headphones
On May 6, 11:59*am, Nate Najar wrote:
what are decent headphones for tracking with minimal bleed but very
comfortable with good sound? *I have a pair of sony mdr7506 and they
sound terrible.
I had been using the Sony 7506s for years because of their closed-back
design giving me isolation for location recording work. I also used
them at home for editing. As time progressed, I became more aware of
ringing, such that a short impulse that should sound like a click
would sound like a "ping". As I frequently determine edit points by
playing up to the transition point - located just after the attack of
a note - and then comparing with the edit point in the other take, I
really need phones that give me good, clean transients. I decided that
the Sonys had to go.
I made up a test CD of various pieces of music I was very familiar
with, along with a track of single sample long clicks, and another
track of some very short noise bursts. I went to my local store where
I was allowed to audition some AT M50s, Beyer 770s, AKG 271s, and a
pair of Sennheisers whose model number I can't remember, but was in
that pricerange (approx. $250 - $350 CDN).
I thought that the ATs and the Beyers sounded very similar, but both
had a harshness in the upper frequencies which I associate with uneven
frequency response. The AKGs just sounded clogged, and the Sennheisers
were also harsh sounding to my ears. All of these had better transient
response than the Sonys (clicks sounded like clicks).
I then went to an Apple store where they are selling the new B&W P5
headphones. If you've been to any Apple store, you know what a noisy
zoo those places are, and the first thing I noticed about the P5s was
how well they isolated me from the ambient noise. Then I listened to
my test CD - transients were perfectly clear and precise, and the
music was very even and resembled most closely my memory of my
speakers at home (also B&Ws). Given that these phones have very low
input impedance to facilitate their use with iPods and such, I felt
that they would be very useful in a variety of listening situations,
particularly those where the higher impedance Sonys (at 600 ohms) gave
me reduced listening levels. I was sold.
I've been using the P5s now for about six months, and I continue to be
very satisfied with their sound and their isolation. They do tend to
squeeze the head a bit, but I've found that they've relaxed a bit with
use.
As Scott mentioned, closed back phones do create a resonant cavity
with the ear canal, so what is a pleasantly even frequency response
for me may not be for you.
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