Recording Headphones, which?

[Stevepage]

I'm in the market for a good pair of recording headphones as at the moment I don't have enough space for Monitors. I've been looking at these 3

*KRK KNS8400
*Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro
*AKG K271 MkII

Which of these will give a good idea of the tones/sounds I'm getting? Are there any more you'd recommend in  their price range?

[MDV]

Audio technica ATHM50s.

[Stevepage]

ATHM50S or ATHM50? As there's a little difference in price so I assume they differ.

[Oli]

Personally i'd go with the Beyers, but i've heard good things about those AKGs too

[AndyR]

My Sennheiser HD600 were "down" for a bit while I was waiting for new leads to arrive, so I needed a spare pair of decent phones and wanted closed-backed so that I could use them for tracking vocals/etc as well.

I never got round to trying out the Audio Technica ones - lots of love for them on here (mainly cos MDV will send the boys round if you don't get them! :lol: ). But I was a little confused myself by what I could find about them online - seemed like the originals were being replaced by a newer model? (This was a couple of months back).

Anyway, I got the DT770 Pros.

I love them to bits - my Senn HD600 (somewhat more expensive) are back in action now, but they've been relegated to "spare" and one of the "second opinion" listening options I have.

Can't comment on your other two options, but I can say that DT770 Pro are very satisfying/comfortable for listening and seem fairly accurate to me - they're not "too forgiving" of unsubtle EQ like the HD600s are sometimes (I've mixed stuff with far too much top or bottom for other speakers using those).

[Kiichi]

I recently went around trying many headphones for recording as well cause my birthday was coming up and I had the same problem as you have.
After trying everything I could get my hands on (can only recommend that) I went for Beyerdynamics DT880 pros (and a Sennheiser E 906 mic^^).

Close second was the 770 (which is also quite a bit cheaper), but comparing the two I prefered the half open 880 for comfort and they sounded more open, clearer, more precise. I both are great, but 880s are superb imho. They stood up to other great ones which cost hundrets more too.
They felt very precise, linear, honest and just brilliantly clear and open. The stereo effect on them is insanely nice and listening to my favorite albums on them (lot of Steven Wilson produced stuff like his solo stuff, Blackfield or Porcupine Tree) I laughed like a maniac and got very strange looks from my family and friends, but it was so amazing to hear so much stuff I never heard before. It was like a completely different recording (my normal hi-fi gear is not totally cheap cr@p either).

Working with them also works a charm, I just know what I get and get what I want when I use them.
Short: They do what they should in a stunningly great manner.

Both to me were seemed better than the rest, in a comparable price range (especially in the bass and its clarity, plus generall detail and honesty), but it was a lot closer with the 770 than with the 880.

Thing is that the 770 is good bit cheaper and if you wanne record vocals with it too youŽll prefer their closed design. Could not use the 880s for that cause they are too loud to the outside, but I got Direct Sound EX-25 Extreme Isolations for that. But then again the 880 felt more linear, open and all in all just better than the 770 still. Plus they are more comfortable for longer sessions.



Those are my thoughts and experiences from very recently...a lot I know. Best you try as many as you can, it really pays of. Take some CDs you know well with you, plus some you know have great production and much to hear and listen.

I took: Steven Wilson - A grace for drowning (which has everything)
Peter Gabriel - Scratch my back (so much to hear, great production)
Robyn - Body Talk (pop with nice bass)
King Crimson - In the court of the crimson king (the Wilson remix for a great old school style)

Allowed for great judgement.

[Andrew W]

Audio technica ATHM50s.

I took MDV's advice on this and don't regret it for a moment. To me, they sound fabulous, especially considering the price.

[MDV]

ATHM50S or ATHM50? As there's a little difference in price so I assume they differ.

ATHM50, no s, except to pluralise.

I dont know of any newer model. I dont really need to though - since I got my M50s I havent looked at any headphones. I used to be quite a headphone whore. M50s cured my headphone gas completely. I still have my HD25s, because they're slightly more isolating for tracking, but I never mix or dial in sounds with them.

They're *pretty* level (no headphones are totally level), have great low end handling and extension, crisp, clear high end, superb transient response and decent spatial representation. Headphones are binaural, not stereo, so what I mean by that is apparent sense of space and depth to the source. Reverb, more or less. They're on the whole the best headphones I've heard (ultrasone pro750s have better spatial representation, but not better anything else at all).

[Nadz1lla]

Another call for ATH M50, definitely! Best recording headphones I've ever had!

[Stevepage]

Cheers guys I went with the ATHM50s.

[Andrew W]

ATHM50S or ATHM50? As there's a little difference in price so I assume they differ.

There are two versions, the only difference is that the 'S' suffix means that it has a straight cable.

[MDV]

Cool, let us know what you think!

[Roobubba]

I also went for the AudioTechnica ATHM50s (straight cable) on MDV's recommendation, and haven't regretted the purchase in any shape or form. Superb set of cans :)

Roo

[Andrew W]

I also went for the AudioTechnica ATHM50s (straight cable) on MDV's recommendation, and haven't regretted the purchase in any shape or form. Superb set of cans :)

Roo

I went for the curly cable as it has better tone (more vintage/late '60s sounding).

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Went for the straight cable. No problems with it.