Beats by Dre for music production?

So I’ve decided to buy new headphones for music production and I need Your help :slight_smile: I know nothing about headphones and which of them are best.
One thing I know is that Beats by Dre are pretty good for listeting and how about production part?
And if You want to give me advice to buy some other headphones, I’ll be happy:)

I had this problem earlier in the year and I went for AKG K702. They are reference headphones and they have changed the way I work because I can even mix late at night using them rather than monitors. They are expensive but really worth the money! :slight_smile:

There are quite a few threads about headphones already out there with some very good advice from dozens of authors. I’d start your search in these, then move to either GearSlutz or Head-Fi for even more in-depth reviews of specific models.

http://audiojungle.net/forums/thread/headphones-suggestion/96080

http://audiojungle.net/forums/thread/headphones/42792

http://audiojungle.net/old_search?utf8=?&sort_by=created_at&categories=&term=headphones&category=&type=forums&type_id=topic%3A11&filters=

I agree with Graham about the AKG’s. They are really wonderful headphones, but they do need an amp to be driven properly, which is another consideration. If you’re really looking to drop some coin they just released the K712 Pro which are an upgrade of the K701/702 line.

Beats by Dre is good for ads, or just as part of trash can. Or when your puppy poops on the floor, you can protect yourself with beats be Dre, just use it like pooper scooper. #lifehack

But for real life I recommend new Focal headphones. It's really great for music production. I wanna try it out. An may be my old ATH-M50 go to artist while recording session

JohnMcNeill said

Beats by Dre is good for ads, or just as part of trash can. Or when your puppy poops on the floor, you can protect yourself with beats be Dre, just use it like pooper scooper. #lifehack

But for real life I recommend new Focal headphones. It's really great for music production. I wanna try it out. An may be my old ATH-M50 go to artist while recording session

Lol, I’ll remember that when I get a puppy.

Beats?! No no no. Nope.

I use sennheiser hd650s…beautiful

delgibbons said

Beats?! No no no. Nope.

no, no, no, no, no and no!! Try the Sony MDR-7506, a classic… Sennheiser HD series are great too. The rule: try what you buy and keep in mind what you need!

Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro - pricey but awesome :slight_smile:

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Beats by Dre headphones are simply consumer ‘hi-fi’ headphones but have been engineered to emphasise the low end of music passed through them. On trying them out, I’d say the sound was way too coloured to use in an accurate mixing scenario.

Stick to companies such as AKG, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic and Audio-Technica, and you can’t got wrong. Great little shoot-out here on SOS magazine from 2010.

Also, whatever professional phones you decide to get, as an accompaniment, I highly recommend investing in the Focusrite VRM Box. It’s around 90€ and I’ve been using this myself when mixing through headphones late at night.

Using highly sophisticated impulse responses, it is able to emulate the sound and frequency of top studio monitors and other speaker set-ups, in a variety of mixing environments, and prevents ‘over-mixing’ tracks such as bass, when using headphones.

It really has made the world of difference, and mixes through my headphones sound on par to the sound from my studio monitors. Incredible technology.

Depard said

Beats by Dre

NO!

dBlevermusic said

Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro

YES!

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AlumoAudio said


Also, whatever professional phones you decide to get, as an accompaniment, I highly recommend investing in the Focusrite VRM Box. It’s around 90€ and I’ve been using this myself when mixing through headphones late at night.

Using highly sophisticated impulse responses, it is able to emulate the sound and frequency of top studio monitors and other speaker set-ups, in a variety of mixing environments, and prevents ‘over-mixing’ tracks such as bass, when using headphones.

It really has made the world of difference, and mixes through my headphones sound on par to the sound from my studio monitors. Incredible technology.

WOW how have I not heard of this before!

I’m currently using Monster Inspiration headphones. They are pretty good, but I have to take in account some factors when mixing because they are not studio headphones. But the bass response is amazing, not too much not too little

I use Sennheiser HD25 for DJing, micro mixing and sound design in school.

Never listened to the Beats headphones, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody recommend them for any kind of production. A short (non-exhaustive) list of headphones that seem to be recommended the most on these threads.

AKG K702 (K240s on the lower end)

Beyerdynamic DT 770/880

Sennheiser, HD280 on the lower end, HD650 on the higher

Audio Technica MTH50

I have both the Beyer 770 and 880, and I like them both. The 770s are closed back so I find myself using these the most often since I don’t have to switch out for tracking. One possible complaint is that the bass appears to be a bit hyped, but this is actually helpful in my case because I tend to mix with too much bass/lo mids so it helps me pull back a bit. Also they’re super comfortable, like wearing earmuffs - a consideration for long studio hours.

just get a pair and get used to them…

I have MDR-7506 and Im quite happy with them.
Really durable, the roads these were with me on…
foldable…
perfect if you are mobile composer/producer.

I find them a bit top freq. heavy, but love them to bits (do not confuse with beats by dre)

+1 for Audio Technica M50, I’ve used these for about two years and couldn’t be more satisfied especially for the price, great sound, build quality and overall quality.

Dre Beats is a consumer product. Just made to look nice!

when I’m not able to get to my monitors and sub (don’t recommend a sub unless you’re ready to tune your room!!) I’m rocking a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 pros (250ohm - nice middle of the road without the need for an amp)

I highly recommend them. before Audeze exsisted, there were 3 damn good pairs of cans - the DT880s, the K702’s, and the HD650s (600s).

There’s definitely more high end on the DT880s than the senns, but the senns have that ‘dark’ sound that many people dig.

I personally LOVE the sound stage on the 880s. i remember hearing them for the first time, and I felt like i was listening to music for the first time all over again :slight_smile:

don’t bother looking at frequency response graphs of decent cans either, as the response curve changes drastically based on the position they rest on the wearer’s head.

as you can see by the responses to this thread, it’s really a matter of personal choice. I was getting decent mixdowns from an old pair of Technics RPDH-1200s - and they’re muddy as hell!

you get used to whatever cans you invest in, as long as you put some decent money into them - though I prefer things to be as flat as possible, or even top-heavy if I can help it, but that’s because I focus on low end in a lot of my music. Good cans, combined with consistent spectral analysis on a master track, CAN provide decent mixdowns after some practice. lol i’ll quit bombing this thread now.

Yes, good for DJing, but for mixing? That’s a different story.