[Ekho]

I have recorded talk with multiple speakers in mp3-format with an Olympus DM-550. I consequently realised during the transcription that the speech often overlaps. It is therefore sometimes difficult to pick out individual speakers. At times, I cannot understand what one of the speakers said. I therefore thought the first thing to better the situation would be to invest in a quality headphone or earphone with particular strength in voice reproduction. I could spent up to £200 pounds but would prefer to pay less.
 
This thread from 2005 http://www.head-fi.org/t/102838/the-best-headphones-for-transcription-work has lots of good advice. Seven years have past since then and I wondered whether the information and recommendations are still up-to-date or whether you can recommend other headphones or earphones that came out in the meantime. What are the particular strength and weaknesses of the headphones that you can recommend? Have you used them yourself for transcribing overlapping speech or in similar situation?
 
Thanks a lot for your advice!

 

[Ekho]

Anyone?

 

[valerianaoff]

Hmmm...
 
Maybe you could go test the KRK KNS 8400 - good clarity / details

 

[jupitreas]

Shure SRH940 or maybe Sony MDR-7506

 

[Ekho]

Thank you for you recommendations so far. I checked the prices at Amazon UK and they differ quite substantially:
 
 
Sony MDR-7506 Headphones,Wired
Price: £77.88
 
KRK KNS 8400 bk
Price: £129.00
 
Shure SRH940 Headphones
Price: £180.99
 
I wonder whether the quality warrants the higher price tag for the KNS 8400 and Shure SRH940. Where can I find trustworthy reviews?
 
No one has suggested earphones yet but I have read elsewhere that they are better for voice clarity. Is that the case?
 
 

 

 

[theeyealtering]

Well the Beyerdynamic DT100 is an oldie that was specifically designed and tuned for speech broadcast applications. It would be ideal for your purposes.

Not cheap though. And when I listened to it, I didn't really like the way it sounded for other things, i.e. music.

 

[wilyodysseus]

Try the Sony V6 or MDR-7506. They're nearly the same, so get whichever is cheaper.

For your particular application, the MDR-7509HD might be better, but it looks like they're discontinued and I'm not sure your source files would be of a sufficiently high fidelity to make a practical difference. The MDR-7510 might be the replacement for the 7509HD, but I haven't heard them.

The Beyerdynamic DT48 could be considered the gold standard for this application. There're some b-stock ones on amazon.co.uk for 219 pounds.

Given the source quality, I'd go for the V6 for around 50 pounds.

 

[valerianaoff]

There is a copy of the 7506 for USD $50 the HD661 superlux.
I hv them n they are really good for the price. Just fyi.

Technology is the same as Sony.
Coz Superlux makes speakers for them n Akg.

Just sharing the graph:

 

[jupitreas]

The Sony MDR-V6 and MDR-7506 (they are nearly identical, only the cable is different) are both extremely popular headphones used for radio broadcasting and the reason why they are so popular is precisely because they are great at mixing voices. They would suit your application perfectly. The other, more expensive headphones listed are simply better than the Sony in some ways (more clarity) but I've never actually seen them used in any studio. I'm pretty sure the Sony would be good enough.

 

[Ekho]

Hi,
 
Thank you all for your excellent advice.
 
I followed valerianaoff's hint and ordered the Superlux HD661 for £27.44 from eBay. I thought that I hardly can make a mistake at that price. Fingers crossed.
 
Let's hope the HD661 bring the noticeable improvement I am looking for.
 
Thanks again for your help with this. 

 

[valerianaoff]

All the best bro...make sure you burn them for a while...because out of the box, they can be disappointing...but after 100 hrs or so....
 
Also read this, if you haven't already :
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/577979/review-superlux-hd661-superlux-did-it-again
 
just to know what to expect. Comfort is a little bit of an issue, ... for the price...everything is ok SQ is justified.
 
Hope you like them....