I use a pair of Sennheiser HD590's and they do the job well....

Best thing to do is take a couple of your fave music CDs, that you know the sound of well, along to your local headphone shop, listen to all the headphones on offer and choose the one with the best overall frequency response that colours the sound the least..

One thing to bear in mind is that headphone will never give you the same bass response as a pair of hefty monitors so you will have to compensate for this otherwise yer tracks will be well bass heavy when played on big speakers.....

Oh yeah and when you are finishing off your tracks listen to them on as many different sets of speakers and headphones as you can, this will give you a more objective view of the track and how it sounds.

Watch out with panning also. Producing on headphones all the way through is far from recommended. You'll handle stereo completely different when using phones. Phones have a spread of 180° (and almost no auditive spill) while speakers are set up with a spread of 60°. Usually when you pan using phones, the stereo image will collapse when listening to your stuff on speakers.

It's fine to listen now and then, but I strongly suggest you look for decent monitors instead (so save up some longer).

I must agree with Dj Thy!
it would be far better getting some studio-monitors to do your mix on! ... i know how frustrating this is, but everyone keeps telling me that's the only way to go, and i still need some money myself for those monitors!

so keep saving!

Cya
SonicAcc

One word:

AUDIOTECHNICA

The best damn studio phones ever... I own a pair and it has the best response ever.. When I want to really hear my mix and all the intricacies I use them, I don't even trust my Mackies HR624s as much as this one. Picked them up in GC for $76... check it out:

http://www.audiotechnica.com/guide/...t/ATHM40fs.html

have fun

EDIT: I do agree with DJThy about the panning... sometimes you will get goofy stuff on monitors when you pan with headphones. Keep in mind that your mix may come out brighter or duller if you use phones only.. Phones are like a microscope - if you really want to hear certain frequencies and "swooshes, tinkles, etc" how they sound in the mix - use phones. But for wider application you'll need monitors. Especially if you produce music like Trance which has a lot of bottom-end (base). You just can't hear the base response in headphones simply because of driver limitations. It sounds like I am contradicting myself but don't exclude phones completely. ONe of the dangers of using phones is that you actually can diminish your hearing if you use them all the time. I noticed that after 2-3 hours of working with headphones I become "deaf" to certain frequencies. Be sure not to crank them up all the way and if you have a serious bottom end, like when you oscilate the crap out of your sound - this is when your hearing takes most of the damage. I had to use phones 'coz my kid goes to sleep at 9, that's where I have the time to actually play... So I had to move all my gear to noisy basement, spend $2000 on building a separate room, doing sound proofing and all other crap to make it noise-free (or noise-less) but it was either that or going deaf. I figured basement would work better.

So... use phones if you have to, while saving up for decent monitors. Check out yamaha NS10 (classic), Mackie, or Blue Sky. they are pricey though... but if you're lucky - you can snatch a pair of NS10 for about $300-400. They are great.

___________________
Proud member of the "Filthy Zionist" coalition

Last edited by CynepMeH on Aug-01-2003 at 01:40

^ more like the Audio technica W1000's



Greatest looking headphones. ever.

Anyways, I do agree with the poster above, headphones can be used like a microscope. You'll definately hear very small nuances in sound alot more distinctly than with monitor speakers. This is helpfull when you want to clean up your sound, making everything just right. THe monitors come in handy when you're doing the final mixdown and monitoring.

If you want a pair of headphones for this, any of the more neutral high end phones will be good.

Look into:

Sennheiser 580 or 600
AKG K401 or K501
Beyer DT770 (alittle more extended bass, but its fine if you're working with electronic music styles)
Beyer DT880
Sony CD3000
Audio Technica W100 or W1000

stay away from Grado phones cause they may sound good but they definately colour the sound.

And with most of the above headphones you should really be using a dedicated headphone amp. If you need one pm me and I can give you more details on where to find them.

And I do recommend using both headphones and monitor speakers together, you'll get a better result.

edit: I noticed your budget of 60 pounds... this limits your choices alot! The headphone amp by itself would cost more than this.. so..
you're probably best going with the Sony MDR-V6. probably the best sound you can get for the price plus you dont really need an amp! Perfect. you can even find them used right HERE and get yourself a good deaL!

ok, i just got a job today (im a student so im normally skint)

it pays well, and my budget has just gone up to about 410 pounds.

Can i get some good monitors instead for this price?

___________________
Signature:
Optional signature you may use to appear at bottom of your posts.

a website i made:
http://www.spaceageonline.com

you can certainly get some good monitors for that.

I personally use the Axiom m22ti bookshelf monitors, and they are incredible.



They are not powered monitors, nor are they near field, but the neutrality and pronounced clarity of detail is simly amazing. I chose these over some other 'production' monitors. Do not discount home audio speakers simply because they are not designated for studio use.

The m22's are even more suitable than the more expensive Paradigm Reference Studio 20 speakers (which are also very nice btw).

And with their price you could certainly afford a decent 80watt per channel amp.

But, like all monitors, you really need a designated sub for the lower frequencies. bookshelves physically cant reproduce the low end of the spectrum due to their size and nature.

*Looks at DJ Chrono with a bit of surprise and admiration*

Hey, what are your names on some other audio forums? I'm sure I've seen you somewhere...

yeah gluegun I've seen you on head-fi. I'm user name 'chrono' but I dont really post much there anymore. Its a great forum though, especially helping with DIY amps!

I'm also on the Axiom forums which I frequently visit, again user name chrono. The people there certainly know what they're talking about when it comes to Home Theater and general audiophile stuff!

well my current home setup in my bedroom is an old Technics ST - HD510 micro system wiv a Yamaha YST-SW105 subwoofer. Is it worth chucking the system and getting an amp, CD and speakers instead. My dads got some B&W DM603 S3 speakers and they sound quite good but perhaps not enuff low end for my tastes. i thought about getting the smaller B&W DM601 S3 bookshelf speakers and coupling them with my current sub. They are about 250 quid, and that would leave me about 150 for a cheap cd player and amp. Wot do u reckon?


Funny, i was originally only looking for some headphones....

___________________
Signature:
Optional signature you may use to appear at bottom of your posts.

a website i made:
http://www.spaceageonline.com

just tried to look for a pair of those Axiom m22ti's, but i cant find anyone who sells them in the uk...

___________________
Signature:
Optional signature you may use to appear at bottom of your posts.

a website i made:
http://www.spaceageonline.com