C100: What do you all use to monitor audio (earbuds/ headphones)?

BrandonT

BrandonT

Well-known member
I was curious what you all like to use as your go-to audio monitoring headphones? And I put it here versus in the audio section because I know that the people who frequent that forum aren't going to be like me or probably like a lot of you all.

So do you like earbuds or over the ear headphones? Something cheap or something expensive?

I used to use over the ear headphones. But once I started using earbuds, I stayed with that. I'm constantly moving around, in a crew of 1 to 3. So being able to stick earbuds in my pocket is a big plus.

I am trying to decide what I want to get now. I've been using cheap earbuds for a little while, and it's time to get something a bit better. I might consider a pair of over the ear headphones that fold up, in addition to some good earbuds.

Also, I'm doing a lot more producer duties lately (which I LOVE). I've been using a wired headset with microphone for long phone calls lately, and I like it a lot. I'm good with the wired, don't care to do bluetooth headsets again. So whatever I get for monitoring audio on camera, I definitely want it to have a mic for phones.

I'm looking to stay under $40 for what I get. But I'd like to know what you all use, whatever it costs! :)
 
You want the industry popular Sony MDR 7506 headphones.

A few more bucks but VERY worth it, and I'll explain why:

First, you definitely want over-ear headphones because when you're monitoring the audio you don't want any other sound getting in and confusing which sound source is which.

Second, they give you want you need.
They are loud. I don't mean too loud, I mean louder than most other headphones of their type - this is super important because most camera outputs are not very loud at all. This makes them far more usable.
also they are boosted a little bit in both the lows and the highs - this helps you to not miss low frequency noises that are often missed by headphones but show up crystal clear in post. And the boosted highs help you really hear every little thing that makes a sound.

These are not perfect headphones for sitting and listening to your favorite music, but they are fantastic for monitoring the audio during filming.
 
I use Sennheiser HD 280 Pro. After getting some suggestions for stealth use, I bought a Shure SE 215 in-ear stereo earphones. However, I feel the HD 280 Pro is better as it isolates the sounds and helps me monitor better.

PS: I mostly use wired earphones while speaking over phone. Still I prefer the closed cans over earbuds for monitoring audio.
 
Unless you are just standing next to the camera on a set of stix, I don't understand how people shoot with over-the-ear headphones. Don't get me wrong, they're great and In my audio(mixer) bags I have two pair of the very good, but discontinued, Sony 7509HD's and two pair of the incredible Ultrasone 900's. BUT I would not want to wear them WHILE I shoot. Especially in the field and with the camera on my shoulder. I wear a set of custom molded dual driver in-ears while I shoot if I don't have an audio guy or we're doing a wireless hop from the bag to the camera.

Westone makes a very good set of "universal" fit dual driver in-ears, the UM Pro 20's(they make single up to 5 driver models). They have changed the design, but if they still sound as good as the older ones I have(for listening to my iPod/iPhone), I highly recommend them. I was really surprised at the audio quality when I got them. I was actually hearing subtleties I hadn't heard before in tracks I had listened to 100's of times. And one of my friends who is an audio guy actually bought a pair for himself after listening to mine. And actually, some of my higher-end audio guys have gone away from on/over-the-ear headphones in the field and moved to in-ear monitors.
 
I've only seen the 7506 and HD280s in use on set. Everything else listed here is for listening to music and is not a monitor, so you won't get the flat response needed to monitor audio properly. The 7506 is the standard for editors, too. Think of it as using a calibrated Flanders monitor vs a boosted set in Best Buy... it's not about what is most immediately appealing, it's about what provides you with the accurate information you need.

