Best Headphones for Mixing and Mastering

  • Thread starter Thread starter GFunkEra408
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GFunkEra408

HipHop
Hey all,

So due to my limitations on being able to acoustically treat my mixing area in my apartment i am going to invest in some open back headphones. I KNOW ITS NOT THE IDEAL WAY OF MIXING (I just want to emphasize that) however I would like some opinions on headphones that will translate well and are the best for mixing and mastering.

I’m looking to spend $400-$500.

Btw I’m make rap music and also practice on other genres of music when mixing.

Any advise right now would be appreciated!

Thanks!
 
Well, if you really want to spend that much (I personally don't recommend this though), you can consider:
1. Sennheiser HD 650
2. Shure SRH1840

But, why I say I don't recommend this, is because if - at some point - you really want to take music to a professional level, you can't go around the fact that you need monitors. I mean, you can't go pro, if you rely solely on your headphones. So, as long as you don't equip yourself with monitors and proper treatment, you're not pro level. And I don't - by any means - say this to offend you, don't get me wrong! But I just don't think spending 400$ to 500$ on headphones for non professional use (once again, not trying to offend you) is worth it.
If, however, you know that in the near future you are going to go for a more professional setup, then sure, spend the money and get those awesome sounding Sennheisers, they'll complement your studio for sure!
But, if you don't know for sure you're going to invest in proper sound + treatment, don't bother spending the money, and just get the more affordable Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro, and you'll be more than fine.

If you only have headphones, you can't compare to other solid sound sources (and comparison is important if you want to make a finished product and send it to labels or whatever), so that's why 500$ exquisite headphones are just as good as 150$ solid ones, in your case.

And no, I am not a professional music producer myself whatsoever, so feel free to neglect anything I just said. But this is what makes sense to me, imo.

Anyway, good luck in finding the stuff you need!
 
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MasterMelodies said:
Well, if you really want to spend that much (I personally don't recommend this though), you can consider:
1. Sennheiser HD 650
2. Shure SRH1840

But, why I say I don't recommend this, is because if - at some point - you really want to take music to a professional level, you can't go around the fact that you need monitors. I mean, you can't go pro, if you rely solely on your headphones. So, as long as you don't equip yourself with monitors and proper treatment, you're not pro level. And I don't - by any means - say this to offend you, don't get me wrong! But I just don't think spending 400$ to 500$ on headphones for non professional use (once again, not trying to offend you) is worth it.
If, however, you know that in the near future you are going to go for a more professional setup, then sure, spend the money and get those awesome sounding Sennheisers, they'll complement your studio for sure!
But, if you don't know for sure you're going to invest in proper sound + treatment, don't bother spending the money, and just get the more affordable Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro, and you'll be more than fine.

If you only have headphones, you can't compare to other solid sound sources (and comparison is important if you want to make a finished product and send it to labels or whatever), so that's why 500$ exquisite headphones are just as good as 150$ solid ones, in your case.

And no, I am not a professional music producer myself whatsoever, so feel free to neglect anything I just said. But this is what makes sense to me, imo.

Anyway, good luck in finding the stuff you need!
Click to expand...

No offense taken, I appreciate it. I just purchased the HD650’s from SweetWater. I feel like after watching a lot of videos Headphones in the 300-600 range are all pretty similar with only a few minor differences (that just what I got from hours of videos). I feel like I made a good purchase though.
 
Yea for sure, when you buy Sennheiser, you will get quality, no doubt. You'll enjoy them!
 
MarquezLux said:
Also, consider using Sonarworks to calibrate your Headphones and get a more linear sound experience.
How to Choose the Best Studio Headphones? – Sonarworks
Click to expand...
i don't write english very well but, sonarworks did a nice job! it is useful to check your mix.. even though you can still mix without it, it helps to get a neutral sounds but i as i said it's not really neccesary... what's better is the room calibration option for your monitors...but it's a lot more expensive, greetings from chile
 
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I'm satisfied with my audio technica m50x
decent price too on amazon.

Depends on how much you wanna spend
 
MarquezLux said:
Also, consider using Sonarworks to calibrate your Headphones and get a more linear sound experience.
How to Choose the Best Studio Headphones? – Sonarworks
Click to expand...

puremetal said:
i don't write english very well but, sonarworks did a nice job! it is useful to check your mix.. even though you can still mix without it, it helps to get a neutral sounds but i as i said it's not really neccesary... what's better is the room calibration option for your monitors...but it's a lot more expensive, greetings from chile
Click to expand...

Yeah I did the free trial and the plugin is pretty useful if all you really have is your headphones to mix with. I’m thinking of buying it soon.
 
My sennheisers always came apart really easily.. not great quality if you ask me. This was years ago though. I recently got the AKG K712 Pro though.. which to me is expensive (to you apparently not), but it's great so far. Great imaging to really pick apart those tiny details and there's copious, but natural sounding low end, which is lacking on the cheaper K-series. I haven't had them long enough to seriously judge them, but so far they're excellent.
 
Nice man. My Sennheiser’s are doing good thus far. They sound good (better than my audio techica’s) but not sure if they’re worth the $500... maybe time will tell after the break in period.
 
Some sennheisers would be best in your price range, but like others have said you don't really need to be spending $500+ on headphones.

Honestly, I think the best thing you can do to get good at mixing and mastering is to have a wide range of speakers/headphones you can listen to you mixes on since your music will be played on a lot of different devices, cheap and expensive. After I mix in headphones I normally listen on a portable bluetooth speaker, normal earbuds, my car and my studio monitors to get a feel for what stands out on different devices. That is what I think helped improve my ear the most.
 
Send those back, save up another $100 and purchase some Beyerdynamic's.

I cant post a link yet, but the DT 1770 Pro's are amazing. Super flat with an amazing frequency response. You can mix for guinea pigs on these things. Look up guinea pig hearing range and you'll know what I mean ;)

Super comfy as well, can wear them for hours without hurting your ears.
 
I did some research on headphones in my first year of University, and imo, Beyerdynamic Headphones are the best pick, and stay very true to how it sounds on other devices (e.g. speakers, car, tv, crappy earphones etc).
Other viable options also used by industry professionals are Sennheisers like the one MasterMelodies mentioned, or AKG studio headphones :)

Personal Recommendation:
Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro
Beyerdynamic DT1990
 
All these comments are spot on, also you should check Open Back vs Closed Back Headphones and hear what fits you best for your needs.
 
hi, if it helps u, i use DT990 Pro by Beyerdynamic with 250 Ohm.. i use them to control mixes and masters and readjust things slightly
 
open back senn's are the best I've used personally

whatever model you can afford. make sure you match the impedance to your sound medium.

they blow the audio technica ath-m50x out of the water IMO

also they are easier on your ears, being open back
 
I also mix on Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 ohm. My only qualm originally was with the bass response but after the initial few months of use I can now compensate for this. Well worth a try for the reasonable price.
 
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