Good ''phones for Mixing around $100?

[Michael McBroom]

Okay, first off, I hope this topic hasn't been done to death, but I did some searches here on "best" headphones for recording and mixing and got several hits. Quite a few different headphones were mentioned, but when I started checking into them -- that is, seeing how much they cost -- I was in for some sticker shock. People actually spend $500 or more on a set of headphones?  >gulp<

So, fearing the worst, that I wouldn't be able to find a decent set of phones in my pauper's price range, I decided to do some searches on the net. Came across one site that rated like 9 pairs I think it was. Prices were all over the place, but there were three sets that were all around that magical $100 price point that seemed to be worth a closer look. These three are:

AKG K 240 MK II 

Sony MDR7506

Sennheiser HD 558

So I did what I usually do when I'm trying to figure out what to spend my meager funds on -- I went to Amazon and started reading through reviews. Each of these headphone sets has thousands of reviews, the vast majority of which are five stars. But I was after specific information, so I dug deeper, looking for reviews from audiophiles and/or professionals who do recording and mixing for a living -- or at least a dedicated pastime.   I found lots of reviews that fit my needs, but the problem after reading many of them is -- I can't decide!

I mostly need a set for mixing, and from what I understand, open-back phones are best for this. I've been using a set of decent quality closed back phones for my mixing chores, so I'm wondering if I may have some remixes in my future, should I go with some open backs. The AKG and Sennheiser models are open-back, and while the Sony are closed-back, there were many reviews extolling these phones flat response, so I was thinking, well, maybe . . .  but honestly, if I were to pull the trigger right now, it would be for the most expensive of the three, the AKGs, which are selling on Amazon right now for $140, so not too far outside my price range. Mostly, I'm leaning in their direction because of the many reviews that rave about how clear and natural sounding they are -- which is what I want. But those Sennheisers seem to be the bees knees, reading through the description and the many positive reviews, so . . . I dunno. I guess I'd like your feedback if you're familiar with these phones, or comparable products. Like I mentioned, I'm leaning toward open-backs because I need a good set for mixing. So I'd enjoy reading what  you have to say about this?  And even though the topic title says $100, for the right phones, I'd probably do $150. 

 

[rsinger]

I use the Sony MDR 7506s even though I don't like coiled cables 😉 For mixing, practicing, and recording I like a flat response although I usually don't mix with 'phones.

[John Bradley]

You could try the AKG K240 Studio, which sells for $67ish. Appears to be identical in every way according to AKGs website.

Been mixing on mine (the $67 version) for years. They're great. 

If you do any live recording with mics (vocals, acoustic guitar) you'll also want a pair of closed-back phones to minimize playback bleed while tracking, but those don't need to be especially flat or 'good', unlike the ones you'd be mixing on for hours at a time. 

[Old Joad]

John is right.

I use the AKG Pro Audio K240 STUDIO, They work great plus they have a 3 m replaceable cable..

Edited September 27, 2020 by Old Joad

[Michael McBroom]

Thanks for the responses,guys!

Rsinger, I try to split my time between my ears and my phones when I'm mixing. I like the overall level my monitors provide, but there are situations where the finer points are best listened to  with phones. I mean I could crank my monitors, no problem, to hear the finer details, but best to keep peace in the house and all, so I use phones too.

My existing phones, being closed back, almost totally seal me off from the outside environment, so I will continue to use them, but they'll be restricted to recording mostly, I suspect.

John and Old Joad, thanks very much for that tip. I went over to Amazon and read up on the AKG K240 Studio cans and decided that this was definitely the way to go. So I bought 'em. Should be here in a couple days.

I'll let  y'all know what I think of 'em and just how much remixing I'm gonna have to do.

 

[twelvetone]

Choice of mastering listening device has become very difficult. Today, your material must come across convincingly on earplugs, headphones, car systems of various quality, laptop and phone speakers, and club sound systems (maybe not so much anymore).

Only hifi speakers seem to barely exist anymore.

I use AKG K240 MK I (now made in China - the cone changed) but only prep work. That means I use them for long periods.

They sit comfortably and in the correct position without needing high pressure on my ears to stay in place.

The cable can be exchanged so you can get curly or straight as you prefer. It is a standard mini 3-pin plug which you can get from Switchcraft in metal so you can make up your own cable.

Ear pad plastic gets brittle and the foam inlays perish after 2-3 years so replacements can be purchased. Replacement soft suede-ish finish ear pads intended for the top models also fit if you want comfort.

