[jonnycool06]

I'm a new university student studying music tech and i would like to have some headphones to record in a studio and to use them to mix and produce. I appreciate detail and depth a lot, a reasonable balance, soundstage and i'm new to over the ear headphones. I've only really used earphones, and my favourite so far is the Westone UM1 and i love that sort of sound with it's detail and balance. I like rock and pop-rock (not too poppy) and folky acoustic stuff as well. I will probably produce that sort of stuff as well. I don't look to using the headphones for casual listening (although if they're suitable i wouldn't mind giving it a try). I do want to have a reasonable amount of comfort from it, i've seen many reviews and comparisons between the first 2 and it seems as though the M50s are more for listening to music and 840s for monitoring but people have said that the 840s don't feel too good. I think i have a normal sized head? not very big...
it'd be great for someone to advise me, it seems as the 840 and the 380 are sort of underrated, not many people review them. 
the big problem is that i can't trial these headphones at a store or anything, unless someone could point me to a place in scarborough england that i can try them. I'm from Hong Kong but i'm here to study, so i would like to buy them here just in case i have any problems i can get it to warranty ASAP. 
My budget is 120 pounds including shipping, and since i would be using these for probably more than my 3 years of study, i would like them new and preferably not 2nd hand. 
oh and they have to be closed back, i've been here for 2 months and i've already had hiccups in recording with bleed... not fun
Feel free to recommend others if u think its suitable and in the price range! Thanks all u awesome people!!!

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
KRK KNS 6400
 
Saved you some money.
 
Very best,

 

[Rightclick/Scissors]

Nothing ever beats the M50.
 
It made it into the Head-fi all-time Top 50 list TWICE. Once at #4 with a straight cable, once at #34 with a traditional coiled cable.
 
Think about that.
 
I've owned an assortment of studio headphones throughout my short life, and can honestly say I've never found anything to touch them in terms of value / accuracy / reliability.
 
Usage: I use them for studio work: composition / monitoring / mixing. They're eyebrow-raisingly accurate. You won't have any trouble, trust me.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Nothing ever beats the M50.
 
I've owned an assortment of studio headphones throughout my short life, and can honestly say I've never found anything to touch them in terms of value / accuracy / reliability.
 
 

 
The M50 is not that special. "Ever" does not apply here, ever.
 
By all means, tell us the assortment of studio headphones you own/owned that the M50 is better than.
 
Very best,

 

[machoboy]

M50s really aren't that special. They're not terrible either but really? Nothing touches ATH-M50s in accuracy? ... COME ON...
 
Speaking of the HD 380, there was a studio headphone shootout recently by a German audio/recording magazine between about 25 models and he actually picked the HD 380 over everything (including HD 800s, 600s, top end Beyers, etc.).
But I talked to the writer and he pointed out that his grading scale included "non-fatiguing" as one of the most important traits because of the length you wear something in the studio, and conceded that they have noticeably boomy bass. Interesting none the less.
 
His 2nd place was the SRH840 which would personally be my recommendation. It actually has a slightly "V" shaped frequency response but those peaks are spread out so wide with such good extension in both directions that you can still hear the mid range very well. Not recessed at all.
This gives you a nice dual picture of how a mix will sound both on "bass cans" and more refined stuff. Good built quality too. The lower treble is a bit crowdedshouty I'll concede.
 
I have both the 840s and KRK 8400s at the moment and while the 8400s may be "flatter" if you averaged out the total frequency response, the 840s are more gradual and predictable with far fewer sharp 1-2 db peaks in random areas, which is a big problem with the 8400s to me. Perhaps the 6400s are different. Both are quite revealing though.

