Get any halfway decent headphones mentioned in the thread here. But please do yourself a favor and get them calibrated from Sonarworks with their Reference Headphone calibration plugin. You will have a slight delay that the plugin needs for processing but this way you can really get a true and uncolored bass response. Invest the money. It's worth it.

 

In ear monitors for mastering, for 1400$?

 

got AKG 271 MKII, good quality but same story there, "no Bass"
the day i buy new headphones Audi-Technica ATH-M50x is on top of my list

 

Same for me.
I use a SRH 1840 and I'm quite happy with it.

 

yeah its surprising for sure, few years ago i never would have thought it was possible either.

 

I'm awaiting shipment of the Samson SR850 headphones thanks to @Von_Steyr .
Just curious why is that, if headphones are usually used by most of us here to isolate from the awful acoustics in the room?

 

Last edited by a moderator: Sep 29, 2017

Open and semi open headphones are used for mixing because of their soundstage. Soundstage gives you sense of spatiality, that is, you can tell exactly where sounds come from in space. That's why they're better for mixing. Closed back headphones are used for tracking while recording because they have almost no sound bleeding that could get in the mic.

Tip: SR850 with Sonarworks and the Superlux HD681 profile. (Practicaly the same headphones).

 

Got me curious.

 

There's more physics behind closed vs open back headphones, and rough generalization gets you only so far. Of course there are good closed cans even for mixing and all around contenders, usually out of reach for general public as those don't get primary attention.

Take for example Beyerdynamic DT-250, IMO the flattest sounding HP on the market. Not one part of the spectrum stands out. And they get the spatialization aspect spot on too, even while being closed. Only 81,000 of them were made up till today (since 80s) and they are known mostly only by professionals.

On the other end of spectrum, DT-770/880/990 are far from neutral. However since your enquiry is for bassy headphones, consider AKG K701 or K612.
Factory K701 are not bassy at all, but when you open its bass ports, it's very different experience.

Me, I prefer as much neutrality as possible, hence DT-250 are above perfect. Alternatively K601 and K240DF.

 

I've been struggling with this myself lately. Only way I've been able to come to terms with the lo end is reference checking in a vehicle that is equipped with subs. I put 2 MTX 10's in my truck, and when I checked my mix (which I "thought" was good) against some similar Genre pro material, my low end was too loud, lacking detail, etc. So it's been a kind of back and forth adjusting a bit at a time until I get it right. Once it's right, I believe it will facilitate better future mixes because I will have learned my cans and monitors and then know what to shoot for.

I think he's talking about open back vs closed back cans. You're going to LOVE those Samsons (open backed). He talked me into getting a pair and they are very revealing especially for determining mid-hi frequency harshness. I prefer to mix in these versus my AT MH-30's which are closed back. I still mix check in the AT's though because the mix should sound good there too.

 

ATH-M50x were reported to suffer from channel frequency imbalance issues.

In general, this is indeed the truth - my DT-250 are around 4N, typical open back is 2.5N, though HD-600 clamps quite firmly too.
That in itself isn't the source of extensive discomfort - it's usually the headband.

 

beyerdynamic dt 250 250ohm

 

I want to try out the K712 Pro, many say its the best 7xxx version.

 

I'd like to get open-back phones for mixing one of these days, but the best 'phones I've used to date are Shure HD280 Pros. They have a decent (not hyped) bass response, although the wisdom behind using bass-heavy phones to mix bass-heavy music is a little wonky. Wouldn't it make more sense to use as flat of a headphone as possible, so you know exactly how much bass you're mixing in?

 

It's a Apogee Duet. I had to ask Apogee to get that number (30 ohms) via email because the specs only say "high output". I have some old closed back AKG K 271 Studio (originals not MKII) for my tracking needs. They're just not as comfortable as I'd like but they do the job for tracking vocals (electronic music, so no acoustic drums or guitar, ect) I don't even know the specs for them, they're hand me downs and seemingly work just fine with the Duet. More volume than I'd use, ever.

I'd just like to know what I need to power 470 ohms headphones and how I would use this power source with the Duet, should I need it at all. The idea is to get some cans, I can afford, that are light and comfortable, open back for minor mixing needs, and that I can wear for a few hours without hurting my ear lobes like the AKG K 271 do after some time. Old pads, old cans.

 

470 Ohm isn't really indicator of final volume in this case - you need sensitivity figure to complete the picture. Unfortunately, in specs there's just 99dB (it should be defined either in dBV or dB/mW). However most of ATH are defined in dB/mW, so these headphones are actually fairly efficient.
Apogee Duet should output approx. 19dBu into its headphone out, according to specs (http://www.apogeedigital.com/knowledgebase/duet-2-usb/duet-2-specifications/), which is just over 6 Vrms . That should be more than enough to bring the HP to deafening levels

With output impedance at 30Ohms it's actually advisable to pair Duet with high impedance HP

 

Thanks for the explanation and tip.
ARe those Superlux decent too? they are $20:
https://www.gearbest.com/on-ear-over-ear-headphones/pp_270782.html