Aug 22, 2011 02:03 pm My vote goes to one that you haven't mentioned - Audio Technica M50
Need help choosing monitoring headphones, CANNOT try them in the store!
Posted on Aug 22, 2011 01:09 pm
lp026713389
Member Since: Aug 22, 2011
Hey everyone,
I need some urgent feedback and help on choosing between 5 headphone monitors, and since the local vendors don't actually have these models, I'm having it shipped and so I can't try any of them till I actually buy them. I HAVE done quite a bit of research, and I have narrowed it down to these 4 - 5 models.
The Sennheiser HD 280's, HD 380's, the AKG K 240 MK II's, the AKG K 141 MK II's, & the AKG K 121's.
The headphones monitors will be used for HOME production of electronic dance music (trance) and will barely be used for personal audio or DJ'ing. I have a few criteria/conditions which might help you guys narrow my search down:
- I need headphone monitors that are worth their money without need of amplification/volume attenuation.
- I don't know whether the headphones I need for the mentioned purpose should be closed, open, or semi-open.
- The headphones WILL be used occasionally for long production sessions of up to 6 hours at a time, so comfort is important but not as important as the other conditions.
- I need the headphones with the FLATTEST frequency response (across the spectrum), so that what I hear is what it actually sounds like and what it would most likely sound like if played on club speakers.
All I have to go on is your feedback guys. Kindly keep your responses specific to the models I just mentioned, unless there is a better monitoring headphone I am missing out that is either AKG or Sennheiser (I narrowed it down to those 2 brands for sure) that is below $145ish (that's my budget).
Some notes from various reviews I read:
HD 380's: Have a good "audio/sound stage" but produce some kind of hissing sound...and need a volume attenuator and/or a headphone amp to take care of that problem...can anyone verify that? I'm on a limited budget, so if I buy the 380's I won't have any/enough cash left to buy any extra stuff like the amp or the attenuator. Also, closed headphones, so some sound stage is lost? But better than the HD 280's?
K 240's: Semi-closed so there is some leakage involved, and so you don't hear everything you're supposed to. Also read that they tend to give a boosted bass response, which tends to muffle some of the mids.
K 141's & K 121's: Aren't as comfortable as the 240's and response isn't as flat and sound stage isn't as wide as the 240's.
I know about the AKG K 271's, but unfortunately I can't afford them :(
If it matters, I have a Creative X-fi soundcard...I know it's not the best for music production but I bought it way before I got into music production...
Help?! Thanks in advance people! (Please use simple terms guys :P)
[ Back to Top ]
Aug 22, 2011 02:03 pm My vote goes to one that you haven't mentioned - Audio Technica M50
Aug 22, 2011 04:56 pm Thanks man, but unfortunately it won't be in stock until 6 weeks from now...plus, I don't think I wanna go for closed headphones anymore I'm reading everywhere that open and semi-open headphones are better for monitoring and mixing. Thanks for the reply though!
Aug 22, 2011 05:19 pm What sources are your referring to regarding open and semi-open being better? I seriously question this statement.
BTW - the choices you have listed are awesome as well but just not my first choice.
Aug 22, 2011 06:42 pm Aside from replies in various other threads on this forum and others (non specific to my models though), there's wikipedia as well:
"Open-back headphones have the back of the earcups open. This leaks more sound out of the headphone and also lets more ambient sounds into the headphone, but gives a more natural or speaker-like sound and more spacious "soundstage" - the perception of distance from the source.
Closed-back styles have the back of the earcups closed. Depending on the model they may block 8-32db of ambient noise, but have a smaller soundstage, giving you a perception that the sound is coming from within your head."
If you were confined to the choices I mentioned in my post, which would you pick?
Aug 23, 2011 12:00 pm 280's for me. Only because it's what I own and use. For the money they are a great tracking headphone imo.
Aug 23, 2011 09:31 pm I use AKG 240s and love them. However I don't really mix with them. I use them as a second source after my nearfield monitors. Basically as a sanity check. Also anything that is panned I will also double check in them. They are very comfortable but if I use them for a couple hours eventually my ears start to become sore (not my inner ear), but I think that is a function of me wearing glasses because I've never had a pair of headphones that didn't eventually make my ears hurt.
Also, club speakers are not flat, so you won't find headphones that mimic what club speakers do....
Aug 24, 2011 05:51 pm Thanks for the reply man...do the monitors translate well onto the 240's? how much were the nearfields? i wear glasses too but i usually take them off when im at home :)
thanks for the reply and plz let me know the answers to the questions i just mentioned :)
Aug 25, 2011 03:56 am I don't remember what my nearfields cost me. I bought them used some years ago (KRK K-Roks) off a dj. I want to say they were $75 each plus $100 for a reference amplifier (also used off ebay)... but that may or may not be accurate.
As for translation...
I just did about 10 minutes of listening to see what I could hear, and I would say that maybe the 240s boost some lows just a teeny bit (maybe around 60-70Hz or so...) and have a small cut in the high mids (guessing somewhere around 5-7kHz) compared to the monitors.
But I really like these headphones and the way they present sound to my ears.
Aug 26, 2011 03:20 pm Kinda wish I had the ATM50's But I've got their little brother the M40fs, and I don't really have a need to upgrade anytime soon. I have to say, the AT's I have sound nice and balanced to my ears. But they are closed back. I don't generally mix on headphones, but I've been known to sketch out some tracks late-night and then mix em the next day or so on the monitors.
|
Related Forum Topics: |
If you would like to participate in the forum discussions, feel free to register for your free membership.