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Please recommend a set of headphones $150 or less

I never mix on headphones. Period. Headphones for me are strictly for monitoring/tracking/referencing. Most pro studio engineers will tell you that. Even the pairs of HD600 I own have only ever been used for referencing mastered recordings (mixed on studio monitors!) ... and as mentioned some time back in this thread I have many pairs of DT150 that are only ever used for tracking duties.

Headphones by their physical nature send sound waves over an extremely short distance between their drivers and your ear drums instead of pushing sound waves through considerable space that speakers do. Sound waves are perceived differently depending how near your ears are to the physical sound drivers. We don't listen to speakers with our ears right next to the drivers like we do in headphones: it's for this reason if you create a mix on a pair of headphones it will always sound different on a pair of speakers but not the other way round because with headphones all you are actually doing is mimicking the volume your ears would listen to speakers if you were to place your ears right over the speaker drivers! Of course headphone designers will market their cans as being "very close to listening to studio monitors" however this is a little misleading! That the cans can indeed sound like you are listening to speakers is all well and good but that doesn't mean you can actually mix on them in the same way you do on speaker monitors!
Hence headphones are fine for referencing a mix but not for actually creating one!
 
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I never mix on headphones. Period. Headphones for me are strictly for monitoring/tracking/referencing. Any pro studio engineer will tell you that. Even the pairs of HD600 I own have only ever been used for referencing mastered recordings (mixed on studio monitors!) ... and as mentioned some time back in this thread I have many pairs of DT150 that are only ever used for tracking duties.

Headphones by their physical nature send sound waves over an extremely short distance between their drivers and your ear drums instead of pushing sound waves through considerable space that speakers do. Sound waves are perceived differently depending how near your ears are to the physical sound drivers. We don't listen to speakers with our ears right next to the drivers like we do in headphones: it's for this reason if you create a mix on a pair of headphones it will always sound different on a pair of speakers but not the other way round because with headphones all you are actually doing is mimicking the volume your ears would listen to speakers if you were to place your ears right over the speaker drivers! Of course headphone designers will market their cans as being "very close to listening to studio monitors" however this is a little misleading! That the cans can indeed sound like you are listening to speakers is all well and good but that doesn't mean you can actually mix on them in the same way you do on speaker monitors!
Hence headphones are fine for referencing a mix but not for actually creating one!

Thanks for the helpful illustrative explanation! :)

Andre
 
Thanks for the helpful illustrative explanation! :)

Andre
Pleasure
;)
 
For tracking or mixing? Comfortable for extended use? (2 hours)
I have the M50x and DT880 pro and I'd say for 2 hours+, the DT880 pro would still sit relatively unnoticed on my head. My M50x would need me to take them off to give my ears some air and to let them breathe a little.

If you wear glasses, I find that the M50x pushes the arms of the glasses into the bones at the back of my ears more than the 880s do.
 
I have the M50x and DT880 pro and I'd say for 2 hours+, the DT880 pro would still sit relatively unnoticed on my head. My M50x would need me to take them off to give my ears some air and to let them breathe a little.
I used the M50 for years and I agree the Beyers are on another level comfort wise.

Another issue is that the pads of the M50 start to crack after some time which makes them even more uncomfortable. The head band also starts breaking down and you get stuff on your hair. At least that was my experience.
 
I have M40x and they are ok but not very comfy. I just ordered some Sennheiser's.. I also have AT-R70s open backs but they are way more expensive than $150.

I do all of my mixing on cans because I have two dogs who won't shut up when they hear anything remotely close to piano..... But I love them dearly so that's my compromise.

I haven't had any complaints from clients about my mixes...
 
I used the M50 for years and I agree the Beyers are on another level comfort wise.

Another issue is that the pads of the M50 start to crack after some time which makes them even more uncomfortable. The head band also starts breaking down and you get stuff on your hair. At least that was my experience.
I've already replaced the pads on the M50x with the official ones and the band is flaking too. They've had heavy use for 5 years though.
 
OMG, I love these headphones! AKG 271 MKII, bring clarity to the audio workspace way better than my HD600. As compared to them, the HD600 do sound muddier, almost depressing.

