Budget Headphones!

[StratosFear]

I have AKG K271 MKIIs, and I couldn't recommend them more! They do bleed sound out a little bit, but only when you don't have them on your ears...other than that they're perfect. I love them, and I've heard that most AKGs are good. My friend has much older AKGs and they still sound great.

[Electric_Head]

Why i might go for the KRK KNS 8400, as opposed to Beyerdynamic DT770, Shure SRH 840, AKG K550 or AT M50.

Beyer DT770


This graph shows a very bright sounding top end with over exaggerated lows. This could result in some interesting sounding mixes, but i feel they are going to be too sensitive to bass orientated music. The mid's are looking quite good, with an interesting dip at 5khz. Overall, mixing on such brightly coloured headphones is a huge put-off overall.

This is a bit deceiving.
Not cut and dry.

[Aufnahmewindwuschel]

Why i might go for the KRK KNS 8400, as opposed to Beyerdynamic DT770, Shure SRH 840, AKG K550 or AT M50.

Beyer DT770


This graph shows a very bright sounding top end with over exaggerated lows. This could result in some interesting sounding mixes, but i feel they are going to be too sensitive to bass orientated music. The mid's are looking quite good, with an interesting dip at 5khz. Overall, mixing on such brightly coloured headphones is a huge put-off overall.

Shure SRH840


Bass cutoff at 50hz is quite unappealing, as i don't have a sub, i will be using headphones as my main bass reference. Very strong mid's, which means if you listen to anything that has been mixed on a "flat" system, the mid's are going to come across very shouty and in your face.

ATH M50


Scarily similar to the Beyerdynamics above, Bright top end and over exaggerated bass response, mid's are looking quite strong, giving them the shouty effect that the Shure SRH840's do.

AKG K550


Again, we are looking at a over exaggerated bass response, but really shallow high's. Which is unfortunate as this pair looks like it might have a really sweet sounding mid.

Finally, KRK KNS 8400


Here we have something a bit different to all the others, which is a strong bass response from 50-30hz, giving you a great definition for sub referencing. The high's are not over exagerated and the shallow dips at 5k is really going to give your music room to breathe. Another really interesting aspect of these headphones, is the dipped mids, as opposed to them being boosted and shouty, like all the other headphones.

In the past week, i have been fortunate to wear a couple of these headphones.

The SHURE SRH840's and the KRK KNS 8400's.

This, backed with what i can interoperate from the frequency response graphs, is what is shaping my decision.

The Shures and the KRKs are complete opposites in terms of there response in the mids. One being shouty and "in your face", and the other being dipped and slightly "pushed back". Now, if i am planning to listen and work on a project for hours on end, i don't want headphones that are going to be too shouty, too bright sounding, too over-exaggerated in any area. Something subtle and rather flat is preferred, this way I will enjoy the experience more, and spend more time enjoying production. Which, tbh, is what i'm after. Somewhat more of an audiophile opinion than that of a producer maybe? Or maybe the other way round, I can't really say.

Fortunately next week i will get a chance to listen in on some Beyerdynamic DT770's, which will also form my final opinion of the ATH M50's as they are very similar in terms of frequency response. My only regret, is that i won't have a chance to try the AKG K550's, which look like a really interesting "bass orientated" pair of headphones.

i have the 770 and yeah they might be not perfect but as i said as long as i can watch porn on a average loudness i am happy! maybe not japanese with this sharp highend

[bassinine]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control ... details&Q=

on sale for $145, fuck, might have to grab a pair.

[Soulstep]

Every budget headphone is flawed in someway imo and the expensive headphones Hd650,k701 etc are goner need a proper headphone amp to sound their best.

these articles could be helpful
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan10/a ... phones.htm

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan07/a ... phones.htm

[Evil_Dali]

Hey can anyone help me with these headphones? Price range is around 200 (euros) and I stumbled across these:

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_c ... ne_pro.htm

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_dt_770_pro_le.htm

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_dt880_pro.htm

Any major differences between these three? Hearing low bass frequencys is essential.

[eenzo]

I have dt770s and I'd argue actually that theyre quite dark. Yeah the bass is kind of exaggerated and they're closed back so producing on them for long periods of time is a pain but they complement my super bright, not so bassy hs80s perfectly. As for evil dali, I got dt880s and I returned them b/c there wasnt enough bass. no comment on the others

[1stfiest]

Hey can anyone help me with these headphones? Price range is around 200 (euros) and I stumbled across these:

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_c ... ne_pro.htm

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_dt_770_pro_le.htm

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_dt880_pro.htm

Any major differences between these three? Hearing low bass frequencys is essential.

