Hi all. What's the best bang for your buck studio headphones are you guys using these days. 1/4" jack, sometimes straight from amp so maybe mono to stereo? TIA.
Studio headphones cover the entire ear like a cup. Don't use headphones that press foam pads against your ear lobes. This becomes very painful in long periods of usage. The most economical solution is Sennheiser. https://en-us.sennheiser.com/professional-headphones-headsets The best headphones are STAX. They cost thousands of dollars. https://staxaudio.com/ I have had some Stax headphones. They put speakers to shame. They put all other headphones to shame. These are a very bad choice. The foam presses against the ear and cuts off blood circulation. This can be very painful. They took these off the market- they don't make them anymore. These things will hurt you. Good Choice Does not press against the ear lobes. Covers the entire ear. Good for extended periods of use with good comfort.
Easy. Since you are on a budget, just compare frequencies. Get a pair that has the lowest/highest range and you should be set.
Thanks for the replies. Stax look the ducks nuts but if I spent 4k on headphones I'd be living on the street. Sennheiser HD599 I can get for $299 on sale down from $399 which is arround budget 12hz - 38khz. Any thoughts on these. https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/prod...UrLuku_9FrcMQmjbT4tUIkQtd6gfUOuRoCeXAQAvD_BwE
As mentioned, the rest is up to you or ampmadscientist will spend your money. Perhaps taking a look at some guitar EQ's that you like, and see where Hz and kHz ranges are.
I´ve been using sennheiser HD595 since 2010... or 11... can´t remember. studio monitors had a huge leap since then, great bang for your buck: https://www.kaliaudio.com/ check the LP6 and LP8s. My monitors are Adams and I really don´t know how is their line up nowadays. the A7´s where killer the F7s (mine) where the best bang for the buck ever, but both are not being manufactured nowadays.
I've got: AKG K240 $150 Sennheiser HD280 $100 Neumann NDH 20 $500 ...and several Sennheiser HD202 ($50) The HD 280 are by far the best bang for the buck. They are hotter than the Neumanns and more detailed than the AKGs. They do bleed a little more than the Neumanns, but that's not usually a concern for me since I usually record alone. If I'm recording something at low volume I can always use the HD 202s. They're closed back. The Neumanns are the most useful overall since they are pretty good for mixing. A little fat in the low end, but once I got used to that it's not a problem. I'd still rather mix on nearfield monitors. I use 7" Adams, they are super accurate and have plenty of power to jam along with when rehearsing parts.
Go try on the headphones at the local stereo store. Listen and decide which ones. Think of long- term comfort for extended periods of usage. Sennheiser is a good headphone at a realistic price. Sure I would prefer STAX ! But I don't have $5000 for headphones. Sadly Baby I'm a want you. Baby I'm a need you. $ 4,325.00 BTW if you want STAX, you need a STAX headphone driver unit. NEW SRM-700T Vacuum tube type high-end driver. $ 3,400.00
Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro. I have had lots of different cans over the years and these are worth every penny and then some. You wouldn't want to use these tracking vocals because they are semi-open back but for mixing, listening etc, these surpass everything I have ever tried. They win in every category: light weight, super comfortable and sound phenomenal. I can wear these for hours and have no ear fatigue at all. "Bang for Buck", I haven't found a better option. These replaced my last set which was a Shure SHR440, which do sound great for guitar because they have a very pronounced midrange but I couldn't wear them for more than 5 minutes. They were like a big vise and a weight on my head. Very painful to wear! The only downside I could say about the DT880 Pro is that the cable could have been a little longer, although an extension cable does work fine if needed.
Kinda off topic, but my best overall music listening headphones are an old set of Koss Pro4/AA with liquid-filled ear pads. They are for times when you wanna put Dark Side Of the Moon on the turntable and crank it up... Great headphones from the 70's if you can find a set.
I've been using Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro (80 ohm) for 6 years. They're not the cheapest, but they're pretty accessible. Great for tracking because the isolate pretty well, and they're very decent for mixing as well. Apparently the best types for mixing are open back headphones, but the open backs are pretty useless for tracking. Since I do both tracking and mixing, the DT770s are more versatile for me. The bass is a bit accentuated, but I find it useful so I know what's going on in the lower part of the frequency spectrum. And I like bass And they're very comfortable. I can have them on for hours.
@SmokeyDopey is bang on the money. BeyerDynamic dt770s are what I use for tracking and mixing when I can’t have the monitors on. pretty flat response, the bass isn’t hyped unlike most crappy consumer headphones and they don’t tire your ears out! NB Edited to change sennheiser to BeyerDynamic
Beyerdynamic* And you're right, the bass isn't as hyped as common consumer headphones, but I think they have a good amount of bass. And they aren't as loud as consumer headphones either, so you can go for more time using them without serious fatigue. And they're German made. Solid engineering.
That’s the one @SmokeyDopey always get those two confused! I have loads of the DT-100s as well that I give to drummers when I don’t want my newer headphones mistreated
Try a set of Koss KTXPRO1 Headphones you wont believe how good they sound for a set of headphones under $20. Koss got lucky in the early 80s with a set of headphones called "porta pros" and the driver in them they used for several different cans over the years this driver is one of the best they ever came out with. If you want a set that fit over the ear try the UR40, same driver but open ear design (you can hear your surroundings while listening) Dont let the brand koss fool you, they are my vote for best bang for the buck Kinda shocked so many recommended the Beyerdynamic DT770 for guitar players i thought those were awful dark in the middle. My cans of choice are the Sony D77 eggos, killer mids been using them since the mid 90s ill never use anything else specially for guitar
