Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo New "budget" headphones

DavidZheZhe usually suggests that if all you are using is low impedance and high sensitivity headphones (<64 ohm, >100db), the best candidate for driving these type of cans is the less expensive hybrid Little Dot I+. If you ever want to dabble into high impedance and/or less efficient (low sensitivity) headphones (which many excellent headphones are), the Little Dot MKIII is the best value of the bunch. The MK III also comes with a pre-amp section so you could also use some M3's in a stereo setup with this.

For a little spring fever! From one of my favorite headphone manufacturers (along with Beyer )



http://www.shure.com/americas/news-events/coming-soon/srh940-professional-reference-headphones

I'm thinking about picking up a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro headphones. Comments? They will be for reference monitoring, and perhaps some vocal work.

The DT880 is a reference headphone. Superb for reference music listening. They are not a totally sealed design for monitoring purposes if that's of any importance but they would work.

If you need a sealed headphone the AKG 271MKII are superb especially for monitoring vocals and are suited specifically for studios with its auto-mute feature. You get different cabling options out of the box as well (XLR, 1/4", 3.5mm). The 271 don't have the bottom end and crazy detail (not the unnatural detail you get from Grados) of the DT880 but they nail the midrange and even more importantly the upper midrange.

Thanks for speaking up. I actually don't want a totally sealed design, because if I do every attempt to record any of my own vocals, I've read that closed cans throw off ones ability to judge their own pitch. On the other hand, I don't want a totally open set either, because they're more likely to be picked up by the mic. I figured the semi-open was the best compromise, as I don't want to buy multiple pairs.

So with that criteria, and also the desire for the linear, reference headphones I can get in the $200 range, is this the pair you'd recommend?

The DT880 (600 ohm) are my favorite reference headphones for listening to music with.

I do love the AKG 271 MKII for judging vocals though. For example right now I am listening to Third Eye Blinds self-titled album on the 271 and they reproduce Stephan Jenkins voice so naturally and beautifully. A lot of speakers and headphones that don't get the mid-upper midrange correct, his voice will sound over nasally and sibilant. They won't accurately reproduce the slight lisp he has either. This is one album I use for reference.

The DT880 is the total package though. The only thing I would be afraid of is sound leaking into mics for monitoring purposes. But if you can prevent that they are the overall better headphone. I do love how the MKII mute when you take them off your head. They are really what you can call a headphone that was made for professional use in studios.

I just got the DT 880 Pro (250 Ohm, slightly more linearly voicing than the 250 Ohm non-Pro). I've only listened to them on the crappy, in-built soundcard on my work PC. But wow, I didn't know there was so many little details in Skrillex's new single "First Of The Year (Equinox)", and I've listened to it more than a dozen times on my Koss clip-ons.

Sure, there's no ear-flapping bass, but the bass information is there, and that's all I really need for accurate monitoring. On the same note, the bass does not distort the highs like it does with the Koss.

So freaking clear.

Very nice! But you forgot to mention what effect they have on the veil.

It is lifted!

Oh, a real head phone amp (the one built into my mixer) makes even more of a difference. There's the missing bass.