Headphones - what did Dave get?

Re: Headphones - what did Dave get?

I believe he ended up with the Denon AH-D2000. His blog post here says to that effect. Unfortunately, they have been discontinued. His second choice seems to be Ultrasone HFI-680.
 
Re: Headphones - what did Dave get?

I recently got SRH-840's, I like having the removable cable, it's always the first thing to break and it allows for a quick replacement. I prefer the single-sided cable entry too, and the fact that it's coiled.

They go nice and low, nothings missing and nothings overly exaggerated.

Chris
 
Re: Headphones - what did Dave get?

I use the HD-280 Pro's too and I really like them. I really think that for what they cost and considering that they put me in a "personal cone of silence" when I put them on, they are a tough nut to crack.
 
I did a gig this summer at my Sunday dance and my phones were distorting all over the place. I think it may have been real low bass tones that I could not really hear in the phones due to the level in the house.

So, I was thinking of trying a new pair. I have really liked the 280s.


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Re: Headphones - what did Dave get?

Since we are now doing what I bought instead of what Dave bought, I use GK ultra phones.

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Do you use them mainly because they have isolation?

A pal of mine uses a pair for vocal tuning/editing while on the road, and while they did block a lot of outside sound I thought they sounded awful. Is it something you just have to adjust to?
 
Re: Headphones - what did Dave get?

Do you use them mainly because they have isolation?

A pal of mine uses a pair for vocal tuning/editing while on the road, and while they did block a lot of outside sound I thought they sounded awful. Is it something you just have to adjust to?

They are Sony MDR7506 in Peltor hearing protectors. If you dont like the Sonys you won't like the Ultraphones.
 
Re: Headphones - what did Dave get?

They are Sony MDR7506 in Peltor hearing protectors. If you dont like the Sonys you won't like the Ultraphones.

I have a pair of MDR7506 and they sounded nothing alike. Maybe the hearing protectors is doing something naughty or the pair I heard was bad. They were very midrange heavy.
 
Re: Headphones - what did Dave get?

You shouldn't be EQing anything through the cans :?~:-?~:???: - It's what things sound like through the PA that's important. The headphones are good for soloing channels looking for weird noises and what exactly are they picking up besides what you intended. Also good for a rough listen to the monitor mixes for anything way out of line. For all that isolation is more important to me than fidelity - YMMV :)~:-)~:smile:.
 
Isolation trumps sound quality. You can calibrate you ears to their response. As long as I can hear consistently I can adjust. And frankly, I have never felt most of the things I am listening for in the live setting really need that high of quality anyways. If I am soloing channels looking for a buzz or him, it is more important that I hear it not what it sounds like.

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Re: Headphones - what did Dave get?

Dave's got an interesting take on this; he covers it in his waves to wires seminar:

Make the PA System sound like your headphones.

Ok so there are a few caveats here; Dave works with grade A gear which doesn't need much work to make ti sound good; and also works in large venue's where the PA can be the dominant sound (ie not bar rigs where offstage and room reflections can play important parts.

so in this situation you could soundcheck the band on headphones and be confident that when the band takes the stage, you'll be right to go.

A bunch of us were at the mix position for an RHCP set and Dave level matched the headphones to the PA at the console and passed them around for us to listen to - it was amazing - put the cans on and the sound didn't change. And being level matched, it was weird. I'm used to hearing different sounds when I put headphones on/off.

And in keeping with the topic swerve, i've got Sennheiser HD25 SP - which i'm pleased to see rated pretty well with Dave's experiment. I think he didn't go with them because they didnt fully enclose the ear but pushed on top of it.

Andrew
 
Re: Headphones - what did Dave get?

You shouldn't be EQing anything through the cans :?~:-?~:???: - It's what things sound like through the PA that's important. The headphones are good for soloing channels looking for weird noises and what exactly are they picking up besides what you intended. Also good for a rough listen to the monitor mixes for anything way out of line. For all that isolation is more important to me than fidelity - YMMV :)~:-)~:smile:.

I used to have an application where I felt the need to EQ through cans. Say some vocalist shows up with a wireless mic, or just any unfamiliar vocal mic, I found it very useful to plug it into my talkback channel, pop on the cans, and audition the microphone. I could make my usual monitor check noises, find the boomy spot and the presence peak, match the MUT's (mic under test) level to an SM58, and copy those settings over to the vocalist's channel. Then I could just throw it on stage and know it would work.

This came in very handy for combat rock, five-band bills where only the headliner got a sound check, that sort of thing. I could do it during a performance if I had to. And it depended on being able to trust the headphones.

I used Sennheiser 280s for this, and it never bit me in the ass.
 
Re: Headphones - what did Dave get?

^ Interesting idea. I'd think any decent headphones would do if you're just comparing two mics? I usually use the headphones sidestage - and always now that I have the DL1608. Isolation is more important to me that extreme fidelity. And Direct Sound has a "studio quality" model if you want both - the EX-29 :)~:-)~:smile:.
 
Re: Headphones - what did Dave get?

I use Beyer DT150. For some reason I can do eq decisions on them that translates well on a large pa. Tried the Denons in question, found them a bit too neutral. DT150s have a bit more isolation and cuts through better in a loud environment IMHO.
 
Re: Headphones - what did Dave get?

I used Sennheiser 280s for this, and it never bit me in the ass.

Headphones that bite? Anyone ever see that movie from the 70s about the special breed of cockroaches that come out from deep in the earth and start to kill people? There was a scene where one of them crawled onto the receiver of a telephone and then the victim picked up the phone, unaware, and put it to her ear. Anyway, I've found the 280s to be a good price/performance item but since Sennheiser changed their distribution scheme in the past year or 2 I'm left without a place to get them. I'm almost tempted to buy the Shure 840s at double the cost, perhaps just out of spite. (Well, that and I think the 840s have a very comfortable fit).
 
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