 

[jonnycool06]

do you have a link to that site? i managed to try out the HD380, they're really nice (although i think my friends one has a bit of a imbalance with left right volume ) and i'm going to try and see if i can borrow someone's m50, but i doubt i'll be able to trial some 840s... dunno who has them. Also durability is a big thing, i'm a slightly bit put off by the cables sticking out of the 840's and the lack of movement but some ppl say the m50s get annoying when they start moving...
also keep in mind i have no amp or ability to change EQ

 

[machoboy]

http://recording.de/Magazin/Testberichte/2621/Vergleichstest__Studiokopfh%C3%B6rer_abgeh%C3%B6rt.html#article
 
In so many words:
SRH840 scores the highest overall but he likes the HD 380 the most because they were not fatiguing and the robust bass can be adjusted for.
He also likes the M50s but not quite as much praise as for the other two.

 

[Han Bao Quan]

The KNS as recommended by Mal is a nice choice.
Although, what I've seen so far from the recording studios I've been to is the Sony V6 and its brother M7506.
I owned both of the Sonys and the SRH840. It's a toss between them. I loved the Shure as much as the Sony. You can't go wrong with either, however the V6 is $64 right now. To me, that's an obvious choice.

I also had the M50, never liked them as much. As others have said, they are not that special.

The HD380s sounded like garbage when I tried them out at Guitar Center.

Hope this helps.

 

[streetdragon]

the SRH840 is very detailed, the SRH940 is even better for producing i feel with its incredible detail

 

[machoboy]

Quote:

The KNS as recommended by Mal is a nice choice.
Although, what I've seen so far from the recording studios I've been to is the Sony V6 and its brother M7506.
I owned both of the Sonys and the SRH840. It's a toss between them. I loved the Shure as much as the Sony. You can't go wrong with either, however the V6 is $64 right now. To me, that's an obvious choice.
I also had the M50, never liked them as much. As others have said, they are not that special.
The HD380s sounded like garbage when I tried them out at Guitar Center.
Hope this helps.

 
The thing about studios is that they're buying so much gear that they often go with 50 wholesale pairs of the "industry standard" when it comes to little doodads like headphones. Those are the K 240 Studio and MDR-V6.
 
Neither of which are very neutral by modern standards - but in a studio with tens of thousands of dollars of external monitors sitting around they aren't mixing on headphones anyway. At most they see tracking or "headphone-friendly panning check" duty.
Both "look pro" too.
 
Currently owning both the SRH840s are much flatter than the V6s... In pretty much every area of the sound.

 

[jonnycool06]

hmm... for my own mixing and recording i'll be needing my own headphones... especially with home recording etc 
i've tried the shure iems before and didn't like them, i found them too mid heavy and warm i don't know if it translates to headphones? maybe?
i'm interested in what the KNS can do, maybe even the 8400?

 

[xiujk71]

I have heard the Shure SRH 440 (not 840) and M50

I don't think my ears are that good, but I hope my comments do help
SRH 440 vs M50, the M50 have bigger bass, from what I remembered. SRH 440 sounded more laid back, and more neutral to my ears.

From what I have read in other head-fi thread (forgot which), M50 and SRH 440 are in the same level. So I would just grab the SRH 840 if I were u.

Technically, if u search in goldenears.net, any SRH models will be flatter compared to M50.

Hope this helps.

Edit:
Shure IEM sounds different from their SRH series.
the se215 have bass too big for me and se535 (red) are bright.

I don't own any high end audio stuffs, but I do demo them quite afew times (5 i guess) with my FLAC collection.

Edit 2
Links for graphs
M50 en.goldenears.net/10034
SRH 440 en.goldenears.net/4213

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

hmm... for my own mixing and recording i'll be needing my own headphones... especially with home recording etc 
i've tried the shure iems before and didn't like them, i found them too mid heavy and warm i don't know if it translates to headphones? maybe?
i'm interested in what the KNS can do, maybe even the 8400?

Shure IEM and Shure headphones don't even sound like they're made from the same company, the IEM are quite bassy while the headphones are NO bassy

 

[ProjectDenz]

Only the SE215 is Shure's relatively bassy iem. The rest I wouldn't call bassy at all.

 

[Rightclick/Scissors]

When I say "I've never found anything to touch them in terms of value / accuracy / reliability.", I'm not saying they're the best, or the most accurate. I'm saying you get a great balance of these qualities. Hardly a controversial opinion round here. Anyway, if you doubt it, try them for yourself.