Hey everyone! It’s been a long while I’ve written in this forum! To be honest, I kinda miss the whole Envato community… I’m planning to return here as an AudioJungle author, but this time I want to up my game with better quality tracks. I know it’s all about creativity, having a good ear and all that; but we can’t overlook the importance of high quality equipment. Having said that, I want to ask you all the following:
Which quality headphones optimized for professional monitoring and mixing can I get from Amazon at a reasonable price?
Spending up to $100 on the headphones is fine for me, provided they’re good. Of course, anything cheaper is fine
I’d really appreciate it if you can also tell me why your recommended headphones are worth the price, or why they’re perfect for my budget and aim, etc… To clarify, I’m planning to do Electro/Trance/Techno/Hip-hop/Ambiance style moving forward.
Yeah, I feel you. But monitors are usually too expensive and out of my budget. I’d have definitely gone for studio monitors if I could, but I think for now I can do with headphones. What I usually do is to ensure my tracks sound good through my laptop’s poor speakers, through higher quality headphones, through low quality headphones and also through medium speakers; this way I can get acceptable quality for listeners.
Now I’m looking to add professional monitoring/mixing headphones though, in order to up my tracks a notch through higher-end equipment. Not sure if it makes sense to others, but to me it’s quite logical since I’m on a budget but can’t make crap music either. Your advice is welcome!
Thanks for sharing your headphones model! I checked on Amazon, and they look rather expensive. Am I missing something? Or I just need a bigger budget? I’d be more comfortable with headphones that blend quality and affordability as much as possible, with a $100-150 price tag at most. Any idea for me?
Hi IsaacA,
I’ve seen several engineers double checking their mixes with Sony MDR-7506. The trick is the flat response they have that gives you a better picture of what is happening in terms of frequencies in your mixes. I agree that mixing with headphones is not the best approach, but if you are in a budget and if you are looking for headphones that do the job, I’m pretty sure this are the ones to go…
Has to be the BeyerDynamic DT100s. Classic. Industry Standaard. Absolute nuetrl, un-coloured clear and transparent. Doesn’t emphasis bass or treble - just a clear transparent sound.
ALso rock solid, professional grade build. these will last decades.
Every top studio in the world has these. an absolut MUST.
Thanks! Wanted to get some help though… What’s the biggest difference between the Sony MDR 7506 and the Audio Technica ATH M50? Or what key advantage does one have over the other besides pricing?
I’m really open to both headphones (or anything else that anyone might recommend), as I want to make the best choice
They look great and have impressive reviews! Do you know if Studiospares.com ships to Ghana too? I’m checking for “Beyerdynamic DT-100” right now on Amazon and it doesn’t appear like any seller is shipping these headphones to Ghana.
To tell you the truth, there is now way that you will find…while I was about to finish this sentence, I actually found out that the monitor headphones I have used for 6 years are now much cheaper. I can highly recommend to you the http://en-us.sennheiser.com/hd-280-pro
Talking from experience, for this price you will probably find nothing better.
The MDR 7506 offer a flatter, more analytical sound. The MH50 are less analytical but sound fantastic and are especially useful for those working in electronic/urban genres. You can really hear whats going on in the sub frequencies!
Super feedback! I’ve checked all the headphones I’ve been recommended in this thread, and so far, looks like the best in terms of quality vs price (below $150) has to be the Audio-Technica ATH-M50. I’m still open to any new recommendations, but my pick for now also comes as a result of the headphones’ respective CNET reviews.
I’ve always used Sony MDR-7506, you can’t go wrong.
The frequency response is quite flat.
One downside is that over time the material that covers the pavilions of the headphones is crumbling, a bit delicate …
Anyway good headphones as a reference even though I will not recommend to mixing only on those …
@IsaacA Good choice with the ATH-M50s. This is exactly what I did when I wanted to save some space in my office setup and get rid of full size monitors. They’re a popular choice with the AudioJungle review team too.
Hi. I think ShapingRain is right, Sennheiser HD 280 PRO is the best choice for this price. But I use HD 451, it cost about 50$ and I feel a lot of low freqs (I just use custom audio driver (“Hear”) to set EQ for my own hearing), but they gets good stereo picture of sound and it enough for me
I checked on Amazon and the Sennheiser HD 280 PRO doesn’t ship to Ghana. That’s why I picked the ATH M50, which ships here. But thanks for your opinion!
I think you should come to the store with music you know well and choose headphones personally. Important not the “name”, but how well you feel the sound in these headphones. How familiar is this sound. Then your mixing process will be maximum correct and comfortable.
Yeah, but here in Ghana, it’s not common to have stores that’ll let you try sample headphones with songs of your choice before letting you buy. If you open a box to try headphones it should be because you’re buying it. Then again, monitoring headphones are not often found in shops here. Most producers here ordered theirs. That’s why I’m also ordering now, and I’m basing myself on reviews and feedback from others with experience.
