[GnomeKid]

Hello!
 
I recently started in an a sound design MFA, and I'm here to ask some advice about headphone options.  I've been working with a pair of 40 dollars skullcandys [don't recall the specific name, and i couldn't find them on their website anymore. Regardless, they're consumer quality] and I clearly need to get myself a good pair of all-purpose studio headphones.  (For recording, for mixing, for editing, for everything.)  I don't have the money to go around buying different pairs of headphones for different purposes at this point in my life.  I also need something with a closed back, as I am going to be using them in classes and don't want to be rude leaking my sound everywhere while others are working.  They're going to be traveling back and forth to class with me (and will most likely end up being dropped a couple times), so I also need them to be fairly durable.  
 
Brief list of my headphone requirements:
 - Under 250 dollars. (preferably under 200)
 - Suitable for many uses across the sound design spectrum (I want a flat response)
 - Closed back
 - Durable for constant travel and clumsiness. 
 
So far I've been looking a lot at the audio-technica M50s, and am thinking I'll probably go that way.  They seem among the most highly praised for the price (~ $150 but I actually found them new on amazon for only $110).  I've also been looking at the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro-80 or the Beyerdynamic DT 250-80, as the company was offhandedly recommended by one of the professors during our orientation when they told us we needed good studio headphones. Others I've strongly considered were the AKG K 272 HD.
 
I've been trying to do a lot of research over the past week and a half. At this point, however, I feel like I'm swimming in a sea of headphone brands and model numbers.  
 
Any advice?

 

[FarhanR]

Seems you are not swimming alone. Im on the same question. I was suggested these -
 
Sony MDR7509HD
 
 krk kns-8400
 
DT 770 (Im considering them myself)
 
ATM,i use M50, they sound great but not all that comfortable. They have a new model named M50S, but i dont know if they are comfortable or not.
 
 
-Farhan

 

[Tangster]

Going to throw the Shure SRH840 into your list. They beat the living daylights out of the M50. The SRH440's also beat the M50 and are cheaper.
 
Frankly, I don't think the M50 is all that great value anymore(not to say it's a bad headphone, just not the best value for money), especially if you're outside the US.

 

[FarhanR]

Quote:

Going to throw the Shure SRH840 into your list. They beat the living daylights out of the M50. The SRH440's also beat the M50 and are cheaper.
 
Frankly, I don't think the M50 is all that great value anymore(not to say it's a bad headphone, just not the best value for money), especially if you're outside the US.

Im planning on an Upgrade from M50, what would be your suggestion? I had a look at SRH840 and its freq range is slightly lesser than M50 ( 840 is 5-25khz where as M50 is 15-28khz) What else should i compare apart from Comfort? What are clarity and "close to flat frequency" criteria judged upon? 

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

Going to throw the Shure SRH840 into your list. They beat the living daylights out of the M50. The SRH440's also beat the M50 and are cheaper.
 
Frankly, I don't think the M50 is all that great value anymore(not to say it's a bad headphone, just not the best value for money), especially if you're outside the US.

this, i would say for studio work shure is a sure option for you (sorry for the pun) but in all seriousness shure headphones have unrivaled detail in its respective competing price range (at the cost of bass impact)

 

[soundstige]

I'd like to add that the KRK KNS 6400 (about $75) sounds nearly exactly like the Shure SRH 840 (about $130), just with a little less bass impact.
 

 

[soundstige]

Frequency range in headphone "specs" is completely meaningless. It doesn't say at what db level a certain hz is audible. Please don't look at frequency ranges or other company-provided "data" when looking at headphones; rely only on reviews by real people, preferably in the reviews section here; or on frequency response graphs.
 
Quote:

Im planning on an Upgrade from M50, what would be your suggestion? I had a look at SRH840 and its freq range is slightly lesser than M50 ( 840 is 5-25khz where as M50 is 15-28khz) What else should i compare apart from Comfort? What are clarity and "close to flat frequency" criteria judged upon? 

 

[machoboy]

I haven't found frequency range to be meaningful in any type of speakers. It's the one technical measurement that never ever seems to translate to real sound because all its' saying is that under optimal conditions vibrations are possible here | and here | but not how audible it is or how much quality is retained. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's how I understand it. I definitely know that regardless of frequency range, the Shures go as high and low as my ears can hear with relative stability, whereas I've heard cheaper headphones with wider frequency ranges that had 0 subbass, 0 sparkle, and seemed to be all midbass. Frequency response gives you a much better idea of how a headphone sounds, but those seem to suffer from inconsistent testing conditions. (compare the SRH840 on Headroom where it looks like something Monster would make to the SRH840 on InnerFidelity where it looks studio-flat).
 
My SRH840s are my analytical listening headphones and what I love most about them is how EQ-friendly they are. You can turn on Foobar, slide 55hz up to max and have heavy thumping bass for guilty pleasure, then at the press of a button be flat again and take advantage of their treble resolution for recording/mixing. They're just so versatile compared to my other headphones.
 
As for the cons, the mid-range isn't as amazing as some people say. The Shures have about equal clarity/detail across the entire spectrum, where as my NVX and AKG pairs have superior mid-range detail but gradually lose definition at extreme high and low frequencies.
 
Last night when messing around in FL Studio with a very low-pitched bass sample, the sample on both the NVX and AKG just sounded like a plain sine tone. On the Shures, I was actually able to hear the slightest sound of a metallic string and slight phasing in the same sample. That's why every time I consider trading these up for something new I never end up doing it.
 
I'm anxious to try the KRKs since people often compare their detail to Shure, but I'm afraid they'll lack the Shure's magical ability to become a "basshead can" at the flick of an EQ slider.