Headphones!?

ki8

ki8

Active member
hey guys. does ne one know the best headphones for monitoring sound, but not to expensive. I was looking at the Seinhesser hd 280 pro...ne comments. thanks
 
ullanta, are the HN-7506s as comfortable as the original MDRs? I have a pair of HD280s to use when I need more isolation but apparently I must have a fat head 'cause they feel like a vise on my head and the plastic headband has stressed cracked. I can wear the standard 7506s all day long.
Thanks,
Dan
 
You don't have a fat head. The HD280's are super tight. The way to make them looser is to wrap them around a stack of books for a few days until they get looser. I did that with mine and now they are very comfortable.
 
No! They're not the most comfortable headphones... but that's the price of isolation. These things are tight and heavy. You get used to it, though.

They're also highly adjustable, with a number of places that let you adjust the dimensions tightly with set-screws (that is, they don't "ratchet" by hand), so you can adjust them for SOME comfort (the headband is all metal, and STRONG). But the sheer weight demands they be pretty tight, and you also want 'em tight to insure a good seal. The ear-cushions are covered with a slick thin high-tech soft rubbery material that molds to and grips around your ear...
 
I think this is an area where personal preferrence and convenience should be weighed against the ACTUAL work that you do. We have such a spread of DVXusers on this board that I always try to give input from 3 different viewpoints... and I usually try to make the poster aware that there are these other ways of looking at it so that they can decide "where they're going" with their gear package and they make the smartest buy.

If you need the ultimate isolation of the remote audio phones then I'm sure that's money well spent... but you gotta' NEED that to sacrifice the comfort and convenience of the standard 7506. (In my opinion) Remote Audio took avaiation headsets and put 7506 drivers in there... I used to fly and I can tell you that the comfort of aviation headsets was non-existent for all but the most expensive models... any of which are not the foundation for the remote audio headphones.

I'm the kind of person who will happily sacrifice comfort for a better result. I don't meet too many others with that same work ethic... so be honest with yourself about that.

From the way you phrased your opening post it doesn't sound like you want to be in the $200+ market for phones... and I don't think you have to go there unless you're going to find yourself in situations that demand that level of isolation.

I would say that far and away the most common industry standard headphone is the 7506... you see them everywhere all the time. Does that mean they are the best? NO. But it does mean that they are good enough MOST of the time and that they are a genuine professional solution.

Price? $100

The sennheisers are preferred by some... and they would also be a solid choice in this price range. That's where preferrence comes in... but if you can't check them out on your own and buy the 7506... and you don't like them... I'll eat my shoe.

If you want comfort and isolation and you really want to spend a fair chunk for headphones then get the Ultrasone PROline 750 for $400.

The only features that I'm involved in are usually indi-productions with low budgets... but I also do sound for news situations, national cable shows, national commercials, and even some social figures that are known world wide... in those situations sometimes I'm the only soundguy and sometimes I'm one of several... and so far all I ever see is 7506s on everyone's head. Even if I have a $10K sound bag strapped to my chest it's still the 7506.

I will stress one point that is VERY crucial here. The other headphone advice is still good advice! If you can afford better and you think you'll appreciate the fantastic isolation of the remote audio phones (and need that extra isolation... you see the 7506 does isolate okay anyway... but nothing like the remote audio phones do)... then the sennheisers isolate noticeably more then the 7506 but then it's a matter of preferrence. I have 3 pairs of 7506 if that tells you anything about my own feelings... so I guess I'm biased. There have been a times that I would have liked more isolation, but it's been rare that I think I really needed it. If you do live music or PA events, or if you find yourself in loud ambience of any kind very often then get the better isolating phones... that is a no brainer. If you're doing indi type of stuff and projects including local professional work... then the 7506 or Sennheisers will be good.

The main thing is do NOT go with a pair of headphones BELOW this advice... if you think $100 is too much for headphones then save for a little while. Do not waste your time and money on the tools of an amature when professional tools are so close in price! I told a friend of mine this same advice regarding headphones and she bought the next Sony model down to save about $30! What is $30 savings??? The most important thing is don't be stupid about things like this... you will wear these headphones out. Get good ones to begin with... I would call the 7506 the minimum starting point for shopping.
 
ullanta said:
No! They're not the most comfortable headphones... but that's the price of isolation. These things are tight and heavy. You get used to it, though.

