I've really been getting into home recording and mixing lately. I have a pair of Beyer Dynamic DT 240 Pro headphones. I think they sound good, but the cups being directly against my ear start to bother me after some time. I'm just wondering if I should look into a different pair? And if so, what would you all recommend?
Should I upgrade my headphones?
- Thread starter Ledvedder
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paisleywookiee
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If they’re not comfortable, that’s certainly an important factor. I really like my Sennheiser 380’s, and my ATH-M50x’s.
MirrorProfiles
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Headphones are one of the most personal bits of gear out there for a number of reasons. Best bet is to try out a few and work out what seems best for you. Gotta kiss a lot of a frogs IME.
paisleywookiee
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That is true. Everyone raves about the Sony Mdr-7506, and I gave mine away after two days. Sound like shit. IMO
Jarick
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If you like the sound but the comfort isn't great, check out the Beyer DT 770. The 240 are on ear headphones so they sit directly on the ears where the DT 770 are over ear headphones that go all the way around. IMO they are some of the most comfortable headphones you can find and are studio work horses.
newholland
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7506es are garbage. theyre only available and cheap and i hate them . miserable enamel crushers. hard pass.
i love 770s for cheap indestructo all purpose cans if you arent super sensitive to top end. if you are, youd HATE 7506es. shure 840s are great as well- very listenable. i dont like ATs outside of the R series (the big open backs for mixing), but i didnt mind the akg 371s and 361s.
ultimately though- i'd separate tracking and mixing cans. i use 770s or dt150s for tracking and 880s or sennheiser 650s for mixing myself.. but theyre such different sports- it pays to get a coupla views on things!
i love 770s for cheap indestructo all purpose cans if you arent super sensitive to top end. if you are, youd HATE 7506es. shure 840s are great as well- very listenable. i dont like ATs outside of the R series (the big open backs for mixing), but i didnt mind the akg 371s and 361s.
ultimately though- i'd separate tracking and mixing cans. i use 770s or dt150s for tracking and 880s or sennheiser 650s for mixing myself.. but theyre such different sports- it pays to get a coupla views on things!
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László
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This is such good advice.
newholland
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supa truth.
László
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Haha! Great pic! But I love my headphones.Headphones only exist to be hated.
FrankD77
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Sometimes you cannot have a 100% acoustic room as a hobbyist. My room should be a disaster but in fact sounds good enough for what i do.
Still i test all my masters on apple airpods and my laptop.
The aiaiai and Sony i use actually sound terrible for music listening but show every error i make in a mix. The only think you have to be aware of is that you are heading LR and nothing in between like with normal speakers.
For me it's a great way to work and check in combination with near fields. When I'm on location i only trust my headphones
Still i test all my masters on apple airpods and my laptop.
The aiaiai and Sony i use actually sound terrible for music listening but show every error i make in a mix. The only think you have to be aware of is that you are heading LR and nothing in between like with normal speakers.
For me it's a great way to work and check in combination with near fields. When I'm on location i only trust my headphones
László
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I use an SPL headphone amp that does some unusual stuff that lets you sort of construct a speaker-like sound on cans. It's a great headphone amp even without that feature, but it does do some interesting and useful things when using it.Sometimes you cannot have a 100% acoustic room as a hobbyist. My room should be a disaster but in fact sounds good enough for what i do.
Still i test all my masters on apple airpods and my laptop.
The aiaiai and Sony i use actually sound terrible for music listening but show every error i make in a mix. The only think you have to be aware of is that you are heading LR and nothing in between like with normal speakers.
For me it's a great way to work and check in combination with near fields. When I'm on location i only trust my headphones
It has so much more dynamic range and detail than the headphone amps that come on gear that now I can't stand listening to cans without it, even when I don't use the blending feature.
My open back cans are Audeze LCD-Xs; they're very good headphones. Kind of a bargain, given their level of detail and transparency. I generally track with closed-back Beyer DT-1770, or DT-770 (they're sonically different, so I use them for different things).
Even the DT-770s benefit from a great headphone amp. I wouldn't have believed how good they could sound until I got the SPL. I have some Sennheisers and others around here, but I like what I like.
FrankD77
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i saw some adds for a new device that claims to make headphones sound like speakers.
For me it's a matter of checking detail on the headphones and after that checking how others hear it.
If i would be using headphones most of the time i would probably get one. Luckily i can play whenever I want without worrying about neighbors.
