Headphones for production
Hi everyone,
Im looking to buy a pair of headphones to use for music production and I was wondering what the best over ear headphones are for $150 or less? Ive been looking at the KRK KNS6400 and Sennheiser HD-280?
Thanks in advanced for any responses!
My friend swears by the Sennheiser HD-280’s. They look comfortable too, which is good for long studio sessions.
Sennheiser HD-25 II.
Yes Sennheiser HD-25 II
No, no, and no.
Absolutely great headphones for DJing. I’ve tried many other models and always came back to these.
They’re just not good for production. First of all, they are everything but linear/neutral sounding, which is great for monitoring when DJing, but really makes your life a lot harder in production.
Then they tend to be really uncomfortable when you wear them for longer periods of time. Long studio sessions with these cans can get really painful.
Last but not least, they are closed back headphones, which makes them less suitable for production purposes (for a quick introduction into the difference between closed- and open-back, look here.
My best advice for you would be to try find some headphones in your price range via tests and reviews online and the go to a store to check them out to see which ones suit you best.
Definitely go and try some headphones out. Ultimately it’s your ears that will be listening to them day in day out.
Biggest thing is to look for a good freq range. from about 40hz-16000Hz is ideal and try to not get an amplified headphone as what you’d be producing would sound better in your headphones then what is actually going on.
+1
Yes, I have the SD-25mkII’s for DJing… I use them occasionally when I can’t crank my ADAMs, but I don’t really think they have helped my production much, in fact a lot of the time I go back into tracks and listen to the mix on my monitors and it sounds crap…
That and they’re uncomfortable as all buggery!
The advice in the Shure link about the open -v- closed back is reasonable. BUT, it came with an important caveat…open back headphones are not appropriate for monitoring while recording. Open back headphones are essentially tiny room speakers you wear on your ears. The sound can be hear by other people (and microphones) in the room…even at reasonably low levels. So, will you be recording vocals and using the headphones to monitor (or listen to the track)?
If a closed back is what you need…Sony MDR-7506’s. Near flat. Reasonably comfie. Over ear, closed cup. Will last a lifetime.
Since we’re talking about (electronic) music production, I think it’s safe to assume vocal recording won’t play an important role. Even if he should need to record vocals every now and then he can still use any pair of headphones as long as they’re closed back, and get a decent pair of open back headphones that are better suited for the work he will be doing 99% of the time.
Im planning on recording some vocals, but I’m not to worried about the mic picking up audio from the headphones. Like TCMuc said, I could just use different headphones for monitoring. In terms of accuracy and sound quality, are open back better than closed back?
Well… I use the HD-25’s for producing too. 
Honestly, they’re not my favorite headphones for a few reasons, but they’re not bad for my uses either. If I’m using headphones instead of the monitors, likely it’s because I want it super loud or I’m in a loud environment already. In those cases, using DJ cans that boost the lows and highs means I’ll likely mix them a bit lower than I might have with cans otherwise. And in general I find that translates better when I get back in the studio. But again, that’s just me.
I prefer closed-back cans to open-back most of the time. Technically open-backed are supposed to be more accurate, but I find they leak so much sound that it usually negates the reason I want cans anyway, they make too much noise (wife sleeping, in public, room mates home, on a bus, etc). It takes me a long time to learn a pair of open backed cans, but closed back I can usually suss out a lot faster. Again, I’m just weird I guess.
Comfort is a personal thing, so try what models and styles you can. Open back can tend to feel nice and loose on the head, around your ears especially. Overtime you tend to make yourself less aware they are. Of course the flip side is, how long should a critical listening session be anyway?
Personally I like closed back cans that have an option of velour pads. They’re much more comfortable over a longer period of time, and in general I find that offsets the tighter fit closed cans have.
Long story short, headphones are super personal, and people have been great results with all different kinds. Definitely get opinions and know what to look and listen for, but don’t be afraid to go with your gut too.
Yeah, you’re really weird I guess… 
I guess the main difference between us is the situations in which we use headphones. For me it’s mostly when I don’t want to bother my neighbors when making music at night. So as long as it doesn’t also leak through my walls and ceiling, leakage from the headphones isn’t a problem for me.
I used to use my HD25 for making music before I got a dedicated pair of cans for production. Most of the time I do some kind of rough mix while writing and arranging and with the HD25 I always had to basically start all of the mixing from scratch when I listened to it on monitors.
I’d go with the AKG K240s.. They deliver a very accurate sound, perfect for production and vocals
okay, I had this issue for a year, all I ever do is research these things online, I could look at pages and pages of forums of people saying this or that and it kills me because naturally I always want the best (only human!)
The fact is that you’ll be able to produce on anything (NEARLY, I wouldn’t use the laptop speakers or Apple headphones etc), but I’m going to assume you’ve researched this until you’re blue in the face, and you just want a straight answer.
I’ve used my HD 25-IIs when not near my monitors and they’re absolutely fine, bass is boosted a little, so just compensate for that, otherwise:
Get a pair of Audio Technica ATH-50s, just DO IT, they’ll be great for producing, you’ll have no issues, you can always spend more or mince about and compare two different sets for days on end, so just get them, this way the blood can stop trickling out of your ears and your migraines can cease, I don;t even have a pair, but if I can produce on my Senns, then you can make an award-winning track on the ATH-50s, so just buy them
or buy some AKG K701s or beyerdynamic DT880, just get any pair, it doesn’t matter, don’t look at the stats and frequency charts, just get any pair and save yourself some time, when you’re rich and big in the music game, upgrade, til then just save your time, grab a pair and get crackin!
I apologise if this doesn’t apply to you, but I wish someone had just told me to buck up and make a choice you know!
Hope this helps in some way!
ATH-50’s are really good to my ears as are the Sony MDR7506’s. I’ve become a bit of a headphone collector since getting back into this. Damn me to hell!
But truth be told, I’ve only used the Sony’s for production as I’ve gotten away from production since getting turntables. I’ve only used the AH-50’s at this point to listen to music loud late at night at this point. My personal feeling is the ATH-50’s have a bit more of a live sound than the Sony’s, but I haven’t really done an in-depth side-by-side yet.
My advice would be to find a few, probably different brands - something that’s flat and has good range. Once you have narrowed down your list, go someplace and try them on and check out the sound. For me, comfort is huge and both the ones I mentioned are comfy as hell.
I’ve got a pair of the Sony’s as well for producing and while they are crystal clear, they most certainly do colour the sound compared to monitors. A-Bing them with my monitors is night and day as far as how they sound so if you are looking for a “flat” pair of headphones i’m not sure they are your best bet. Maybe someone else can speak to that. But imo it doesn’t really matter what headphones you get as long as you can train your ears to match what a professional sounding track sounds like to your own track. Sure the sound may be coloured but it should be mixed pretty well if you’ve got it sounding like your equally coloured reference track.
+1… you got my ears with that.