They're also highly adjustable, with a number of places that let you adjust the dimensions tightly with set-screws (that is, they don't "ratchet" by hand), so you can adjust them for SOME comfort (the headband is all metal, and STRONG). But the sheer weight demands they be pretty tight, and you also want 'em tight to insure a good seal. The ear-cushions are covered with a slick thin high-tech soft rubbery material that molds to and grips around your ear...
Click to expand...

Thanks, ullanta. I know I didn't word my question that way but I wasn't really expecting the HN-7506 to be as comfortable as the MDRs. What I'm looking for is something more comfortable than the HD280s. I don't necessarily agree that you have to give up all comfort for isolation. A tight seal is more than just a tighter clamp. But I understand what you're saying. That the HN has some adjustments and a solid headband, that's promising.

And I appreciate your suggestion, dkamisat, but I'm afraid I'm one of those guys for which the term "one size fits all" does not apply. [:-0

-Dan
 
TeleDan said:
Thanks, ullanta. I know I didn't word my question that way but I wasn't really expecting the HN-7506 to be as comfortable as the MDRs. What I'm looking for is something more comfortable than the HD280s. I don't necessarily agree that you have to give up all comfort for isolation. A tight seal is more than just a tighter clamp. But I understand what you're saying.
Click to expand...


Well, I don't know about giving up ALL comfort. Alls I can say is, after a week or so of getting used to them and playing with adjustments, I don't generally feel uncomfortable; but after, say, a 3 hour long opera I'm a bit glad for the chance to take 'em off. But that's not my only measure of comfort. I worry also about my hearing. And with these headphones, I tend to be able to listen clearly at much lower volume settings than any others I've tried. So I don't have the kind of EAR discomfort I sometimes get when, say, trying to monitor with 7506's in a noisy environment due to the loud audio level... or, as is the case using the DVX, the discomfort and hassle of trying to add isolation by pressing the earcups to my head by hand while straining to listen.

I fully appreciate what Mattin has said, so I'll clarify that most of my work involves fine-tuning audio for musical performances, dealing with very subtle nuances of mic selection and placement, stereo imaging, multi-track mixing, etc. Trying to do this in the same room as the performance really demands the utmost in isolation as well as headphone sound quality. I can see that these are certainly overkill for many situations. I just think having the HN-7506's around for even occasional noisy situations can make all the difference. Before I had them I had a variety of headphones I used for various purposes - mainly 7506's when usable, and DirectSound Extreme Isolation headphones for noisy situations where the isolation won out over the sound quality - but since getting the HN-7506's I've never felt a need for any others... that's why I suggest 'em for someone's headphone investment; I think they'll pretty much cover you in any situation. Well, except a stealth recording. I guess they're kinda obvious.

They're great on airplanes, too!
 
ullanta said:
And with these headphones, I tend to be able to listen clearly at much lower volume settings than any others I've tried. So I don't have the kind of EAR discomfort I sometimes get when, say, trying to monitor with 7506's in a noisy environment due to the loud audio level... or, as is the case using the DVX, the discomfort and hassle of trying to add isolation by pressing the earcups to my head by hand while straining to listen.
Click to expand...

I sure could have used a pair of HN-7506s a couple of weeks ago when I provided the official video record for a marching band competition. 24 bands - one every 15 minutes. I wore a pair of AKG 240s because they isolated a little better than the 7506s and I knew I could not wear the HD280s for that period of time. My ears were mush by the end of the day due to the volume level I needed to hear above the live sound. In fact, towards the end of the day, I was trying to work out a problem with the firewire connection to my DVD recorder and inadvertantly moved the switch on my DVX to feed input 2 to both sides. I could tell that something had changed but my ears were so fatigued that it took me a while to figure out I was listening to mono; albeit hi-fi mono. I was pissed at myself for a couple of days over that.

Having the right cans for the job is definitely important and worth the proper investment.

Thanks!
Dan
 
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