Headphones for mixing

Support and feedback for Acoustica's Mixcraft audio mixing software.

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mick
Posts: 1499
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2012 10:33 am

Re: Headphones for mixing

Post by mick »

I used Beyer dt231 for about 6 years and thought they were great! - Until I got the AKG K92 and the Beyers suddenly sounded something from like toys r us in comparison. I put a few contrasting loops in Mixcraft, Sax, Bass, Guitar, Snare and symbol. the Beyers lost it and picking out individual tracks was a task. The AKG opened everything out and it was easy to pick out each track, the bass was far better and not heavy, I did not detect any harsh treble or boxy mids, they just sounded balanced and far more open.
I would suggest listening to these but definitely compare them with others recommended by the other guys because our ears are different. I would never get headphones because someone likes them because a dozen guys will all have a different opinion, I'm just throwing these into the pot as a possible. Good luck finding the perfect gear.

EDIT
I would look at phones with detachable leads because they can fracture internally.
Torton5
Posts: 114
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2016 8:49 pm

Re: Headphones for mixing

Post by Torton5 »

If your going for the HD280's, you may as well go for the HD380 pro which is about the same cost and is the upgrade from the 280.

This guy has summarized the differences:

https://homestudiobasics.com/sennheiser-hd280-vs-hd380/

I use the HD380 pro's and I just realized how much I use them. You can get replacement straight cables for them if you don't like the coiled cable. I cut the cable where the straight bit ends and put a plug on it 3.5mm male, I can plug into the laptop, then I use an extension cable to plug into when I use them for tracking. The short cable is not really long enough so I am going to make it into a 1 metre cable which should be about right to use with laptop, the video camera and the audio interface when zooming in on something. Then use the extension for tracking.

As Ianpb has mentioned, headphones are great when you need to zoom in on something in the mix, I use them for that too, they are always on my desk and I grab them if something sounds off.
mixyguy2
Posts: 574
Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2016 4:54 pm

Re: Headphones for mixing

Post by mixyguy2 »

Actually the 280s are about $100, the 380s, $150...the latter well out of my budget but thx. Really $100 is pushing it...and I think more and more as I research that I can get something comparable in the $50 range that will work fine, but yeah, I need to see if the local stores have any out for test drives.

Edit: I think the AT 20s are out. Right on the Amazon page they proudly boast "Tuned for enhanced low-frequency performance." Which sounds to me like "we jacked up the bass a bit." Which I have heard of their other models, but supposedly not the 20s. Why would I want that on headphones used for monitoring? I want a flat, true sound; that's the whole POINT of getting something like this instead of regular hi-fi headphones. Very stupid.
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