Which headphones do you think are suitable for mixing and mastering?
Sorry if this gets asked too often but I'm looking for new cans.

 

What is your budget? Otherwise the are too many headphones to choose from.

 

JDS Labs Atom headphone amp + Sennheiser HD650 is what I'm currently using. Very clear and neutral.

 

Check out AKG K-612 Pro
In any case I highly recommend you to check if the headphones you like are included in Sonarworks. Definitely try using Sonarworks and adjust the effect slider to taste.

Try to find info about the frequency response of headphones changing after heavy use (at least old Sennheisers do lose HF, according to Sylvia Massy on gearslutz).

PS. Personally I don't trust headphones for mixing and mastering, I like the sound to travel in the room so I can understand volumes and make better decisions.

 

Mastering with headphones is like driving with a nylon stocking pulled your head so that they cover your eyes. Sure, you can see kind of, but a cop will pull you over just in case you were thinking about knocking over a gas station...or something like that. Also, you won't be able to blow out the candles on your birthday cake. These are all reasons not to use headphones whilst mastering.



By the way, thats Jack Black.

 

-For Timbre selection, Mixing and Mastering -> Beyer DT880 Pro 250ohm <-

Very effing Detailed, Clear/Crisp, Tight/Precise.
Very extended FR, you've got all the Highs, but it can also play the Lowest freqs.
Mids are not too forward, but they are Flat.
They lean on the Bright side, but they've got a great Airy, Liquid, Lush presentation.
Never Piercing or Harsh (unlike 990Pro), nor woolly and bloated (unlike 770Pro)

They don't really do Soundstage, but you get a good sense of Center,
while doing an OK job at Panning.

Absolutely Wonderful and incredible headphones for the price,
will Blow your mind (unless you're an absolute Bass-head)


-For Soundstage/Spatial appreciation, somewhat last-step Mastering,
and overall proper Enjoyable listening: AKG K712 Pro

These are very Different headphones,
Not as Detailed/Tight as the 880, but they've got a very Organic, Natural and Warm sound.
The Highs and Lows are not as Extended, but the Mids are Very Present/forward,
and even tho it may be a tad beyond neutral, it's a very Pleasant/Interesting experience.

Also the Lows are quite present (more than in the Beyer),
but Not the Sub-lows, which are lacking in comparison. (not the best for EDM Rumbles)

It's a bit like comparing an Ibanez RG/PIA guitar (Modern Technical Precision) and a Stradivarius,
AKG are Organic and Delicate sounding like that.

However their biggest strength is Soundstage,
This AKG have an almost magical ability to represent Space, offering a very Wide and Tall panorama,
but placing you in Front/the middle of the action. Pretty much like being in the third row of an IMAX cinema.
(unlike Senheiser HD600 which are more Distant, like say a fifth or tenth row)

Also the Comfort is 100% perfect, very lightweight and almost invisible,
you can easily forget you're wearing them.

However they are not the Perfect headphones,
they have a very marked Character of its own, and I wouldn't recommend Mixing on them.
They are not as Neutral and Detailed as the Beyers, and being so Spacious,
it could be harder to asses/decide what's the absolute best volume level/dynamic layer to use.
(although they're great for assessing the Panorama/Depth)

Also they're very Unforgiving,
if you're listening music of Great Quality, it will sound Amazing.
But if the quality/timbre of the instruments, or specially the Mix/Production is not good/sub par..
it will sound like shit in this headphones!


-So yeah all in all,
first get the Beyer DT880 Pro 250ohm,
and use/work with them for a few years until you know them.

When you've got this nailed and want to pass to the next stage,
you can get some headphones that give you Soundstage like the AKG K712 (or K701/2 if you want less Warmth),
or some other that are more focused/better in that aspect..

Like for instance Philips SHP9500 on the low budget,
or some Senheiser HD800s, Hifiman Ananda/Arya on the High budget side.


-On Closed headphones (for Monitoring, Tracking etc),
It's a no brainer: Audio Technica ATHM50x, or Beyer DT770 Pro.

However Closed cans are not as good for Mixing,
Open cans are better in that aspect.

 

Last edited: Apr 9, 2021

I realize that you shouldn't master in headphones but I want them to be "that good" so I could get the best cans I can get for mixing. I'm still going to master on my monitors as I always have.

I suppose my budget is around $200 but possibly more. Also great tip on Sonarworks, I completely forgot about that.

 

What a great response, thanks for taking the time! I actually was looking at Audio Technica or a pair of Beyerdynamic. But was probably looking for an open back set.

Another user messaged me and said make sure the place I buy from has a good returns policy because I probably won't like the very first set I get which I think is a good point as well.

 

For mixing you can try one of my past favorites the Sony MDR-7506 (also liked by Andrew Scheps). Studio monitors I had at the time were NS10M & Tannoy Little Gold 12". Always got consistent results with those headphones compared to the AKG Studio headphones.

 

ollo s4x

you dont even need sonarworks, all you need is the crossfeed simulator (canopener)

 

Sennheiser HD600, HiFiMan Sundara, Audeze LCD-X.

 

Senn600 or AKG K317

 

What about the old AKG K240 Studio for bedroom "mastering"? I've heard good things, and I'm very close to being able to purchase a pair. Already have a pair of closed-back headphones, the Audio-Technica ATH-M30x but they're not very balanced and sound very closed in. I use EqualizerAPO, Peace, and an AutoEq preset to try and balance them out but it's just not enough...

Oh, this reminds me, a deranged friend of mine offered to turn them into open-backs by melting holes into the cups like she did with her DT770 Pros. That was a while back.

 

Well I can't imagine what the result will be,
but she's not completely on the wrong side..

DT770/880/990 Use pretty much the Same Driver inside,
It's just some models use extra parts for a different tuning..

For instance the 880 has two things that the 990 doesn't have:
a circular chunk of foamy Fabric material in front of the driver,
and also a thin metallic Mesh on the back side..

The first is used to filter/correct a lot of the otherwise Piercing Highs the bare driver will have,
and the Mesh makes the Sub Bass slightly more controlled/subdued.

If you take the drivers of a 990, and put the Fabric on top,
you get pretty much the same nice highs of the 880..

If you take the Mesh out from a 880, you get a bit of the extra thump on the bass/sub of the 990's.
And this is something I did on the Two 880s I actually own.
(the change is slight/subtle, not dramatic)

I've had a few 880's over the years, and I did/tried a few modifications, like:
-Balancing the headphones by installing a RCA connection in each cup, great result.

-Taking the Mesh out of the 880s to have more Bass impact.

-Replacing a broken set of drivers of a 880, with a new set from a 990,
and placing the old Fabric on top.. which pretty much equals to having a regular 880.

Since a new set of 990 costs roughly the same as some replacement drivers,
I figured I could buy the 990, try them, and find what's good/different about them.

This also gave me extra replacement parts (all the structure),
and more importantly new/different Pads.

The 990 pads are slightly more solid, for some reason they don't deform as much,
and that improves the way the headphone sits on your head, giving you say an extra 2% better soundstage.

Nothing to call home for, but with the balanced RCA, no Mesh, and different Pads,
my nº1 880 is a great/better performer now!

The other one has the 990 drivers+fabric, and serve me as a Backup,
or alternative point of reference.


-So yeah, who knows what she may come up with..
The 770 driver has an extra Plastic piece in the back of the driver,
and a strange metallic cap/thing on top.

Maybe if you take the Plastic out, and poke a zillion holes on the Cup,
you could actually get closer to a 880..?

I don't know, and I'm not gonna try lol
but she may be less crazy than suspected afterall..

 

Last edited: Apr 9, 2021