I am in the process to acquire headphones for production, to expand my home studio. They are not to take away, just for the home studio. I have several medium quality headphones, two headband and other button headphones, but I need better headphones, exclusive to compose symphony orchestra music.
I have a budget between € 100 and € 200.
Good headband headphones closed, comfortable, and frequency response as flat as possible.
I will use them especially to produce with symphony orchestra, exclusively. So they have to be very valid for this genre.
Can anyone recommend me any specific model?
I would like to make a list of the best headphones in this budget that are valid for producing music.
On the internet there are several media that recommend the same headphones, from Sony, Audio Technica, AKG … But I want to make sure they are very valid for symphony orchestra.
Those made a big step up for me in mixing - very detailed sound, strong highs but because of that you will notice differences in very delicate eqings in that range. Very wide and natural and also vertically consistent stereo image to just some cm outside of the head. Those are open cans, so environment noise might keep you from benefit. They have “linear” (weak) bass, so for electronic music I use an eq with a gentle slope, amplyfing from like 2-4 db in the subbass up to the mids. They are able to deliver some volume though, so boosting the subbass seems no problem. (Sub)Bass is a bit blurry though, for tuning it I have a second pair of dj headphones that give strong and clear bass.
I could imagine they are great for working with orchestral music - very clear and detailed sound, especially for accoustic material. It is not perfectly linear, with stronger highs than would be natural, but that will just aid in working on delicate material, like a lens can be useful to read tiny writing. You hear every cough in the audience and every pin dropping on the stage on good recordings, every clipping and also they show ugly sound just like they are: ugly. Very good build quality (many metal parts…) and wearing comfort.
If the thing needs to be closed for environment noise reasons, then knowing the dt880 I’d go for the dt770 - I am thinking about buying those next, for on the road sessions with the laptop. But for classical stuff maybe the strong sub is a problem on those. dt880 has without eq a very natural sub on accoustic material, on electronic you will dig it, but only when it was mastered correctly.
Try to go to some store where you can bring your music and test and compare headphones that have some hours of playing on them. Don’t try to order multiple new and straight compare. I find such headphones change their sound in the first X hours of playing, when you fist put them up they might seem like they have a slightly weak, yet taut bass and piercing highs, but whithin some use some materials will loosen up and the sound can be much smoother… My dt880 pierced when I got them, now after some time that slipped into the background, and also my hearing got used to the peaky highs, now I can listen loud without any pain, and if there is pain, I know it is either too loud or the highs in the material are too strong…you will instantly notice with these cans.
Note that the DT 880 are open headphones. They provide no noise insulation. This also makes the sound much more natural, but it will not allow the use in environments with background noise above a certain level, and other people around you will hear what you’ve got going, silent yet clear
The thread opener requested closed headphones afaik…
The graphs are to be read with a grain of salt, the highs will always have some edges, some house curve that aids with spatial recognition or presence of sounds. And you can still EQ them to taste…
In my experience closed-back headphones (e.g. DT 770 Pro) are designed for isolation and intended for monitoring applications where bleed needs to be minimsed like recording vocals, acoustic instruments with sensitive condenser mics.
The closed back models will therefore exaggerate bass frequencies more than open (DT 990 Pro) or semi-open (DT 880 Pro) models, and you may find that when you listen to your mix on speakers that the bass is lacking because you have under-compensated for it when using closed-back headphones.
Also, with regard to impedance you can expect lower output / volume but more dynamic range / detail from a higher impedance model like 250 Ohm and higher output but less detail from a lower impedance model liek 80 Ohm.
This is the reason DT 880 Pro and DT 990 Pro come in 250 Ohm as standard because they are intended for mixing and mastering applications, whereas the DT 770 Pro is also avaialble in 80 Ohms which provides a louder output needed for recording / monitoring when capturing louder instruments like drums or electric guitar.
Thanks for the suggestions!
I’m going to use the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR sound card:
The impendance will not be a problem. I am interested that they are as flat as possible and closed, no color. Even if they have some serious excess of low frequencies for being closed, I think I could deal with that, knowing that there is that little excess.
They will be to compose symphony orchestra. So I’m interested in hearing all possible details. I want it to sound powerful and without distortion. But the most important thing is that they should be completely flat. All headphones that I have tried that are not studio end up distorting with a considerable volume and are colored. I need headphones that hold up well, without distorting.
I am seriously looking at this model: Beyerdinamic DT 770 PRO (250 ohm) (122€ in Spain)
It is closed.
It is comfortable and big earmuffs.
It is durable.
The question is whether it is flat enough at all frequencies. I understand that being 250 ohm the bass will not be so exaggerated compared to the 80 ohm model. Does anyone have any idea about this?
Aesthetically I don’t like them too much, but I prefer comfort, to appearance. Aesthetically I like Custom Studio more, but it is 80 ohm.
Maybe you will get good results with software like sonarworks. Also if Bass is too much to your taste, you can work through an eq lowering it, or just let sonarworks even it out to taste. I don’t know what would be more benificial for orchestral work - having natural, weak sub/bass, so you get accoustic like listening sensation, or maybe even have it slightly boosted, so you can carefully work on the low end, remove ambient noise or stomps and rumble, and have focus on the “power” that deep strings or horns or timpanies can have in their low notes…?
My 880s sound very different with sonarworks tuned to flat, like the hi freq lens/magnifier thing will be removed, and things sound very nice and splashy and natural with the flat curve, yet loosing depth and size. So I prefer working without sonarworks, what seems a bit high end overkill makes sense once your ears are used to it and you work longer sessions with hearing fatigue…
IDK with real flat curves like sonarworks audio will sound very flat with any good headphones they support, even if they normally have peaks or bass boosts in their eq curve. It cannot correct distortions ofc. You will loose the emphasis that the beyer models put on the highs, I find for example with the 880s sharp violin sound sound a bit intense and “searing” in the high frequency range, just a little more than would be natural, but this will also allow the delicate noise and ambience to be analysed with more ease.
I think the Beyer headphones have very little distortion, being made for pro audio applications or entry level audiophiles. I think the dt 770, 880, and 990 use the same speaker technology with similar high-end emphasis and low distortion, just in different casings (closed, “semi-open”, open) and with slightly different tunings…
I like the use sonarworks when I’m producing. When I reference, I turn off sonarworks and test not only on the 770’s but in the car and other sources to see how well the mix translates.
It’s spot on most of the time especially with each destination applying their own flair to the output.
Again, not an end all / be all solution. Just one of many.
much love too for the m50x they produce great results when you take the time to know them well
only thing i dont like since i own as well is that i get pretty tired (a bit of an ear annoyance) after a couple hours in the studio i think its because they dont cover my ears entirely i dont use them as much lately but for at least 1 hour when mixing the sub and kick … and for another reference overall
i dont use them as much lately but for at least 1 hour when mixing the sub and kick … and for another reference overall 