-
-
-
- Thread: Headphone Preferences, Mixing
With Headphones
-
- From: Rich Marcolini
- Subject: Headphones
-
- Hello all:)
-
- I have been using some Sony CD-50 Headphones for checking
signals when I
- am mixing live music (usually not more than 95 dB but
occasionally
- 100-105 dB when the drummer gets too excited). I'd like
to get a new pair of
- headphones. I know that there will always be differences
in what you hear
- in the house and what you hear in your headphones. But
still, I'd like my
- headphones to be the best possible representation of
the sound that is being
- mixed. I have looked at a lot of different headphones
(Sony and AKG esp.),
- but I want to make a wise investment.
-
- ******************************************************************
-
- What headphones do you recomend for live mixing (praise
and rock)?
-
- What headphones do you recomend for a drum monitor mix?
- - I would like to be able to turn them up really
- loud if necessary (~1 Watt?)
- - Durable
- - Hopefully not too expensive
-
- Even your suggestions on what you think I should look
for in a pair of
- headphones is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
-
- Serving Him,
- Rich
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * *
- * Richard Marcolini http://www-personal.umich.edu/~phinneas/
*
- * *
- *"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward
what is ahead, *
- * I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which
God has *
- * called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians
3:13b-14 *
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * *
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Kevin Potts (Las Vegas)
- Subject: Re: Headphones
-
- Well, I mix in a church for live sound and also mix in
a recording studio.
- At church we use AKG 300 headphones and are
very pleased. At the studio
- we use AKG 500 and 400 models. I am very pleased
with all three models.
-
- Kevin Potts
- Sunrise Baptist Church Las Vegas
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Curt Taipale (Taipale Media Systems, Inc.)
- Subject: Re: Headphones
-
- <"I'd like to get a new pair of headphones.">
-
- For what it's worth, my personal favorite headphones
are the Sony MDR-7506.
- Don't know if they're still available or not, but they're
great.
-
- Curt
- curt@churchsoundcheck.com
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Jimmy Moore (Ocala, FL)
- Subject: Re: Headphones
-
- The 7506's are still available. I just got 4 pair and
they sound great! They
- are something like 63 ohms and will get really loud!
(Don't have them here so
- don't hold me to the correct number.)
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: John Hentschel (Columbia, SC)
- Subject: Re: Headphones
-
- I'll echo the SONY MDR-7506. I just bought 4 pairs for
our church.
-
- John Hentschel
- Ministry Resources
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Mark Chapman (Elkhart, IN)
- Subject: re: Re: Headphones
-
- Curt and crew,
-
- The Sony MDR-7506's are still available and still considered
- a broadcast standard. The consumer version, MDR-V6,
- was discontinued last year. Crown makes two mic's that
- mount to these headphones, so I have to keep up with
them.
- I have a personal set that I use at church and home.
-
- For Crown,
- J. Mark Chapman
- Technical Representative
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Rick Chinn (Seattle, WA)
- Subject: Re: Headphones
-
- My preference is the Sony MDR-V6 or MDR7506. Why? You
can make
- them very loud using the headphone amp found in most
consoles.
- They sound good. Perhaps they're not the most accurate
phones
- made, but I've learned to use them as a reference. They
are a
- bit bright sounding, and you just have to recognize this.
The
- seal could be better, but you can turn them up somewhat
to
- compensate.
-
- They may or may not work for a drum monitor mix. It is
drummer
- dependent. They do get loud enough. you may not want
a pair of
- phones that seals well for the drummer. It will help
if he
- can still hear his ambient sound, and the phones won't
have
- to work as hard.
-
- You comment about the 1-watt above indicates a lack of
- understanding about the way headphones work/operate.
- 1 watt is the power rating. it referrs to how much
- power can be dissapated in the headphones without the
drivers
- (ear speakers) self destructing. It really has
nothing to do
- with how loud the headphones can get.
-
- If you're driving the headphones from a console headphone
output,
- this is usually limited to +/- 15V signal swing internally
(power
- supply limitation). This says that if you want loud headphones,
- you should ensure that the headphone impedance is less
than 150
- ohms. The sony phones at 63 ohms work *very* well in
this
- situation.
-
- Two things determine loudness: first is the basic sensitivity
of
- the ear speakers used. second is how much power your
headphone
- jack can deliver to the ear speakers. higher impedance
phones
- limit the amount of power delivered by the headphone
jack (ohms
- law).
-
- AKG phones sound very good, but typically they are 240
ohms or
- higher. AKG may have 'seen the light' and lowered it,
but if
- you're going to run the phones from the console's headdphone
jack,
- you need to aware of this.
-
- Try before you buy!
-
- I can show you how to work the math if you want, but
you gotta
- ask.
-
- Rick Chinn
- Uneeda Audio
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Bob Puff (Rochester, NY)
- Subject: Headphones
-
- Hi Rich,
-
- <"What headphones do you recomend for live mixing(praise
and rock)?">
-
- For low SPL environments, I love my AKG K240Ms. But most
of the time they
- are not loud enough. I use Sony MDR7506s for most everything
now. THey have
- good isolation, and sound reasonable. They do have a
hyped bass and high
- frequency response (the smiley-face EQ), but I haven't
found anything else
- yet that sounds better (at the $100 street price).
-
- Bob @ NLE
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Rob Parpatt (Chilliwack, BC, Canada)
- Subject: Re: Headphones
-
- We have a pair of Koss Pro/4XTC that sound pretty good
(or so I think).
- Any comments?
