I need to get a decent set of headphones - a pair with a reasonably flat response that I can mix on.
I have problems with fairly low level bass frequencies travelling from my flat to other parts of the property and causing annoyance to others. I'm really not playing loud but it's an old victorian property that seems to act as one big resonator!
So I'm looking at getting a set of phones that will be good enough to mix on if needed but, most importantly, I need something without an 'enhanced' bass response - as flat response as possible would be good.
I have a budget of up to around £200 (less would be good) and I'm thinking open-back rather than closed-back (I have a copuple of pairs of cheapy closed-back if needed for tracking).
I really have no experience with decent headphones so can any of you recommend a pair that would do the job?
Comments
Shure SRH940 for £153 from Andertons
Shure SRH1440 for £167.40 on offer at Andertons
AKG K702 for £149 on offer at Studiospares.
I said maybe.....
As always happens, having set myself a budget of £200 I find myself looking at £300 Sennheiser HD600s! #-o
I'm enjoying them - by far the best headphones I've ever used. I'm still in the process of adjusting to the 'headphone listening environment' (I've never enjoyed tracking on headhones, only really using them when recording acoustic instruments or vocals in front of a mic) but these sound acceptable for guitar. I can certainly hear plenty of mix detail that is normally obscured - I think I've always used 'instinct' a lot when mixing in the past. I'm hoping my mixes will improve a bit now I can hear them.
I'm just trying to do lots of listening on them for the moment. I've recorded a quick guitar track entirely monitored on the cans and that went ok. The Shure's seem pretty comfy to wear, too.
Amusingly, I took them around a friend's house last night and we were listening to some stuff on both the 1440s and his two Sennheiser sets - some 200-and-somethings and a second cableless pair - and the Shure's were in a totally different league. The cableless pair are already damaged and held together by tape and he managed to sit on the unbroken pair - which are now broken. I think he's now going to by a pair of 1440s as well.
I can't honestly say whether it's because I'm becoming familiar with the sound or whether they have 'played in' but the top end on my 1440s does sound warmer and less harsh now. Guitar speakers can sound a little brittle out of the box so it's entirely feasible headphone speakers may.
I've done a little bit of mixing on the Shure's now and I'm really appreciating the added detail - mixing is much easier when you can hear what you're doing!
If you could score a pair of HD600's or 650's, they usually get plaudits across the range. They're an almost industry standard mixing headphone.
If I needed cans to mix, they would be where I'd explore first.