They are open-backed so I set my listening volume by turning on a radio in the room. I then set the headphone volume so I can still hear the radio. Listening at high volume sounds great but gives a false impression.

I tried the Sonys but the earpads come off accidentally and are difficult to put back on. Also, they don't sit as comfortably on my head. Maybe it's my head.

[twelvetone]

Oh, to add a tip to what @John Bradley said:

If you mix live you will need to turn up your phones to crazy levels to hear the phones rather than the live sound.

So I have 25dB moulded hearing protectors to drastically drop the overall sound level and now I can turn up the phones volume so I can hear the mix over the live band and still be at a reasonable volume.

The closed-backed AKG K270s have a built-in switch so when you take them off you don't have unexpected sound sources getting picked up by the mic.

However, some artists like to hold the headphone to only one ear, so they will switch off.

To cover the above situation I have other closed-back phones. I built a little through-box with two toggle switches so I can turn off the other phone so it does not go into the microphone.

Edited September 27, 2020 by twelvetone

[chris.r]

Didn't read the thread carefully so sorry if I missed some context but yes, for mixing open-back are best. If you're ok with open-back than take a look at Philips SHP-9500. They have great reviews, some say they sound at HD600/650 level (don't have any Sennheiser so can't tell how close they really are) and they sell typically around $60-80.

I can put them on and just forget about them for the rest of the day. One thing to point out is they leak a lot, and I mean A LOT. But other than that, for mixing they are excellent. Also Sonarworks has a profile for them.

Edited September 29, 2020 by chris.r

[razor7music]

Whatever you get, don't get any with pleather on the padding. They start to flake and leave a mess on your ears and in your studio!

[Glenn Stanton]

also - the Audio-Technica ATH-M40x ($99)(replaces the 40fs) or ATH-M50x ($150)(i own and use) - both closed back and both definitely do a good job of representing the mix. I have the M40fs which go for anywhere between $70-120 used, and those are my main headphones.

[jonathan boose]

 I mix mostly on monitors (I don't have a neighbor problem) but I find cans helpful for checking things my monitors don't reveal as easily. I used to use Sony MDR7506. You don't have to worry about the pleather flaking off because the plastic swivels will break, the super glue you use to fix it and the duct tape tape you use after that will all fail first. 

Aside from being delicate, they are a good bang for the buck.

The AKG ones are more durable. I have an old pair in a box somewhere -- remember the 600 ohm ones? You need a fairly powerful headphone amp to overcome the resistance.

I've been using the newer, lower ohmage version, the K240 Studio for a few years now. I think they're probably hard to beat in that price range.

[Michael McBroom]

21 hours ago, twelvetone said:

Choice of mastering listening device has become very difficult. Today, your material must come across convincingly on earplugs, headphones, car systems of various quality, laptop and phone speakers, and club sound systems (maybe not so much anymore).

 

Years ago, a recording engineer told me that he mixed his music down for the 6x9 speaker found in the dash of most cars (this was the early 70s). I can recall being somewhat horrified at this, but you know what, he was being realistic.

 

21 hours ago, twelvetone said:

If you mix live you will need to turn up your phones to crazy levels to hear the phones rather than the live sound.

 

Fortunately, I won't be doing any live mixing. Just me and my gear in my man cave.

 

20 hours ago, razor7music said:

Whatever you get, don't get any with pleather on the padding. They start to flake and leave a mess on your ears and in your studio!

Heh, I found this out with an old set of AKGs I have. The pleather coating flaked off years ago, leaving behind comfortable foam padding. Surprisingly, the foam hasn't rotted yet, and I bought those phones -- must be 18 years ago now.

[John Vere]

https://www.long-mcquade.com/95877/Pro-Audio---Recording/Headphones/Apex-Electronics/Apex-Closed-Deluxe-Studio-Headphone.htm

I have the older Apex HP60 but I think they are the same, they must be 20 years old and possibly the only set of phones that survived my active recordings days. That's because I never let clients use them    

But of all the name brands I have and still have these are still the most accurate phones I use. A perfect match to my NMS10's.   

I'm going to grab a set of the HP 70's now you got me thinking about this topic. It would be the same as when my NMS10's die I'll be lost without them and not looking forward to the quest to replace them. 

Edited September 28, 2020 by John Vere

[jonathan boose]

7 hours ago, Michael McBroom said:

Years ago, a recording engineer told me that he mixed his music down for the 6x9 speaker found in the dash of most cars (this was the early 70s). I can recall being somewhat horrified at this, but you know what, he was being realistic.

