Which Headphones For Producing Electronic Music Will Be The Best For Me?
I guess I'm targeting the most neutral ones and with the best bass as an equivalent to the studio monitors/room/good subwoofer.
I wanna use them to listening and producing 24/7 like on monitors in the professional studio but portable in front of the computer.
I wanna hear the sound like in Professional Studio but in obscure small room with broken doors and windows.

I have enough of reading audiophile trashy reviews. I'm vomiting from this crap. It didn't tell me anything except this pair is subtle and warm and like you be there and this is more open and this one has more scene and this is like you hearing this in opera and this one is good for rock and this one for classical music, not so much cutted the top but cutted your ass. What a shit.


Audio-Technica ATH-M50X (Closed) vs Sennheiser HD 600 & HD 650 (Open) vs Audeze LCD-2 & LCD-3 & LCD-X (Open)

I found those as a good starting point but I am confused.
There is too much options and nuances.
One person say:
Sennheiser 650 have more bass but is darker so Sennheiser 600 is better
Other person say:
Sennheiser 600 have too sharp highs on female vocals so Sennheiser 650 is better
Other person say:
Audio-Technica ATH-M50X are closed and have much better bass than Sennheiser 650

And so on and on and on...
Please Help or Press F to Pay Respect

 

My recommendation would be trying to attend to an audio store to try the models yourself, I know that sound cliché but going blind on these type of things will propably lead to regret at some point. Believe me, I went blind on HD650 some years ago and the neutral soundstage sounded too boring for me, so I recently "downgraded" to a DT900 Pro X and I'm way happier with the Beyerdynamics, even tho technically I need to admit Sennheiser has less flaws and a bigger soundstage.

With that I want to say that personal tastes will vary a lot, some people may like the neutrality on headphones, others, like me, will end up exagerating some things to compensate for the lack of excitement on those. So, since you intend to use it extensively for a long time, nothing's better than trying some models and seeing which sound more natural to your ears.

 

Audeze LCD-X 2021. Call it a day.

HD650= muffled,veiled, flabby bass.
HD600=Brighter, nice treble but lacks sub bass for anything electronic music.(still would pick these over 650 any day).
ATH 50X= Way too hyped in every aspect. Not good for producing. Stay away.
DT1990=Overly bright. In fact, anything Beyerdynamic is too bright imo. Even 900/990.

 

Last edited: Dec 17, 2023

I started with Audio-Technica, but ended up with Sennheiser, and much happier now.

 

I see now in shops LCD-X Creator Edition
What is this even mean? More neutral than other LCD-X models?
Are LCD-X Creator Edition different than LCD-X 2021 or it is the same model?

 

The best option is the one already mentioned: to go to a store and listen for yourself with your reference tracks. For electronic music would definitely go with Slate VSX or Audeze LCDX, in my opinion LCDX is too heavy to use for some hours (but soundstage is huge on these!) but tbh prefer the more than half-price VSX, plus the software gets you loads of rooms (mixing, mastering, boombox, phone..), headphones brands (even includes some you mentioned) and a flat calibrated option. Been working with HP for years and these give me the best translation i have ever found, give them a look.

 

Start by narrowing down the type you want. If you are considering both open and closed back headphones, you aren't even close to making a good decision yet. Forget Audeze unless you want to waste money to tell people on a forum that you use them.

You should specify a budget.

 

I did the exact same progression lol.

Tbh I've been extremely happy with my Sennheiser 58x's, they're not exactly neutral but there's always ToneBooster's MorphIT/SoundID Reference for that and they have a super solid low end imo. I still use my m50x's every once in a while, they're so much more uncomfortable compared to the sennheiser's that its insane. lol

 

Over the course of 10+ yrs I've had HD25, AIAIAI, then M50X then I bought a pair of LCD-X 2021 in september and my mixes instantly levelled up virtually no fatigue they gonna make you sweat blood for it though but that's the beauty of it and happy where I'm heading. Audeze tuning is just brilliant it's not dark as they say just the high end info energy is different (smooth) but everything is 100% there you just wanna compensate by increasing volume in the beginning to match the high end you were used to with overly bright equipment but carefully planar cans are no joke. Harman tuned gear made my ears overly sensitive over the years if you in the same boat Audeze will delight you with their 'darker/smoother' tuning just phenomenal shit. Epppy shoppin

PS. I haven't mentioned bass and mid range for a reason it's just brutal something you need to experience no second guessing

 

I never had open headphones and I read that open headphones never will have same amount of bass as closed ones because they are open. That's why I am confused.
But I wanna try open headphones.
Budget limit is price similar to Audeze LCD-X

 

AKG K371 is one of the best closed headphones I have ever usded for monitoring drums and bass in electronic music.

