Headphones

[goroth]

Been a while since we had a headphones thread.

What are you using, what's rad? Recording, listening, whatever.

I'm looking to pickup some that have decent isolation for recording and that could double as a sit in the couch and enjoy music headphone. Dunno if that exists but my budget says it will regardless

[Disarm D'arcy]

AKG K-141

[oscillateur]

BeyerDynamic DT-770 Pro (I have the 250 ohms version because they're driven from a mixer, they might be a bit hard to drive with portable devices though, the smaller impedance versions are probably better for that).

I've had them for maybe 10 years, they're still great.

[backwardsvoyager]

AKG K271 mkII - which i would recommend, as i've been very happy with the sound quality and performance across different roles (mixing, monitoring from headphone outputs on instruments and mixers, reference listening, casual music/tv etc use). for me it was the ideal choice to cover all my bases and keep it under $300 (the price varies a bit by region, i think i paid like $250AUD, same price range as the DT-770 Pro).
i don't find AKG's to be the most robust or comfortable to wear for long periods of time, though. it's good to spend some time trying stuff out first.

[tabcantab]

For a not-super-audiophile cheapskate like me, the Panasonic RP-HTX7 are surprisingly good quality, and cool looking to boot. I use them for everything -- recording, headphone out on my amp, general listening. Wouldn't stock a pro studio with them, but for 40 bucks, they're damn hard to beat.

[oscillateur]

Yeah, in the not expensive but nice range, there are also a lot of decent Audio Technica headphones.

They might not be as cheap or available in all countries, but here they're very nicely priced. I've got a pair of ATH-T400 at work that must have been about 4-5,000 yens or so and are pretty alright. Not as good as a pair of DT-770 or K271 but maybe 20% of the price...

[Tristan]

Yeah, I'd definitely recommend the Beyer Dynamic DT770 Pro (closed back, circum aural).
Rock solid, sounds great, all parts are to be purchased separately (no need to buy a whole new headphone), it sits super comfortably and stays put where it is (especially handy when recording and / or mildly headbanging), great isolation, the list goes on and on.
It's my favourite recording headphone bar none, even the most expensive headphones in the bigger studios sound worse and are less comfortable than these (for comfort and ease of use circum aural is vastly superior to supra aural in my personal opinion).
As for other brands I like Sennheiser (HD598 - open back) and Grado (SR series - open back), AKG isn't that bad either.

[goroth]

Thanks for all the input guys!!

[D.o.S.]

Yeah, in the not expensive but nice range, there are also a lot of decent Audio Technica headphones.

They might not be as cheap or available in all countries, but here they're very nicely priced. I've got a pair of ATH-T400 at work that must have been about 4-5,000 yens or so and are pretty alright. Not as good as a pair of DT-770 or K271 but maybe 20% of the price...

Second on the Audio Technica for price/quality ratio.

[GardenoftheDead]

Beyerdynamic DT-770s for mixing/mastering etc.

Bose AE2s for recreational listening.

[guillotine420]

good old sennheiser hd 280 pros. i use them for drums and guitar and loud shit, mixing, pc games.... really everything. sound great and can really get loud (but stay clear) with a lil preamp. ive had my same pair for 7-8 years now, design has not changed in forever. pretty solid for 100 dollar id say.

[popvulture]

I'll add to the DT770 love. I also have some Grado SR325s that sound fantastic, bit of a different vibe... better for listening to music than working on it.

A friend of mine recently got some Aiaiai phones and is very happy with them. They always looked very foxy to me, just haven't had a chance to actually hear them yet