphones themselves do.
 
I agree with @2dor, the HD 6XX are great.

There was some discussion in the following thread which started off with me asking about the HD 660, and ended up as a HD 6XX discussion and recommendation which resulted in my HD 6XX purchase:

Are Sennheiser HD 660 S 'phones any good for modellers?

More specifically, I'm looking for fairly flat and un-hyped for use with an FM3 and other modellers. There's a decent limited-time deal (allegedly!) on Amazon Canada right now for the HD 660 S. I'm looking for mid-priced open-back headphones. I have a pair of closed back BeyerDynamic DT 770...
thegearforum.com thegearforum.com
 
DrewJD82 said:
I’ve been using the DT 990 Pros. If you’re only concerned about tracking and casual listening I can suggest them, but there’s some EQ stuff going on with the high end that does NOT translate to mixing/tweaking tones very well at all. My other gripe is the attached cord, which will most likely get damaged well before the headphones themselves do.
Click to expand...
Now that I’m starting to go down the rabbit hole the 990s are looking like they are not the way.

jellodog said:
I agree with @2dor, the HD 6XX are great.

There was some discussion in the following thread which started off with me asking about the HD 660, and ended up as a HD 6XX discussion and recommendation which resulted in my HD 6XX purchase:

Are Sennheiser HD 660 S 'phones any good for modellers?

More specifically, I'm looking for fairly flat and un-hyped for use with an FM3 and other modellers. There's a decent limited-time deal (allegedly!) on Amazon Canada right now for the HD 660 S. I'm looking for mid-priced open-back headphones. I have a pair of closed back BeyerDynamic DT 770...
thegearforum.com thegearforum.com
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Thanks for the link. I’m turned off by what I’m reading about top end accuracy issues with Beyer, starting to weigh adjusting my expectations up to a new pair of the HD600 or investigating the HD6xx.
 
EOengineer said:
Now that I’m starting to go down the rabbit hole the 990s are looking like they are not the way.


Thanks for the link. I’m turned off by what I’m reading about top end accuracy issues with Beyer, starting to weigh adjusting my expectations up to a new pair of the HD600 or investigating the HD6xx.
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Yeah, the closed back Beyers make sense for tracking in a studio environment (there are good reasons that they're popular in studios), but I came to realise that wasn't my use case and as I said in that thread, the high end ultimately wasn't comfortable for me either.
 
A little more money - but I love my Ollo Audios for recording and mixing/master. 👍

They use hand selected/matched and tuned drivers that deliver +/- 2 dB flat

With their unit specific correction software they are +/- 1 dB flat

Using flat headphones is a different experience, but I find their drivers to be supremely crisp. Don’t flub out on big lows and image superbly.

I have large ears and they just fit inside the cups comfortably.

Cords are a little short @ 2m?
 
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Interesting discussion. I have historically LOATHED headphones. But I find more and more that if I can't play reasonably loud; I don't like to play. Which means everyone stays downstairs and I shut 3 doors so I can be "loud enough". A good set of headphones would probably be a wise investment for me at some point. Whether I like it or not.
 
JiveTurkey said:
Interesting discussion. I have historically LOATHED headphones. But I find more and more that if I can't play reasonably loud; I don't like to play. Which means everyone stays downstairs and I shut 3 doors so I can be "loud enough". A good set of headphones would probably be a wise investment for me at some point. Whether I like it or not.
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I used to be like that, until the beautiful noise got way worse 😉


:sofa
 
For recording I’d go slate Svx or ollo audio.

For tracking/playing: massdrop hd6xx or akg k371 .

I’ve had dt770s and akg 240 for years. The Beyer are too hyped in the lows and highs unless you’re just listening to music. And playing with closed back cans started to give me hints of tinnitus.

I prefer open back cans for louder (but still relatively safe levels)playing and tracking these days. Lower volume is fine for closed back.

Sorry for any typos or egregious grammatical errors as I’m out hunting and this large buck is playing peekaboo and screwing with me for the last few hours.
 
My wife works for these guys and I've been able to mess with all of their stuff. 100% top shelf.
Shoot me a PM if you're interested and I can get ya a family discount.

cleeraudio.com

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i’m with @JiveTurkey , absolutely cannot stand headphones.

I have the Massdrop Sennheisers and they’re fine. Also tried some Chi-Fi Planar/Audeze style headphones. Hifiman HE400i

They sound quite interesting (nicer overall sound, more like speakers by your ears) but they need a good help from the Sonarworks curve (which I usually avoid on headphones).

I’d go with open back from Sennheiser/AKG/Beyerdynamic and a fairly good amp to drive them with if possible.
 
Another vote for Sennheiser HD6xx from Drop.com. They are extremely close to the Sennheiser HD600 which has been gold standard for many years, and with Black Friday discount at $179 it's a no brainer.
 
Jarick said:
Another vote for Sennheiser HD6xx from Drop.com. They are extremely close to the Sennheiser HD600 which has been gold standard for many years, and with Black Friday discount at $179 it's a no brainer.
Click to expand...

Wow. That's an incredible price for what you get!
 
jellodog said:
Wow. That's an incredible price for what you get!
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Yeah Black Friday is the time to get stuff from Drop.

The HD600 is usually between $220, and it's the same thing as the HD650 which runs about $350. I used a pair for a few years before getting the HD600 just to see what the differences is, and if you use the same pads it's extremely minor. Just a little more treble on the 600 and a little more bass on the 650 but very minor.
 
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