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Best headphones for writing/mixing?

merlinhimself

Senior Member
Hey everyone,

I'm moving to a new apartment and will be needing to work from home a bit more. I was wondering what a great pair of headphones to invest in would be. I've looked at the Sennheiser hd 800 and they feel and sound great, definitely feel good for prolonged hours with them. Any thoughts on these or cheaper alternatives? I'm looking for a pair I can wear for upwards of 6 hours, so probably open ear, that have a decently good sound
 
I owned AKG Q701 and still own K702. I don't like either of them. Found them to be harsh, missing too much mid/low information and can get fatiguing/uncomfortable for me. The DT880s are easily my top ranked headphones both in the 'sounds great' and 'feels great' categories, in the sub $500 range. They are not fully open back, only 'semi-open back', but their soundstage is very impressive.
I have no doubts that the hd800s could be better though. Those things are pricey!

2022 Update: Been using hd800s for a couple years now, and... Boy howdy. Get some as soon as you can.
 
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I owned AKG Q701 and still own K702. I don't like either of them. Found them to be harsh, missing too much mid/low information and can get fatiguing/uncomfortable for me. The DT880s are easily my top ranked headphones both in the 'sounds great' and 'feels great' categories, in the sub $500 range. They are not fully open back, only 'semi-open back', but their soundstage is very impressive.
I have no doubts that the hd800s could be better though. Those things are pricey!

Another DT880 Pro user.

Great sound, super comfortable. Have been using them for 5+ years for writing/mixing!
 
+1 for DT 880s. I can’t fault the sound and they’re very comfortable to wear all day
 
Another vote for DT 880 Pros. Had HD800s for a while, preferred DT 880 Pros. Definitely get Sonarworks Systemwide as well whichever you choose.
 
Another DT880 Pro user

The Beyerdynamics used to have a bit too much bass for mixing. That was a long time ago but anyway -- for those who are fans, is this something for which you need to compensate a little?
 
Check out the start up called MassDrop.
There’s some phones not on the market but a collaboration from lots of people making suggestions to Sennheiser and other companies.
They end up making some really cool stuff that’s not available and inexpensive.
 
+1 for DT880. The quality is very good but they are VERY comfortable. I like the open back, it feels more natural and less claustrophobic. Sometimes on long sessions I even forget I'm wearing them. :)
 
Have any of you DT880 fans tried the DT1990's?

I have a pair of hd600s and eh, they're ok. I have sonarworks but I'm getting better results with sonarworks off with them.
 
The Beyerdynamics used to have a bit too much bass for mixing. That was a long time ago but anyway -- for those who are fans, is this something for which you need to compensate a little?
Not with the DT880s. I did find my old pair of DT990s to be a bit bass heavy though.
The DT880s have a dip around 2-3k, and peaks at 6k and 9k. This makes them sound SO GOOD for orchestral music, as they naturally reduce the harshness in strings and add the top end sparkle.
But it can distort your idea of what a "balanced" response should sound like. So, just be aware of that.
As has been mentioned, Sonarworks is helpful, though I only ever use it on 50% strength (with a slight bass boost). Anything beyond that just sounds "wrong" to me with dt880s.
 
The Beyerdynamics used to have a bit too much bass for mixing. That was a long time ago but anyway -- for those who are fans, is this something for which you need to compensate a little?

The sound very flat to me and no need to compensate for the bass. (This was a problem with my last pair of cans)

If you are concerned at all, Sonarworks would easily fix this! :)
 
I have dt 880, akg 712, hd800s and hd600.. and a few others, bit of a headphone junkie.

My (headphone only) mixes turn out better on the hd600 and akg 712. Hd800s is another league when it comes to listening pleasure.. dt 880 are good for tracking.

For me hd600 is still the king of neutrality and smooth high end.. BUT this is also partly caused by the fact I am more familiar and partial to the hd600 sound..

Ryan
 
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