Taperssection.com

Gear / Technical Help => Playback Forum => Topic started by: MSJ on November 30, 2008, 03:04:00 PM

Title: Headphones
Post by: MSJ on November 30, 2008, 03:04:00 PM
so christmas is coming up and i realized the perfect thing to ask for would be a new pair of headphones (not earphones)

id primarily be using these for playback/mastering, not out in the field. i know a pair of decent monitors would be better for image purposes, but a pair of headphones in the $150-$300 price range would be good for now.

any recommendations?
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: OOK on November 30, 2008, 06:53:05 PM
Although I do not have dirrect experience with each.  I know these are all quality pieces of heard gear.

I have heard atleast one set from each line, just not every model.  You won't go wrong with any of these...

AKG's 240, 171, 271
Grado's  SR80, SR125, SR225
Sony MDR 7506
Ultrasone HFI 580, Pro 550, 650, 750

Peace OOK and happpy holidays to yah....
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: tgakidis on November 30, 2008, 08:03:20 PM
I love my AKG K701 (open ended reference class).  They opened up a new world of sound for me ;D.  You do need to have a decent headphone amp to drive these babies from a computer.  I have a zero dual DAC/Headphone amp.

http://www.akg.com/personal/K_701,pcatid,4,pid,1,_psmand,1.html

http://buyeretail.com/product.asp?i=AKGK701&ref=froogle for $235
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: StuStu on November 30, 2008, 08:31:55 PM
I highly recommend picking up used Sennheiser 600's or 650's. I love my 600's.   
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: MSJ on November 30, 2008, 10:03:33 PM
thanks guys  ;D

You do need to have a decent headphone amp to drive these babies from a computer.

i have a m-audio fast track pro that i hookup to my computer via USB, im guessing this would this suffice as a headphone amp too?
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: OFOTD on November 30, 2008, 11:36:11 PM
One vote for the Sony 7506's.  I've had mine for years and absolutely LOVE them.
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: dennisrtyler on November 30, 2008, 11:46:49 PM
One vote for the Sony 7506's.  I've had mine for years and absolutely LOVE them.
+1 although i've only had mine for a few months.
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: Thom Joad on December 01, 2008, 08:09:58 AM
Something else that should be on your short list is the Beyerdynamic DT880's. 

Very transparent, neutral phones.  Had mine for ~ 1 year and love them.  They sound decent directly out of the computer's built-in headphone jack, but my Zhaolu DAC/headphone amp. really makes them sing.  Did a lot of reading over on head-fi before I bought them, and have no regrets. 
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: Shawn on December 01, 2008, 08:19:58 AM
I've been thinking of upgrading my headphone rig a lot lately, and my budget is similar to yours. The top Four on my list are
Beyerdynamic dt880
Grado Sr225
Sennheiser hd600
AKG K701


http://buyeretail.com/product.asp?i=AKGK701&ref=froogle for $235
damn. that's a steal.
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: George on December 01, 2008, 08:30:29 AM
Sony MDR V6 (not the V600's) or 7506.  You can't go wrong with these headphones and they are indestructible.  I've owned mine for 7+ years.
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: busterr on December 01, 2008, 09:13:01 AM
Another vote here for the Beyerdynamic DT880's, just great can's overall, probably best with a good headphone amp, but most home receiver's can drive them pretty well...although you really can't go wrong with any of the cans mentioned, it just comes down to personal taste, like already brought up headfi.org is a great resource for all things 'can' related.

I'll also throw Sony's 7509's into the ring, between those and the 7506's, they are probably the most popular cans used by soundguy's/mixing engineer's.
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: tgakidis on December 01, 2008, 10:35:21 AM
I've been thinking of upgrading my headphone rig a lot lately, and my budget is similar to yours. The top Four on my list are
Beyerdynamic dt880
Grado Sr225
Sennheiser hd600
AKG K701


http://buyeretail.com/product.asp?i=AKGK701&ref=froogle for $235
damn. that's a steal.

That's where i got mine....
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: Javier Cinakowski on December 01, 2008, 10:38:27 AM
mdr-v6 for my gear bag or for monitoring in the studio.   dt880 for reference or studio playback...
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: run_run_run on December 01, 2008, 06:22:07 PM
I love my AKG 240s
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: MSJ on December 01, 2008, 06:39:32 PM
thanks again for the suggestions guys

i think ive narrowed it down to the three Sony models:

MDR-V6
MDR-7506
MDR-7509HD

they range in price from $75 to $200. would it really be worth it to go for the higher-end 7509's for $200? how would they compare to the $100 7506's?
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: George on December 01, 2008, 08:40:21 PM
I don't know diddly about the 7509's, but I remember reading a long while back that the 7505's were more closely linked to the V500's in terms of sound reproduction (which is shit for the V500's).   I've rarely, if ever, heard or seen anyone use the 7509's and Sony isn't exactly know for having a wide ranging line of good headphones; like AKG, Beyer or Grado labs. 

My honest opinion is to get the V6's.  They are cosmetically identical to the 7506's and sound identical too.  The 7506's are marketed for the pro audio crowd and the V6's are marketed towards audio consumers.   If you do pick the V6's, you can swap out the pleather ear pads for the Beyerdynamic DT250 velour pads (by ordering them through beyerdynamic).  That's what I did with mine, they fit perfectly and are far more comfortable.
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: Gutbucket on December 01, 2008, 09:01:49 PM
I've had a pair of V6's since the late 80's.  Good phones. Great as 'closed' phones to monitor/check the mix use. I used them for years for pleasure listening.  I stopped using them as much when I bought Etymotic ER4S that both isolated and sounded better.  I picked up a pair of open backed Senn 650's recently and really love them for rich, super deep & detailed playback if I don't need isolation. They like a tiny bit of treble boost but aren't overly bright sounding like the AKG's sounded to me or overly midrange emphasized and compressed like the Grados I've heard.  I haven't listened to the Beyers but they interest me, especially with the pro oriented Beyer virtualization box option that I forget the name of.
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: illconditioned on December 01, 2008, 11:18:17 PM
What do people think of the Beyerdynamic DT250 series?

I've got a few pairs of these and like them.  They sound a bit "softer" than the Sony 7506, but not as much detail and not as much bass.  The speakers are (a bit) farther back from the ears, so they tend to sound a bit more realistic (to me).

  Richard
Title: Re: Headphones
Post by: George on December 02, 2008, 08:19:50 AM
What do people think of the Beyerdynamic DT250 series?

I've got a few pairs of these and like them.  They sound a bit "softer" than the Sony 7506, but not as much detail and not as much bass.  The speakers are (a bit) farther back from the ears, so they tend to sound a bit more realistic (to me).

  Richard


I had the opportunity to try the 250-250 (250 Ohm DT 250's) and thought they sounded awful.  Incoherent was the first word that popped into my head....I just couldn't get a grasp on the sound reproduction of those headphones because they didn't do anything right.