[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emusic They recommended two headsets, one Zennheiser set that was told to have the absolute most neutral sound (of the sets they had) and then the Sony MDR-7506.

Was it the HD25 or HD280 or maybe HD 250 II?

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gundam The Sennheiser HD 25-1 is an excellent headphone for the money...some have pointed out that it is a little too bass-heavy...

If using headphones that are too bass heavy for mixing you run the risk of your mixdown being bass light.

 

[SilentServices]

Is there some online response test for the MDR-7506?

imo i dont think they are flat in the highs... They are ok to highlight glitches, but they are not a good representation of what it should sound at the end of the process...

Maybe Jamiroquai did *traveling without moving* with these... resulting in a overly warm cd...

I would like to find a site with frequency curves of headphones...

 

[Puzzle]

I have used the MDR-7506 phones for years for documentary location sound recording - they are the industry standard here in Australia. In fact a sound recordist I used for a doco series recently - Paul Brincat - uses them, and he has recorded many big budget features shot in Australia over the last few years (including the last two Star Wars, Mission Impossible II, Scooby Doo, The Great Raid, he was even nominated for an Oscar for The Thin Red Line). How he got to record some sound for a humble doco series is a long story - but he uses the 7506. They are bullet-proof.

The MDR-7506 for listening to music is another story - I recently purchased a pair of Beyer DT880's - and they are much more enjoyable to use with music - more open and natural sounding - I have many movie scores, and I've been listening to a lot of cruisy, chill music lately (Nitin Sawhney, Hotel Costes, 1 Giant Leap, Air, Thievery Corporation, Verve Remixed etc etc.

They all sound distinctly better through the Beyers.

The MDR-7506 are indestructible, and isolate location sound better than open or semi-open cans. They don't reproduce music as well as the Beyers, or Alessandros MS-2 or MS-Pros, or the higher-end Sennheisers.

My suggestion is this: keep the 7506, but purchase a range of other cans as you can afford it - if you're a composer and musician you will presumably want to know how your work sounds through a range of speakers.

I use ATC Active 10 monitors in the edit suite - they are awesome monitors - and have the most fantastic sound stage and instrument focus - love 'em.

Hope that helps

 

[satasha]

I mix with my AKG K240DF even though it is a cardinal sin to mix with headphones. I then check my mixes on various speakers. Other than ocassional bass tweaks, they translate well. Good luck.

 

[Gundam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by erikzen If using headphones that are too bass heavy for mixing you run the risk of your mixdown being bass light.

That is interesting. I'm a big fan of the HD-25's (they're in another league compared to my old Sony MDR-V700DJ cans).

The HD-25's are classed as studio monitoring 'phones yet their bass is a touch heavy. So why aren't they 'more neutral'... considering the task for which they were designed?

 

[3lusiv3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gundam The HD-25's are classed as studio monitoring 'phones yet their bass is a touch heavy. So why aren't they 'more neutral'... considering the task for which they were designed?

They aren't really monitoring headphones, although they may be suitable for some types of monitoring. They are more like DJ headphones and they do that well.

 

[erikzen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gundam So why aren't they 'more neutral'... considering the task for which they were designed?

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3lusiv3 They aren't really monitoring headphones, although they may be suitable for some types of monitoring. They are more like DJ headphones and they do that well.

Also, there are a few stages in the recording process and it depends what your project is. First you have to capture the sound. In this case, if you are recording "dry" meaning you aren't going to change anything in the sound as you record it, then it doesn't matter if your monitors or headphones emphasize a certain frequency range. It's only when you are adjusting the sound, adding/removing bass/treble/effects etc. that you need a really neutral sound. This way you can make sure your "wet" mix isn't over or under done. Most recording engineers will listen back during mixdown over studio monitor speakers as satasha points out.

 

[philodox]

studio headphones + big head = akg k271 studio

 

[Dave1]

One of the true standards in real studios is the AKG 240S. I still use a pair in my studio, even though I have several pairs of more serious cans. The 240S are very isolating, which is very important for tracking. Almost every studio I ever worked in had these phones available.

 

[Gundam]

It's interesting to me that some studio's actually use decent speakers for monitoring their recordings: Active Dynaudio's, B & W Nautili and so on... and then it all gets mixed-down into a pair of crap Yamaha NS10's... Why is that?

Getting slightly OT here.

So here's a link to Sennheiser's site. Again interesting that 'DJ' and 'Monitoring' aren't seperate sections/categories...

http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser..._headphones_dj

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave1 One of the true standards in real studios is the AKG 240S. I still use a pair in my studio, even though I have several pairs of more serious cans. The 240S are very isolating, which is very important for tracking. Almost every studio I ever worked in had these phones available.

I agree with this, although I think that the 271S would be even better due to its closed nature and 'off switch'...

 

[ReDVsion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave1 One of the true standards in real studios is the AKG 240S. I still use a pair in my studio, even though I have several pairs of more serious cans. The 240S are very isolating, which is very important for tracking. Almost every studio I ever worked in had these phones available.

Don't you mean the K240M?

 

[SilentServices]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gundam and then it all gets mixed-down into a pair of crap Yamaha NS10's... Why is that?

The NS10 are not crap at all... they are really good and precise nearfield monitors... Not funny for music listening, but they are not made for this purpose anyway...

BTW imo Dynaudio and B&W are not better company overall...

 

[Mastergill]

Mostly AKG 240 M and DF as well as Sony 7506 are not used for monitoring but for tracking (feedback for the musician). Or at least I would not use that for monitoring. OTOH like Gundam said many use the absolute bullcrap Yamaha NS10. For what? Hearing only midrange the way it gonna sound out of a boombox? I would rather check my mix on a boombox or a car stereo than having that piece of crap sitting on my $500k desk.

There's lot of fashion thing even with the 'pro' recording engineer, that's only how i understand the spread of NS10.

Back to topic i would use 2 phones for monitoring: Sennheiser HD25 for checking dynamics and details and HD6XX for the soundstage and overall balance. I would be happy only with HD25 if i had to, as you don't need expensive dedicated amp like for HD6XX.

The only drawback with the HD25 is that is not comfortable, it can be a pain to wear it on the long run.

I'll wish Sennheiser make a comfortable closed counterpart of the HD6XX, because the HD2XX series is a joke. The only closed Senn which can compete with HD6XX for monitoring are the small HD25, that's kinda odd? They don't know how to make a good full sized closed phones?