But I just use these:

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=8323&kpid=108323&gclid=CO7BxbjinsYCFYdbfgodI2sALQ
 
I actually don't think there is necessarily a right choice for all situations, and I am a sound guy. When I do location sound, my primary concern is isolation so that I hear as little bleed from the outside environment as possible. In that case, I've started using the Sennheiser HD25-1 II as they seem to be the best for isolation due to the shape of me ears. I actually find their sound to be fairly tinny, but I am not trying to EQ on set. The 7506's or MDR-V6 are nice and flat and sound good, but the ear cushions annoy me and they are relatively poor at isolation. I've heard good things about the sennheiser 280 pros and have been meaning to pick them up. I've even been looking into buying the Westone IEM's as I am guessing that they would be perfect in certain situations.

When I am just walking around with my C100, though, I usually don't want great isolation. I want to hear the environment and anything the producer might want to whisper in my ear. I just want to be able to see the levels on the screen and hear enough of the audio to make sure that I don't have a bad cable, distortion, or wireless hits. In that case, why not use ear buds? The are also less bulky, you can shove them in a pocket, and I personally think they make a videographer look less intimidating or cut off to the person in front of the camera.
 
I started out with the Sony MDR 7506. Over time (maybe a year or two) the coiled cable got looser and now tangles very very easily, which is a huge pain when on set to have to untangle the cable every time I take it out of the bag. The ear piece also started shredding pieces over time, so I replaced them for around $10 which wasn't a big deal. I now use the MDR 7506 for editing since when I take my laptop out I can afford to take 10-20 seconds untangling it plus it doesn't always necessarily need to be untangled for computer use.

For my field headphones I now use Senal SMH-1000 headphones. They seem to be the same as the Sony (at least they look the same; I'm no audiophile so can't comment on the audio quality other than to say it sounds good to me), except that the cord is detachable and it comes with both a coiled and a straight cable, so you can choose which to use based on your needs, plus if the coiled cable loosens over time it's only like $10 to replace it instead of needing to replace the entire headphones. Typically the coiled is too long when I'm walking around with the camera, so I use the straight, and for sit down interviews or when recording to a stationary (on a table) audio recorder I'll use the coiled.

With that said, I don't often use headphones when running around with my camera. Nine times out of ten the on-camera audio is just used for syncing and I'll leave the gain levels on auto, so if you're getting levels on your monitor it is very reliable in those 1 out of 10 times I do want the on-camera audio, such that monitoring it is usually not worth the hassle, particularly since I do a lot of Steadicam and stabilizers where I don't want my ears attached to the camera. For run n gun stand up interviews I will use the Senal SMH-1000 straight cable, but the majority of my interviews are sit-down interviews.
 
The 7506s are NOT flat.

I use Sennheiser HD380 Pros when I use over ears, Shure SE215s when I want to go more stealth. Both are far more accurate than 7506s. 7506s have their reputation because they are cheap, sound decent and are practically indestructible, not because they're fantastic sound-wise.
 
Thanks for all of the input. It's fun reading how each of you operate. I'm checking out each of the ones that you have listed.

cpreston said:
I actually don't think there is necessarily a right choice for all situations, and I am a sound guy. When I do location sound, my primary concern is isolation so that I hear as little bleed from the outside environment as possible. In that case, I've started using the Sennheiser HD25-1 II as they seem to be the best for isolation due to the shape of me ears. I actually find their sound to be fairly tinny, but I am not trying to EQ on set. The 7506's or MDR-V6 are nice and flat and sound good, but the ear cushions annoy me and they are relatively poor at isolation. I've heard good things about the sennheiser 280 pros and have been meaning to pick them up. I've even been looking into buying the Westone IEM's as I am guessing that they would be perfect in certain situations.

When I am just walking around with my C100, though, I usually don't want great isolation. I want to hear the environment and anything the producer might want to whisper in my ear. I just want to be able to see the levels on the screen and hear enough of the audio to make sure that I don't have a bad cable, distortion, or wireless hits. In that case, why not use ear buds? The are also less bulky, you can shove them in a pocket, and I personally think they make a videographer look less intimidating or cut off to the person in front of the camera.
Click to expand...