And the stock 6x9s in your '69 Impala weren't the aftermarket coaxial ones with tweeters, either.  That probably wasn't the only thing he checked on. 

Berry Gordy, who worked on an assembly line before he formed Motown, had engineers build a mock-up of a car system to check the mixes on. And the portable Phonographs of the day? A 6x9, if you were lucky! It's the reason people used the original Auratones, the "horror tones". You'd want it to sound good on the kitchen radio, translate to a clock radio.

But trying to make it sound good on cheap earbuds is probably a fool's errand. At this point, I just try to make it sound good on my monitors and headphones, and if it's critical, send it to a mastering engineer.

 

 

[KSband]

I got the Audio-Technica ATH-M40x after my 20 something year old sony 7506 died. I think they sound better than the sonys but are not as comfortable. I like them but I can't wear them for long, they start hurting my ears. They look really well built.

[John Bradley]

16 hours ago, Michael McBroom said:

Years ago, a recording engineer told me that he mixed his music down for the 6x9 speaker found in the dash of most cars (this was the early 70s). I can recall being somewhat horrified at this, but you know what, he was being realistic.

The final test for any of my mixes is how they sound on my iPhone +  $30 bluetooth earphones. They actually have more bass than the AKG phones I mix on, what with the tight ear-seal and all.

Also, they're the only things I listen to 'real' music on these days, so I'm very familiar with how mixes should sound on them.

[Bapu]

On 9/27/2020 at 6:52 PM, fossile said:

 ATH-M50x ($150)(i own and use)

Agreed I love these for mixing. They are loud as all get out.

The pads over thears will flake after about 5 years of use. I found some felt replacement covers for about $40.

[Craig Anderton]

The Sonarworks Reference 4 software that compensates for headphone anomalies is very cool, and doesn't cost as much as the version that can also tune your room for monitors (the headphone version is $99 IIRC). But - and you'll thank me for this - if you go the site, they offer a downloadable free guide that covers headphones for mixing and mastering. They've analyzed around 800 headphones in order to generate compensation curves, and chosen the ones they feel are the best. If you click on a headphone to read the associated review, you'll see the headphones' frequency response curve, as well as info about weight, durability, etc. The uneven response of most phones is scary, but at least you'll know what you're dealing with.

I have several sets of headphones. The true test of Reference 4 is I tried their compensation with multiple headphones, and they all ended up sounding pretty much the same in terms of response. However, be aware the frequency response curves are averages. Curves vary for different production runs and even models within the same run. If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, you can send Sonarworks your specific headphones. They'll do an analysis and provide a custom compensation curve.

I highly recommend this software if you have to mix or master on headphones. 

 

 

[Jerry Gerber]

I've used the Sony MDR 7506 for decades.  Over the years I've probably bought 10 or 15 pairs.   They are accurate, comfortable and sound good.  They also are reasonably priced.  Although I'll spend thousands for speakers, for headphones I've never spent more than around $100, which is what the 7506s cost.

The one thing I don't like about these headphones is that when they get old, after 3-5 years, the padding can sometimes start to flake off.  I didn't notice it until one day my wife asked me what all the little black specs were on my ears.  

 

Jerry

http://www.jerrygerber.com

 

 

Edited September 29, 2020 by jsg

[Max Arwood]

7 hours ago, Craig Anderton said:

The Sonarworks Reference 4 software that compensates for headphone anomalies is very cool, and doesn't cost as much as the version that can also tune your room for monitors (the headphone version is $99 IIRC). But - and you'll thank me for this - if you go the site, they offer a downloadable free guide that covers headphones for mixing and mastering. They've analyzed around 800 headphones in order to generate compensation curves, and chosen the ones they feel are the best. If you click on a headphone to read the associated review, you'll see the headphones' frequency response curve, as well as info about weight, durability, etc. The uneven response of most phones is scary, but at least you'll know what you're dealing with.

I have several sets of headphones. The true test of Reference 4 is I tried their compensation with multiple headphones, and they all ended up sounding pretty much the same in terms of response. However, be aware the frequency response curves are averages. Curves vary for different production runs and even models within the same run. If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, you can send Sonarworks your specific headphones. They'll do an analysis and provide a custom compensation curve.

I highly recommend this software if you have to mix or master on headphones. 

 

 

I did not like the demo on the 7506's Enabling EQ compensation was at least 2db louder that without. The software might be good - know anything about it