[PaganDL]

Trying is always best, @PaganDL, but not always practical for everyone ... and every can. A lot depends on where you live (if there's a store or person nearby that'll let you demo this or that can).

Reviews can help one make a preselection. If you look at the list of studio headphones in the opening post, it's rather ... overwhelming!

@Sinocelt

Agree with you there which is why more often than not, if no demo, I really am not interested unless I am willing to take a chance which is rare but it does happen...
Also, if a person is lucky to be near a canjam or good audio show, this helps too...

Yes, I did see the opening list & it does help I tried most of them with extensive demos & also actually own some on the list.

In closing, all I can say is most reviews these days aren't the greatest but I agree preselection choices do help narrow it down though how much one believes the reviewers is a tricky proposition & sometimes I find press releases more useful though those can be terrible as well if not more terrible than reviews...
So it all depends.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Sinocelt]

@SinoceltYes, I did see the opening list & it does help I tried most of them with extensive demos & also actually own some on the list.

Most of them?? That sounds like a lot of work!

And so you place the NHD 20 at the top of all the studio headphones you've tried/owned?

 

[PaganDL]

Most of them?? That sounds like a lot of work!

And so you place the NHD 20 at the top of all the studio headphones you've tried/owned?

Well, @Sinocelt,

It's not work if you enjoy listening to a wide range & have good reference material.

NDH 20 is certainly up there though I wouldn't just rate them just for studio as it is my main reference (I currently have 3 which includes the NDH 20 I rotate between) & in a good company as an affordable option against more pricey options on the list outlined in the first post.
But to answer your question, the NDH 20 does come very close & very hard to put down.

While I don't have them yet, Sonoma One & Senn 820 are worthy contenders for my personal top reference but then these are measured against my preferences, not anyone else's.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[MICHAELSD]

Beats Studio. (Sorry, misread the title and had to. )

 

[Sinocelt]

Well, @Sinocelt(I currently have 3 which includes the NDH 20 I rotate between)

What are the two others?

Beats Studio. (Sorry, misread the title and had to. )

I was curious, so I Googled "beats studio" and ... tadaaa:

https://www.beatsbydre.com/headphones/studio3-wireless

With Bluetooth and noise cancelling! "Now you can easily go from taking a call on your iPhone to watching a movie on your MacBook."

That most certainly screams "studio" to me. Not to you?

Seriously, could they avoid giving misleading names to their products? Or was it named by some marketing specialist who's got no idea what studio headphones are? <sigh> Oh, well. I guess this use of "studio" is like the use of "pro" for products that no professional would ever use. It isn't as if truth was a big concern of marketers anywhere.

 

[MICHAELSD]

What are the two others?



I was curious, so I Googled "beats studio" and ... tadaaa:

https://www.beatsbydre.com/headphones/studio3-wireless

With Bluetooth and noise cancelling! "Now you can easily go from taking a call on your iPhone to watching a movie on your MacBook."

That most certainly screams "studio" to me. Not to you?

Seriously, could they avoid giving misleading names to their products? Or was it named by some marketing specialist who's got no idea what studio headphones are? <sigh> Oh, well. I guess this use of "studio" is like the use of "pro" for products that no professional would ever use. It isn't as if truth was a big concern of marketers anywhere.

They also have Beats Pro for real "studio" use .

Dr. Dre uses the ATH-M50x in his studio for mixing/mastering.

 

[PaganDL]

What are the two others?

@Sinocelt, in no particular order, as follows :

Acoustic Research AR 1
iBasso SR 1

While these two headphones are not strictly for studio use though one could use them as such, they are what I would consider my other two reference.
Just to give you some context & background, Sound Monitoring is a semi pro hobby for me, so I take sound quality & montioring seriously...

I was curious, so I Googled "beats studio" and ... tadaaa:

https://www.beatsbydre.com/headphones/studio3-wireless

With Bluetooth and noise cancelling! "Now you can easily go from taking a call on your iPhone to watching a movie on your MacBook."

That most certainly screams "studio" to me. Not to you?

Seriously, could they avoid giving misleading names to their products? Or was it named by some marketing specialist who's got no idea what studio headphones are? <sigh> Oh, well. I guess this use of "studio" is like the use of "pro" for products that no professional would ever use. It isn't as if truth was a big concern of marketers anywhere.

I agree with you, though IEMs are even worse for using the 'pro' label, especially lately in Chi Fi.
Western marketers & markets tend to use celeb endorsements to give credibility instead of just tagging the 'pro' or 'studio' label, after all, Beats was developed by Dr Dre & some will say he is a musician...
But as you said, marketers, enough said there...