Yes, I completely identify with you on the second paragraph. When I am interviewing people, I don't want to make them any more nervous than they already are. So earbuds are less intimidating and putting less of a barrier b/t you. Same with what you said about hearing the environment/ producer. I'm in real world locations where I'm only going to have so much control over ambient noises. And the truth is that I can probably just tell with my ears if something is going to be a problem.

But like I said, I do want to go with something better. So I'm definitely going to consider the more budget friendly options you all have listed here.
 
Polsen headphones from BNH are great, $30.00 give er take a few bucks. They have great quality for the price and are built decent with a super long cable. We use them in a television studio.
 
Can't go wrong with the Sony 7506. I use them all the time (on shoot and for editing) and they are great! Sure there are other alternatives out there, but you really can't go wrong with the 7506.
 
You should never use ear buds for anything. When Apple came out with their break through ceramic earbuds for the iPod that caused a lot of new hearing loss patients. Buds are too deep in your ear canal. I have tinittus, (but from Rock & Roll, artillery and helicopters) and you will get it from ear buds:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-budding-health-problem-of-earbuds/

Also, especially regarding interviews, the two biggest client complaints are clothing rustle and wind noise, which can be hard to discern with "just" ear buds.
 
nedcam said:
You should never use ear buds for anything. When Apple came out with their break through ceramic earbuds for the iPod that caused a lot of new hearing loss patients. Buds are too deep in your ear canal. I have tinittus, (but from Rock & Roll, artillery and helicopters) and you will get it from ear buds:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-budding-health-problem-of-earbuds/

Also, especially regarding interviews, the two biggest client complaints are clothing rustle and wind noise, which can be hard to discern with "just" ear buds.
Click to expand...

"Earbuds" includes a whole host of devices... from the ones that come with your iPhone all the way up to IEMs that cost over a grand. Painting them all with the same brush is like saying "all DSLRs suck." I can hear wind noise and clothes rustle just as well with my Shure SE215 earbuds as I can with my HD380 over-the-ear cans. Probably actually even better since they offer exceptional isolation. Other nice thing about the Shures is they give you a little bit of protection when you're working in a high-SPL environment and they fit great under a pair of muffs if you need more protection.

As for hearing loss, that's not really earbuds' fault. You can damage your hearing with a pair of OTE cans or studio monitors in your bedroom too. With a properly-fit set of in-ear earbuds, you can run the volume VERY low comparatively and safely wear them all day. The key is noise isolation.

The problem with hearing loss in kids and young adults is less about the type of headphones they use and more about the fact that they turn them up so loud and wear them that way all day. If earbuds weren't available, they'd do the same thing with Beats cans. Hearing damage is dependent on two things... the intensity of the noise and the length of exposure.
 
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Yeah, never turn up the volume so you can hear over the background noise. I stopped using the 7506's for live mixing because they didn't isolate very well for me and I was having to turn them up too loud. I actually played around with using ear plugs underneath headphones so that I could increase the volume of the headphones. A good IEM is probably the best solution for isolation, but if you are constantly pulling them out so that you can hear somebody talking you, it's probably not the right solution for that situation.
 
About 99% of the sound recordist I meet use the Sony MDR 7506 for location recording.


Broatch Berry

Venice CA
 
Hi

In the United States the Sony 7506 rules (In Europe I think the 280 HD is the standard???). Reasons other than the ones already mentioned -> A very well respected audio engineer mentioned to me that he tested lots of headphones and claims that the left right isolation on the 7506 is less than other headphones. This reduces the ping pong effect. Another reason implied before is that all through the production chain the 7506 are the reference. So you can hear the same things in the same way as others.

I have several headphones and Earphones, including the 7506 and the Shure SE425 earphones. When I use them with a camera I am putting them on and off (7506 headphone wins) and usually do need to hear environment (7506 headphones win). SE425s much better sound quality, they win that.

No right answer, just opinions. You will read as many different suggestions as you have different situations.

Are you the director, producer, camera operator, sound guy, all of the above? You did mention the camera and skittish interviews so that's part of your situation. Lot's of good advice and ideas in above posts to help you, best luck to you.
 
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