I really need new headphones - closed ones.

Used for mixing and mastering so that all noise from the surroundings must be eliminated. Do you have a solution based on personal experience?

 

All depends on budget but i recently bought beyer dynamic dt 770 pro (80 ohm) that seems a nice purchase for it's money. A bit on the bassy side but with some https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/ fiddling things are fine for mastering and mixing as well. The nice comfortable fit was one of the great advantages for me.

 

Budget ? Studio or field ? Are IEMs an option ? Can you use EQ correction in your setup ?

 

It´s for mastering field recordings.
They are to be used to remove small, almost inaudible errors and noises on my field recordings, e.g. very low man-made background sounds that you cannot really hear on monitors, so that I get as clean a sound image as possible. I already have a really good monitor system (Adam A7X + Sub 10) but the room I edit in is not acoustically treated so I need headphones for the final check so I'm sure everything is ok.

 

You generally want open-back headphones for mixing and mastering. Check out OLLO Audio s4x or s5x.

 

Last edited: Oct 8, 2023

As Baxter said it's prefered to have open back headphones for mixing as they typically don't boost up certain frequencies.
Depending on your budget but I would say the Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro 80 Ohms would be a safe choice.

If you still want closed headphones, it's beetween the Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro 80 Ohm and the Audio-Technica ATH-M50X in that price range.

To me the Beyerdynamic is more confortable, just a personnal preference, friends are head over heels for the Audio Technica.

Edit : Typo in the headphones models.

 

I haven't mixed on close-backed headphones in years, so this is based off when I was shopping around for a new pair.
I remember ending up on a pair of Audio Technica, and a pair of Beyerdynamics that I'd tried; this was only partially due to the pricing being graded evenly throughout their line, with no ridiculous price jumps. I also remember *really liking the Sennheiser I tried, but they didn't have anything in the mid-range line (as far as quality vs pricing,) that I thought was comparable to the former two. I'd guess the pricing has changed at least slightly years later, and Sennheiser may have a better selection of mid-priced headphones, in which case I'd recommend giving those some attention, but the former two are obviously worth checking out as well. Incidentally, half of my comment is irrelevant if you're independently wealthy... like most musicians and audio engineers are.

I mix on headphone a lot, and I'd normally agree one hundred on this, especially since I've *tried mixing on close-backed and it never gives me a proper perspective, but as you yourself said "...would *generally* want ..."—this doesn't seem general to me. A lot of the issue with close-backed headphones (as I'm sure you know,) comes from the bass or low-mid build-up giving you an imprecise picture of what's going on, but if he's editing out nuances in field recordings, this doesn't seem like as much of an issue as it would be in most cases... ya'know, unless he's editing field recordings of war zones or something. In fact, this seems like one of the perfect instances that you might want to gravitate towards close-backed cans.

 

My brother loves his too. I find most people who use them like to kinda shit on other headphones; just my experience.

 

Closed headphones have more internal reflections, but generally a better bass response and more dynamic range since they isolate from the room's noise floor. If you feel like closed headphones are the better option for you, my personal favorites are the AKG K371 on the cheaper side, and the Austrian Audio Hi-X60 on the higher end.

 

"Shure SHR440", or, "Mark Levinson No 5909" if you want to part with a thousand bucks.

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/blob/master/results/RANKING.md

 

I first had the Sennheiser HD280 Pro, but one day they suddenly lost all their bass, I guess something got blown out or anything.
Then I got me the DT 770 Pro 250 Ohm for 119€, instead of 140-160€ (because here in Germany, you can buy things cheaper in their outlet/B-Stock and still get the 2 years warranty).

And boy have I never been happier with them.
Sure, they need some correction, but I still like how they sound and mostly, they feel very comfy. Even after 4 hours of constant wearing, no discomfort or pain, and I am wearing glasses all the time.
Really can recommend them, if you are on a certain budget.

 

I use Sennheiser HD280 Pro with no correction and yield good results. I actually use them over my HS8 monitors.

 

1) What is your budget?
2) Closed are great for tracking, but a little boxy sounding - not good for "mixing and mastering."
3) If you can afford professional IEMs (fitted are pricier but well worth it), that would be my recommendation.

 

doesn't matter if they are open or closed back... the main matter is that you need them to be as flat as possible (or at least no much 'crowded') to avoid listening issues with mixes and masters. this obviously without using third-party apps

 

get Slate VSX and you'll be fine! Best system for mixing in headphones.

 

I got much better results with my 280s with sonarworks, it's worth a shot if you haven't tried

 

For mixing & mastering (various music genres) with low budget equipment, I have been safe and comfortable using the Beyerndynamic DT770 250 Ohm.
I once tried the ATH-M40x, but I ended up going back to the Beyerndynamic DT770 250 Ohm.

Maybe each person's compatibility with headphones is different.
My advice is that you should try the headphones you are interested in first at the store before buy.

Good luck

 

vsx changed the way i mix for the better.

 

My budget could be from 150 up to 250 Euros.

In reality, I have probably been a little too vague in my requirements for a set of headphones.
I already have several sets of headphones, including an AKG K702, which in my opinion is an ok set. Problems with this set are just that I get too much noise from the surroundings, which makes them unsuitable when I have to find small, almost inaudible "errors" in my recordings that I have to remove via editing. An ideal headphone is therefore one that excludes all disturbing noise in the room I am in, but at the same time has a reasonably linear and neutral sound reproduction - hope that makes sense?!?

 

Well.....if you're determined to mix with closed backs that's your prerogitive. As others have mentioned they
are not ideal, (nor designed), for that purpose. Personally, I mix with open backs and track vocals with closed
backs. As does everyone I know that records professionally. But, yeah, if you insisist on closed, it's hard to go wrong
with the aforementioned Beyerdynamic DT 770's.....but you will probably need a bit of EQ adjustment.