Monitoring Headphones

Hey all,

So I'm just starting to do heavy AVID editing here at film school, and part of what we're supposed to do as directors/editors is find a nice pair of circum-aural headphones to use both out in the field while shooting and later on in the editing suites. So far, I've narrowed it down to a few models, but would like any input from you all- only budgetary constraints are that I would like to keep it under 100$ USD (Amazon seems to have the best prices) and that comfort and sound quality are issues, whereas portability is not- I've got a great set of Klipsch earbuds I use for for personal music listening.

Right now my contenders are the Audio Technica M30's, the Shure 440's, and the Sennheiser HD 555, 448's, and 280s.

Cheers, and thanks for the help!

 

Since the budget is low I dont think you will find anything that is really high quality, so instead I would just focus on something durable and easy to transport. So being able to colapse for transport and/or having some kind of bag/case would be my priority.

Ultrasone Pro models have a nice hard case but the cheapest ones are like $150 of Amazon.

I know the Audio Technica M50 can collapse and they are actually really nice quality and only $20 more than your budget

Id recommend these highest.

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technic...3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1298448631&sr=1-3

Amazon.com: Audio Technica Pro Studio Monitor Headphones: Electronics

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technic...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1298448631&sr=1-1

 

You really can't go wrong with Vicious's recommendations (that's why he's the man).

If you could possibly use open headphones, then Grado SR-60i or Grado SR-80i would be good choices. Great sound quality for that price. But if you're going to be out in the field, open headphones won't work.

Audio Technica ATH-M50 is probably the best bang-for-your-buck closed headphones near your price range.. It's slightly more than your budget (+$20), but it is worth it. You make some sacrifices with headphones below $100 that are worth the extra +$20 to correct.

 

Yeap +1 to the ATH-M50. Superb SQ, isolation, durability and portability. I say pay the extra dollars, Do it once, do it right.

And if you have the extra $$ later on, get the Slappa headphone hardcase which fits the M50 perfectly and a cable turtle if you get the staight cable version (its very long)

 

Bose or Monster will make the best monitoring headphones.

 

I so hope your kidding, but you gave no indication of sarcasm so I do not know...

But considering you mentioned not one but both of the most known overpriced brands in the same sentence I think its too large of a coincidence to not be sarcastic.

 

All of his posts so far are "I recommend Bose / Monster / Razer. They are the best, just because they are Bose / Monster / Razer."

It's like he's *trying* to troll.

 

Whose trolling? Why would you assume that when i recommend those brands? everyone has their opinions on what the best is. Regarding this thread, i do recommend Bose and monster as they do have a reputation for making quality headphones, heck many youtubers are sporting monster beats as monitoring headphones.

 

lol this is getting good.

 

You like Bose, Monster, and Razer. Ok, fair enough. You are entitled to your opinion.

It would be helpful to others if you could articulate why you like them... for example, you might talk about their sound quality, or construction, or some other area of the product you like. That would be far more useful than "Brand_XYZ is the best, simply because they are Brand_XYZ."

And it would be even more helpful if you could share your experiences of Brand_XYZ with other similar products that you have tried.

You are correct, you are entitled to your own opinion. And perhaps it wasn't the nicest thing to just bash you for liking Brand_XYZ. So, let's move on past this, and turn this into a discussion. What exactly do you like about Bose and Monster that would make you recommend them to others?

 

The HD280s have a flatter frequency response curve than the M50s, but the M50s have a fair amount more bass thanthe HD280s. The HD280s have very "bright" midrange but don't have all that much bass. Apparently the HD280s have more sound isolation than the M50s; I have owned a pair of HD280s for about 4 years and they haven't broken at all (which the exception of the headband pad which is now coming apart, but you can buy a replacement for 8 dollars). They are very well built and are meant to be used in the field.

The HD280s would be good for your type of use, since bass probably isn't as necessary for film related audio (a lot of the audio would be voice I would think). Its not that they don't have any bass; they just don't provide an accentuated amount of bass that many music listeners look for. I do know for a fact that the HD280s (and the HMD280s, the headset counterpart) are used for film/telecommunications related uses as well as studio monitoring (like for tracking vocals).

