Recommendation for Monitor Headphones Please

[rainbowreality]

Hi there everyone,

I'm looking to buy a pair of headphones for monitoring music production, monitoring recording and the like. My budget isn't massive so something fairly cheap and cheerful but but will give a clean unbiased sound reproduction if possible. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Edited January 9, 2015 by rainbowreality

[mybass]

[quote name='rainbowreality' timestamp='1420834368' post='2654132']
Hi there everyone,

I'm looking to buy a pair of headphones for monitoring music production, monitoring recording and the like. My budget isn't massive so something fairly cheap and cheerful but but will give a clean unbiased sound reproduction if possible. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
[/quote]
I use Sennheiser HD 600 but they cost a bit over £250 (off Ebay) new but have since been superseded. I got these as a friend mixed his album using them and I thought the end result was very good. Cheap n cheerful headphones abound but won't always give a decent real true listening experience.

[Chrismanbass]

Sennheiser hd-25's or beyerdynamic dt770's are industry standard closed back headphones neither are massively expensive (if compared to fashionable headphones at the moment the top of the line beats are about £300)

if you wanted to go open back (more common among studio engineers)

DT990's are pretty good for the money

i personally have a pair of Shure srm 940's and have friends with the slightly cheaper SRM 840's

they're good for the money and will do a fantastic job but are a little bass light (not such a crime imo) and are a little more expensive than the other options i've suggested

of course this all depends entirely upon your own budget but my advice would be that buying cheap means you'll buy twice

Chris

[zero9]

If your budget is limited, look at the Audio Technica range, such as the ATH-M40x (about £70).

I've been using a similar older model for years and they're great for the money.

[rainbowreality]

Cheers chaps, plenty of great advice to think over here

[Andytre]

Iv been using Beyer Dynamic DT150's and a pair of AKG K240 Mk1 (Gold colourings, try and avoid the 240mkII there not as good) for years (think you can get them for around £120 each), the DT150s seem to have a very flat response so can i always tell whats going off in the mix and the AKG240's are good for checking overall if whats been done is sounding good in a decent set of cans. but to each there own, i knew a guy who only used iphone headphones as "thats what everyone uses these days anyway!"

[Dad3353]

[size=4][quote name='rainbowreality' timestamp='1420834368' post='2654132']
Hi there everyone,

I'm looking to buy a pair of headphones for monitoring music production, monitoring recording and the like. My budget isn't massive so something fairly cheap and cheerful but but will give a clean unbiased sound reproduction if possible. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
[/quote]

Superlux HD669, £22 from Thomann.de. They get good reviews, and mine are fine for me. More expensive headsets are available.[/size]

Edited January 12, 2015 by Dad3353

[ambient]

Audio Technica athm50.

Or save up a bit more and get a pair of Sennheiser HD650's, I just bought a pair of these, and they're extremely detailed, far more so than cheaper ones. You're gonna use them for listening to fine detail, so what's the point in buying them if you can't actually hear that detail ?

Seriously, the difference between 'budget' headphones and more expensive ones is like night and day, look on it as an investment.

Avoid things like Grado, they're made for listening to music, not mixing or producing it.

Have a look on the Sound on sound website, there are recommendations on there.

Edited January 12, 2015 by ambient

[Ben Jamin]

For a single pair of headphones I'd say get definitelying open back for mixing - stay away from closed back. I use a pair of AKG K702s which are relatively inexpensive and have a great soundstage and clinical response which makes them great for mixing lots of layers.

[Pete1967]

Another vote for Audio Technica ATH-M50.... a very flat response and hugely underrated IMVHO

[Drax]

Could do alot worse than those Audio Technica or AKG around the £100 mark.

I know many people mix down fully on cans but for me you have to do the final stretch on monitors, it always throws up some unexpected stuff.

[Mornats]

Another vote for Superlux.

I use the 662F closed-back ones for mixing: http://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_hd662_f.htm - they sound very similar to my M-Audio BX5a Deluxe monitor speakers which is very handy.

I use the 668B ones for general music listening and to check my mixes: http://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_hd668_b.htm - they're open backed and sound nice.