Cans.....Whats on your head?

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Ive been using Grado Headphones these last few years.  Started with the Grado Sr125.  A recommendation by mastering engineers for QC & checking mixes.  The detail that comes out of these is quiet amazing.  Grado are notoriously uncomfortable but most put up with it because of the sound they reproduce.


I Just recently upgraded to a pair of Grado SR325si......twice the price as the SR 125 and 5 times as good.  These cans you could possible mix on. They are that accurate but you still dont get the spacial separation that studio monitors give.  The detail  & tonal balance from these is truly astonishing.  Also you do not need a headphone amp to get the best out of these as you need for cans such as the Sennheiser HD 600 or 650 and the AKG k701 that are in the same category....in other words your iPod can drive these



So.....Whats on your head?

[doombient]

For mixing, mastering, monitoring, and plain listening I prefer the long-discontinued MB Quartphone 90 and 95 (they are now being produced under the "German Maestro" brand). Very comfortable on the ear, very transparent-sounding.

For live and studio use I also have a Beyerdynamic DT-770 which is nice because it shuts out ambient noise quite effectively but I think it´s a bit -mid-heavy and very tight on the head so after an hour or two I get some hearing troubles and a headache.

I used to have a Jecklin Float some years ago. Nice as it was, it was quite, erm, impractical to use (espcially in the studio).

Stephen

[headonist]

Beyerdynamic DT880



I used to have top-notch Sennheisers before but I never got used to the sound from them. Switched to these Beyer-cans and very happy I was.

[richardgurtler]

I am using Sennheiser HD 580:



but I am dreaming about Sennheiser HD 800:



So it's time for bank robbery now... :)

Richard

[LNerell]

Plan old Sony 7506, mainly because they last forever and I know how they sound.

[jkn]

AKG K240's  (or is it 270's?)  eh - can't remember from work.   

I've had them probably over a decade.  I like them a lot.

[mgriffin]

I am using Sennheiser HD 580:

I use these too...

[mgriffin]

Plan old Sony 7506, mainly because they last forever and I know how they sound.

... but these have been my primary headphones (same pair) since about 1995.

[APK]

AKG K240 Studio.
Been using these for many years. I find them very comfortable.
But I've recently been finding them a bit weak in the high end ... maybe old age.
So will be picking up a new set of headphones soon. Not sure what yet, so this thread might be useful.

[Paul Vnuk (Ma Ja Le)]

AKG K271S. I never leave home with out them.

[mgriffin]

I have some mid-level AKGs that Musicians Friend gave me for free with an AKG microphone... just a spare pair for those rare occasions where multiple people are improvising at once, with a live mic in the studio (so no studio monitors blasting). Always heard good things about their higher-end headphones but these cheaper AKGs are sort of non-descript in terms of sound quality. Not bad though.

[petekelly]

Sennheiser HD280 - all day, every day use. Good workhorse phones.




Shure E500 - for more critical listening.




GK Ultraphones - for noisy days... (Sony 7506 drivers)



Previous Headphones:
Sennheiser HD-580 - very nice but one of the drivers died
Beyer Dynamic DT250 (as above)
Etymotic ER4P - lost them (curses...)

[LNerell]

Sennheiser cx300, I use these with my ipod. Also used them for monitors for the Soundquest Fest gig I did last October.

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Great selections of Cans!  This is a topic that clearly every one can participate, not just musicans. 

[Paul Vnuk (Ma Ja Le)]

Even though my main mix headphones are the AKG K271s, I also have a pair of the older K270, Sony 7506, and two older pairs of KOSS headphones that look like something you could land a plane with.

My in ears for live are a pair of Shure SCL-2's

Paul

[jdh]

Great selection from everyone.I am a big fan of headphone use especially iem,90 percent of my listening is done on them.
Home headphones are sennheiser HD 600,need headphone amp to sound their best- I use xin supermacro,and for years before that stax lambda.
Work headphones are Sony 7506 ( the standard I think in the audio field)
In ear monitors are sensaphonics 2x custom molds,etymotic er4p and westone 2/um2.
the etymotics are considered the standard in the iem field for audiophiles.I   recently tried the westones and heard sounds that i never remember hearing from songs that i listened to a hundred times over.you can find the westone 1 for about $125.
Loren,I listen to your music quite a bit but those cx 300s are some of the worst buds you can get,just awful IMO . 

[petekelly]

'Jdh', I had the ER4Ps and wasn't hugely keen on them, very detailed yes, but I prefer the Shure E500s - each to their own.

Incidentally, here's what I use to listen to the phones:
   
AUNE HIFIDIY.NET Mini USB DAC

SPDIF from the soundcard gives a good, clean sound.

and here's a really good headphone amp I use for critical listening:
DUAL AMP (AD8610 option) 
'Neco Soundlab' is the guy who makes it:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DUAL-AMP-portable-headphone-amplifier-V-2-/140504803659?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item20b6bd294b

[LNerell]

Loren,I listen to your music quite a bit but those cx 300s are some of the worst buds you can get,just awful IMO .

How are they bad? They got pretty good reviews when they came out, better then what I was using before (some Sony bud, don't remember the model). The one thing I don't like about them is they transfer sound down the cable when you move, so I sometimes get some weird noise when I'm changing music on my ipod. I generally don't use them for critical listening, just for listening on my ipod when I'm out for a walk.

[headonist]

On a similar subject. This is my headphone amplifier. Meier Audio Corda Arietta:

[phobos]

Beyerdynamic DT250, had them for what seems like forever, and they still feel comfortable :)