Suggested Headphones for Laptop Production

Performance & Techniques Music Production
1

Suggested Headphones for Laptop Production

Hey all,

I am looking for some mixing/production headphones, I do my production on my laptop and I would like to now how much I would have to spend to get quality equipment.

thank you for your recommendations, if you could point to some in the DJ Techtools store it would be sweet as well.:sunglasses:

Pipoma

2

I use DT-100s which I like cos they are quite flat sounding

3

It’ll be easier to make recommendations if you give us your budget

4

For mixing, ideally you want open backed or semi-open backed otherwise the bass gets too hyped. I’d say to get a truly good pair you’re looking at at least $150 for a sale price, and more likely $200 - $250.

I use Beyerdynamic DT-880’s which are comfy as hell, fairly flat and semi-open backed, but one of these days I’ll probably look at the Focal Spirit Pro’s as they get a lot of love elsewhere.

5

Sony 7506

6

I like how the price on these look, I want to know how they sound. Why spend more when you can get these for $100?

7

The 7506’s are very bright. I have some. I like them, and use them for DJing, not for production mixing.

However, Sonarworks makes a pretty cool VST plugin that more “flattens” out the sound of your headphones, and the 7506’s were the first headphones they did so. You can find their item at JRR Shop for $49 right now. It seems to do a pretty good job w/ my 880’s, however I haven’t tried plugging in my 7506’s and using it.

8

I will check it out, Thank you.

9

I like the sennheiser hd25, very light and transparent

10

7506’s are a decent option for the price, though as mentioned they can be a bit bright and the low end not so deep. Not the most robust headphones either.

HD25s are certainly comfy (with the velour pads), but I always found that my low end didn’t translate as well as I would have liked. Great for long late night listening sessions, but as a reference headphone only so so for me.

I’m using the Focal Spirit Pro’s right now and have been pretty impressed with how my work translates once I listen to things on the bigger studio monitors. A bit more in price for sure, but if you’re going to be working solely in headphones I think it’s a great option for the money.

11

The high end response of the 7506 is “well known”…and lessens somewhat over time. There are calibration curves that can be applied in most DAWs to get to a “flat response” in the headphone. The 7506 is certainly better suited to live gigs than studio mixing. But, in the $100 price range, there is VERY little that is well suited to studio or production work out of the box.

Here is a longer thread and some response graphs on the 7506’s. I have had a pair in a gig bag for going on 15 years. I have no issues with the lifespan of these headphones, given even moderate care.

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/reviews/693129-sony-mdr-7506-headphones.html

http://www.recordingmag.com/resources/resourceDetail/132.html

At the $200 price point, I have come to really like that Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro. I use the 32Ohm model.

At the $100 price point, the Sennheiser HD 558 are another reasonable choice. They have the opposite problem on the high end when compared to the 7506. The Senn 558’s have a noticeable response dip right at 10k Hz. On balance I prefer the 7506, but that could just be my own familiarity with the headphone.

12

what you guys think about the Pioneer HDJ 1500?

13

Check out TMA’s headphones. You can customize a pair to suit your needs (DJ, produce, etc.).

14

I have HDJ 2000’s that are awesome.

15

I’m a big fan of my Sennheiser HD 650’s I had the 580’s and 600’s before and they all sounded great. You can pick up a pair of the 580’s second hand pretty cheap if your on a budget

16

Audio Technica ATH M50