Headphone recommendations for field recording?

T

Terrence Wilkins

Active member
So I just recently brought a lovely new sound setup (rode ntg-3, tascam dr100 mk2, rode blimp), what became obvious after shooting an interview, was I forgot to buy a decent pair of headphones. I completely missed a background hum (thanks to my cheap headphones) that was luckily easily fixed in post. Either way I'm now on a hunt for a decent pair of cans, has any one got any recommendations? The ones that keep popping up after a quick google are the Sony MDR-7506 and the Sennheiser HD 280 pro. Can any one give me a suggestion?
 
Those models are the overwhelming popular ones for field monitoring. A very large majority of people use one of those (or slight variations). Note that they are not necessarily the "best" (as in perfectly flat frequency response, etc.) but the isolation and response characteristics are familiar to most pros and semi-pro sound people and they are suitable for identifying problems (which is their primary purpose in the field).
 
The best undiscovered headphones I have found are the Phillips 'The Stretch' , to qualify this I also own a pair of Sony 7506 as well as a set of Sennheiser 280s and I have found the Phillips superior in all ways other than they dont fold up. but they can be bought at your local Best Buy. or find them on Ebay for roughly half the price.

they offer better isolation and wider bandwidth in my opinion.

good luck
 
In the US, there seems to be a lot of people using the 7506, HD280, and HD25, while in Europe the HD25 is somewhat of a standard. I like it because its isolation is one of the best, it has good sound, and is built to last.
 
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I use the sony 7506 and the MDR V-700 in the studio or for general purpose use but find that the sennheiser HD-25-II is better for location work as they are more comfortable and give a more focussed sound.
 
Just audition some. Choose what feels best and sounds best to you. It's a very subjective choice, especially the fit of the HPs which will likely have on for extended periods of time.
 
Rick does have it right, it is a very personal decision get the ones YOU like the best, all of the ones mentioned here are great choices, and should do you well.

try them out, most music stores should have at least a couple of the choices in stock and would let you listen and test fit them. the ones I recommend can be auditioned at BestBuy stores. but it is up to what you think.

Cheers
 
For field recording, I usually go with the 7506s or the MDR-V600. For dialogue editorial (and most things in post), nothing can replace my Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pros :) They're like pillows.
 
Richard Crowley said:
I just got an email ad from Trew Audio where they announced that Sony apparently now has two higher-end headphones, The MDR-7510 and MDR-7520.

http://www.trewaudio.com/store/Sony-MDR-7510-Headphones.html
http://www.trewaudio.com/store/Sony-MDR-7520-Headphones.html?page=1
Click to expand...

Thanks for the links, noted that it looks like those are not collapsible. The 7520 has a detachable cable.

Here is the info sheet: http://www.trewaudio.com/PDF/sony_mdr7500_infosheet.pdf
 
Starting way back I've always considered location and studio cans as 2 different types, started from the price pov. eg: 7506 $99.99 and 7520 $399.99.

Tip: always put cans away after use, don't leave them lying around overnight, micro bugs could find a home in the earpieces, then you! :-Cry(DBG):

I knew a guy who once unknowingly set up next to an ants nest, they were attracted to his lunch and got in everywhere.
Advice was to take the gear home and set a dish of honey next to it to draw the ants away, I believe it worked.

Cheers.
 
WOW just looked at the specs on those Sony's... they either just invented a cure for cancer equivalent in headphones or their spec's are written by a drunk man...

the 7520 frequency response is from 5hz to 80khz... wow.. 4 times higher than human hearing.. how did they measure that acoustically? or is that with a +or - 40db? LOL

I guess they were thinking about our canine pets hearing response... ROFLMAO
 
recordingwhiz said:
WOW just looked at the specs on those Sony's... they either just invented a cure for cancer equivalent in headphones or their spec's are written by a drunk man...

the 7520 frequency response is from 5hz to 80khz... wow.. 4 times higher than human hearing.. how did they measure that acoustically? or is that with a +or - 40db? LOL

I guess they were thinking about our canine pets hearing response... ROFLMAO
Click to expand...

pahaa.. rut roh..
 
Terrence Wilkins said:
So I just recently brought a lovely new sound setup (rode ntg-3, tascam dr100 mk2, rode blimp), what became obvious after shooting an interview, was I forgot to buy a decent pair of headphones. I completely missed a background hum (thanks to my cheap headphones) that was luckily easily fixed in post. Either way I'm now on a hunt for a decent pair of cans, has any one got any recommendations? The ones that keep popping up after a quick google are the Sony MDR-7506 and the Sennheiser HD 280 pro. Can any one give me a suggestion?
Click to expand...


battling the same decision, terrence... of course it seems between these two that it's merely a matter of preference. was going to snag one or the the other locally from guitar centre (put that coupon to use where i can!), but apparently, they don't test headphones nor do they accept returns on them for sanitary purposes?? surely B&H or amazon wouldn't dare take on such a ridiculous policy.

let me know how you went with your decision.
-katie
 
For field recording, and even just monitoring, I like my Vic Firth isolation heaphones. A bit quiet on the bass/low-frequency, but otherwise it gives a good isolation and sounds good. When booming, it's nice because you don't hear anything else than what you're recording!
 
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