hello, I need to buy some new headphones - my budget is pretty cheap like 50 - 100 $, anyone can reccomed on anything and other studio stuff needed for an okay quality home recording?..
thanks

 

AKG K271 MKII

I dare to say that those are the best option for composers/producers on tight budget.

 

Grado sr60e

Try to test the headphones before you open your wallet.

 

Before you buy new akg line(and if you have adequate amplifier), try find some vintage akg in good condition like AKG K240 DF, studio, monitor or even sextett model.

 

These! Surprisingly accurate, dirt cheap, great range, quite comfortable, buy new pads uber comfortable. I use these for everything. Practice, mixing/recording, recording vocals, and mastering. You can actually hear what your bass is doing pretty well. More than worth the money IMHO.

 

I use the AKG 271 Mk2s myself. Great headphones for around 100$. Think I paid 180$ for them a few years back.
Pretty balanced, non hyped headphones tho the high mids are a bit forward. They can definitely lead to ear
fatigue real quick even when monitoring at low levels. Nothing to worry about tho, if you're on a tight budget.

I'd recommend getting the AKG K701 for mixing. They are so dead cheap nowadays but a bit above your budget.
You can get them for around 150$ (559$ a few years ago). New, of course.

 

You have to know if you want a closed (no leak) or semi-open design (leak).. The AKG K271 MKII (closed) and AKG 240 Studio (semi-closed) seem to be in you price range, and they kind of a standart..
I`m curious about the sound of The Samson SR850 (Semi-open)..
@The Teknomage
Is the sound of SR850 good enought to get good results?
It seems that the Samson SR950 is the closed version.. Have you try them?

 

What about the Sony MDR-7506. I thought these were "the" 100 dollar studio headphones. For the client, for the booth, for the budget, etc. I dont own them personally, I have 2 pairs of Ultrasones open and closed backed. I prefer offset drivers for truer representation of the stereo field. But, I see the sonys everywhere I look, usually on the artists/clients head

 

Last edited: Nov 16, 2016

Didn't realize you want them specifically for recording. In that case you definitely want a closed
design. The 701s ain't closed so forget them.

 

I have a pair and they work just fine although my car speakers are the final mix reference.

 

Beyerdynamic DT 770 for recording! Fun headphones. I own the 990DT (more for low volume mixing)

 

I had a set of these for ages, but when they stopped working on one side I replaced them with the Samson's. In all honesty, the Samson's blow them out of the water.

 

Last edited: Nov 16, 2016

I'd say more than good enough. I work in headphones exclusively. I don't use monitors at all. I have no mix translation problems with the Samson's like I did with my old Sony's. I haven't tried the SR950, as I don't have a need for them. I can at present use the SR850's for recording, mixing and mastering.
This is a quote from another member on the SR850's from a different thread:

I picked mine up for the equivalent of $33. They are $40 on Amazon, so at that price, there's not much to lose really. Would I buy these again: Yes. Without hesitation.

 

Last edited: Nov 16, 2016

Samson's looks like the Superlux... those are the same products with some little difference in the designs. I Own a pair of HD-669, not bad (since its chinese made) but I'm definitively looking for a Beyerdynamic DT-770 pro.
Anyway, the best thing to do is test them (head size, ear form, not only quality but comfort is important)

 

You want open back for mixing.AKG K240 MK II or a cheaper but also very good version Samson SR850.
I would only change the pads on Samsons with leather or quality pleather.I hate velour.

"The K240 MKII professional over-ear, semi-open headphones are a long-time standard in studios, in orchestras and on stages around the world. Its advanced Varimotion 30 mm XXL transducers deliver solid low end, accurate mids and crystal-clear highs. The semi-open design provides the airiness of open headphones with the powerful bass response of closed designs.

For more than three decades, professional engineers and musicians have made the K240 the most widely used headphones in studios and at live consoles around the world."

 

Last edited by a moderator: Nov 16, 2016

Lol, copy & pasta?
I love velour, my cans came with 2 pairs of velour pads.
When I went to buy my first pair of real cans I had my sights set on the mkII's but the local sam ash didnt have them in stock. So I demoed every pair on the wall using pink floyd's dark side of the moon as a reference. Out of the 20+ pairs they had there, the Ultrasone prolines had the best sound/clarity and separation. I had no idea about specs or brands, I just let my ears do the choosing. The specs are bananas though 8hz-35khz. They were 3 times the price of the AKG's I wanted. The clerk told me the AKG's would be in stock in a week. After I verified their return policy on headphones, I figured I would just return them when the ones I wanted came in, because I couldnt really afford them at the time.
Well, I went back when they finally came in and after demoing the AKG's I just couldn't downgrade after getting used to the great sound of the ultrasones. I ate a lot of soup that month, lol.
The main difference is the offset drivers. They fire from the front of the headphone into the cup of your ear and are closer to how we really hear things. Not like regular headphones cramming all that sound into you earholes. Makes a huge difference in how the stereo field is perceived. I wouldnt try to mix or master on any other cans. Funny, when I was playing around with that waves nx thing, I realized my cans already made it sound like monitors in front of me. Its not only ultrasone, they call it SRS tech, but offset drivers are whats up for mixing and mastering.

 

Yea, copy pasted, just woke up and didnt feel like writing a bible, lol.
AKGs need time to open up.
The most important thing however is knowing your headphones or monitors so you know how far you can go with them
and make important decisions.
1000$ cans in amateur hands vs 100$ cans in experienced engineer`s hands.
No expensive gear can replace human knowledge and experience.

 

I can vouch for that. I used K240 cans for nearly 25 years beginning from around 1985 or so. I should maybe get a pair of semi-open headphones again and have been thinking about the AkG K 702. It would be nice to get the depth and width for late nights when I cannot use monitors. I love the Audio Technica ATH M50X for tracking because the closed back doesn't leak enough to make a difference, but not for mixing as reverb tails and sense of space do not translate to the sound traveling through the air into my ears from the monitors.

 

Awesome.
Even most mid range priced monitors can not compete with certain, even cheap headphones when it comes to reverb transparency.
K702 are good, little stiff and dont sit as well as 240s,idk just my personal experience, maybe i should have given them more time.

 

hello great thread, im olso on headphone hunt at the moment, and as far as i know for mixing, Open or Semi open is the way to go, or can someone prove me wrong? dt990 or 880 the ones im thinking about.