2. speakers
  3. 123473-3621

Headphone question

I generally do not use headphones for listening, as I prefer my loudspeakers.  However, I do a lot of digitizing of my LPs (a long-term ongoing project).  For the last few years, I have been using Grado SR-60s to monitor the recordings I make on a Marantz pro-sumer CD recorder.  While these are very pleasant sounding headphones, they are a tad euphonic, warming up the mid-bass, and rolling off the treble.  This makes them great when listening for pleasure, but using them as monitors for recording tends to result in recordings that are too hot on top and too rolled off in the bass.  So I am thinking of looking for a new set of cans, one that would be more of a professional-style sonic balance, very revealing, and very flat in frequency response.  Sonic beauty is not the goal here; I want to hear everything being burned onto my CD-Rs, warts and all.  The headphone equivalent of studio-monitor loudspeakers is what I need.

I prefer over (around) the ear designs.  I do not need isolation, nor is bleed into the room an issue for me.

My ears tend to get sweaty with closed-back designs, so unless there is a closed-back design that avoids sweaty-ears, I would prefer open-back designs. 

Also, since I have a connection to a certain retailer, I can get big discounts on the brands this retailer carries, so I want to restrict my choices to one of these brands.  Also, since my budget for new cans is limited, I need to restrict my choices to headphones that have a street price of about $200 or less (less being better).

Here is a list of the brands from which I can choose, with most models from these manufacturers being available to me:

AKG
Sony
Sennheiser
Audio Technica
Shure
KRK
Fostex
Roland
Ultrasone
Grado
V-Moda
Direct Sound

Any adice would be very much appreciated!  Thanks.

bondmanp
bondmanp OP
1,820 posts
 

mapman:  Thanks, I tried no EQ, and the results were generally too bright, and with enemic bass.  That is partly due to many of the typical rock records I am digitizing, as well as the cartridge, and perhaps even the quality of the CD recorder.  I don't use excessive EQ, just a little gundry dip and a nudge of accentuation in the bottom two actaves.


Noted about the Sennheisers.  My first cans were the 424's, purchased in 1976, which I used for almost 30 years (!) before they failed.  The Sennheisers in my price range would be strong contenders.  I have heard they are on the bright side of neutral, which I would prefer if dead flat isn't available in my price range.  What I really need to avoid are the many headphones engineered to boost the bass and/or warm up the treble, like the Momentum.


loomisjohnson:  Thanks, but the Momentums are disqualified specifically because of that bass boost, which, IMO, the Grado SR-60 shares.  I will look into the Philips, but that is not on my brand list in the original post, so no deep discount for me on that brand.

Ag insider logo xs@2x
cleeds
5,970 posts
 
mapman
 "Why not just record with no EQ and have a recording that is same as original? If source is Ortofon cart recording should be no brighter or different than otherwise, right?Or if the cart is too bright to start, maybe something can be done there"

I agree with mapman here. Digitizing of LPs is a very laborious process. It's not something I undertake often but when I do, I want the cleanest, most accurate dub of the LP that's possible. It's one thing to apply some EQ to the occasionally bad LP but if you find that is frequently needed, it suggests something else might be awry. It's better to fix the problem at the source, imo.
bondmanp OP
1,820 posts
 

cleeds - Thanks.  I tried doing straight, non-EQ'd digitizing, and I was very unhappy with the results.  I am not dumping the LPs, so I can always listen to them au naturelle, but I want CDs for the car, and to rip onto my server.  I was finding that the digitized LPs were noticeably brighter and thinner sounding than most of the CDs ripped to my server.  Whether that's the recorder, the cartridges, the phono preamp, or whatever, I just didn't like the results.


The age-old EQ vs. non-EQ debate will not be resolved here.  Suffice it to say that EVERY recording you own has been run through an equalizer in the mastering process.  As far as I am concerned, using the EQ to get results that sound natural and neutral to my ears, on my system, is okay, provided I don't overdo it.  I can't afford to step up to a pricey cartridge, better A/D converter, or phono preamp.  So, what I do want, and can afford, is a pair of cans that will enable me to hear what the recording really sounds like without adding any sweetening, so that I can apply, or not apply, EQ to each recording as needed.  Heck, I would need that even if I wasn't using an equalizer at all.  Hence the post.

extravaganza
373 posts
 
sony mdr 7506 studio monitor headphones.Just make sure they are not fake ones.
bondmanp OP
1,820 posts
 
Thanks, extravaganza.  The retailer is a totally legit authorized Sony dealer.
More to discover