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: David Wagner (Atlanta, GA)
- Subject: Re: Headphones
-
- Hello Rick,
-
- I've used the Fostex T-20s for years both live and in
the studio and I really
- like them. Sound good, comfortable, durable, not too
expensive, and they use
- a replaceable cable in case you have a tendency to leave
the booth without
- first talking them off.
-
- Good luck!
- Dave
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Pat Prendergast (Lacomb, LA)
- Subject: Re: Headphones
-
- ... I'm thinking about getting some in the ear monitors,
I'm currently using
- headphones but don't like the way they slide around or
off. Brands, advatages,
- drawbacks etc.
-
- Pat Prendergast
- Living Word Assembly
- Lacomb, LA
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Ray A. Rayburn (Boulder, CO)
- Subject: Re: Headphones
-
- Pat -
-
- I have searched for years for a way to do ear monitors
cheaply, and may
- just have found it.
-
- We are using a stereo power amp (does not need to be
more than 20 watts per
- channel into 8 ohms) to drive Furman HR-1 studio headphone
boxes ($68
- each). Each HR-1 supports 2 stereo headphones with its
own volume control,
- and mounts to the mic stand. Up to 12 HR-1's can be cascaded
using
- ordinary mic cables. This will allow up to 24 ear monitors
on an
- amplifier. Any headphone of 8 ohms or higher can be used.
For our worship
- Pastor we are using a Shure earpiece sold for their ear
monitor system
- ($125 each). We tried the Sony ear buds ($20 to 80 each)
which did not
- sound too bad but kept on falling out of his ears. For
most of the
- musicians we will be using open air type headphones,
but will be buying
- more Shure earpieces for the vocalists.
-
- This seems to be the least expensive was to do this yet.
Anyone else have
- a good cheap solution?
-
- Ray Rayburn
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Nehemiah Lacar (Chicago, IL)
- Subject: Re: Headphones
-
- AKG 240M, studio staple. Open backed, comfortable, and
I can hear people
- speaking without having to take them off.
-
- Nehemiah
- Playpen Productions
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Nehemiah Lacar (Chicago, IL)
- Subject: re: headphones for mixing
-
- There are many instances I use headphones in a live session
(checking
- monitors, trouble shooting, cueing for playback, tape
mixes, etc.). But, I
- would not choose to mix the mains with them. Simply put,
what you hear in
- your headphones is not what you're going to hear in the
"house". Quite a few
- of you are probably saying... DUH! In the studio, the
only time I use the
- headphones are to check the musician's headphone mixes.
-
- For drummers, I've been warned to be careful in the choosing
of the
- headphones. Drums and Bass's emit stronger SPLs and when
fed into a speaker
- that close to the eardrums, it can be harmful. The open
air design allows for
- some of those SPLs to escape unlike the sealed type that
acts like a plunger
- or suction cup against the ear.
-
- Just my perceptions and 2 cents.
-
- Nehemiah
- Playpen Productions
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Jim Brown (Chicago, IL)
- Subject: Re: Headphones use for mixing.
-
- MARK CHAPMAN wrote:
- <"The headphones are just a tool to assist you
with your job.">
-
- Agree completely.
-
- I use headphones when mixing PA two ways. First, at the
- beginning of the mix with a band I don't know, I run
the
- phones in stero (even with a mono PA) and pan similar
- instruments left to right to make it easier to
- differentiate them. This really helps get a balance with
- electronic instruments when you don't know who's playing
- which effect, and with similar voices. You'd be surprised
- how much this helps -- I can generally get a band together
- to at least a rough extent within a chorus or two.
-
- The second way I use headphones is to chase down problems
- in the mix with the solo buss. For example, bass and
drums
- often leak into downstage horn and vocal mics and piano
- mics, but you don't want to roll off every mic on the
- stage. The solo buss will help you figure out which mics
- are getting the most leakage. Same process for finding
a
- mic with hum, or one that is rattling against a music
- stand. etc.
-
- In none of these applications am I using the phones to
set
- equalization or levels -- my naked ears listening to
the
- sound system do that.
-
- Jim Brown
- Audio Systems Group, Inc.
- Chicago
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Stephen Lund
- Subject: Headphones
-
- Hello,
-
- I too really like the Sony MDR-7506. I also like the
Sennheiser
- HS-25SP (a little cheaper).
-
- Specifically, what I look for is
- 1) CLOSED back (much better isolation)
- 2) single-ear listening ability
- 3) good sensitivity and
- 4) frequency response.
-
- Note the order. You can't really isolate (CUE, solo,
PFL)
- with open-backs. It's a pain listening to headphones
that are half
- on (the Sony's flip over easily and the Sennheisers rotate).
The
- sensitivity is needed when you're in a loud environment
and you still
- need to hear just the phones. The frequency response
isn't really
- important for checking a channel etc. but it sure is
nice when trying
- to pick out a "voice" and just for simple listening.
-
- Steve Lund
-
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- From: Rick Chinn (Seattle, WA)
- Subject: Re: Headphones
-
- Keith writes:
- <"I do have headphones available for monitoring
an input or picking out
- a soloed signal. I use AKG K240's but, unless you have
a headphone amp
- or a very "hot" phone out on your board, I
probably wouldn't recommend
- them for your application. Impedance is way too high,
thus volume levels
- can be way too low.">
-
- *****************
-
- The K240's are 600-ohm, and this makes it difficult for
the
- average headphone amp to drive them to any useful level.
-
- This is exacerbated by their low sensitivity: 88 dB @
1mW.
-
- The Sony MDR7506 phones are 106 dB @ 1mW.
-
- So, I'd say that it isn't that the impedance is too high,
it's
- more that they are low sensitivity.
-
- Rick Chinn
- Uneeda Audio
-
-
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