Ableton Forum

Although not a substitute for monitor speakers, what would you all recommend for headphones when producing?

One producer was recommending Sennheisers, but didn't say which model...

Anyway, just curious to see what you all use for headphones when producing/doing the mixing of a track.

Thanks,
Mike

anything from ULTRASONE

Sony Professional MDR-7509 - better than all the grado stuff in my book. And so damned comfortable!

I really like my Beyer Dynamic DT 770s

I demo'ed all of the ultrasone stuff at AES earlier this month, and I really really wanted to like it, as I had read some good reviews, but I gotta say I wasn't digging the sound, except on the most pricey $1200 ones, but that's absurd. I think the industry standard sony's mentioned by Machinate are industry-standard for a reason....that's what my quest for new phones has turned up at least..

A co-worker has Grado's, which sound nice and "open", but I'm not sure if they're the "truest" in terms of actually producing on headphones. Your best bet would be to take a killer cd that you know and love into a store that has a number of brands and see what sounds best to your ears--it's very subjective opinion, highly influenced by the listener and the type of music...

i really dont get those Grados - they are by far the most uncomfortable cans i've ever tried. had to take them off after a minute of use.
my sennheiser hd580 on the other had are sweet. try them out if you can (or the hd600 or 650 ones if your budget will stretch) - theyre super cosy and sound amazing. open back, though, so not ideal for everyone.

Sennheiser HD-600 & HD-25 SP II - both excellent and reasonably different to each other to get a balanced view. I find both very comfortable to wear for long periods too. Recommended.

i would never trust the sonys, sennheiser, or grado.

i own the ultrasone dj1 pros. and have used hfi-450s. and they have hte truest to life sound i've heard from a headphone. i'd much rather produce/record/mix/master with these phones than any others.

i post this all over the internet. 7506s, and 7509s are terrible... the bass especially. invertedly too. the bass is too loud and muddy in the 7506s, and its too light and thin on the 7509s.

AKG all the way

quandry wrote:I demo'ed all of the ultrasone stuff at AES earlier this month, and I really really wanted to like it, as I had read some good reviews, but I gotta say I wasn't digging the sound, except on the most pricey $1200 ones, but that's absurd.

Had same experience on Frankfurt Messe , couldn't hear evidence of what I heard/read about, those people have bigger mouths then their products, their arrogance was rather annoying.
You will be fine with any actual industry standards Sennhs 650/600, AKG 701 or Sony 7509. Sony are most flexible since you can use them for tracking too, Sennheiser most comfortable and 701 probably have best definition and clarity. In the end any of the 3 will work, once you get use to and know their sound, each is the best in its own way.

rikhyray wrote:

quandry wrote:I demo'ed all of the ultrasone stuff at AES earlier this month, and I really really wanted to like it, as I had read some good reviews, but I gotta say I wasn't digging the sound, except on the most pricey $1200 ones, but that's absurd.

Had same experience on Frankfurt Messe , couldn't hear evidence of what I heard/read about, those people have bigger mouths then their products, their arrogance was rather annoying.
You will be fine with any actual industry standards Sennhs 650/600, AKG 701 or Sony 7509. Sony are most flexible since you can use them for tracking too, Sennheiser most comfortable and 701 probably have best definition and clarity. In the end any of the 3 will work, once you get use to and know their sound, each is the best in its own way.

exactly, well put. It was hilarious at the Ultrasone booth at AES in San Francisco--they had the sales guy, and two scandinavian women who could barely speak english, had no idea about the product (couldn't even work the cd player--seriously, and were scantily dressed...I'm not even going to speculate on that one....). To top it off, all of their reference discs were frikkin live dvds of concerts--not exactly pristine audiophile material for serious comparisons. I was shocked at how very different the different models sounded, sadly, to me ear at least, none as good as the sonys I brought to A/B with....again, a lot of whether or not you like a particular headphone is subjective as to how you hear (and want to hear) music, and what genre's you work in....

Beyer Dynamic DT 770s, the 250 ohm version.. you wont go wrong

Not strictly on topic as these are not *by any means* professional headphones, but I bought a pair of sennheiser HD201s recently for travelling and I gotta say for £15, they sound fucking amazing! Sound quality like I would expect from a pair of cans that cost 10 times that!