Which ones are the truly pro headphone brands?
Oct 10, 2010 at 10:13 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 6

Odrackyir

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Hi there, I'm opening this thread 'cause this is something I've been wondering about since I got here for the first time. During these past weeks I've been able to read a really homogeneous set of opinions concerning the many diferent headphone brands (Beyer, Shure, Denon, ATH, AKG, Grado, Denon, etc), and since I'm a complete noob, I'm in great confusion right now. I kinda know from what I've read here that Skullcandy is real crap, and also that Monster Beats by Dr. Dre isn't much better. I also know that Sennheiser is known for being quite balanced and pro, but beyond that  I'm completely lost. I'd really like to know which ones are the really wow ones and which ones I should avoid. A... ranking, maybe?
 
So what I'd suggest is having some headfiers' wise opinions regarding these brands. You only have to post a few words for those you like/dislike the most or have an opinion of. A kind of brief user guide =D
 
Thanks!
 
Oct 10, 2010 at 3:26 PM Post #2 of 6
Depends on what do you mean by 'truly pro'? In the old days, when a piece of equipment is labelled as 'pro', they are designed for 'professional' use and will stay in working condition for many years and very hard-wearing, they'd usually still work even if you drop them down from the 2nd floor. When they happened to get damaged, spare parts are readily available and they can be repaired very quickly. Nowadays, everything is labelled as 'pro', and even the supposedly 'pro' products are not as robust and serviceable as they used to be.
 
Oct 10, 2010 at 4:09 PM Post #3 of 6
You can only remain true to your preferred sound, and the only way to learn about top headphones is to listen - perhaps at a meet or at a more comprehensive store. 
 
I like to refer to this site, which has been associated with Head-Fi for several years:
 
http://www.headphonereviews.org/
 
While not 100% up to date, it contains opinions on a number of headphones. The difference between "pro" and not is blurry, at best.
 
Oct 10, 2010 at 5:23 PM Post #4 of 6
When I say truly pro brands, I mean all those brands one could find in studios, in serious professional studios. Brands that are known better for trying to offer a more balanced sound than for colouring it. I know some brands do have studio sound equipment and additionnally offer a more commercial set of products. Just like Sennheiser. By the contrary, you'd never find a Skullcandy set in any decent studio.
 
 
Oct 10, 2010 at 5:32 PM Post #5 of 6


Quote:
When I say truly pro brands, I mean all those brands one could find in studios, in serious professional studios. Brands that are known better for trying to offer a more balanced sound than for colouring it. I know some brands do have studio sound equipment and additionnally offer a more commercial set of products. Just like Sennheiser. By the contrary, you'd never find a Skullcandy set in any decent studio.
 


I worked in serious professional studios from 1977 to 1995 and what we used was anything rugged, reliable, and cheap - or free, tossed in by the dozen by a distributor as a sweetener with other gear.  Studio headphones are used for totally non-audiophile reasons ... for singers to hear a click track or the backing track (does the headband mess his hair?) or for an engineer to listen for distant sirens or subways or HVAC noise.  Anything would do.  It's the wrong question to ask.  You don't want pro gear.  You want gear where the designer can relax and forget the pro requirements and concentrate on something where SQ comes first.
 
Oct 10, 2010 at 5:48 PM Post #6 of 6
In that case, it should be Sennheiser, AKG, Byerdynamic and Sony. But I'm sure they would use more Japanese brands in Japan, like Audio Technica, Roland, Foxtex and Yamaha. When I was working as a sound engineer, we were using mostly AKGs in our studio, but saying that, we didn't actually use the headphones much, mostly just for tracking, we used the main reference monitors the most. Back then, when we did mixing, we'd use the nearfield monitors mostly and the main monitors as reference. I guess nowadays, with the huge popularity of iPods and MP3 players, the main mix (pop music) would be done using headphones or even IEMs more, since that's how they would be heard mostly.
 

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