#106

i tried them. the sound is quite nice. there’s no way to customize the processing at all, which i found super lame. it does a round of cochlear measurements using distortion-product OAE (or something similar), creates a compensation curve, and that’s that. you can post a picture of the curve on twitter but you can’t change it.

i also dunno how comfortable the earplug things would be for long sessions.

sennheiser makes the best ANC headphones i’ve tried lately. sony 1000x close second.

#107

Thanks for the input. I’m always listening t music with ear buds. I thought I’d level up.

I thought the Nuraphones might be good for music, but less so for listening to the eurorack.

#108

A friend pointed me in the direction of Austrian Audio and their recently launched line of headphones (and microphones).

The company’s made up of former AKG engineers and have a focus on maintaining ‘Made in Vienna’ levels of quality.

Their products seem nicer than anything I need at the moment, but I’ll be interested to hear how they review once they start selling.

2 Likes
#109

I summarised several decades of headphone experience in an article I wrote five years ago. So rather than rewrite stuff here, get prepared for a long read.

1 Like
#110

At home, I’ve been using Superlux HD688B for years now, and not much else sounds right to me. I record (electronic material, so isolation isn’t a big factor), mix and listen to everything on them. They’re comfortable for long stretches for someone with a large head who also wears glasses (once you replace the pads with velour ones), sound far better than they have any right to in the under $50 price range, have a detachable cord, and so far they seem basically indestructible (except for the original ear pads… no really, replace them).

At work, just for listening and blocking distractions, I prefer Bluetooth headphones so I can move around easily. I’d been using those cheap ubiquitous QY earbuds, but even with gentle treatment, 3 out of 4 of them have died over about 4 years. So I tried a closed-back bluetooth set of cans and I hate them. They’re like stuffing cotton in my ears and then covering them with metal buckets, and no EQ settings will make them even approximately right.

So I wound up buying another HD688B and a tiny Bluetooth receiver that I can stick directly to the side of the 'phones.

#111

HD600s for me for a decade now, still love them. Only things I’d consider upgrading to are about 5 times the price (Focal Clears or HD800s). Would probably not use any of them for mixing or mastering though, prefer my ATCs for that. Cans purely for pleasure listening. Out and about I often use my Etymotic ER4 XR (again, pleasure listening only).

#112

I’m curious if anyone has any experience with cheaper planar magnetic/orthodynamic or electrostatic designs in terms of a studio reference?

For example, Massdrop has a Koss electrostatic bundle (amp and phones) for around 500. I’ve also seen a few planar magnetic options for a little cheaper than that.

From what I’ve read, this kinda tech could potentially be good for referencing and making time domain decisions (like determining compression settings to use). It also sounds like planar magnetic headphones generally have very detailed and prominent bass reproduction, and electrostatics have very good pinpoint accuracy.

#113

Since so many of you here also have the Beyer DT 770; how do you keep the jack plug from bending and breaking?

I have had them for a couple of months and I’m worried the cord is weaker than I’d thought as it is already a little bent. I always use them still and never have any pressure pulling from the cord, but apparently that’s not enough to keep them from bending slightly to the side…

Any tips?

#114

I have worn out a few DT 770’s but i’ve never had the cord or the jack plug break.
I’ve got a 80 ohm with a long curly cord for in the studio and a 32 ohm with a straight short cord for use with my laptop and field recorder.

How are you using it? Is your cord long enough? Or too long?
What is bend exactly? The rubber part or the metal of the plug itself?

#115

i’m not sure if the DT770 cables have changed since i bought mine but i’d say it’s a non-issue: i throw these headphones in a rucksack without any kind of protection every day since many (9?) years and the cable still go strong. Only thing: i systematically curl up the cable to a slightly higher diameter than the cans (to put the coil between the cans). It is a model with the straight cable.

#116

Got a pair of Phonon SMB-02 cans about a year ago, and they have become my go-to for pretty much everything at this point. I find them great for mixing and still lively enough for just making music. Not super flat, but personally I prefer that.

#117

@Shiftr
I’m talking about the rubber part just before the actual jack, yeah
They have the coiled cord and use it mainly for mixing, as I said no tension whatsoever on the cord. The length is perfect, not too long-not too short.

