Best sub 200 dollar musical production headphones for EDM?

[Kolzach]

I'm a musician that needs a new pair of headphones so I can hear what sounds I'm really making.
I was planning on getting the Sony MDR-V6's, MDR-7506's or maybe even a pair of AKG K 240's as their pretty cheap right now.

I don't know a lot about headphones, but I know for musical production they need to be as accurate as possible, let me know what sub 200 dollar headphones you guys think would be good for EDM production.

 

[gondo]

For music production I went for open back headphones to get the best quality sound. Pros are I can hear my wife screaming at me. Cons are everyone hears your headphones.

When I purchased I checked the reviews and settled on the AKG K240 MKII at 55ohms. The low impedance makes them ideal for cell phones, computer, mp3 player, etc.... where you don't have a headphone amp. For the price they are hard to beat.

The AKGs come with straight and curly cables as well as leather and velour cushions. The velour are so comfy. My only gripe is the cables use a mini XLR connector so replacements are harder to find and usually have to come from AKG. Other brands use a standard 3.5mm at the headphones. After heavy use for 4-5 years and dropping them all over the place and dragging them around for computer, music, and sleeping with them for TV, and dragging them out to the guitar rig, they are still in mint condition.

I can also vouche for other brands like Seinheisser, Grado, Shure, etc... being every bit as good as the AKGs. Just wonted to share my experience with the same model your looking at.

 

[shotgunz]

The most accurate headphones under $200 tonality wise would be AKG K612

This is a graph of their K601 which is very similar to their K612, except the K612 has slightly more bass and is $100 cheaper on amazon.

 

[Kolzach]

The most accurate headphones under $200 tonality wise would be AKG K612

This is a graph of their K601 which is very similar to their K612, except the K612 has slightly more bass and is $100 cheaper on amazon.

Why do so many headphones drop in the highs? I can deal with slightly more or less bass but they go from 0 to -15 in the high range. Is it that hard to make an even frequency?

 

[gondo]

No tweeter in headphones. I guess it's get the best you can from a single driver. Also no one really mentioned the big difference between open back and closed back headphones Make sure you realize the difference and choose wisely. I went for open back AKGs for the better bass and sound quality. I didn't give a crap about bothering other people as I don't use them at work, on airplanes, etc...

 

[Kolzach]

No tweeter in headphones. I guess it's get the best you can from a single driver. Also no one really mentioned the big difference between open back and closed back headphones Make sure you realize the difference and choose wisely. I went for open back AKGs for the better bass and sound quality. I didn't give a crap about bothering other people as I don't use them at work, on airplanes, etc...

I'm thinking about the AKG's, I don't care for open back as I'm only using them for production and not public listening. But I don't want extra bass, I want accurate headphones not boosted ones. I'm not sure what I'm going to do.

 

[gondo]

Supposedly open back gives the best accuracy, at the disadvantage that people will here them. Closed back is more for office, airplanes, in bed not to disturb the wife, and for listening to the game while in Church .

Look at the top AKGs in the 700 an 800 series. They are all open back. That's why I choose the k240 MKII. Nice open backs at a good price. And I got them at my local guitar/music store at a good price. If I was going to spend $300+ on a high end pair I'd look to see what else is available but for the price I was sold on the AKGs.

 

[Kolzach]

Supposedly open back gives the best accuracy, at the disadvantage that people will here them. Closed back is more for office, airplanes, in bed not to disturb the wife, and for listening to the game while in Church .

Look at the top AKGs in the 700 an 800 series. They are all open back. That's why I choose the k240 MKII. Nice open backs at a good price. And I got them at my local guitar/music store at a good price. If I was going to spend $300+ on a high end pair I'd look to see what else is available but for the price I was sold on the AKGs.

What about the Sennheiser 558 or 598? those look promising. I'd prefer not to spend too much, I'm trying to save all I can on this.

 

[ssddx]

open back cans generally offer better soundstaging, or depth to the music. closed cans generally have much less depth and all sound will sound closer. while this is a generality and not true in every case, its generally accurate. open cans also generally tend to be less bassy while closed cans tend to be more bassy. again, a generality that is not always true but in general, its common.

akg cans are fairly neutral though are fairly bright, even sibilant in treble and lack depth to bass. some models from akg can be very hard to drive without a proper amplifier so you need to do your research and be careful.

the 558/598 use the same drivers but due to design the 598 has a slightly wider soundstage while the 558 is slightly more bassy. both are fairly neutral but not quite as flat as some other cans. they are very laid back (some call it slow, others call it easy listening) so you can listen for long sessions without fatigue.

keep in mind that "neutral" is not always the best headphone to use, depending on what kind of music you mix. for example if you mix bass heavy tunes you would benefit from having headphones with more bass impact while if you mix very detailed music you might benefit from headphones known to be very articulate and detailed in treble over something more laid back despite being more fatiguing.

 

[gondo]

Those Sennheisers are beautiful. Both are open back design with removable cables and velour cushions. Those are some of, if not the best, on the market in their respective price ranges. Very comfy with high quality sound.

I would have bought them if they were available. I bought the AKG's simply because they were on my top 3-4 list and available locally off the shelf at a great price.

