Recommendations on closed headphones for people with smaller-sized heads? (IEMs?)

[superann]

Does anyone have any recommendations on closed headphones suitable for studio recording vocals and mixing... that fit comfortably on people with smaller-sized heads?

I've tried some Sony's but find that their designs are generally way too big for me. I tend to tilt my head up and move a bit when I sing, and have had headphones slide backwards constantly and even fall off of my head while recording! I've also tried putting a folded scarf on my head under the headphone band, but could never get everything to sit quite right and still suffered from the sliding backwards problem (it also looked really stupid, but I guess that's secondary, heh!).

I've been looking at the Sennheiser 280's. They look comfortable but also alarmingly large. Anyone here know if they adjust well for small heads?

I'm only 5'2" and my head is on the small side compared to most adult American women. I can't fit standard women's hats at all, and only smaller sized baseball caps that allow adjusting. So maybe a size of headphone that's suitable for older children/teens would be right for me.

What are the drawbacks of using IEMs as monitors while recording vox in the studio? It seems that people only use them in live performance situations (or are they also for studio use?). Do they tend to leak sound? Are there certain models that are better suited for this purpose than others?

Would be great if anyone had any recommendations on options priced less than $200 (but maybe I'm dreaming)!

 

[countach]

Sennheiser HD-25 can adjust itselves easy and firm to a small sizes, but IMHO they sound too coloured to record anything with.

They are great cans but only for DJing. Well, they are the very best cans for DJing.

 

[Mastergill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by countach Sennheiser HD-25 can adjust itselves easy and firm to a small sizes, but IMHO they sound too coloured to record anything with.

Ya right, so why they are used by pro recordist including guy like Peter Gabriel since more than 15 years? They were invaluable tool for my small remote recording business back in the early '90s.

superann, you'll hear everything and is contrary on internet forum board and as you must know with audio gear it's always better to listen for yourself, so pick-up some ref and try to check with your ears.

You can start with HD25-1 (or HD25, but forget the cheaper HD25SP --> not as good sounding and you can't split the headband in two pieces for a better fit). Maybe you can try them at Guitar Center or shop like that. A good price is around $170, sometime you can find for less...or more...but don't pay over $200.

 

[Firestarter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by countach Sennheiser HD-25 can adjust itselves easy and firm to a small sizes, but IMHO they sound too coloured to record anything with. They are great cans but only for DJing. Well, they are the very best cans for DJing.

i know they emphasize the bass a lot, but wouldn't EQing minus 6db from 200hz down help a lot? i mean, you're in the studio anyways

 

[jagorev]

I don't think there exists a head so small that the HD 280 won't clamp tightly to it. No risk of the 280 being too large, imho.

 

[countach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mastergill Ya right, so why they are used by pro recordist including guy like Peter Gabriel since more than 15 years? They were invaluable tool for my small remote recording business back in the early '90s.

Sorry, but the great Peter Gabriel is not a sound engineer, he just want to monitorize himself properly. In this case HD25 are simply the best (sorry, Tina

), due to its isolation and powerfull sound, being the louder, the better.

In my experience with mixing, mastering, and so, I follow the fact that says that never use headphone. You'll never see anybody mixing a track in the recording studio with those things on. And, with this senns, the results will get worst, due to its particular sound, focused in the tight bass, right for stage porpouses. (DJing or perform, like Peter)

However, I'll keep my high impedance ones (HD25-13) and never will get rid of them, I think they are one of the most important pieces in the headphone history.

 

[episiarch]

I have a former coworker about your size who's borrowed some of my headphones. My HD25-SP stayed on her head very well. (It's pretty neutral, without the bass hump of the HD25 but on the dark/treble-limited side.)

The HD25 is a tad less snug than the HD25-SP, but with the split headband split apart to span more of your head, I think it wins the stay-on-your-head olympics. If it can be EQ'd to suit you, I think it'd be the sure winner.

The HD280 has a lot of clamping force, but it's got a fair amount of mass too, so I'm not sure how well it'd stay on during movement. Maybe I'll try that out this evening and report back.

Edit re IEMS: no, they don't leak sound. Yes, they're suitable (at least, they're very tonally accurate, and will stay on/in your head very well). I'd suggest the Etymotic ER-4S (very accurate, pretty affordable), but there are lots of good choices. The drawback is that they're inconvenient to remove and reinsert each time you need to converse with the "real" world. An advantage, potentially, is that if you want to listen through just one ear, that's super-easy.

 

[superann]

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. I'll try to find someplace with those models to try out... interesting that these are all Senns. I find a lot of headphones either too harsh on the highs (Sony's) or too bassy (I prefer clean clear bass over boomy). I'm a soprano so anything that distorts those high notes are no good, and I listen to a lot of distorted guitar/bass music so brighter sounding headphones tend to hurt. I hear Sennheisers are known for being warm and smooth so I was hoping they'd be just right for me.

As far as mixing in these go I wouldn't be using them for anything like a final mixdown, but more for effecting samples and instruments, and as recording monitors to be used as a portable recording solution for various real instruments. So it would probably be of equal importance for these to be able to reflect accurately a sound coming in (rather than the entire mix).

Comfort would be a big factor and I'd be using this a lot for recording vox and putting beats together at home so it's really comfort over convenience. IEMs seem like a good solution but I never hear about vocalists using them for studio vocal recordings so figured I was probably missing something. Seems like a separate question maybe, so I'll break this out into another thread...