The 770's are closed back, as opposed to the 880's that are semi-open.
Semi-open headphones are like having a pair of speakers close to your head, and can sound really nice, and much more enjoyable listening. However, if you are working in a noisy atmosphere, or don't want noise to spill from the headphones into the microphones, closed headphones are the way to go. Semi-open headphones are best used in an environment that is well acoustically treated basically. I have never heard of the custom one pro's. They are probably good, but i assume the 770/880's will be more reliable. Both of them have a great bass response and are highly reputable. Other headphones you might want to check out in this price range, are the KRK KNS 8400, AKG K550, Audio Technica MT50, or the Shure SRH840, that are all described above and throughout the first page of this thread.

Ideally, you want to go to your local guitar, keyboard or music shop and try some of these out. The Beyer 770/880 are great though. I hope this helps.

[Evil_Dali]

Hey can anyone help me with these headphones? Price range is around 200 (euros) and I stumbled across these:

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_c ... ne_pro.htm

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_dt_770_pro_le.htm

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_dt880_pro.htm

Any major differences between these three? Hearing low bass frequencys is essential.

The 770's are closed back, as opposed to the 880's that are semi-open.
Semi-open headphones are like having a pair of speakers close to your head, and can sound really nice, and much more enjoyable listening. However, if you are working in a noisy atmosphere, or don't want noise to spill from the headphones into the microphones, closed headphones are the way to go. Semi-open headphones are best used in an environment that is well acoustically treated basically. I have never heard of the custom one pro's. They are probably good, but i assume the 770/880's will be more reliable. Both of them have a great bass response and are highly reputable. Other headphones you might want to check out in this price range, are the KRK KNS 8400, AKG K550, Audio Technica MT50, or the Shure SRH840, that are all described above and throughout the first page of this thread.

Ideally, you want to go to your local guitar, keyboard or music shop and try some of these out. The Beyer 770/880 are great though. I hope this helps.

Yeah thanks man! I'd say the atmosphere in my home is quite noisy (baby and a wife) so closed headphones would be the best. Guess I'll take the 770's since many people here seem to like 'em

[Evil_Dali]

So I'm getting these Dt 770's and I have two options.

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_dt770pro.htm

or

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_dt_770_pro_le.htm

Only difference with these are the impedance values. What does it practically mean? The more expensive ones have 32 Ohms and cheaper ones have 250 Ohms.
How does this "impedance" affect to sound quality?

[1stfiest]

So I'm getting these Dt 770's and I have two options.

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_dt770pro.htm

or

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_dt_770_pro_le.htm

Only difference with these are the impedance values. What does it practically mean? The more expensive ones have 32 Ohms and cheaper ones have 250 Ohms.
How does this "impedance" affect to sound quality?

A high Ohm impedance basically means you will need a headphone amplifier.

"A higher impedance allows for more turns of wire to be used in the voice coil of the driver. This can result in a better “motor system” with fewer compromises resulting in better overall sound. Higher impedance headphones also require less current to drive and that typically reduces distortion in multiple ways. It makes them more immune to output impedance differences between sources and also less sensitive to long cables and sharing a common wire in 3 wire cables and 3 wire connectors (i.e. headphone plugs and jacks). The amplifiers driving headphone nearly always produce lower distortion into higher impedances."

Source: http://nwavguy.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/h ... ained.html

Edit: This font is awful for italics ^^

[Evil_Dali]

So I'm getting these Dt 770's and I have two options.

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_dt770pro.htm

or

http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynamic_dt_770_pro_le.htm

Only difference with these are the impedance values. What does it practically mean? The more expensive ones have 32 Ohms and cheaper ones have 250 Ohms.
How does this "impedance" affect to sound quality?

A high Ohm impedance basically means you will need a headphone amplifier.

Does audio interface do the trick? I have RME Babyface, but is that enough to power those 250 ohm headphones?

Link for it: http://www.thomann.de/fi/rme_babyface_blue.htm

From my short research I've determined that high-imp. headers give clearer and more "loyal" sound to the original source, so I guess they're "better". Goddamn, didn't realize this is not very simple

[1stfiest]

The output impedance of most audio interfaces is unknown. But the idea is to follow the “1/8th Rule”.
The FiiO E9 amp, for example, has a 10 ohm output impedance. So it should only be used with headphones of 80 ohms or higher if you want to be assured of the best sound quality.
I checked out the RME Babyface Blue and it says it has a Rated Impedance of 36 Ohms.
36 Ohm impedance means it should be able to support headphones of 288 Ohms or higher. So as long as you don't crank the volume too hard, these should work fine with your interface.

Note: I am new to this area of headphone amps and Ohm Impedance, but I sure do enjoy researching about it =)