Headphones Recommendations

[NoelEiffe]

Not within your specified price range, but if you don't mind dropping some coin for high quality, I found a demo set of Ultrasone Proline 750 for $250. New they cost $475. I my opinion, there's nothing out like them. Fantastic.

+1 more on the Ultrasones...just enough of a spatial separation to really clarify pans and illuminate a mix, but not as wooly as the Senn 650s, and in a completely different league than the Sonys mentioned imo as well. Amazing sound from a closed headphone design, and quiet enough to use for tracking. Incidentally, they were relabelled Pro 750 fairly recently, got a new box etc. Full Compass has great prices (or did) on Ultrasone as well.

[mdk]

anyone got any grados?

http://www.gradolabs.com/frameset_main.htm

are they worth it?

e.g. the SR125i pair.

[djdoza]

thanks for recommendations.

[OvertoneZero]

Not within your specified price range, but if you don't mind dropping some coin for high quality, I found a demo set of Ultrasone Proline 750 for $250. New they cost $475. I my opinion, there's nothing out like them. Fantastic.

+1 for Ultrasone

[contakt321]

anyone got any grados?

http://www.gradolabs.com/frameset_main.htm

are they worth it?

e.g. the SR125i pair.

I have Grado SR80s and I really like them, it's typically what I wear for making music after 10pm. They aren't studio quality, nor hifi, nor the best, however, they are very comfortable, "natural" unhyped sounding phones.

I would NOT recommend the SR80s if you are looking for high end, hifi, studio quality phones for mixing. I would recommend them for just making music.

All of the earlier suggestions AKG, Sony, etc are all good, I would highly recommend going to a store and trying them out. They will all sound damn good, but finding one that fits your head, ears, and you like the sound from them will be the key issue.

[francrosario]

+1 Ultrasone
Got the HFI 580 a couple weeks ago and really impressed with the clarity and overall quality.
The uncoiled cord is a bit long but not a deal breaker for me. Definitely give 'em a try.

[Sales Dude McBoob]

Four years ago I bought a pair of Sennheiser HD25 because I had heard great things about them on this forum. I loved the sound. It was awesome. But, I am a man with a big, fat, Irish head. The HD25 felt like a vise around me skull. They gave me a headache after a half hour of use. It's not the HD25's fault. My rotund gourd is to blame.

I was able to return the HD25's, and in their place I bought a pair of Audio Technica M40fs. Back then they were $75, but now they've come down $10 in price:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/9 ... phone.html

Great headphones. There is no headphone that can even come close to it in this price range. These are as good or better than any $100 pair of cans. The only drawback is that the connector is 1/4" only, no screw off to 1/8" mini.

It's cool that AT has come up with a new model that everyone seems to like. I admit, I'm a bit of an AT fan. But what's not to like? High caliber gear at a more reasonable price. Seeing as many people have warned that the M50 is kind of a squeeze on the head, I likely won't pick them up.

If I were to buy a new pair tomorrow, I'd probably go with these Beyerdynamics:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4 ... hones.html

Why? They sound great and they're comfy. I don't know what's so great about 2005, but whatever. My Audio Technica's are still going strong, 4 years later, but they're closed back. I would get an open back pair for the studio. Use my M40's for tracking and DJing.

[McQ714]

+2 more for the Ultrasones. I have the ProLine 650s and the DJ1 Pros. Hours of listening with no fatigue. And they translate perfectly. Looking to get the 900s soon.

[rishi]

Not on the most popular list but I went thru a massive trial and error phase looking for some good studio headphones and ended up with SOny MDRCD900ST's.

Great, natural sound and very comfortable

[toneburst]

I have a pair of Sennheiser HD650s that are very good. The only downside to them is that they're almost as loud for other people in the room as the monitors!

I exaggerate. They are open-backed though, so not ideal if you want to use them for playback while you record a vocal.

a|x
toneburst.net

[SubFunk]

i have sennheiser hd25 and hd 280, the 25s i don't like that much, they are ear destroyers, good for def DJs.
the only plus they have is built like a tank and being LOUD so you get easy and quick def.
did not buy them by the way, i would not drop 160 euros for ear destroyers.

the hd 280s, Beyer dt 700, sony 7506/09, akg 240/271 are all way better in my opinion, but with headphones it's like with monitors or all other gear for that matter, try to listen yourself, what some of us like... you might hate.

maybe you love the hd25s like many others...

[Hardtoe]

I like grado and Audio-Technica, but the "best kept secret" in headphones has got to be Equation Audio - http://www.equationaudio.com/

Their low end EP 3070 competes with my love with all the other headphones I have owned and used (AT, Grado, AKG, Sony). It is a very "dry" sounding headphone with slightly hyped bass response and fantastic transient response - clarity & "pound" is very good and they will NOT break up at loud volumes - this model has been discountined, but you can still get a killer deal on 6 pairs (if one set breaks you got 5 more - very important for dj phones) for $130 (or $29! when purchased individually) from:

http://www.frontendaudio.com/Equation_A ... %20002.htm

(I have no connection to this webstore aside from being a former costumer)

I use them for tracking bands at my studio and could not be happier - I'm sure that Equations "high" end headphones would sound even better - In fact I suspect that they might be discontiuing these cheapies because they dont want to undercut their own market...

BTW I have expensive gear in my studio because I love tone - I in no way support bad sounding crap - these are the real deal-just cheaper...

Cheers

Orion

[rompling]

Senheiser HD 25 all the way ...

yep there the nuts IMO

[porfiry]

Temporarily re-bumping this thread to say a hearty thanks to those who recommended the ATH-M50s...I decided to treat myself to a pair. Best $98 I've spent in a long time. They match to my monitors way, WAY better than the Sonys I've been suffering through for about 12 years. Very quality for the price.

[ScarKord]

+1 for the AKG240 - most comfortable pair of headphones I've owned. Very flat response and not at all fatiguing even after wearing them for hours.

I did try out lots of different pairs in the local music store and found the Seinheissers to be pretty uncomfortable - but I do have a larger than average sized head! (ha ha).