:2thumbs::dancer:
 
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I never mix on headphones. Period. Headphones for me are strictly for monitoring/tracking/referencing. Any pro studio engineer will tell you that. Even the pairs of HD600 I own have only ever been used for referencing mastered recordings (mixed on studio monitors!) ... and as mentioned some time back in this thread I have many pairs of DT150 that are only ever used for tracking duties.

Headphones by their physical nature send sound waves over an extremely short distance between their drivers and your ear drums instead of pushing sound waves through considerable space that speakers do. Sound waves are perceived differently depending how near your ears are to the physical sound drivers. We don't listen to speakers with our ears right next to the drivers like we do in headphones: it's for this reason if you create a mix on a pair of headphones it will always sound different on a pair of speakers but not the other way round because with headphones all you are actually doing is mimicking the volume your ears would listen to speakers if you were to place your ears right over the speaker drivers! Of course headphone designers will market their cans as being "very close to listening to studio monitors" however this is a little misleading! That the cans can indeed sound like you are listening to speakers is all well and good but that doesn't mean you can actually mix on them in the same way you do on speaker monitors!
Hence headphones are fine for referencing a mix but not for actually creating one!
a "mix" with headphones is "suicide".. headphones are GREAT for recording, but never for a mix..I agree with you. I made BIG mistakes in the past mixing with headphones, mainly with stereo reverbs, and delays..everything sounds great with good headphones, but is not the REAL sound you need after the mix..
 
I guess Andrew Scheps is not a professional engineer then.
I'm guessing this excerpt is from the article you are referring to!...

"I still check (unless I absolutely can’t) every single mix I do on speakers. There are certain times where I think the kick and snare work fine on headphones. But when I listen back on speakers I can tell that they might be a little too mushy. Or that they need to punch more or something like that. But once I hear the problems on speakers, I can then easily hear it on headphones. For me, it’s things like the impact of a mix I won’t necessarily know unless I check on speakers. Because you actually don’t get the air moving on headphones.... If you mix on headphones and then go to your speakers and notice there are a lot of problems. Go back to your headphones and make sure you can still hear those problems. If you can’t you should try a different pair of headphones."

...notice he says change your headphones not the speakers!
 
I'm guessing this excerpt is from the article you are referring to!...

"I still check (unless I absolutely can’t) every single mix I do on speakers. There are certain times where I think the kick and snare work fine on headphones. But when I listen back on speakers I can tell that they might be a little too mushy. Or that they need to punch more or something like that. But once I hear the problems on speakers, I can then easily hear it on headphones. For me, it’s things like the impact of a mix I won’t necessarily know unless I check on speakers. Because you actually don’t get the air moving on headphones.... If you mix on headphones and then go to your speakers and notice there are a lot of problems. Go back to your headphones and make sure you can still hear those problems. If you can’t you should try a different pair of headphones."

...notice he says change your headphones not the speakers!
Right, so he mixes on headphones but then checks the mix on speakers.

Stop it with the "real engineers don't mix on headphones" stuff.
 
OMG, I love these headphones! AKG 271 MKII, bring clarity to the audio workspace way better than my HD600. As compared to them, the HD600 do sound muddier, almost depressing.

:2thumbs::dancer:
Yeah the HD600 are quite dark on the treble, but the mid range is glorious. The low end is not as sharp as others. This becomes very obvious when switching to planar headphones which have so much detail and precision it might feel overwhelming at first.

Personally, I find the HD280 to be better than the HD600 in all aspects (sound wise) except that they are closed and the low end might be a bit receded for some (easily fixed with a bit of EQ). If Sennheiser made some open headphones with the same response as the HD280 it would be the perfect headphones for me.
 
Right, so he mixes on headphones but then checks the mix on speakers.

Stop it with the "real engineers don't mix on headphones" stuff.
Considering Andy Schoeps mentions in this article that he always has to reference back to speakers and that in general speakers are undisputedly the indispensable mixing tool the vast majority of pro engineers use in the industry to mix on, does convey that he hasn't lost touch of this fact nor that at the very least he is one of the very few who do practice using headphones in this way! But for your pleasure I have altered my statement to: "most pro engineers will tell you that!";)
 
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FYI, there is a 15% off sale at newegg on Beyerdynamic Headphones. 48 hours only.
Enter promo code EMCBNAZ6 at Checkout.

That would be about $127 for a pair of DT-770 PROs. Nice price. I may pick up a second pair, as I hate listening to my phones at my other computer now.
 
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