 

Personally I don't have the XD-40 headphones I'm recommending to fit your budget, I have the better version XD-53 which is double the price of your budget. But a couple of things to keep in mind: headphones with a wider frequency response (true not just facts on the package for marketing sales) will reproduce the sound a lot better than the ones limited to hearing range 20Hz - 20,000kHz. Then also input power will tell you how much distorsion is involved. The higher input power ones will do just fine at a level which might be considered high for other headphones which are close to their max. input.

http://www.proaudiostar.com/headphones/dj-headphones/allen-heath-xd-40-dj-headphones.html

And there's your ATH-M30's also:

Audio Technica ATH-M30 Headphones

 

I wouldnt say the best. With the amount they spend on marketing i can see how you would think that. Sure they make decent quality headphones but it comes at a steep price.

 

Thanks for the all input folks, and keep it coming!

Just to throw this out, have a question about THESE cans- they're on sale right now for about 65, and every review I found of them states that they are as close to as perfectly 'flat' as a set of cans in this price range can be- which, I suppose, is what I'm looking for, right?

Thoughts on them and the issue of 'flat' sounding cans in general? Thanks!

 

Never used those before. But you're basically comparing different models within the same model line... Audio Technica M30, M40, M50. The ones you listed were the M40 model.

In regards to "flat" response of audio gear... the idea behind "flat" headphones is that the sound comes out as close as possible to the source recording. There is no emphasis on a particular frequency range (low / mid / high), sometimes called "coloring". Most audiophiles who are total headphone nerds want this. And if you are doing studio work or sound editing, this is what you want.

There are specific times when you might NOT want a flat response. As one example, if you listen to a specific genre of music, or will be using the headphones for certain types of gaming, you might want headphones that intentionally emphasize bass frequencies (also called "coloring the bass") to make the listening experience more "fun".

But in general, studio work tends to favor flat response gear. So look for that.

 

You should check out Headroom ( www.headphone.com). They have frequency response graphs for most of the headphones you are considering. Here is one comparing the M50s (they don't have the m30's or m40's), the sennheiser HD280s, the HD448s, and the shure 440s:
http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php?graphID[0]=1473&graphID[1]=533&graphID[2]=2811&graphID[3]=1163&graphType=0&buttonSelection=Compare+Headphones
Also, looking at the noise isolation graph, the HD280s appear to have the most attenuation of those 4.

 

Off topic, @ ViciousX, after many months of searching for good "surround" emulating headphones, I finally settled on the ATH-AD700, which ironically are something you recommended from the get go, but I wanted to try everything else first I love how I can hear everything around me with them. I only game at work, so being able to hear background noise is essential, these sound great but don't block out sound. Thanks for all your posts.

@ the OP. The ATH-M50s get my vote also since they fold up and have a case. Something cheaper that a lot of pro/amature musicians use is the Sony MDR-7506, it folds up also.

 

You can consider the Sony MDR-V6/ 7506 (essentially exactly the same... only difference I know of is a slight color difference). They aren't true pro quality headphones (but neither is anything below several hundred); but they have a great sound spectrum, and are a great set of cans. Read some of the reviews on head-fi - My Sony MDR-V6 review (EXTREMELY long!) - Head-Fi.org Community-

I have had a pair of V6's for about a year now. I use them every day: they are very comfortable to wear, have great sound (good highs and mids, really nice sounding lows), fold up nicely, have a great cord, sound great from almost any source (even unamplified), have very solid build (the folding mechanism is NOT cheap of flimsy, nor is any other part of it). I did buy the Beyerdynamic Velour ear pads, they make it very very comfortable to wear all the time, but the standard pads are fine.

Maybe they aren't absolutely perfect, but I couldn't ask for more for $70.... something to consider


The amazon pages for each, read some of the reviews (as with Amazon reviews, some of them are worthless; so keep that in mind) - Amazon.com: Sony MDR-V6 Monitor Series Headphones with CCAW Voice Coil: Electronics- - Amazon.com: Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone: Electronics-