Hope you have a great day !

 

[GarageBoy]

Thanks, I'll try and compare the dt250, the hd25 and the ndh20 at b&h or something - hard to demo something I want to use in a live setting with pre-recorded music

The NDH 20 is kinda out of my budget - but I'm curious

 

[Sinocelt]

Dr. Dre uses the ATH-M50x in his studio for mixing/mastering.

Oh? Interesting tidbit.

One pair of headphones I'd be curious to try is the Aeon 2 (even though it isn't marketed as studio headphones). Not likely I'll ever have the opportunity.

 

[PaganDL]

Oh? Interesting tidbit.

One pair of headphones I'd be curious to try is the Aeon 2 (even though they're not marketed as studio headphones). Not likely I'll ever have the opportunity.

@Sinocelt,

Honestly, it all depends on you, the work you're doing, your hearing preferences, comfort levels, etc...the list never ends.

Subjectively & personally, Aeons are decent to good, source, source quality & track dependant, I have demo them extensively & every time I am tempted but am I going to spend an average low north of $ 1000 for Aeons?...(that's the average retail where I am, even when sales are on)
...Definitely NO as while they are certainly up there in terms of sound quality, as the more affordable option I'd still stick with my NDH 20 for studio use as I'm certain without a doubt there will be those who disagree, both headphones have similar levels in sound quality.
Is one 'better' than the other, it all depends on YOU.
Aeon 2 would be in the same boat I'm thinking.
I've said this before & I will repeat myself many times, it all depends on your source, source quality, recording quality, hearing, head shape, ear shape, ear canal shape, all affects how you hear sound.

There are many heavily experienced audio/mastering/mixing engineers &/or producers, who having won many awards, etc, will still use whatever is on hand & they will still get the sound they desire, usually MDR 7506 or maybe some 'Pro' Ultrasone or even the dreaded M50X so it's hard to say.

More often than not, they won't likely remember what gear they use for their recordings unless it stands out, let alone what settings.
Not sure I've mentioned this in this thread & I apologise if I repeat myself, a lot of these professionals, especially those with gear ranging in the thousands if not millions, will still check their work in their car's basic sound system.

So if you think choosing headphones right for you &/or a particular use is bad, try looking for good studio grade speakers.
The arugements are even longer & ridiculous.

As a final note, for wider perspective on the pro side of things, I suggest you look up Warren Huart / Produce Like A Pro on YouTube.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Sinocelt]

Honestly, it all depends on you, the work you're doing, your hearing preferences, comfort levels, etc...the list never ends. [...] Is one 'better' than the other, it all depends on YOU.

A lot depends on the user, but "all" is an exaggeration. Some headphones are objectively more resolving and/or neutral than others.

Subjectively & personally, Aeons are decent to good,

I was talking about the Aeon 2, which appears to be very different from the original Aeon.

There are many heavily experienced audio/mastering/mixing engineers &/or producers, who having won many awards, etc, will still use whatever is on hand & they will still get the sound they desire, usually MDR 7506 or maybe some 'Pro' Ultrasone or even the dreaded M50X so it's hard to say.

For production, mastering, and mixing, speakers are still the default tool. Headphones are often no more than a "now let's see how it sounds with cans" check after most of the actual work is done.

a lot of these professionals, especially those with gear ranging in the thousands if not millions, will still check their work in their car's basic sound system.

It's well known, yes, and nowadays I bet they also check on airpods or whatever Apple makes the default listening experience.

I too wish you a great day!

 

[mux7]

Hi all, sorry for the double post (https://www.head-fi.org/threads/2-can-monitoring-mixing-setup.928242)
Reading this thread, I am thinking of picking up:
Sony MDR 7510 for 100$ (guests, monitoring, beater pair) (100$ max)
Sony MDR 7520 ~240$ / or sen HD6xx 175$ (mixing, post work) (from what I gather these are really good bang for value)

 

[genck]

It seems the MDR V6 is discontinued, that's a shame
edit: I guess this happened a while ago, I'm out of the loop. lol

 

[martinweiss]

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with the Sony MDR-M1ST?

 

[stpope]

Hello all,

In case you haven't seen it, I posted an in-depth comparison of 10 (11 actually) sets of headphones called "A Tale of 10 Cans" in a parallel forum; see, https://www.head-fi.org/threads/a-tale-of-10-cans.928530

stp