Topic: Nice Can! What cans are you using?

[DSatz]

I use Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones for their excellent isolation. This is important to me because without it, one is forced to turn up the volume to be certain that one is hearing the cans rather than the live sound in the room--and such high levels of sound exposure over time can be quite damaging to one's hearing, so more isolation is better for the long term. I really don't think very highly of the sound quality of these 'phones, but with a few weeks of practice I became able to work with them well enough.

Prior to that I used the Sony MDR-V6 phones, which have elevated low-mid response and are thus very good for detecting any hum in a recording setup. When I was a studio engineer that was an important part of my responsibility, while all final EQ decisions were made over monitor loudspeakers. But when I went back to live recording, that same artificial impression of plentiful low end caused me to make rather thin-sounding live recordings, so I abandoned the Sonys.

Before that, for many years I used Beyer DT-48s which again are not pleasant but very truthful, and have good isolation although not nearly as good as the Sennheiser 280s.

If Koss still made their ESP-9 series of electrostatic headphones, those would get my vote for most truthful of all that I've heard. But with their weight and the need for a power amplifier and a separate interface/charger, they're rather inconvenient for live recordings, and anyway I don't think they're available any more.

--best regards

[edtyre]

I use Senn 580's for mastering/mixing on the computer......very comfy and have a neutral sound,not colored at all.
Also Senn 650's for casual listening when i can't use my speakers for audio or home theater.
Shure SE530 earbuds for portable listening.

[alpine85]

AKG K-240-DF cans (semi-open) - very accurate and balanced, not fatiguing at all,  but they need LOTS of power to drive them.  (they won't work with a typical headphone output from a laptop or portable device)

Sennheiser HD-595 cans (open) - extremely comfortable, highly efficient (loud), good detail, slightly on the bright side

Etymotic ER-6i (buds) - great isolation, great sound overall, but get a little fatiguing after a while (I can only take so much of having anything in my ear).  I don't do much monitoring in the field, but if I did these would work great

[Duconlajoie]

Sorry for that silly question but cans mean headphones?

[newplanet7]

yep. kids and their slang   

[Duconlajoie]

Thanks. My english is not perfect.

[Belexes]

Cans also mean something else: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cans

For that other meaning, we'd have to travel to the Sewer.

[Chilly Brioschi]

Sennheiser HD-600 for home
Sennheiser PX-250 II for  planes / trains / noisy server rooms
Sennheiser HD-414 for impressing the chicks, baby     
Sennheiser HD-280 at the office (fed by a hacked Benchmark HPA-2 amp sans DAC)

Do you see a reoccurring theme here?           

[Brian Skalinder]

• AKG K-501 for home / extended listening.  The detail and comfort (these are truly circumaural) far exceeds that of my other cans.
• Sony MDR-7506 for field recording of un-amplified sources and general home listening when I need closed cans.  While marketed as circumaural, for me, they're not really (maybe I have freakishly large / lumpy / deep ears, but I don't think so.)
• Etymotic ER-6 with custom earplug molds for field recording and travel / on-the-go listening.  Tiny, comfy, good enough sound quality.