HEADPHONES
Skip Drinkwater
1,694 Posts
I'm looking into a new pair for production/mixing purposes only (not looking for DJ phones or studio tracking use). Based on recommendations, I've narrowed it down to the AKG K-240, Sony MDR-7506, & the Sennheiser HD-280. I'd appreciate any feedback from owners of any of these models along with any other recommendations.
My main concerns are accurate hi's (I've heard the Sony's tend to exaggerate them), lo's that aren't muffled, comfort (I read some reviews for the AKG's that said they tend to exhaust the ears), and durability.
My main concerns are accurate hi's (I've heard the Sony's tend to exaggerate them), lo's that aren't muffled, comfort (I read some reviews for the AKG's that said they tend to exhaust the ears), and durability.
Comments
I'm actually debating on getting a pair of these or Grado SR 225i's.
ditto...i'm curious myself
sennheisers are the most accurate reproduction of sound, which may sound dead to some people. they may especially sound dead in the mid-range without the use of amplification.
grado's are very bright, especially in the highs.
akg to me are the closest to sennheisers without being sennheisers, i dont view them as highly, i do think that they have very good sound staging.
sonys are sonys, i dunno they are fine. i know certain people swear by them as far as mastering. i have no idea.
they're obviously durable and the sound is great at that price point, but I'm wondering if they still hang with the high-end joints
thats what i use and have grown very used to, but all of the model's mentioned have their faults. once you put in a lot of time listening and mixing with any decent pair of studio moniter headphones you'll learn what you need to do in the mix to make up for their indiscrepencies. just takes time
Overall sound quality isn't a big deal. I don't need studio clarity; these are strictly for DJing.
I don't know the technics but the sony 7506 or v6's (same thing) that have been mentioned over and over in this thread fold in on themselves and can definitely take a beating.
http://www.tapeop.com/reviews/gear/91/dj-style-pro-headphones-item-8323/
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57337747-47/how-good-can-$21.59-headphones-be/
http://www.digitalaudioworkshop.com/2012/12/the-monoprice-8323-dj-headphone-first.html
And so on...
Uncomfortable, loud though.
Shits gonna eventually end up there anyway no matter how many vintage consoles and tube amps you use.
the ones I have are these
from working on documentaries and taking them everywhere, I found they can take more of a beating than the v6's. But that's been from checking out equipment from places where other people who used it didn't give a fuck, so if you're the least bit careful the v6's can last a long time.
for everyday home use I have a pair of Grado SR-80s, it's what I use when I have to spend 10 hours a day editing video, and I it use for listening to music sometimes. I like open-backed headphones for that since I find they don't tire the ear as much after several hours. For the Grados you can buy the SR-60 cups that provide more padding, the ones that come standard with most of their models aren't very comfortable and will start falling apart quickly anyway.
I should have clarified: by "folding flat" I mean that you can flip the cans 90 degrees and therefore, reduce the overall width narrow enough to fit into, say, an LP box. My current Sonys (V600) collapse into a big fist-sized ball but I can't pack that easily because it takes up too much horizontal space, regardless of how you try to store it.
The V500 looks promising except, having owned Sonys for 10+ years, I do find it annoying how the vinyl on the cans eventually flake off and get everywhere. That might just be endemic to all these headphones though rather that specific to Sony.
The more I look at the Technics DJ1200A headphones, they don't seem to fold up flat so those are out. Thanks again.
the V500 is more solidly built than those silver ones. I've seen the v6's break pretty easily too, with the phones sliding out of that top part. And I know what you're talking about with the padding crumbling off. Honestly, I haven't had the V500s long enough to see that happen but I think that's just par for the course when it comes to foam anything. Some companies sell replacement pads for the phones though, not sure if Sony does that.
I loved those silver ones, but that super-brittle swivel point was a showstopper flaw. The first time it happened, I thought it was just a weird fluke (it also happened at a gig when another DJ was using my headphones--I figured the guy had just busted them up somehow), but then it happened again...and then I got a pair of V500s, and it happened again. So I stepped to those MDR-V6s and never looked back.
But I should also point out that the swivel point breakage on the V500s happened years ago (I wanna say 2004ish), and they may have actually stepped up and fixed the problem since then.
For the v6's and 7506's you can ball out and get velour ear pads and dead the 'dude, you got a big ass bug on your ear' comments.
Invest in the Sennheiser HD 25's they're worth it. Sound quality is excellent, they're lightweight, comfortable, very good isolation, & they have replaceable parts. Most headphones end up cutting out on one chanel at some point. The beauty of the Sennheiser is that they sell replacement cables. I've got the HD 25 I II & stand by them.
As a rule of thumb, any audio gear that looks like they spent too much time on the appearance isn't going to be as good.
Oh yes. I've had my Sennheisers for a loong time thanks to this.