For me it's a matter of checking detail on the headphones and after that checking how others hear it.
If i would be using headphones most of the time i would probably get one. Luckily i can play whenever I want without worrying about neighbors.
newholland
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I use an SPL headphone amp that does some unusual stuff that lets you sort of construct a speaker-like sound on cans. It's a great headphone amp even without that feature, but it does do some interesting and useful things when using it.
It has so much more dynamic range and detail than the headphone amps that come on gear that now I can't stand listening to cans without it, even when I don't use the blending feature.
My open back cans are Audeze LCD-Xs; they're very good headphones. Kind of a bargain, given their level of detail and transparency. I generally track with closed-back Beyer DT-1770, or DT-770 (they're sonically different, so I use them for different things).
Even the DT-770s benefit from a great headphone amp. I wouldn't have believed how good they could sound until I got the SPL. I have some Sennheisers and others around here, but I like what I like.
i almost bought lcd-x's- but got lcd 2cs instead. probably not as good for mix checking- but great for just sitting about listening! im justb
im 100% in agreement that a massive 2-5 watt headphone amp is the best investment you can make if you want to use cans for recording- even with efficient headphones like beyer 770 80ohm, and DEFINITELY with high impedance cans like hd650s or beyer 880 600ohm. i havent really embraced crossfeed cause i kinda acclimatized to the center image without it over 50000 years
but i get the drive for it! it sure fills it in a bit.. but then i get disoriented by HOW much is it actually 'right' versus my normal? then i shut it off BUT... the headroom of a big amp... definitely lets you know exactly whats there!
László
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Those are great cans, miles above most alternatives for both professional and casual use!
I get disoriented by how much is 'right' too.im 100% in agreement that a massive 2-5 watt headphone amp is the best investment you can make if you want to use cans for recording- even with efficient headphones like beyer 770 80ohm, and DEFINITELY with high impedance cans like hd650s or beyer 880 600ohm. i havent really embraced crossfeed cause i kinda acclimatized to the center image without it over 50000 years
I try to simply come as close as I can to what I hear from my monitors in my room that's acoustically treated. But like you, I often turn it off to get a more traditional headphone representation.
It makes a significant difference. I not only revolutionized the usefulness of the LCD-Xs for me, it makes the DT-1770s AND the DT-770s sound about 90% more accurate.
I really love good audio, and obviously you do, too!
newholland
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Those are great cans, miles above most alternatives for both professional and casual use!
I get disoriented by how much is 'right' too.
I try to simply come as close as I can to what I hear from my monitors in my room that's acoustically treated. But like you, I often turn it off to get a more traditional headphone representation.
It makes a significant difference. I not only revolutionized the usefulness of the LCD-Xs for me, it makes the DT-1770s AND the DT-770s sound about 90% more accurate.
I really love good audio, and obviously you do, too!
haha.. omg.. lifer audio nerd in almost every direction! i got it, of all places, from my mom, who raised me in stereo stores in the late 70s! the tv got dusted once a week, the stereo ran non stop if we were home, sonit never needed it- and some of my earliest memories were flipping records on our magnavox console!
László
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I was that same guy, only ours was a Fisher/Garrard setup; but same era and type of stuff! They loved the music of their generation, but they also loved comedy albums, so at least there was something my brothers and I could listen to and have fun.
I'm revealing my advanced age here, but...
I had the family's former mono Magnavox record player in my bedroom. It had a built-in front speaker and a furniture wood cabinet that just barely fit on top of a dresser. I'll be honest, I thought it was awesome as all fuck when I was 11!
I didn't get my first true hi fi until I spent some college band money on a pair of Bose 901s (they had just been introduced), a McIntosh integrated amp, and a Dual turntable. That was big time stuff in my era! Back then, we got paid pretty well to do gigs, and the band money was pure spending loot because my parents paid for college. We did three gigs a weekend, and got $500 per gig, which was the going rate for a 5-piece in 1969-71. But $300 a week was huge for a kid in college who had no other real expenses; back then a nice car cost $3000.
In those days, the union made sure you got paid the going rate. It was a good time to be a working regional band.
The weird thing is, I played in rock bands - I loved rock music - but didn't buy many popular music records. I don't know why, but for some reason I thought it was a very big deal to first get the entire classical repertoire. I'm sure I thought that would have the added bonus of making girls think I was intelligent. But they if they noticed, they never said a word about it.
Youth is wasted on the young, as they say.
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