[Jema]

I've been looking at some of the closed headphones that are popular throughout this forum, and was wondering if there is any headphone model that is preferred for professional practical work, such as a sound technician in a music studio or on location at a filmproduction?
 
I assume this would be a headphone that has the following qualities:
-Gives really good isolation.
-Is relatively flat/balanced.
-Has a lot of detail.
-Doesn't have to be "musical".
-Soundstage is of minor importance, as the source is more often than not a mono one from listening to a single microphone.
 
So, what would you suggest, and is there some other aspect that needs to be taken into consideration?

 

[rockgod213]

I'd recommend either the Sennheiser HD280s or the Sony MDR V6s. Both are very analytical. Both are not TOTALLY accurate. The Senns have bloated lower bass, while the Sony's have deficient lower bass. Both have a bit of a boost to the treble at the high end, but besides those qualities they are very accurate and are used as monitors all the time.

 

[CFabian]

You should consider the Sony CD900ST. It has the flattest FR of any headphone I've heard and a good amount of detail. They sound very analytical and with little soundstage, but you mentioned that wouldn't be an issue. I would describe their isolation as pretty good but not spectacular, still they did isolate better than most headphones I've owned.

 

[Ra97oR]

I would say Sony CD900ST, it is really detailed for its price, and the way it is tuned makes detail retrieval rather easy. Not the most exciting to listen to though.
 
If not, IEM is also a way to go.

 

[Hayang]

I've heard the HD-25 are the industry standard for reporting, and on-location monitoring.  They have very good isolation (on-ear) and are overall a very good headphone.
 
The ATH-M50 have actually been recommended by studio engineers at sweetwater.com and such, and are a great closed headphone with okay isolation.  The Shure 840s also are a good option.

 

[Acix]

Here you go with the GMP 8.35: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/406658/the-german-maestro-gmp-8-35-d-monitor-in-the-studio-serious-about-audio-indeed

 

[WhiteCrow]

MDR v-6

 

[Jema]

Thanks for the suggestions - I had not heard about the GMP 8.35 or the CD900ST, and enjoyed reading about them. Does anyone know if the CD900ST has a distributor in the US or Europe yet?
 
How would the HD25-1 compare to the M50 as a monitor headphone? Isolation? FR? I've used the HD25 a few times, but never had a chance to listen to the M50.
 
I have very little experience with IEM's, and as such have not really considered them. I have only tried low budget ones, but I didn't find them very comfortable. When recording, I often take the headphones on and off a lot - maybe this would irritate my ears after a while if using IEM's?

 

[Digital-Pride]

Some additional suggestions for ya:
 
AKG K 271 MKII
 
Beyerdynamic DT 150, DT 250, DT48
 
Sennheiser HD380PRO
 
Shure SRH440, SRH840
 
Sony MDR-7506, MDR-7509HD, MDR-V600, MDR-V900HD

 

[keanex]

The AKG K240 Monitors have been used by at least one artist I know to completely mix/master his album and I thought it came out great.

 

[JadeEast]

In the olden days the preferred location recording cans were the dt-48, then Sony 7506 came to be more popular, and today it's probably the Sennheiser HD25 or Beyer DT250. I don't think any of them would be optimal for mixing and mastering.
 
 

 

[Jema]

Thanks for the list Digital-Pride - now we're covering some ground ^^
 
I've tried the k240M's a while back, and while I liked their sound and build, they are semi-open and therefore not really an option for field recording. For studio mixing though, I agree that they could do fine.
 
I've heard a lot about the detail of the DT48. Can anyone comment on it's FR and isolation?

 

[zmd]

The HD25 are exactly what you described in the first post, though I wouldn't call them "not musical". They're the best cans I've heard for metal and such.

 

[loremipsum]

If you're okay with going the IEM route there's also the Etymotic ER-4 and some high-end customs

 

[lejaz]

I'd say dt48 or dt250 from my own experience with closed phones. A 3 time Oscar winning location sound engineer used the dt48 exclusively, or so I've been told by the guy who had him for his mentor.