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				What should I invest in buying...headphones/monitors?
				Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 10:58 pm
				by aftee
				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.
			 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 11:13 pm
				by lowpass
				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
			 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 11:38 pm
				by krusade
				
			 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 11:45 pm
				by -dubson-
				for 200-400 headphones are probaly better, unless you get krk's and then treat your room. for headphones check senhiesers, akg, ultrasone.
			 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:04 am
				by aftee
				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?
			 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:17 am
				by scooterjack
				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
 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:23 am
				by aftee
				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?
 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:29 am
				by abZ
				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.
 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 12:47 am
				by DZA
				
			 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 5:08 am
				by ninjadog
				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.
			 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 8:27 am
				by nova.k
				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. 

 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:13 am
				by miss_molinari
				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/ 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:25 am
				by paradigm_x
				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.
			 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:43 am
				by baydestrian
				Sennheiser HD PRO 280's are pretty decent
			 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 2:44 pm
				by abZ
				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.
			 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:04 pm
				by aftee
				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.
 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:12 pm
				by miscreant
				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!
			 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:17 pm
				by abZ
				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
 
			
					
				
				Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:25 pm
				by nova.k
				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! 

 
			
					
				
				Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:46 am
				by boomstix
				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