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Headphones for mixing live sound


s86scott

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I've been mixing live stuff for a while now, and I've got a pair of DT770 Pro headphones for PFLing and the like.

 

 

I'm finding that there are times when I could do with a bit more isolation, sometimes the FOH mix is louder than I can crank my headphones, or they'll start to distort in the bottom end past a certain level.

 

Can anyone recommend some decent sounding headphones with better isolation (and perhaps more SPL too)? What is the DT770 M like?

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I've got a pair DT150s that are incredibly good. They are essentially an improvement on DT100s. Really good isolation either for stopping bleed in the studio or monitor/PFL applications in a live environment. Excellent frequency response (Beyer claim it is 5 - 30,000 Hz). Really comfortable for long term wear. Had them ages with absolutely no complaints.
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Being a creature of habit, I tend to keep using my Sony MDR 7506 headphones. They seem to me to be an acceptable compromise of isolation, sound output, sound quality, ruggedness and price. I have other favourites in each category but for live work on a PFL, they just seem to work for me.

 

However, if you want to read the most scientific, in depth research into live sound headphones, have a read of DAVE RAT'S MIGHTY HEADPHONE QUEST. That link is part one where it all starts but if you do a bit of Googling you'll find a bunch of updates and videos of the testing.

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Thanks for the link Bobbsy, that's some pretty interesting stuff.

 

 

I've heard good things about the DT150's, though on paper they are very similar to the 770's. Not sure if they'd give me any more level or isolation.

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The 150's won't give you more level; but they are better for isolation and more comfortable for long term wear.

The 770 has a round ear piece which sits on the ear, which causes fatigue on the ear itself and leads to very painful outer ears after using them for extended periods.

The 150 has a rectangular ear piece which sits over the ear, giving improved isolation and a more comfortable fit.

Both models share Beyer's sprung metal headband, which is what causes the ear pain with the 770's.

 

Edit: a stray "9" in place of a "0"!!

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The 150's won't give you more level; but they are better for isolation and more comfortable for long term wear.

The 770 has a round ear piece which sits on the ear, which causes fatigue on the ear itself and leads to very painful outer ears after using them for extended periods.

The 150 has a rectangular ear piece which sits over the ear, giving improved isolation and a more comfortable fit.

Both models share Beyer's sprung metal headband, which is what causes the ear pain with the 770's.

 

Edit: a stray "9" in place of a "0"!!

 

Yeah that's what I like about my DT150s is that there's no pressure on my ears as the ear piece goes around my ears not on them. After years of using DT100s and DT150s I get a lot of discomfort for cans which sit on the ears. Especially d0m3st1c head phones but often comms as well surprisingly.

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I have a pair of 770s that live on my desk and I would say I wear them for probably a good 5 hours a day, if not more, as well as wearing 990s if I have to venture into the lab for a bit, and can't say I have ever really had any pain or discomfort from them. I think a lot of it will come down to the size and shape of your ear as much as anything as my ears seem to sit inside of the main pad of the 770s.
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Now please don't shoot me down in flames, you guys know I work at the extreme budget end of the market and a few months ago I was facing a similar dilemma and I would kill for the money for ANY of the aforementioned but what little I have is going up there on stage first.

meantime I was left with a similar problem, I could PFL to set the desk before a gig and listen to instruments individually but once a show was in full swing I couldn't hear a damn through my cheap headphones. particularly because some times the desk wasn't much more than 10ft from the sage!

then I watched my youngest son one day listening to his mp3 player. his in ears were giving off a lot of noise but when I lectured him about the volume I couldn't attract his attention.

eventually I did and he said he wasnt listening that loud. sure enough when I put them in my ears the volume was OK but I couldn't hear the outside world.

bearing in mind all I need is to check the odd mic here and there I thought I would give a pair a go. now I have a 10 quid pair of skull candy in ears in my bag at shows that work surprisingly well and the headphones often dont come out of the box.

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Sennheiser Hd 25. Maybe a bit flat though.

 

Surely that's a good thing?

 

I agree with the OP about the 770 bass response. I found that they are are far too bassy, which causes them to break up at loud levels.

 

However, comfort wise, I never had a problem with them. Surely you'd have to have pretty big ears for them to sit on, rather than inside, the ear cushion.

 

I replaced my 770s with Shure SRH840s, which sound great and are comfortable, however, the way the ear pieces pivot and fold up for storage is kind of annoying when trying to put them on in a hurry or one handed

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Have been mixing with a pair of Denon ADH1001s for three, maybe four years now and I find they do the job pretty well; not brilliant isolation, but will go loud enough to allow things to be heard through wihtout distorting horribly, and a good frequecy response.
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