 

[ssddx]

beyer dt880's are not bad choices either, but are a bit more peaky than the hd598 and a bit harder to drive. instead of being mellow they are more articulate and detailed with a bit more soundstage. they are however a bit cooler due to bright treble and have more low end power.
=193&graphID[]=2851&scale=30]http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=193&graphID[]=2851&scale=30

fyi, if you think the hd598 is ugly, the special edition is black

 

[Kolzach]

beyer dt880's are not bad choices either, but are a bit more peaky than the hd598 and a bit harder to drive. instead of being mellow they are more articulate and detailed with a bit more soundstage. they are however a bit cooler due to bright treble and have more low end power.
=193&graphID[]=2851&scale=30]http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=193&graphID[]=2851&scale=30

fyi, if you think the hd598 is ugly, the special edition is black

I was actually looking at the DT 880's and I've heard a lot of good things about them, I'd have to save up for a while but I think it'd be worth it. Plus those 880's look so comfortable to wear. And by the way-- I'm mixing EDM. Mostly different types of house but I might do some wubs here and there.

And what are OHM's again? they have something to do with power and volume right? could 600 OHM DT 880's run on my UAC222?

 

[ssddx]

ohms are a measure of impedance. i'm not going to explain it in detail so here are some links http://www.head-fi.org/a/headphone-impedance and http://www.turntablelab.com/pages/headphone-buying-guide-what-is-headphone-impedance

higher impedance headphones generally require more power to drive although also sound more accurate and precise. this is a generality keep in mind. that is not the only thing to worry about - sensitivity also affects how easy to drive headphones are. for example, some akg cans have low impdance but low sensitivity so are harder to drive than high impedance high sensitivity beyer cans. while we can use generalities to get an idea, its best to look up the individual headphone and recommendations for it.

i do not know the specs on your device, but chances are no, you will want an amplifier. also, watch out for the premium vs pro models of beyer cans. the pro models are much better value. the premiums are much more expensive without adding much in terms of function (less bass, a bit more soundstage, different styling and weaker headclamp generally)

i dont own a pair, but beyers are known for comfort.

 

[gondo]

I read a review of the UAC222. It turns out the built in headphone amp is more suited for higher impedance phones. There is a mod you can do to improve the quality of the headphone amp all around and especially for lower impedance phones. It involves swapping 2 resistors, 2 capacitors, and an op amp.

It will work, but maybe not to a quality level some might want. Hense the mod that greatly improves it's quality. An easier method might be to just get an external headphone amp.

 

[gondo]

Have you considered DJ specific phones. They block out external noise so you HEAR the music, not the TV, Wife, Kids, etc... Some of them have the rotatable ear cup so you can uncover 1 ear to hear the crowd or someone. Might be something you want. From experience with open backs your going to hear external noise so that means anything. The neighbors lawnmower, the tv, etc...

I know a guy who used to DJ and had this $500 pair of Senheisser DJ phones. He could dismantle them into all the little parts and get replacements direct. He loved those things.

 

[Kolzach]

Have you considered DJ specific phones. They block out external noise so you HEAR the music, not the TV, Wife, Kids, etc... Some of them have the rotatable ear cup so you can uncover 1 ear to hear the crowd or someone. Might be something you want. From experience with open backs your going to hear external noise so that means anything. The neighbors lawnmower, the tv, etc...

I know a guy who used to DJ and had this $500 pair of Senheisser DJ phones. He could dismantle them into all the little parts and get replacements direct. He loved those things.

I live in a pretty quiet area, and I never really hear the TV in the other room so I'm fine with open back. Plus it gives you more soundstage doesn't it?

What headphones did your friend use?

 

[gondo]

It was a long time ago. I wouldn't know the model. I was jsut offering an option on DJ phones in case it would interest you.

 

[shotgunz]

DT880's are great sounding headphones from the 20mins I've auditioned then for but have a treble spike at around 9khz. AKG's K612 is ~$160 on amazon and some people consider them superior to the 701/702 series due to not having as big of a 2khz hump and elevated treble. Yes, I've also auditioned them for about an hour and they were much more superior to my HD598.

 

[Kolzach]

DT880's are great sounding headphones from the 20mins I've auditioned then for but have a treble spike at around 9khz. AKG's K612 is ~$160 on amazon and some people consider them superior to the 701/702 series due to not having as big of a 2khz hump and elevated treble. Yes, I've also auditioned them for about an hour and they were much more superior to my HD598.

I've heard a lot of good things about the DT880's and the AKG K612's, I think I'll be purchasing one of those two. Is the treble spike too much on the 880's? or is it nothing too noticeable?

 

[ssddx]

both akg and beyer cans are what you would call "bright" on treble. certainly noticible (anything other than flat is certainly noticible) however this could be either good (if you like very articulate detailed treble) or bad (if bright treble hurts your ears).

you can tone them down a bit with the equalizer though if you think they are a bit too bright.

the dt880 will also mellow out on treble just a bit. out of the box they are a bit brighter than after being burned in for awhile. or so owners have said.

 

[Kolzach]

both akg and beyer cans are what you would call "bright" on treble. certainly noticible (anything other than flat is certainly noticible) however this could be either good (if you like very articulate detailed treble) or bad (if bright treble hurts your ears).

you can tone them down a bit with the equalizer though if you think they are a bit too bright.

the dt880 will also mellow out on treble just a bit. out of the box they are a bit brighter than after being burned in for awhile. or so owners have said.

What do you mean? will the treble soften out after a while?

 

[gondo]

Speakers will break in and sound better over time.

 

[ssddx]

not all speakers/drivers change much before and after break in while others certainly do.

not sure how much of it is placebo effect vs actual break in as both can come into play as well.

 

[gondo]

I've never really noticed it leaning towards the placebo effect, but the rule of thumb is speakers will sound better after 50 hours of listening.

 

[ssddx]

eh, depending on whom you ask the answer changes. even some major manufacturers and audio experts are onboard with break in being real so its hard to dismiss it. thats why i list both sides of the story.