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Im looking to invest into a pair of studio reference headphones, specifically for mixdowns. Ideally I'd like the akg 712 but they are out of my price range.

At the moment its between the AKG 612 and the Beyerdynamics DT 990. What do you guys recommend? Cheers

Absolutely in love with AKG 701/702 (same guts, different look). I started on AKG 240s and recently upgraded to these. Really a great mix down tool in general.

I have KrK 8400's i swear by them, they were pretty well priced about 200 i think, way better than my senhiser HD 650's which cost around 3 -4 times more

Out of those two I recommend the 990's, but I'd also consider having a look at Focal and Audio Technica.

Audio technica m50's are a popular choice. Affordable and reliable. Some swear by them, and some dont. I tried out the krk 8400's and I wasn't very impressed. They sounded really boxy. Mids and highs were ok, but actually quite light on bass. I recommend actually going out and trying some for yourself and see. Everyone has a pair they are more suited to than others. Same as studio monitors I suppose

Libra wrote:Audio technica m50's are a popular choice. Affordable and reliable. Some swear by them, and some dont. I tried out the krk 8400's and I wasn't very impressed. They sounded really boxy. Mids and highs were ok, but actually quite light on bass. I recommend actually going out and trying some for yourself and see. Everyone has a pair they are more suited to than others. Same as studio monitors I suppose

M50s are what I have but I wouldn't get them again if I could rethink it. They sound great and have awesome frequency resolution but have 3 things that become a problem when mixing;

1- dull spot around 3Khz so you tend to want to overcompensate in this range which then makes things sound really harsh.

2- a pretty decent roll off on the bass end perhaps starting around 100 hz. You just can't mix bass in them because it sounds a little week and you want to over do that range to compensate. That may be true with all headphones though. One thing that I found is that I can't do snares and kicks with them because they don't have a good punchy response. I even have a headphone amp...it helps a bit but I need to use speakers to get my kicks and snares punching just right.

3- bad sound stage / stereo field. They are pretty dimensionless sounding so doing stereo placement in them is just guess work. Again...maybe true with all headphones though.

Other than that, I like them but with any pair, you just have to know what you can and can't do with them.

I bought a pair of AKG K702's recently, found them invaluable so far. I would expect the K612's aren't far of performance wise.

Banesy wrote:

Libra wrote:Audio technica m50's are a popular choice. Affordable and reliable. Some swear by them, and some dont. I tried out the krk 8400's and I wasn't very impressed. They sounded really boxy. Mids and highs were ok, but actually quite light on bass. I recommend actually going out and trying some for yourself and see. Everyone has a pair they are more suited to than others. Same as studio monitors I suppose

M50s are what I have but I wouldn't get them again if I could rethink it. They sound great and have awesome frequency resolution but have 3 things that become a problem when mixing;

1- dull spot around 3Khz so you tend to want to overcompensate in this range which then makes things sound really harsh.

2- a pretty decent roll off on the bass end perhaps starting around 100 hz. You just can't mix bass in them because it sounds a little week and you want to over do that range to compensate. That may be true with all headphones though. One thing that I found is that I can't do snares and kicks with them because they don't have a good punchy response. I even have a headphone amp...it helps a bit but I need to use speakers to get my kicks and snares punching just right.

3- bad sound stage / stereo field. They are pretty dimensionless sounding so doing stereo placement in them is just guess work. Again...maybe true with all headphones though.

Other than that, I like them but with any pair, you just have to know what you can and can't do with them.

Interesting... I have heard different about the bass on the M50s.

Skip to the AudioTechnica M50 post -

http://www.head-fi.org/t/433318/shootou ... d-05-13-14
(Use your browsers search function, and search for ATH-M50 )

THere are many threds on this - search!
My advice is to watch ebay/craigslist (here in my country we have "Blocket" which is basically craigslist but a little more serious/stricter/polished) and wait till a great deal comes up. I got my AKG K702s for 200 bucks and I'm really really happy with them. I also got my monitors (yamaha msp5a, 5-700 dollars) for 200. Deals man, deals.

Libra wrote:
Skip to the AudioTechnica M50 post -

http://www.head-fi.org/t/433318/shootou ... d-05-13-14
(Use your browsers search function, and search for ATH-M50 )

I have the new Audio Technica ATHm50x, I think they are great headphones, especially on the low end freqs... I do most of my mixing on them and have no issues, they are also very comfortable to wear for long periods

Libra wrote:

Banesy wrote:

Libra wrote:Audio technica m50's are a popular choice. Affordable and reliable. Some swear by them, and some dont. I tried out the krk 8400's and I wasn't very impressed. They sounded really boxy. Mids and highs were ok, but actually quite light on bass. I recommend actually going out and trying some for yourself and see. Everyone has a pair they are more suited to than others. Same as studio monitors I suppose

M50s are what I have but I wouldn't get them again if I could rethink it. They sound great and have awesome frequency resolution but have 3 things that become a problem when mixing;

1- dull spot around 3Khz so you tend to want to overcompensate in this range which then makes things sound really harsh.

