Nope, Beats by Dre are a stain on the music industry in regards to headphones. They are pawned off as high quality when in fact they are made with a very low quality. Quality headphone companies (as well as fairly priced) I recommend using are Sennheiser, Audio Technica, or even Sony. Now sound is a tough thing when you get a pair of quality headphones. There are a lot of different things that can affect it headphones is one, but the size/type of audio file used will also determine quality. I believe the player used can determine quality of sound, but I'm not sure. If you'd like you could post a budget, and I will do my best to see what I can find.
I have Senheiser, Ausio Technica and Sony. They all sound pretty good but the Senheiser seem to be the most durable. Though that is hardly a fair assessment as the Sony's, while beat up, are like 10 years old. I like Audio Technica products too. All this to say, I agree. Good suggestions imo.
I couldn't find the Audio Techinica's. I think I may have left them in Michigan earlier this year when I went to record some violin for an album I'm working on. The Sennheiser's are just the HD 280 Pro's. Nothing fancy, but they get the job done. The Sony's are just MDR 7506 -Also, nothing fancy but reliable and I saw them used a lot back when I was recording in other peoples studios so I got a pair. The odd ball in the group is the HFI 450 from Ultrasone. I loved these, but one of the cans went dead on me. I don't know a lot about headphones and my hearing is abysmal at this point.
Yes and just off camera I have about 200 more. Want one? Pm me your address and I'll gladly send one over tomorrow.
The bass response on a lot of the HD series has been a complaint from audiophiles for a while now actually, so you are definitely right about that. Even with my HD 598's I notice it. I'm not an audiophile so I'm not as concerned with all the technicalities of it.
Bass response an balance don't play together well on small speakers. The reason people like the way headphones like beats and such sound is because of a huge boost in the low range that is essentially faking lower frequencies on your headphone speakers. Your best best with headphone is a $50 pair of akgs unless you want to go up to the higher priced sennheisers, but it kind of depends on what you need/are using them for. I think beyerdynamic makes some pretty good headsets as well.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/K77?adpos=1o8&creative=55678058761&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CM2f4r-M1sYCFchffgodsHkOVw These are the nicer versions, we use them in the studio.
http://www.gabrians.com/product_p/AKG-K240STUDIO.htm?gclid=COqUkMSM1sYCFQenaQodhe4Dbg
Grado is also a lot of bang for your buck but they don't seem as durable as Sennheiser or Audio-Technica.
I've just checked the Audio Technica headphones tnec linked me to. I can't but appreciate the badass logo of the company. What bothers me, still, is the padding around the edges of the audiochannels. I've used a few headphones with those in the past, and every time they left my ears sweating; I've picked the Svens mostly to avoid this, for the models I've been using don't have padding. Do you have any experience with such?
No you will definitely get sweaty from those if you have before. They are leathery, and do have an uncomfortable fit around the ear because they are more circular in design. Sennheiser has THE most comfortable design that I have come across before. I own or owned: HD 518, HD 558, and my newest pair HD 598. The fabric used on the ear coverings seem to breathe because although it covers the ear it never gets warm in that enclosed space. Only real issue I have with Sennheiser is if you listen to really loud music others near you can probably hear it (of course there are probably models that handle that issue, but that is the thing I've come across with the pairs I've used).
HD 598 has the lovely beige color, and Audio Technica has badass logo. If I were to pick based solely on the visual design, I'd have to think very hard. :) I'm going to have to try them on before I make the purchase. It's a significant amount of money for me, and I have to make a better search than that to make it worth it. Thank you for letting me know about all of that.
I ha a pair of at 550s? With the bungee chord cable and the connectors broke in around 3 months. I have really ba experience with a of audio technicas gear, I think it mostly overpriced crap.
Yeah, I don't know what it is with me and AT stuff, but just all bad...:(
Yeah that is definitely true, some companies more often than others. Like berringher(I don't know if thats spelled correctly), I've never had any problems with any of their gear. Granted, I don't expect anything of theirs to perform like any of my manley or tubetech stuff, but never any of the issues I have heard so many people complain about. AKG and Sennheiser just make really solid headphones, and they aren't all out there expensive. Balance is what's important to me with headphones, because the only time I really ever use them is to check how my mixes/masters are going to sound on headphones. I'm a little spoiled as far as always listening on fairly high resolution monitors.
My dad was big into DJ/mixing business for awhile, but that was a while ago. I never really caught onto all the technical stuff I just liked good sound, and noticed there were inexpensive ways to accomplish that goal. I can respect the technical side of things though. I sometimes wish I had pursued music in that manner sometimes.
I love making music, but I realized that wasn't exactly a good idea to rely on career-wise. So I got into the engineering side of music, and now do recording/mixing/editing/mastering stuff for audio. We'll see where it goes, lol.
I have the M50x and it is by far the best headphones I've ever owned. Amazing build quality and sound quality. I don't have a big problem with sweat as they are pretty light on my head. The padding goes completely around my ears instead of on my ears, does that make a difference for you?