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What headphones to buy?


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Hi.

I produce in amateur base I'm interesting to buy good headphones with mini jack that can give me good results specially with low freqs.

It's very important for me and I can spend some extra € cause I live in a house that is small with the other members of my familly in so I can't "boom" all the time :rolleyes:

Any suggestions and links?

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The official word is that you shouldn't monitor with headphones, only use them as reference since theres a bunch of reasons why even the best won't make good monitors, such as something to do with stereo frequencies and the bass. You can get good results and IMO if you just know your sound output well enough and how it compares to other systems you can get away with using almost anything.

 

What is your budget? I use the audio technica ath-m50s and am really happy with them, especially for the $99 I got these $200 for on ebay (unopened).

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You have to buy honest monitor headphones.

 

Most headphones are made for musiclistening. They boost certain frequencies and take parts away to give the sound an extra punch.

But these are not suitable for recording or music production cause if you create music with it and then listen it on monitors your mix will sound different.

 

honest headphones have a more raw sound, they are not suitable for musiclistening but all frequencies are at the same volume, nothing is boosted.

in my experience, it's easier to mix with honest headphones than mixing with monitors.

 

I would also suggest you buy headphones that have replacable parts, i know Sennheiser headphones have this, don't know about other ones though.

I use headphones cause i'm in the same situation you are, i have used sony, pioneer, philips and technics, I always treated them very carefully but they all broke down within 2 years, i used them daily.

Now i have sennheiser and i can replace any broken part. If the earbud is broken, you can order a new one. THat's alot cheaper than buying a new pair everytime.

 

Most people don't know about this difference in boosted and honest monitor headphones and think it's impossible to produce music with headphones.

But it is possible, but only a small part of all headphones can do this (my wild guess is 5% of everything available), so watch out you don't buy boosted or DJ headphones.

 

 

I use Sennheiser HD25-1.

They don't look fancy, and they are not boosted, so listening music on them sounds very raw, but still the best i ever had.

 

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Don't make music with headphones. Do it for yourself, and for your enviroment. Your music will suck and you will damage your hearing eventually.

 

If you still decide to use headphones, DON'T BUY SONY. That's all I have to say.

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headphones gives you a wrong picture of the music. it's not related to how good the headphones are, it's related to the fact of them being headphones. because you use headphones, it's much easier to notice individual sounds and it's very easy for the brain to seprate stuff you hear, so it sounds killer on headphones and then when you get to real speakers it's all wrong. it's very hard to notice level differences in headphones. bad for the mix!

that's not all. good acoustics are very important to get the "feel" of your track. eliminating acoustics completely is bad.

in short, don't mix with headphones. don't write music with headphones at all actually.

 

sony sucks because a. they're not comfortable b. they break easily. and you get get better stuff like sennheiser or AT or beyerdynamic.

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headphones gives you a wrong picture of the music. it's not related to how good the headphones are, it's related to the fact of them being headphones. because you use headphones, it's much easier to notice individual sounds and it's very easy for the brain to seprate stuff you hear, so it sounds killer on headphones and then when you get to real speakers it's all wrong. it's very hard to notice level differences in headphones. bad for the mix!

that's not all. good acoustics are very important to get the "feel" of your track. eliminating acoustics completely is bad.

in short, don't mix with headphones. don't write music with headphones at all actually.

 

sony sucks because a. they're not comfortable b. they break easily. and you get get better stuff like sennheiser or AT or beyerdynamic.

This is wrong for so many reasons. I've heard a few very decently mixed tracks on headphones. Headphones are as real speakers as any other.
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The official word is that you shouldn't monitor with headphones, only use them as reference since theres a bunch of reasons why even the best won't make good monitors

Unfortunately this is true.. So eventually sparkunian, you will have to go BOOM, BOOM!

But if u really cant go boom than you have no other choice but to buy AKG K271.

For a 1/3 of the price of some good monitors u get studio headphones.. Those headphones are on my top list of future studio improvements..

If theres anything better in that price range I would be happy to know..

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It's true. Producing in headphones is a bad idea. I know. I produce in headphones, and I have arguably the best you can get (AKG K701). What you get in headphones is production for headphones. Take it to speakers and it's all messed up. Levels that seem right in headphones are way out of whack when taken to a car stereo, for example. If you're forced to produce in headphones, you need to go through a tedious, although improvable, process of getting it right.

 

I'm forced to produce in headphones because I live in an apartment. But I have learned that you can get better at it if you practice and pay attention. Here are some of my lessons learned (and relearned, and relearned, and relearned...):

 

- Use only good, neutral headphones. ***Not Sony!*** Neutral doesn't mean "raw" so much as "real" - too real, actually. Monitors and a good acoustic environment are best for overall sound and feel. You get what you pay for, and it's expensive.

 

- When mixing in headphones, turn your main level very low, to the level of a very soft conversation, and mix from that. When you have your music cranked the levels jumble together and are not accurate. Cranking is for the ego only.

