What should I invest in buying...headphones/monitors?

aftee · Post by **aftee** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 10:58 pm

Would rather get an opinion from people who actually use the things. Well I can't get a full time job or any other source of income but I might be getting a part time job and making a little bit of cash soon. For all my years I've been producing through home stereos and mp3 player headphones, so which should I buy?

I'm thinking about headphones because they're cheaper and I can't produce through the night or anything on speakers, but I'm still not sure.

So my question is should I buy some quality headphones or pretty much a cheap pair of monitors, 200-400 or so I'm thinking?

Also what brands are good (for whatever you recommend) and what's the price? I'm looking for cheap to medium price because I need to buy a new hard-drive as well. Any responses are GREATLY appreciated.

lowpass · Post by **lowpass** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 11:13 pm

reading some of maccs stuff (not a fanboy honest) it seems a good idea to invest in a pair of headphones that you can get to know really well, as opposed to sticking cheap or even expensive monitors in an untreated room.

I know I'll be looking for some quality ones soon (dj'ing and live engineering) so would appreciate if anyone could suggest some good 'uns

krusade · Post by **krusade** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 11:38 pm

http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=42054

Might help you two fellas out.

-dubson- · Post by **-dubson-** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 11:45 pm

for 200-400 headphones are probaly better, unless you get krk's and then treat your room. for headphones check senhiesers, akg, ultrasone.

aftee · Post by **aftee** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:04 am

thanks so far and for the link on headphones

before I go searching for brands, do you guys really think it would be better to cop a pair of good headphones instead of saving up for monitors?

Like, I've got NO clue how these things work...am I going to get the same untainted sound through headphones as I would through monitors?

A nice pair of noise-canceling headphones couldn't go wrong with that, just wondering if it's about the same as monitors?

scooterjack · Post by **scooterjack** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:17 am

Aftee wrote:
A nice pair of noise-canceling headphones couldn't go wrong with that, just wondering if it's about the same as monitors?

the last thing you want are noise-canceling headphones.. you want a 'true' sound, not a 'good' sound

aftee · Post by **aftee** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:23 am

meant how they block sound around you

nothing to do with the sound comin' from the pc

but are these similar to stereo monitors in having true sound?

abZ · Post by **abZ** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:29 am

Aftee wrote:meant how they block sound around you

nothing to do with the sound comin' from the pc

but are these similar to stereo monitors in having true sound?

You don't want that either. Open back is the way to go if you are producing. I am a big fan of cans but honestly I couldn't live without monitors. Mine are shitty but I would still rather have them than nothing or even them rather than JUST headphones. Tough call tbh.

DZA · Post by **DZA** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:47 am

http://www.kmraudio.com/catalogue/produ ... ucts_id=40

ninjadog · Post by **ninjadog** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 5:08 am

Personally my ears get tired in phones after a while. I would go for the monitors for that reason. With near field monitors you dont have to worry so much about treatments n such.

nova.k · Post by **nova.k** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 8:27 am

I use headphones mostly because I live in a townhouse with people on each side. I know what sound I'm getting no matter when I'm producing. Yes I wear glasses and i have to wear them crooked so the headphones don't push down on them, but I live with that.

I've got Beyerdynamic DT-250's, they were recommended by an audiophile friend who bough some more expensive model and still thinks these are better for studio work.

Very flat response I think..they don't need an amp, but sometimes I wish I could drive them a bit louder... hopefully I'll be able to kill two birds with one stone when I get a decent sound card. I love these headphones.

miss_molinari · Post by **miss_molinari** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:13 am

i chose headphones over an untreated room.

Beyerdynamic DT880s. love them, they are really comfortable.

i found this site amazingly useful when deciding/learning about headphones as id never used them before i moved:

http://www.headphone.com/

paradigm_x · Post by **paradigm_x** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:25 am

id suggest decent headphones and an amp are likely to be far more accurate than cheap monitors, esp in an untreated room.

monitors imo (having bought several cheap sets over the years) are something you should just buy one decent set, after saving up/on the never never. Good monitors will last forever and sound awesome (well accurate, but do exactly what you want). i have mackie 824s, not 'the best' but damn good for dubstep/dnb. Had em 6 years and still rock solid.

if you get decent headphones you can use them while you save up.

you can always use your hifi as a secondary/party monitoring source.

imo.

baydestrian · Post by **baydestrian** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:43 am

Sennheiser HD PRO 280's are pretty decent

abZ · Post by **abZ** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 2:44 pm

Depends on the room. I was over at my boys house and his gear is on a box of a room with hardwood floors. All it took was for me to take a step inside the room to tell it needed some help. My studio totally untreated had almost no standing waves and is almost perfect seated at the optimal position in from of my monitors. I still trust my mixes done on my shite Mehringer monitors over my top shelf AKG headphpnes.

aftee · Post by **aftee** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:04 pm

I'm not looking to get into SERIOUS production..just a step up from what I've been doing(colored home stereos, mp3 headphones etc.)

Now I don't have much money but I want to save up for a new hard drive and possibly studio monitors/build a new pc, so what exactly are some key things to look for in headphones?

I'm about to go take a look on ebay and see if I can find something cheap...
Not top notch studio quality, but something decent you know...
Would "DJ" headphones work good for my purposes?

What about this?
SONY MDR-V700

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... d=11038999

Or am I looking at the completely wrong thing? I can get something like this for pretty cheap and I'm completely broke...any opinions?

Would greatly appreciate feedback asap...got some bids on quite a few items running out.

Thanks.

miscreant · Post by **miscreant** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:12 pm

i would definitely recommend the krk rokit rp6 monitors. Theyre really good value for money, sound perfectly accurate but when im wanting to have a bit of a brockout before i head out i can whack the bass on my mixer up and they sound fucking brilliant!

You can also get the special edition ones which are in white and look absolutely stunning!

abZ · Post by **abZ** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:17 pm

Aftee wrote:I'm not looking to get into SERIOUS production..just a step up from what I've been doing(colored home stereos, mp3 headphones etc.)

Now I don't have much money but I want to save up for a new hard drive and possibly studio monitors/build a new pc, so what exactly are some key things to look for in headphones?

I'm about to go take a look on ebay and see if I can find something cheap...
Not top notch studio quality, but something decent you know...
Would "DJ" headphones work good for my purposes?

What about this?
SONY MDR-V700

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... d=11038999

Or am I looking at the completely wrong thing? I can get something like this for pretty cheap and I'm completely broke...any opinions?

Would greatly appreciate feedback asap...got some bids on quite a few items running out.

Thanks.

AKG k240

nova.k · Post by **nova.k** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:25 pm

i can tell you what NOT to buy, don't ever buy AKG K141's. They sound dark and you miss a lot of high end frequencies. Don't buy!

boomstix · Post by **boomstix** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:46 am

i vote headphones.

monitors are better and more comfortable but they will require treating the room to get the best out of them. they also cost a lot more and will annoy neighbours/family unless you seriously work on the room.

so if you want the cheaper solution, headphones it is for you laddie

and you want 'monitor' headphones. not dj headphones and not home use headphones.

monitor headphones have a flat response (imagine a graphic eq with everything set flat). dj and home audio gear will have things like bass boost built in to make them sound better. we don't want that because we want to hear exactly what is going on in the mix

get yourself the best, most comfortable ones you can

you will be wearing them for long stretches of time and you'll notice every little bit of uncomfortable there is, so try hard to get this right.

good luck

What should I invest in buying...headphones/monitors?

What should I invest in buying...headphones/monitors?

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