Help with getting headphones

[iceman666]

Im in the market for getting a new pair of headphones. This will be my first ones so i don't/ cant go overboard with the price.

The ones that i have given some thought about are:

1.ATH MH50 (of courese)

2.KRK KNS 8400 (I have heard lots of good things about this. I hear the lows come out a bit more than usual but its great with other frequencies. They are also comfortable. Definitely worth the price but i dont know if im in the state of spending that much.)

3. KRK KNS 6400 (What i heard about this were mixed opinions. Some say the treble is clear and the bass is not and some say the opposite. Now i CAN afford this and i just need to know more about this cause i think i am leaning towards it)


Im also getting headphones but i do not have a treated room right now (Construction/piling going on beside my apartment). Now i know getting a dynamic won't help either. But this is my first mic so i'll get a shure sm58 as im only doing vocals.
Im gonna move soon so i will treat my new room and get a condenser afterwards.

It will be great if you guys can tell me which headphone i can get or if you reckon i should buy something else. Also tell me if you think theres some other mic thats good for me.

NOTE: I live in a different country in south Asia! so whats 100 bucks to you guys is 6K to us.I dont have a job, no earn. Im 17. And i dont bother my parents with giving me monthly allowances and what not!

 

[Wookieslayer]

I was in your same shoes last year... I went to GC and demoed all three of these headphones. I haven't made my purchase, but I know I've made up my mind.

The 6400 was okay but really not so great when compared to the other 2.

Both the 8400 and the MH50s were damn comfortable. The 8400s were really light and felt great; so light that I thought that I had made up my mind at first. the AT-MH50s had nice comfy pads but I could see how it could get a bit tiring or hot on the ears after many hours of use. The 8400s were super light in comparison. No big deal I guess, it's more about the sound anyway... (I reckon one shouldn't be listening too long and take breaks for the ears too)

Now the sound... I would say the KRKs were brighter and maybe clearer. However when I listened to the Mh50s, it was apparent that the KRKs lacked in low end... or maybe the MH50s were just colored that way. To me the MH50s felt much fuller in the bass and more natural, which could translate for a better experience when just listening to music. For strictly monitoring, the KRK may have won for the flat response...

But the more I thought about it, as clear as the KRKs sounded I felt that it was just not as inspiring as the Audio Technicas. Sure you want flat response for mixing but I figured I want some thump in my headphones so that it translates some to my thumpy speaker systems in the car or home stereo... I figured the low end was heavy and clear enough (no mud either). Most likely the KRKs needed to be broken in more, but I was still afraid of the extra brightness from them that might fatigue my ears in the long run.

with that said, I have every intention of picking up the Audio Technicas sooner than later. That way they will sound great for listening and good enough for mixing for me. For the price $130 on amazon to 150ish normally, I don't think you could go wrong. My buddy swears by them and I hope to get a pair soon!


TLDR;

KRK probably better at the flatter response and super light,
but AT-MH50s sound better for listening and are adequate for mixing or referencing, while still being comfy.

 

[iceman666]

I was in your same shoes last year... I went to GC and demoed all three of these headphones. I haven't made my purchase, but I know I've made up my mind.

The 6400 was okay but really not so great when compared to the other 2.

Both the 8400 and the MH50s were damn comfortable. The 8400s were really light and felt great; so light that I thought that I had made up my mind at first. the AT-MH50s had nice comfy pads but I could see how it could get a bit tiring or hot on the ears after many hours of use. The 8400s were super light in comparison. No big deal I guess, it's more about the sound anyway... (I reckon one shouldn't be listening too long and take breaks for the ears too)

Now the sound... I would say the KRKs were brighter and maybe clearer. However when I listened to the Mh50s, it was apparent that the KRKs lacked in low end... or maybe the MH50s were just colored that way. To me the MH50s felt much fuller in the bass and more natural, which could translate for a better experience when just listening to music. For strictly monitoring, the KRK may have won for the flat response...

But the more I thought about it, as clear as the KRKs sounded I felt that it was just not as inspiring as the Audio Technicas. Sure you want flat response for mixing but I figured I want some thump in my headphones so that it translates some to my thumpy speaker systems in the car or home stereo... I figured the low end was heavy and clear enough (no mud either). Most likely the KRKs needed to be broken in more, but I was still afraid of the extra brightness from them that might fatigue my ears in the long run.

with that said, I have every intention of picking up the Audio Technicas sooner than later. That way they will sound great for listening and good enough for mixing for me. For the price $130 on amazon to 150ish normally, I don't think you could go wrong. My buddy swears by them and I hope to get a pair soon!


TLDR;

KRK probably better at the flatter response and super light,
but AT-MH50s sound better for listening and are adequate for mixing or referencing, while still being comfy.

Thanks for the response. It was very helpful. I guess the brighter sounds in the KRK attracted me a bit more. But you are definitely right about the bass. I have also heard the MH50 is really top notch when it comes to the bass.

Some more inputs would be great!

 

[Studdy]

Honestly the Shure headphones don't get enough praise. I have the 840's and they sound more like I'm listening through studio monitors than any other headphone i've tried.

 

[iceman666]

Honestly the Shure headphones don't get enough praise. I have the 840's and they sound more like I'm listening through studio monitors than any other headphone i've tried.

Whats its price range?

 

[Studdy]

srh series. look em up.

mine were around 225.00 for srh840's , i know the Shure SRH440 are 99.00 but i also haven't used them.

 

[Wookieslayer]

No problem man. I was looking at the SRH440s too but didn't try them so can't really comment. The KRK's though, are said to really sound like their monitors :shrug:

 

[iceman666]

Im checking the SRH 440 it seems to be in my price range. But it says the bass is weak. All i wanna know is to what extent?
Will it affect my mixes severely?

 

[slaytah]

These are fantastic headphones:

http://www.studiospares.com/headphones-studio/studiospares-m1000-headphones/invt/448760/

Flat response, comfortable, and a great price.

 

[IBmixin]

i have the akg q701, the k240's, and recently just bought the direct sound ex-29... and honestly i originally just bought the ex-29s to give drummers while tracking and to better hear the sweet spot on a speaker being that they are isolation headphones but to a great surprise they have become my favorite cans. i feel like the response is pretty flat, they arent gonna bleed into the mic if you toss em to a vocalist or drummer.... gives a real representation of your mids and highs as well as bass isnt exaggerated. top that off with a colored inner material to check ear sides in the dark... and if it breaks they sell just about every replacement part for them and you need little to no tools to open em up and fix yourself. if i could go back, i would have only been buying these from the beginning.

 

[Trevoire520]

I really need to give my EX29's a go for mixing with. To be honest I'm not a fan of them for general listening as they're pretty light on the extreme lows and highs, but I use them for PFL'ing and checking monitor mixes at live gigs all the time and find it very easy to hear things that are getting a bit pointy in the mids because of the restricted bandwidth.