# Headphone Recommendations (mainly) for Orchestral Compositions (Classical /Soundtrack)



## SoundChris (Jul 2, 2018)

Hello guys,

now that my Sennheiser HD 25 1 II (which were my starter headphones) broke after using them for my music productions during the last 5 years (mainly acoustic stuff like classical, orchestral, jazz and world, but sometimes also electro, rock etc) I have to decide which new phones I should go for.

I mainly want to write classical /soundtrack orchestral stuff and jazz so it is important for me to have a neutral sound which is transparent and shows a lot of details but that stil is nice to listen to.

I plan to spend between 200 - 350 €. Right now I was thinking about these:

* Sennheiser HD-600 (which are said to be very neutral but seem to have a bad manufacturing quality - at least I have read some stuff in that direction - dont know if that is right or not)

* Sennheiser HD-650 (which also are said to sound very good but seem to have some boost in the low frequencies)

* Beyerdynamic DT series (Have been recommended to me, but I have no experiences with Beyerdynamic yet)

So to anyone who really has got experience in writing high quality classical / orchestral stuff: What are your experiences so far? Are there phones you can recommend for exactly that task? I wanted to test a few in a large music shop within the next days. They almost got anything there so I wanted to know which ones I should definitely check out.

Thanks a lot for your help


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## nathantboler (Jul 2, 2018)

SoundChris said:


> Hello guys,
> 
> now that my Sennheiser HD 25 1 II (which were my starter headphones) broke after using them for my music productions during the last 5 years (mainly acoustic stuff like classical, orchestral, jazz and world, but sometimes also electro, rock etc) I have to decide which new phones I should go for.
> 
> ...


We at Soundiron swear by the HD280 for all audio editing needs


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## SoundChris (Jul 2, 2018)

nathantboler said:


> We at Soundiron swear by the HD280 for all audio editing needs



Thanks a lot Nathan - then I will definitely check them out! If I remember correctly a friend of mine also uses them since many years. He didnt know if he should upgrade to a "higher" model but in the end always was very happy with them.


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## Tice (Jul 2, 2018)

I use the Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO, excellent for mixing! (I use the open backed version). Like you, I mostly write orchestral. Honestly, I'm very happy with the performance of these headphones.


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## SoundChris (Jul 2, 2018)

Tice said:


> I use the Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO, excellent for mixing! (I use the open backed version). Like you, I mostly write orchestral. Honestly, I'm very happy with the performance of these headphones.


Thanks for the recommendation - on my list now


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## Tice (Jul 2, 2018)

I should specify that you need to keep an eye on how many Ohms they need. (mine is 250 Ohms) If you work on the go a lot, you'll probably want the lower Ohm version. If you're always at a fixed studio, you could go for the 600 Ohm version and get the maximum quality.


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## SoundChris (Jul 2, 2018)

Tice said:


> I should specify that you need to keep an eye on how many Ohms they need. (mine is 250 Ohms) If you work on the go a lot, you'll probably want the lower Ohm version. If you're always at a fixed studio, you could go for the 600 Ohm version and get the maximum quality.


Thanks for the hint. I will only use them in my studio - for the "normal" music consume I use hifi stuff (which isnt working for production of course :D )


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## Tice (Jul 2, 2018)

And of course you'll need the amplifier to match.


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## Nao Gam (Jul 2, 2018)

SoundChris said:


> seem to have a bad manufacturing quality


If you're talking about build quality, not faulty units, I have to say that while the build seems frail at first it's pretty solid if you don't abuse them. Zeos (best gear reviewer on youtube channel here https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC3XdYJjWliOdKuZMNaTiP8Q )even twisted his pair to angle the pads better (which I personally don't find necessary) and they didn't feel a thing. They clamp like a motherfucker but you can keep them on for hours without hurting or sweating (open back) and they're super light.
Definitely look for cheaper options but don't bother with more expensive phones, just get the 600s. But only if you have an amp to drive them.


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## Anders Wall (Jul 2, 2018)

Listen to a pair of Grados.
The 500’s gives best bang for bucks.
Not the most comfortable if you have glasses so try before buy 
Best,
/Anders


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## jamieboo (Jul 3, 2018)

I use AKG 550s and been very happy with them for my orchestral production.
Probably not quite as flat as mixing headphones should be, but a gorgeous spacious sound.


