What's the best pair of studio monitor headphones I can get for less than $300?

I'm leaning heavily towards the HD25-1 II.

Is there a massive difference between monitor and mixing headphones? Ideally i'd like a pair that I can do both with, as I plan on getting studio monitors soon anyway.

Music getting produced will be along the lines of trance, psy trance and techno.

Preferably something with a strong high end. Is it just me or do AKGs low ends feel kinda weak?

Thanks.

 

AKG user here (K712 pro since last summer): I've been mixing and monitoring only on them since I bought them and I think that AKGs are the most neutral sounding cans you'll ever get for that price range (paid mine 400$), they're kinda like NS10 for headphones... On the other hand, if you can get a pair of speakers (and get to use, since I COULD buy a pair but I live in a crowded apartment), headphones will probably suit better a stereo monitoring and surgical mixing tool rather than just mixing and general monitoring since your style(s) of music are all dance floor oriented and because of that, speakers monitoring is an essential tool.

Hope this helps

 

I've used Sennheiser HD280 Pros since they came out for various types of musical work... and once they are properly 'broken in' after a month or so, Ive found little else matches them in the under $400 price range...

Some people come into my studio having spent small fortunes on expensive cans.. but it's funny how most of them resort to using my good old 280s for listening/mixing/monitoring and general usage here.. once they have spent a little time using them

$95 on Amazon......

 

Sennheiser headphones (various models) and Yamaha NS monitors.

 

Beyerdynamic DT Pro 770 or 880 or 990
All different. I have 770 Pro 250 Ohm - fucking beautiful sound, powerful, clean, deep, bright a bit).

Sennheiser HD-series, but professional ones for studios, not for outdoor listening

Grado - some pro recommend Grado, they are very expensive, but you can find some models "less than $300" or a bit higher.

AKG professional studio models

Sony MDR 7506 (maybe)

don't buy beats audio by dr.dre by tiesto by armin van buuren by skrillex etc. It is an "anti-mastering marketing", semi-pro for home, good sound, but not excellent, beautiful design. - For outdoor listening they are good, not for studio. Very cool for girls. Expensive for that quality. Do not believe.

 

I second the Beyerdynamic DT Pro 770 really good and great for low end . The Sony 7506 are also good but they are bright and your ears can get tired pretty quick.

 

Audio Technica ATH-M50 => http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/0edf909675b1be4d/

Equator D5 => http://www.equatoraudio.com/D5-Studio-Monitors-with-DSP-Pair-p/d5.htm

You can't get better value/price.

 

Audio Technica ATH-M50 user here also. I found sony's and the akg pair I had, to break way too easy. If I was to buy a different brand I'd go with Beyer Dynamic.

 

I'm a pro producer & mix engineer - I have been for more than 25 years. Beyer DT990 Pro are easily the best for that budget ;)

 

There is no perfect all in one solution for monitoring. I know krk tryed something with the KNS line I guess it's something you should check out. But i like to think that mixes done on headphones translate on headphones and mixes done on speakers translate on speakers so you need both to find a happy medium. That said room acoustics play a big part too. Good luck

 

I have heard good things about the AKG ATH-M50s and Beyerdynamic DT-770.

I am also leaning heavily towards some HD25-1 II.

Ideally my set up down the road in a couple months is some HD25s and Dynaudio compact IIIs with an apogee duet

I want my set up to be efficient, effective, but also compact and mobile in a sense.

Will my plan work out for what I wish to do?

 

the best for that job could be focusrite VRM box, its only a little of your budget and looks like it could be a game changer if it works, read the SOS mag review
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr11/articles/focusrite-vrmbox.htm
I'm seriously thinking of investing even though I don't need it, its £80 about $120 that would leave you with about $180
One thing I wish they would do is suggest what phones would be ideal for them to get the best out of it, though all top brands are pretty good these days
Quite happy with my etymotics for the flat response but like the idea of a flat response with mixing and monitoring enviroments even if some of that is achieved with software and it works

SOS says
pros
A very handy tool for checking how well your mixes translate to other systems.
Provides a reasonably convincing 'speaker‑like' listening experience on headphones.
A nice option for portable laptop mixing.
cons
Integration with other interfaces is clumsy.
No hardware switching for VRM, and it can't be controlled from within your DAW.
summary
The VRM Box is a small but surprisingly useful box that will be of real value to anyone who has to mix on headphones.

Haha found this

Which headphones was VRM designed to work with?
We used the Sennheiser HD 280/HD 650, Beyerdynamic DT 100, Beyerdynamic 770 and the PROline 650s to test VRM with, though during development the concept was tested on a wide variety of headphones of different designs (e.g. open and closed) and of varying cost and quality.


Obviously the better the headphones in terms of frequency response, the more the individual speaker's qualities will be discernible. However, the VRM system was not designed with one specific model of headphones in mind.


When considering headphone impedance, the general principle is that higher impedance headphones typically have a flatter frequency response, however they require more power from the headphone amplifier to provide the same output level as headphones with a lower impedance. Having said this, the VRM Box's headphone amplifier should be powerful enough to drive higher impedance headphones at a high enough level for most purposes.

 

i got some really good suggestions from a very similar topic http://audiosex.pro/index.php?/topic/15903-good-headphones-250-300-bass-music-production/page__p__105233__fromsearch__1#entry105233

 

Believe it or not the classic Sennheiser HD 25-1 II are the flatest headphones ever. The only issue is the THD sucks, making them sound like you put your recording through tape saturation. The good thing is THD doesn't matter when you are mixing for levels that is to say they are not good for depth and separation but they rule for flat frequency response making them easy to mix on.

 

I have the Audio Technica ATH-M50S and they are, in my opinion, a great set of cans to mix on. I like what I hear paired with my M-Audio AV-40s. Definitely no replacement for good monitors, though, so I am going for some 8 or 10 inch speakers (monitors) as my next purchase so I can monitor bass frequencies through a speaker not a headset.

 

Behringer Truth or AKG K240 MK2

 

I second that the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro is in class of his own fantastic headphone!

 

I did a HUGE amount of review reading and documenting for mixing headphones (roughly one week of 3-4 hours a day) and in the end I got this pair: GMP 8.35 D Monitor - http://www.german-maestro.de/US/gmp835dmonitor.htm - Maybe you may want to read something about them before commiting to Sennheisers (which I am a big fan and own a pair for DJing).

 

AKG k270s and k271 for 13 years here. I want/wanted flat response.

It's also important to have good cables and good headphone amp to get most out of them. That will break your budget easily.

 

Hi, mixer & producer here.

For me, never, never, never exclusevely mix on headphones.
For comparison purposes only...
If you "must" mix on headphones, Akg ... 240 pro or 712 pro.