Headphones for home editing and live recording

L

LarsN

Member
I am looking for good quality headphones with noise isolation for live recording.

I looked around and I came across sennheiser, sony, AKG, philips but I can't pick one.
Max price is €250 ($320)
 
Sony V6 are cheap as chips at the moment and virtually identical to the 7506.

Get a few pairs or other alternatives are the sennheiser HD 25-2 or the 280's.
 
LarsN said:
I am looking for good quality headphones with noise isolation for live recording.

I looked around and I came across sennheiser, sony, AKG, philips but I can't pick one.
Max price is €250 ($320)
Click to expand...

The best are the Sennheiser HD 25-1 II which are the industry standard in Europe for location monitoring.

They are very efficient, which means that you are not driving the headphone amp so hard and therefore the batteries will last longer.

They have good passive isolation.

I bought my Mk.1 version in 1989/90 and they are still going strong (I replaced the earpads about four times over the years and the headband pads only once).

I would not use anything else for location monitoring.
 
timr1231 said:
I use the Sony MDR7506 headphones for my audio while editing. They are relatively cheap, don't require batteries, and have a great clean sound. The headphones fit nicely over my ears and are very comfortable, even after several hours of use.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Professional-Diaphragm-Headphone/dp/B000AJIF4E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369071623&sr=8-1&keywords=sony+mdr+7506

Tim
Click to expand...

"don't require batteries" ??? LOL

Sorry Tim, I do not know of *any* headphones that "require batteries".

The Sony are OK headphones and are popular in some places. They are about 13dB less sensitive than the Sennheiser HD 25-1, so you will be taking more power from the batteries in your headphone amp. to drive them.

The Sennheiser HD 25-1 have not been the industry standard in Europe for over 20 years for nothing. They are efficient, accurate and enable listening to detail (I use mine for this even when monitoring and/or editing on studio monitors or far more expensive headphones); they are comfortable (especially with the velour earpads, which I use) and seal well against external noise.
 
Hi

I think Tim just misread your post John about batteries.

Some test data about headphones I read from a very respected Engineer indicated that what has made the Sony 7506, and same cans under other names (V6 perhaps), so popular was that the stereo separation was different from the norm. The Sony 7506 tested with less separation making for less ping pong effect. I mention this just as an interesting note.

I have both the Sony and the Sennheiser, as well as several others, and both are fine. Usually in Europe, where I am guessing the OP resides you would chose the Sennheiser for compatibility. That way you hear what others are hearing. Here in the states we use Sony for the same reason.

Personally I use Grado SR225 for the simple reason that I like the sound and they are the only cans that don't torture my ears comfort-wise. After years I hope I have learned to adjust for their different sound in my head. I have the others for comparisons when needed.

Good Luck.
 
Blit said:
Hi

I think Tim just misread your post John about batteries.

Some test data about headphones I read from a very respected Engineer indicated that what has made the Sony 7506, and same cans under other names (V6 perhaps), so popular was that the stereo separation was different from the norm. The Sony 7506 tested with less separation making for less ping pong effect. I mention this just as an interesting note.

I have both the Sony and the Sennheiser, as well as several others, and both are fine. Usually in Europe, where I am guessing the OP resides you would chose the Sennheiser for compatibility. That way you hear what others are hearing. Here in the states we use Sony for the same reason.

Personally I use Grado SR225 for the simple reason that I like the sound and they are the only cans that don't torture my ears comfort-wise. After years I hope I have learned to adjust for their different sound in my head. I have the others for comparisons when needed.

Good Luck.
Click to expand...

Cheers - when I was talking abut batteries I was referring to the batteries in the camera or recorder. High efficiency headphones mean that they have the same sound level at a lower volume setting and therefore will draw less power from the recorder's battery. The HD 25-1 are 120dB efficient and the Sony are 107dB if I remember correctly.

The Grado are headphones I *never* recommend for monitoring as they have a specific "sound" that may be fine for consumer listening (and are loved by many), but are not accurate or revealing enough for monitoring purposes - and, as you said, you had to learn to adjust for their particular sound.

When I need open headphones when editing, I use the Sennheiser HD 800 (I upgraded from the HD 650 about four years ago).
 
Two of my sound guys switched to (don't laugh) Phillips O'Neill Stretch cans, after they tried mine.
Those are actually snowboarder headphones and I don't think Phillips intended them as location sound recording cans, but they are great (probably by accident).
I really love how rugged they are - had them in snow and pouring rain for hours, no problem, and extremely comfortable to wear.

http://www.accessoryjack.com/headph...ne-with-3-button-remote-for-iphone-green.html
 
The Phillips "the stretch" are simply awesome headphones, I still constantly hearing things in recordings that I never heard in the past on any other headphones. and I do own a set of Sony 7506 as well as a set of Sennheiser HD280s

GG
 
replacement or upgrade from Senn HD 280 Pro?

replacement or upgrade from Senn HD 280 Pro?

My 2 pairs of Sennheiser HG 280 PRO headphones are wearing one; one has a slightly distorting driver and both have disintegrating pads. I am very happy with their sound, comfort and ability to fold up for compact storage when traveling. Are there other headphone that fold up and deliver similar performance? I tried the SONY MDR7506 and found them audibly and physically fatiguing.
 
Though there's a lot of headphones that can be good for location recording, the most important question in my opinion, is how much isolation you want. Some want as much isolation as possible, and they usually go with HD25 (my own choice), HD280, some of the better sounding headphones designed for drummers, or IEM:s. Some want less isolation, and the 7506 or v6 are really popular. For a middle ground, there's a lot of options - I'm interested in trying out ultrasone, which have a growing fan base among location mixers.

Regardless of your preference, headphones are one of the areas where you shouldn't cheap out. It's your reference!
 
Headphones are a personal choice. At least among the usual suspect manufacturers. Though I would not 'mix' with HPs.
I have been using the Sony MD 7206 (and V6) since 1990. I recently bought a pair of the Sennheiser HD280 Pro, there were very comfortable in use, slightly larger than the Sonys, so hanging them around my neck, between takes, when not in actual use was a little uncomfortable. Mainly I did'nt find the 'sound' to my liking, likely because I'm so used to the Sonys. The 280 did isolate airborne sound good, at least as good or slightly better than the Sonys. FYI, I also use and like the 'Garfield Co. Headphone Softies' with the Sonys; "Warm when it's cool, cool when it's warm"
 
Check out tascam headphones, they are new and a lot of sound eng are surprised at them for sound monitoring usage.
 
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