Need some advice on two types of headphones

[Nadz1lla]

Hi all!

First of all, I am looking at getting some Skullcandy over-head headphones for my lady for christmas. She is currently stealing my recording headphones to go to work with every day and this needs to end, heh. I was looking at spending up to £30, so the Lowriders looked nice (pink and black) but if anyone has any other recommendations for decent sound-quality headphones for normal everyday MP3 player use (maybe that come in funky colours, she is quite partial to pink and purple) that would be great!

Now for me...

I am currently in the market for some new studio monitoring headphones for myself. The ones my Mrs keeps nicking are actually poor quality, muddy as hell and the cups don't close tight enough to my head, so I'm worried about click-track bleed coming through when I wear them to record vocals. These will be going on my Christmas list, so can't be stratospherically expensive, so I am looking at possibly an £80 top price. Could push to £90-odd for the right pair of 'phones, though.
I have heard the Sennheiser HD 215's are quite good, as I've been trawling the Home Recording forum for rec's, but there's a lot of split opinions on there. Anyone got any recommendations for studio headphones or anyone used the aforementioned Sennheisers?

Cheers all!  :)

[Roobubba]

Unfortunately, given my limited experience and your price bracket, I can't necessarily match up my one and only suggestion with your criteria...

I use the Audiotechnica M50s set. It's a little over your limit, but I find them absolutely fantastic, and would wholeheartedly recommend them especially for mixing, but for any audiophile who's not looking at the £300+ market.

Roo

[psy]

I've not used the HD215's, but I got a pair of HD380's this summer & I really like them for tracking.  Quite a flat frequency response to them.  I think I paid about £90 for them.

[MDV]

HD215s are rubbish. Not all the HD line are created equal, by a long shot. In fact HD25s are the only HDs I've heard that I like, and I dont like them as much as ATH M50s.

[Andrew W]

Following MDV's advice in a previous thread I got some M50s, as much for general listening as for monitoring purposes and I'm really chuffed with them. Sound a lot better than the £100 they cost.

[MDV]

Good man!

Roo too.

Glad you both like em

[FredD]

I would HIGHLY recommend KRK KNS8400. They are great for recording and monitoring, and ideal for mixing.
They go for about £130, so may be a little above your budget. However, I think it is definately a case of 'you get what you pay for' here !

If you are not doing a lot of  final mixing, then the KNS6400 model at about £85, would be more than suitable.

I have had HD215s but changed to KRK about a year ago, and now wouldn't entertain Sennheiser again !!

[Nadz1lla]

Cheers for the input, guys!

These would only be for recording vocals, really, as I mix etc on speakers. Not great speakers, mind, but good enough until I can afford some decent monitors, heh.

[MDV]

Cheers for the input, guys!

These would only be for recording vocals, really, as I mix etc on speakers. Not great speakers, mind, but good enough until I can afford some decent monitors, heh.

If thats all its for then you can get pitch timing and isolation out of some HD202s. 30 quid. But if you hear the ATHM50s, youre gonna want to mix on them

[Nadz1lla]

The M50's are a bit out of my current range, I could save for them, I suppose. Any idea on the M40f's? They seem to be half the price (well, £99 reduced to £54 on Amazon right now...).

Is the drop in quality between the models that big?

[MDV]

Never heard em, no idea. I've never known an audio technica product to be bad though, especially for the money.

[Nadz1lla]

Yeah I've heard a lot of good things about their range in general, and everyone mentions how high quality they are for their respective price-points. The M40f's are almost in "Christmas Gift" price-range, too, if my family want to all chip in together, they wouldn't be able to afford it individually, of course, heh.

[Dr. Stein]

For the mrs, consider a set of iGrados. They're about £40 and they're open backed, so might not suit. Cracking sounds though.

[Nadz1lla]

Cheers! Will look into those.   :D

[MDV]

beware that because they have an extremely bright family sound, with little low end, grados are very much a marmite headphone. A lot of people love them, but you have been warned :)