Studio Headphones

[SimonT]

I just bought some KRK KNS6400 headphones. A friend of mine has some Dr Dre Beats headphones. They're so much more bassier than mine. These are the specs I've founf for each so far:-

KRK KNS6400 HEADPHONES

Frequency Response – 10hz – 22khz
Impedance – 36ohms
Driver Type – Low Weight Neodymium
System Design – Dynamic
Power Handling – 1000mw (500mw per side)
Audio Sensitivity –
Total Harmonic Distortion - <0.1%

DR DRE BEATS PRO DETOX EDITION

Frequency Response –
Impedance – 36ohms
Driver Type –
System Design –
Power Handling – 120w
Audio Sensitivity – 155db
Total Harmonic Distortion -

Couldn't find the Frequency Response of the DrDre's. They're these ones my mate has anyway:-

Beats by Dr. Dre Pro Detox Edition

Just wanted to know 2 things:-

1) Why are his Dr.Dre's so bassy, what gives them the bass. Mine go down to 10hz, which is pretty low.

2) My old headphones, Sennheiser HD218's have a frequency response of 19khz-21khz I think it was, very high end response isn't it. The bass perception between those, and my new KRK's was barely noticeable. Why? given the fact that my KRK headphones go down to 10hz?

Thanks!

 

[JeramyD]

I am in no way an expert, so everyone feel free to correct me.

I think the reason that you are hearing more bass from the beats headphones is that they are designed to deliver that experience. There is likely some sound shaping going on in the headphones that is boosting the low end of the signal. Your studio cans are likely designed to have a flat response, where nothing is boosted or cut. This allows you to have a level playing field when listening to your mixdown. In essence, nothing is boosted, so everything that you hear in your studio headphones should be as loud as you have it set in your DAW. So if your bass is at -2DB in the DAW, thats what you should hear in your studio headphones. If your bass is set to -2DB in your DAW and you listen to the sound with your pal's beats headphones, the sound will likely be louder because that frequency range has been 'boosted' by the beats headphones.


Another example that might be relevant would be back in the day when you were jamming out in your room to some Rob bass and EZ Rock, and you really wanted to get down, you would hit that 'bass boost' button on your jambox right? The same thing is probably happening in the beats headphones (except there is no activation button)

 

[Salem Beats]

1) Why are his Dr.Dre's so bassy, what gives them the bass. Mine go down to 10hz, which is pretty low.

2) My old headphones, Sennheiser HD218's have a frequency response of 19khz-21khz I think it was, very high end response isn't it. The bass perception between those, and my new KRK's was barely noticeable. Why? given the fact that my KRK headphones go down to 10hz?

Thanks!

Your headphones go down to 10Hz, and they actually have a pretty accurate response down in that region.
However, bass in that range is often too low to be audible (and most producers high-pass any bass that goes that low anyway as it grants extra headroom for free).
Between the ranges of 30Hz-200Hz (the range where bass is actually audible and included in music), the Beats headphones have a stronger response.

Generally, if a producer uses a set of headphones acting as though they're "perfect monitors" (give a perfectly flat response),
and use only those headphones to work on a song without referencing professional material,
his music will emphasize the inverse of his headphones' frequency response curve.

In this situation,
a person with Beats headphones might put together a song
that's light in bass,
heavy in "honk" around 800Hz,
and very "present" in the frequency range between 3KHz-6KHz.

Of course, you can offset this tendency by becoming and remaining aware of your headphones' particular response,
and referencing professional material to hear how "well-mixed" music sounds on your headphones, as a sort of barometer.
"Knowing Your Headphones" will often get you better results than chasing "The Perfect Set of Headphones".

However, if you want to chase some great headphones at a couple of different price points,
I reccommend
THIS (for less money)
or
THIS (for more money).

-Ki
Salem Beats