2- a pretty decent roll off on the bass end perhaps starting around 100 hz. You just can't mix bass in them because it sounds a little week and you want to over do that range to compensate. That may be true with all headphones though. One thing that I found is that I can't do snares and kicks with them because they don't have a good punchy response. I even have a headphone amp...it helps a bit but I need to use speakers to get my kicks and snares punching just right.

3- bad sound stage / stereo field. They are pretty dimensionless sounding so doing stereo placement in them is just guess work. Again...maybe true with all headphones though.

Other than that, I like them but with any pair, you just have to know what you can and can't do with them.

Interesting... I have heard different about the bass on the M50s.

Skip to the AudioTechnica M50 post -

http://www.head-fi.org/t/433318/shootou ... d-05-13-14
(Use your browsers search function, and search for ATH-M50 )

Hmm had a look. I think the review is fine but I wouldn't call the M50s bass monsters. The bass sounds great, no doubt, but on a production standpoint, they roll off a bit so 100hz and lower is pretty soft. I have an amp for them too and that definitely helps fill in the bottom end but they still don't quite hit like I need them too. In comparison, my sennheiser PX 200 II have more true to speaker bass IMO. The bass isn't a game killer, it is easy to adjust...it is that damp range around 3K that fucks me over. I have to be really careful and make things sound flat in that area or else when put on speakers, I will get an ear stabbing harshness.

You should find headphones what are comfortable for your head.

You're going to be adjusted to them eventually.

As long as you're spending more than 120-150 (I guess 200+$?) quid you should be fine with anything really.

darkdubz wrote:I have KrK 8400's i swear by them, they were pretty well priced about 200 i think, way better than my senhiser HD 650's which cost around 3 -4 times more

I use these too, I am not shy to say I hate KRK monitors but these 'phones are great. Light and comfortable.

I've had them about 2 years now and they're well and truly 'burned in' and my ears are adjusted to them. The loudness of them has gone degraded over time and I find myself having a compose with a compressor on the master.

I've had AKGs and Audiotechnica but I prefer the KRKs.

You need to try Focal Spirit Pro's. Imagine a more refined version of the ATH-M50 without the wierd dips in the frequency response, but with lower, even leveled sub bass. £220 a pair.

Above that, its got to be the Audezes, but you're gonna need to quadruple the cost of the Spirits for the entry level ones.

I'm in need for a headphones upgrade, so I'll be watching this thread.

A question though, as I've recently started to learn mixing - are there any models that suit both production and DJing? Are there any specific characteristics that production and mixing headphones should have?

hirszu wrote:I'm in need for a headphones upgrade, so I'll be watching this thread.

A question though, as I've recently started to learn mixing - are there any models that suit both production and DJing? Are there any specific characteristics that production and mixing headphones should have?

If you want a headphone for both mixing and production; these are a quality choice:
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD25-1 ... +hd25+1+ii

andius wrote:

hirszu wrote:I'm in need for a headphones upgrade, so I'll be watching this thread.

A question though, as I've recently started to learn mixing - are there any models that suit both production and DJing? Are there any specific characteristics that production and mixing headphones should have?

If you want a headphone for both mixing and production; these are a quality choice:
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD25-1 ... +hd25+1+ii

Those aren't exactly flat man.

bouncingfish wrote:

andius wrote:

hirszu wrote:I'm in need for a headphones upgrade, so I'll be watching this thread.

A question though, as I've recently started to learn mixing - are there any models that suit both production and DJing? Are there any specific characteristics that production and mixing headphones should have?

If you want a headphone for both mixing and production; these are a quality choice:
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD25-1 ... +hd25+1+ii

Those aren't exactly flat man.

I'm well aware, however, they are a solid choice as a 'best of both worlds' type of headphone.

(I know many producers that use hd25 ii's in the studio as well, some a extremely successful)

Cool thanks. Any other recommendations?

Oddly, I'm using my Bose AE2 Headphones which I used for ages for just listening to music... since I've been doing the late night mixes I've been employing them 'cause the walls are super-thin and I wanna crank the bass

They're surprisingly good actually, genuinely so at how balanced they are frequency-wise and they've got really nice definition so you can hear everything... I checked the frequency response chart and there's a little drop in the representation around 5KHz but that aside they're generally crisp and clean.

Thinking about going for the AKG 701's. Fits my budget at the moment.