 

- Before you plan to do serious mixing, take a long break to let your ears recover, because they've been blasted relentlessly and go into muted defense mode. I recommend a day at least. A week is preferable because it not only lets your ears recover fully, it also allows some perspective on your work in general. During this week, audition a version of your work at a site like this or others to get people's opinion. Lower your pride.

 

- Also during this time, play your track on as many different sound systems as you can, like in a car or two (they're all very different), your crap work computer (with and without crap headphones), etc. After doing this enough times you'll start to notice a general rule with headphone production, which is that if it seems too loud, it is too loud, and if it seems too soft, it is too soft. It's very subtle, but you get better at it. You'll notice, for instance, that a track with bloated frequencies will sound better in good headphones than good speakers, so it's best to moderate with EQ and perhaps some compression if necessary. Quality over quantity! Clarity over boom! Moderation!

 

- Become intimate with your ear-brain connection. Your ears are the best judge (it helps to clean them occasionally, thoroughly, with a plunger and hot water kit), and with practice you'll notice that your brain, even though it wants to overdo everything, knows somewhere inside what is best for your track. This is, to me, the most challenging, ongoing process, akin to spiritual development and getting in touch with one's intuition and humility versus one's ego.

 

- Start planning for a home of your own, where you can dedicate a room to proper production with monitors AND headphones, which is what I'm doing (years down the road). Headphones are good, but they're limited. Perspective is what you're after, and great headphones are only part of that process.

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Nice post Otto..

I also think u got to have really well trained ear to do production on headphones cause everything sounds good on them and u hear every detail.. And when u turn on speakers u have to mix from scratch..

 

Choosing apartment, is it good idea to choose wooden house? You know that houses they asamble in few days.. They can have up to 25 cm of wood, I'm thinking it wood be like a large speaker, just imagine putting some acoustic foam in it and u would actually be sitting in a big speaker.. I know rock is best material for studio but u could also add rock to wood in your studio room..

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Yes Otto really interesting your post !

 

Because of financial difficulties I'm gonna buy first AKG K701 and later maybe some good monitors or a HI-FI.

 

I'll post when I purchase it to tell some first opinions.

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This is wrong for so many reasons. I've heard a few very decently mixed tracks on headphones. Headphones are as real speakers as any other.

Yea, and very good tracks have been mixed on crappy gear. It doesn't justify buying that.
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Otto why is K701 better than K 271 S?

I'd have to say the k701's sound better, but the 271's with all my background noise would be more suited at this point. I am realizing that isolation factor is big especially when you're using a computer for sequencing, holy shit. bzzz boom boom boom bzzz background bzzz resonance bzzzz fuck boom boom boom IS THAT MY KICK DRUM?

jhaheahsdh

 

I guess I learned the hard way :)

 

-d

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I'd have to say the k701's sound better, but the 271's with all my background noise would be more suited at this point. I am realizing that isolation factor is big especially when you're using a computer for sequencing, holy shit. bzzz boom boom boom bzzz background bzzz resonance bzzzz fuck boom boom boom IS THAT MY KICK DRUM?

jhaheahsdh

 

I guess I learned the hard way :)

 

-d

Yeah, frequency range is much better in K700, so they would probably be the best option..

Did u see K1000 "ear speakers" :lol:

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Otto why is K701 better than K 271 S?

The professionals say they've got better bass response and are more suited to electronic music, whereas the 271s are better for rock and acoustic stuff where bass is not as much a factor. Plus, because the 701s are open, in my opinion they resemble speakers/monitors more than the closed environment of the 271s. Better sound, better environment.

 

And yeah, those K1000s are a fucking dream! Too bad they were discontinued, but last time I checked (a year ago or so) they were still making the eBay rounds.

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you need to learn alot in the beginning (maybe always...). the fact that you dont have excellent monitors and a treated room might mean you ll have to focus on other things to learn for a while. Just focus on build up, sound creation, use of eq, etc.. you can learn a lot even in a shitty environment. you ll get that excellent mix later if its just not possible now because of your room.

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you need to learn alot in the beginning (maybe always...). the fact that you dont have excellent monitors and a treated room might mean you ll have to focus on other things to learn for a while. Just focus on build up, sound creation, use of eq, etc.. you can learn a lot even in a shitty environment. you ll get that excellent mix later if its just not possible now because of your room.

You're right, built up, eq, is the No1, but sometimes when you are not sure what you listening you loose the concetration.I mean some tracks are good because they have good kick and bass.Nice listening of your kits gives you more ideas and ways to playing with the sound.

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sure.. you can make a nice sound in your room.. just work with that for a while. dont worry about how it sounds elsewhere until you can create a room and buy speakers that can give you a flat response. Just focus on building tracks for now. The material you create now you can rebuild later when you have a better set up too.

 

good luck

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