Closed headphones for recording

[djmillen]

Hello,

I'm currently looking for a new pair of headphones, and have been rather confused by the massive choice, and could use some advice!

 

To start off with, the main need to get a new pair of headphones is that I am currently doing some live recording work for a small, local worship service that meets every few months. The venues we visit tend to be on the smaller side of the scale, with a live band playing. The problem I am having is that with my current headphones (Sennheiser HD 435's) is that I am hearing the recording, with some the live mix, with my headphones on, and so when I listen to the recording back, it doesn't sound as good as when listening live.

 

I have had a look at the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO, but I am unsure weather this will have good enough sound isolation for my needs, and unsure about what other cans to look at!

 

My budget is up to about £130, but will pay more if it is worth the extra, and especially if they will last me a long time.

 

I would be grateful if anyone could advise me on a good pair of closed headphones, or weather the DT 770's are good enough for this situation.

Thanks for any help,

 

David

[Matt-onstage]

Hi,

 

I have been using the Beyer DT100's for years now because the isolation is great on them and they are really comfortable.

 

I've used them on loud stages for monitor mixing, used them in the studio for recording drums, guitars and vocals.

 

my 2p's worth.

[Matt Riley]

Other ones to look at include the beyer DT150 and the Sennheiser HD25-sp. Having said that, when I end up doing live recordings, I use an M-audio firewire 1814 + behringer ADA8000 to give 16 channel multitrack recording from the desk + some ambient, then I mix it down afterwards. The cost of buying the interfaces wouldn't be super pricey compared with shelling out 130 quid on headphones and you'll end up with a significantly better result.

[djmillen]

Thanks for the quick replies! Ive used the DT100's before (as a one ear peice for TV broadcasting) and didnt think of looking at them, thanks for the suggestion!

 

I didnt think about recording it differently, Ill look into prices of the multitrack recording, thanks!

 

David

[Chris L]

Just got myself a pair of new headphones for exactly the same reason. I often do recording sessions in small rooms (and a fair bit of live monitors work in small venues without a listen) so isolation was important.

I chose the Sennheiser HD380 pros which claim about 32dB attenuation and are about £100. I did a session on saturday and they performed as well as I'd hoped - it was easy to hear what I was doing for once!! They were comfortable enough to wear for the best part of 10 hours on and off.

They fold up and fit in a nice case (included) which is about 1 1/2 inch high by 9" by 9" so they fit in my toolbox nicely. Also, as they are flexible, listening with one ear is easy.

Soundwise the bass response is impressive - within 1-2dB from 20-120Hz (my estimation by ear...), the highs are nice and clear, but the headphones are a tiny bit (3dB or so) heavy at 1kHzish.

I looked at the Beyer DT100s but I decided on the Sennys because a couple of reviews I read suggested the sennys were a tiny bit flatter. Also, the convience of the sennys suited me a bit better.

 

HTH

Chris

[Maxmccollum]

This isn't really a reply about the headphones themselves however as it has already been suggested adding some ambient mics to the recording will probably help you get more of the sound you are looking for when listening back what you've recorded. This is mainly due to the acoustics of the room you are recording in, assumably a church, which would be rather reverby and when listening back that big sound that was there when it was live may have been reduced significantly. Adding some ambient mics at the back of the room should capture the live feel of what you are recording.

 

Hope that helps in anyway.

[Dj Dunc]

Perhaps its worth looking at ratsound.com/cblog at dave rats recent blog posts on headphones. He is investigating the best headphones for live use. Some interesting info there.

[djmillen]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

 

Ill check the Sennheiser HD380 pro out, I want a comfortable set of cans, so could be a good choice!

 

I do record some of the ambience, to try and get some of the audience singing, however because of the small venues, and with a loud “ish” band, most of the audio that comes through the mic is sound from the speakers, and I’m not sure how to stop this. Not sure I'm using the best microphones for this job, I'm using an old Audio-technica pencil mic we have spare at our church, what’s the best type of microphone to use?

 

I've had a quick look at that blog, and I agree some good info on there, thanks for the link, Ill check it out in detail later.

 

David.

[jamesperrett]

I do record some of the ambience, to try and get some of the audience singing, however because of the small venues, and with a loud “ish” band, most of the audio that comes through the mic is sound from the speakers, and I’m not sure how to stop this.

 

I like to put cardioid mics on stands just above and behind the speakers facing the audience. These give room ambience as well as audience sounds and, as they're near the speakers, you don't have to worry too much about delaying the ambience mics to match the direct signals.

 

Cheers

 

James.

[Dan Gruner]

Perhaps its worth looking at ratsound.com/cblog at dave rats recent blog posts on headphones. He is investigating the best headphones for live use. Some interesting info there.

 

Yes, I find his blogs very interesting, however the man must have two much time on his hands!

 

Dan

[Hagopm]

I highly reccomend the DT 770s. They are rugged, accurate, comfortable with great isolation.

 

for me one the best things about them is the cushion padding that goes around your ears and onto your head, meaning there is no pressure on your ears, making them comfortable to wear for long periods. These cuhsions then sonically seal your ears from the outside world!

 

I originally bought them as DJ headphones, they were the only ones I could find that reproduce the bass in dubstep tunes properly. Most DJ headphones seem to roll off below 100hz.

 

Then I started using them when doing live sound. Awesome build quality. great phones.

[TimmyP1955]

The current version (3) of the Extreme Headphones EX29s sound very good, and have excellent isolation.

[djmillen]

Thanks again for all the feedback, it's really appriciated!

 

I highly reccomend the DT 770s. They are rugged, accurate, comfortable with great isolation.

 

Just wondering if you use the 250 or 80 ohm pair?

 

David