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## Divico (Jul 3, 2018)

Really happy with DT 880 Pro. Imo the best of the three. Beyerdynamics are also really solid constructionwise


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## fixxer49 (Jul 3, 2018)

Divico said:


> Really happy with DT 880 Pro. Imo the best of the three. Beyerdynamics are also really solid constructionwise


+1 on the 880s.


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## SoundChris (Jul 3, 2018)

Thanks folks for the helpful recommendations! In the end I had to decide between the Sennheiser HD-600, the Beyerdynamic DT 880 and the AKG K-172 Pro. I have decided to go for the AKGs and really looking forward to use them


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## Divico (Jul 3, 2018)

Also look out for a discount on Sonarworks Reference if you dont own it yet. Its really good for headphones imo


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## creativeforge (Jul 3, 2018)

SoundChris said:


> Thanks folks for the helpful recommendations! In the end I had to decide between the Sennheiser HD-600, the Beyerdynamic DT 880 and the AKG K-172 Pro. I have decided to go for the AKGs and really looking forward to use them



May I ask if you tried all 3, what made you target this one in particular?

Thanks!


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## JonAdamich (Jul 3, 2018)

Definitely open back for the sound stage. 

To me, around your price range, the best would be the DT 990pro or the DT 880pro. You will most likely need a headphone amp even if you have an audio interface.

I prefer full open back rather than semi, so the 990pro is my go to.


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## SoundChris (Jul 3, 2018)

creativeforge said:


> May I ask if you tried all 3, what made you target this one in particular?
> 
> Thanks!


I listened to the AKGs, the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro, the DT 990 Pro, the Sennheiser HD-600 and a few others. So in the end it is always also a matter of personal preferrence. I liked all of these phones and they all were different. The HD-600 felt very neutral for Hifi gear. But in the end I decided not to go for them because it is more important for me to have a reliable impression instead of heaving something that sounds good (and in the end might be caused by the headphones instead of the actual track that i made  . It stil are Hifi phones - not studio ones). I stil want to have the HD-600 someday just to listen to music. For production I ended up deciding between the AKG´s and the DTs. I liked them all a lot and it wasnt an easy decision. In the end I found that the AKGs were transparent and stil had (IMO) a great and warm tone. Also they seem to be headphones which are very much used in classical productions and originally were around 500 bucks until they lowered the price. The AKG K-812pro were even cooler - but I didnt want to spend 700 - 800 bucks. Thats too much for me.

So - it was a close one (Beyerdynamic or AKG) but somehow I felt more comfortable with the AKGs. Well - let´s see how I get along with them. I guess that after changing to another headphones it needs some time to get used to the sound and to know how to mix well with them.


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## creativeforge (Jul 3, 2018)

SoundChris said:


> I listened to the AKGs, the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro, the DT 990 Pro, the Sennheiser HD-600 and a few others. So in the end it is always also a matter of personal preferrence. I liked all of these phones and they all were different. The HD-600 felt very neutral for Hifi gear. But in the end I decided not to go for them because it is more important for me to have a reliable impression instead of heaving something that sounds good (and in the end might be caused by the headphones instead of the actual track that i made  . It stil are Hifi phones - not studio ones). I stil want to have the HD-600 someday just to listen to music. For production I ended up deciding between the AKG´s and the DTs. I liked them all a lot and it wasnt an easy decision. In the end I found that the AKGs were transparent and stil had (IMO) a great and warm tone. Also they seem to be headphones which are very much used in classical productions and originally were around 500 bucks until they lowered the price. The AKG K-812pro were even cooler - but I didnt want to spend 700 - 800 bucks. Thats too much for me.
> 
> So - it was a close one (Beyerdynamic or AKG) but somehow I felt more comfortable with the AKGs. Well - let´s see how I get along with them. I guess that after changing to another headphones it needs some time to get used to the sound and to know how to mix well with them.



Thanks Chris! I bought a pair of Avantone MP1 (closed back, though) and it's quite different from anything I've tried before. When I go back to my other headphones (ATH-M40fs) suddenly the ATH sound like an old telephone receiver. Very thin and shallow. But despite being glorious sounding (IMHO), the Avantone are just too tight on my head (big head, ya) for long use.

I'll put my Avantone for sale soon. Interested in hearing your feedback in a month of working with the AKGs. I'll keep an eye/ear on the other ones mentioned here too.


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