@ermina I have been curling the cable around my neck lately too, to avoid any tension.

I guess it’s nothing. Mainly, I wanted to hear about what are others doing with their 770’s cords since they are not replaceable…
Thank you guys ~

#118

They are replaceable. Beyerdynamic sells every single part as a spare. You just need to open the housing to replace the cable - they don’t use an easily-disconnected TRS jack (because some of us actually DO sometimes stress them from time to time when getting a little too excited during a take).

Also mine get pretty heavily flexed at the jack end and I don’t baby them, but I also do make sure not to do it unnecessarily. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, and if for whatever reason it does go bad, yes, you can replace it in the future.

1 Like
#119

oh, i meant that i curl up the cable before putting them in the backpack, not while wearing them. In general, using headphones I tend to find a way to avoid having their cable put its entire weight on the jack; mainly because that also avoids having it getting caught in chair casters. From my borrowing a colleague’s DT770 with coiled cable i find the cable is a bit too heavy for my taste.

Anyways should the plug go bad it is straightforward to cut the last few centimeters and solder a new jack. Changing the entire cable is also possible (the DT770 can be taken apart easily) but is a bit more difficult. Some people even mod them to add a plug at the can.

1 Like
#120

I see, didn’t know that / hadn’t really thought about the possibility of taking them apart.
Thanks for clarifying.
I see there’s nothing to worry about ~

1 Like
#121

After auditioning a broad range of head-fi gear, my experience is that low-cost electrostatic and planar headphones offer no benefit over dynamic drivers. In fact, I’d recommend auditioning as many headphones as possible within your budget, without regard to driver technology. Pairing your headphones with a quality compatible amp is also critical. A good DAC is also helpful for critically judging your recordings. Lower quality amps, usually color the sound more, and low quality DACs make recordings sound comparatively flat and compressed–with poor imaging. These qualities may or may not matter for your practice.

With a budget around $500, I’d recommend a HD6XX and a Bottlehead Crack+Speedball amplifier. I have yet to find anything of comparable fidelity at that price. My reference setup is an Audeze LCD-X with a Schitt Ragnarok amp and Yggdrasil DAC–but I have complete confidence mixing with the HD6XX/Crack.

#123

I have HD600s (which I do definitely enjoy, they are my gotos for pleasure listening). I like them through the headphone amp on my UAD Apollo pretty good. I’ve had the opportunity to try my friend’s bottlehead amp, pre upgrade (she’s planning on doing that in a couple months so I’ll be able to hear that too.

To me through the tube amp, the headphones sound wider and transients sound really nice. I think I will probably purchase a kit when they have a sale again.

I was sort of curious if a headphone using one of these other technologies would give me some sort of different “angle”, which I’m not getting through my other monitoring options (focal alphas, hd600s, mdr7506s, avantone mix cube). That being said, after researching the koss electrostatic system, it sounds like the driver is exposed in a way that makes them very susceptible to being damaged by dust. There are a few hifiman planar models that I would be interested in trying, but I don’t really know of a way to do that other than buy-and-resell

#125

Well, the words they chose aren’t personally derogatory, for starters. Second, there’s a long backstory to all their names. You may not like it, but I don’t think responding in this manner is constructive.

1 Like
#127

100% agree the names are terrible. Will try to rephrase my post in a way that doesn’t use them.

1 Like
#129

I see what you’re getting at. I don’t think it’s worth having another HD600 level headphone with different coloration/response as a means to “triangulate” a reference sound. The HD650’s are super comfortable, non-fatiguing, and I know the response inside and out. Even with the LCD-X–I don’t switch back and forth. The HD650 is more of a reference for me than the LCD-X, by virtue of competence and familiarity, more than absolute fidelity.I do switch between headphones and studio monitors–to make sure my stereo imaging works well for both.

Waiting for a sale on the crack is a good idea. The speedball upgrade reduces the somewhat warm tube-ish quality of the unmodified crack–which is better for reference purposes. I’ve heard those Koss electrostats, and was not impressed. Then again, I wouldn’t mix on high end Stax electrostats either. They have a beautiful airy quality that isn’t going to translate well to average listening, and would probably make it tough to sort out bass issues.

1 Like