 

Exactly the same headphone on both packages. Creator edition is just a bit cheaper because of the single ended cable and a less expensive travel case. Just get the creator pkg if you are considering them (2021 version, NOT earlier versions). They are truly stunning headphones. I spent 15 years on HD600/650/ATH M50/ATH R70X/DT990/HD-25. These Audeze's are worlds apart, and I mean that without exaggeration. Usually with new headphones it's the A/B dance for 5 days straight. When I got the LCD-X, I just cleared my table of the other cans. As for the bass, it's plentiful. Not like DRE Beats, but you don't want that regardless how bass heavy your music is. Open backs can suffer from low bass response like you said, but planar magnetics like the LCD-X are different. They really slam in the lows, and with razor sharp precision. In any case, I would ALWAYS chose open back for producing if your environment allows for it. Your mixes will come across better imo. I make techno for what it's worth.

 

Last edited: Jan 4, 2024

i make electronic music mostly, i used hd600's. imo make sure you allocate room in your budget for a headphone amp of some kind. i feel like a lot of reviews (not here in general) aren't talking about headphones for production and leave out that you're generally working with some amount of headroom plus its just good to be able to blast your nice headphones (but not enough to damage your hearing)

 

Your initial post says you want to use them everywhere. You would want closed back, if you are going to be in a room with anything much more than ambient sound. But then you mention small room (where open are perfect), but with broken windows and doors. So by this, I think you may be ok with open still; but if outside of the small room is a very loud environment you will get leakage. Open backed can be pretty annoying to anyone around you, so you wouldn't want to use them with people around who will bitch. Think office, plane, etc. I don't think they should actually bother anyone, but they do.

Your listening environment aside, if you are not tracking/recording open will sound better. Do not include tracking synthesizers and other Midi gear as "tracking". Even though you are recording, what you hear generally is not affecting what you are playing. So open are still fine generally, if you are just tracking electronic stuff.

I would almost never think to buy a $1000 pair of headphones. That is money for good monitors if you do not have them already. Headphones break, people damage them, and there is no way I could even count how many times I have had to buy new ones. If I was in your position I would probably buy both, but with emphasis on getting better open backed first. And if you have a poor audio interface, you are just wasting your money.

 

Had this one, https://www.beyerdynamic.de/dt-770-pro.html for two weeks ago, German quality for a soft price. Realy good for in my studio. beyerdynamic dt 770 pro 250 ohm

 

Last edited: Dec 17, 2023

I have adam A77X in a heavy treated home studio ( 15k euros ) and when i use my HD650 the last 15+ years i have noooo problems at all but .... if you never have heared bass in a treated studio ( direct sound , without reflections and of course without the love of the " ravers " , the standing waves ... ) and used to torture your ears inside big clubs then these headphones are not for you .... ( never used HD600 so i cant recommend them , you have to decide yourself by testing them ) . Also take in care that those headphones will " bury you " so dont think about the money unless you like to change frequently or get bored easily . Its your choice , good luck !

 

Last edited: Dec 17, 2023

If you're able to invest in the Audeze that's the way! I've been using Audio Technica R70X for a few years and love them... though I intend to scoop up Audeze sometime in the future to replace them. The R70X is worth looking into, if you're wanting a more affordable set of openbacks.

 

sennheiser's are generally used in broadcast because they are unbreakable.
but it sound better with a Focal Spirit on a DAC usb.
on the other hand the solidity needs to be reviewed for intensive use, it breaks too quickly, same goes for the pads, the plastic will come off quickly.

 

Last edited: Dec 17, 2023

It isn't easy topic.
I really appreciate feedback from all of you!
Thanks!

 

Last edited: Dec 21, 2023

Unless being a mastering engineer for countless artists is how you make rent, my personal advice is that nearly any relatively cheap headphone will do, especially if it's comfortable.

I've never bought expensive headphones, I think the most I spent is roughly 120 euro. My first headphone was a Sony MDR V6 (before it was discontinued it was cheap).
Then I got a Sennheiser HD 280 PRO. It was far more isolating and the bass was thumpier (but the highs kind of suffered). It's okay but definitely not my favorite.
Then I got a Audio-Technica M40x, which felt really balanced to me. I liked it quite a bit.

None of them were that comfortable for long sessions.
Then I got an AKG K240 for quite cheap. It was super comfortable. The semi-open back felt oddly interesting and I think helped my mixes somehow.

I then bought Samson SR850 because they were even cheaper. I was pretty pleased with the sound, until I tried to design bass synth presets. There was some distortion in low frequencies. I put back the AKG K240 - problem was gone. So these SR850 has some harmonic distortion issues. So I don't really use them anymore for critical listening or sound design.

I then got a Sony MDR 7506. It was well regarded and I was curious how it compared to the MDR V6. I think it was more flat, with better highs, I started to trust it more, and used it for my critical listening. Still wasn't comfortable after long hours of use, but I take breaks when mastering anyway.

Then I went to the dollar store, and bought some $4 trash out of morbid curiosity, and wow, they sucked. High end was completely destroyed. Makes the Samson SR850 feel like serious gear.

So I use K240 for long producing/composing sessions and general listening simply due to comfort, then use the 7506 (as well as monitors) when it's time to polish the mix.

I'm thinking of getting beyerdynamic 770 or 990 next, to see what the fuss was all about. Heard they feel like nothing (comfortable).