# Headphones...



## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...turns out these little buggers are a lot more crucial than i realized, especially once you discover how indispensable they can be for live off-the-floor recording.

what i have: koss...way too much bass. punishing...ear fatigue sets in way too early.

what i need: a fair amount of isolation, to prevent the click track from leaking into the vocal mic, and a little less low end.

so, where do i start looking?

-dh


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Sennheiser HD280? 
I have some HD555s, but they aren't designed for isolation.


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## suttree (Aug 17, 2007)

for listening critically, akg k240 is my favourite. very flat response, least hyped headphone on the market, AFAIK. for click isolation the vic firths are great.


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## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

I agree with devnulljp, Sennheiser are a good choice, I've got a pair myself but also check out something from the Sony range. Are the headphones you're using the in-ear style? I found that for in-ear headphones Shure makes a very good one called the E3C. I use them with my MP3 player and they do require a bit more volume but they really do a great job of shutting out background noise. Mind you, they are pricier than your average earbud type headphones but the sound is very focused and uncoloured.


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2008)

devnulljp said:


> Sennheiser HD280?


+1 to the HD280's. I switched from AKGs to these because they did a better job isolating the sound. I had too much bleed into the mics during vocal takes with the AKGs (a problem that got compounded trying to record semi-deaf vocalists :smile: ). The only downside is they can be a bit tight on the head, necessary to keep the bleed low, but not great for really long sessions. Excellent sensitivity, can be driven by very low power amps.


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## Jampy (Mar 27, 2008)

devnulljp said:


> Sennheiser HD280?
> I have some HD555s, but they aren't designed for isolation.


I agree, they don't need to sound good, just sound real


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## fretboard (May 31, 2006)

Maybe call around and see if you can locate some of these -

http://www.sonybiz.ca/solutions/ProductDisplay.do?catentryId=1002611

a buddy of mine ordered a pair through his local Sony store and I believe he paid $220 for them - but that may have been during a boxing week sale or another promotion they had earlier this year. I'll seriously consider them the next time I'm in the market for a set.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

fretboard said:


> Maybe call around and see if you can locate some of these -
> http://www.sonybiz.ca/solutions/ProductDisplay.do?catentryId=1002611
> a buddy of mine ordered a pair through his local Sony store and I believe he paid $220 for them - but that may have been during a boxing week sale or another promotion they had earlier this year. I'll seriously consider them the next time I'm in the market for a set.



...i'm definitely planning to audition sony's mdr series.

thanks for all the suggestions, everyone.

-dh


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## suttree (Aug 17, 2007)

i've used the sony mdr's extensively, and i found they fatigued my ears quite badly. sennheiser stuff is nice, but i generally find they've got a pretty hyped bottom end (not good for critical listening).


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

You might also want to try the Apex H90s. They isolate well and ideal for tracking purposes. They're inexpensive and made in Canada too :smilie_flagge17:


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## Gear Pig (Mar 25, 2007)

I just picked up a set of the HD280's myself, and am personally impressed with the response, flat with great frequency response. However I haven't had a chance to try them for a long period of time yet, which from the reviews they do cause some fatigue. What I was after was a set of Audio Technica M50's, they cost 200 as opposed to 135 for the Sennheisers, but there were none to be found in town. The AT's acording to a recent review in Recording are an excellent balance of tone and isolation, they rated them up there with the Sony's for a fraction of the cost. Might be something to consider.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

I recently picked up a pair of the Sennheiser HD555's. They are far and away the nicest phones I've ever owned. They're an open design so not much use for recording around a mic - I've got a couple other sets that do for that.

But for pure listening they sure are a treat to my ears :smile:


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

+1 Sennheiser HD280

Totally changed how I look at recording. My mixes sound a lot better because I can hear what I'm playing and what I'm playing over a lot better than before. I can have my amp up pretty darned high and still be able to hear a click track or a backing track clear as a bell and usually I only hear what I'm playing through the headphones. Comfy as hell too. You can have them on for a looooong time without complaint. 

Cord is a bit on the heavy side though, and sometimes it gets in the way. Otherwise, it's a perfect headphone. :rockon:


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## darreneedens (Nov 13, 2007)

AKG K240's all the way. Great headphones, the quality of sound is great... I use them for "in the box" mixes, and I find that I get a good idea of how the sound with ultimately turn out. As with any headphones though you will have to become familiar with their unique qualities. I also find that with the large ear cups I can wear them all night and not have any issues... oh how many times I have pulled all nighters with these headphones.

As for the sony mdr's I find they hurt my ears after a while. I also find that they have too much bass, if you take that mix and put it on a stereo or monitors you loose a lot of that.

In saying that, after talking to quite a few professionals these 2 headphones were the ones that kept coming up... especially the AKG's.


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