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Under Construction, writing and categorizing like crazy!
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When it comes to comfortable
headphones that you can wear all day with virtually no fatigue, and when
semi-open will do (lets face it, for sensitive recording sometimes you have to
insist on closed cans while tracking) the K141 has always been a first reach
for me. They have a very natural sound and a smooth response top to bottom that
doesnt annoy as much as other headphones can after long periods. Very
comfortable headband and the ear pads are nice and easy on you too. The
removable cable is a nice touch, the only drawback being that the ¼ plug tends
to require re-assembly every once in a while by pushing the sleeve back up.
Conclusion: For tracking, mixing and
pleasure the K141 are a truly nice reach. You appreciate them more at the end
of the day also, when your ears arent quite as scorched as other cans can
cause.
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Somebody did their research and
planning on the ATH-M50 for sure. The things they must have thought about were
superb sound and detail, comfortable fit for virtually every head out there,
and ease of handling / operation. Oh and the build quality feels superb,
although these certainly arent time tested yet as they havent been in use
very long.
With the ATHM50 its like you can
just turn it up, and keep turning it up, and up and up, and it doesnt get
painful. Theres a very pleasing way that it manages midrange and transient
response where, it sounds true to the source, but doesnt spike your eardrums
constantly. You hear snare drums, you hear transients, you just dont feel like
an ice pick has been stuck in your head at the end of the day. These have such
a nice image and depth to them that, if you were to consider mixing on
headphones, itd be one of the few pairs that Id say give you the right
information to work with.
Conclusion: Seriously, get one pair
at least. Its a universally easy headphone to deal with and sounds great, and
you cant say that about many headphones out there.
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***The EX25 model provides slightly less isolation, and is a lighter weight more compact design.***
Drummers, one room home studio
owners, location recordistsyou may want to consider a pair of EX-29 if you dont
already have them. The isolation they provide is superb and overall the sound
quality really is decent stuff. One of the nice things about these is the fact
that, as a drummer, I can wear these without having to crank the mix to hear
the click or other players. This lowers my fatigue and keeps the ear ringing
out of my life. I even wear the Extreme Isolation Headphones while practicing
drums just to keep the high SPL from causing any damage. They fit pretty tight
on some peoples heads, but I dont find it overly tight (you can stretch them
some, leave them on the back of a chair for a couple of days if needed). The
fact that they surround your ears like a gasket is also good in that it keeps
the bleed out of your mics also (something other isolation of closed designs
dont accomplish as well as these). Recording on location is soooo easy its
not even funny, you hear what the mics hear.
Conclusion: Every studio should have
at least one pair, I own two myself. They really eliminate the room from your
ears, and the bleed from your mics. Sound quality is quite decent, not real
hi-fi etc but better than needed for tracking. Being able to turn down the mix
for drummers is a real plus when it comes to preventing fatigue.
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Go to any major trade show and look
behind the booth, and you will mainly see the Presonus HP4 headphone amp
driving the cans. Why? They are reliable and cheap! These little units
seriously put out, they will crank if you need them to. The other thing many
dont realize is, in a pinch they make a decent little active monitor
controller for your active studio speakers. For a home studio setup that isnt
switching between multiple sets of speakers, and needing 4 sets of headphones
pushed nicely while tracking, the HP4 is a no brainer. It even has a mute.
Conclusion: Buy it if you need those
features, a nice little box that delivers way beyond its asking price and does
what it says. You can even daisy chain them if you need to expand later!
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A studio staple for many years now,
the 7506 remains a popular choice for tracking headphones. The padded ear cups
are comfortable and the adjustable headband will accommodate virtually any
head. There is a choice between 1/8 and ¼ (with included gold adapter) and
the cable is the coiled type (Im not a huge fan of coiled cables, kind of a
waste of length!).
I find the 7506 headphones to be
bright. I think thats what a lot of people maybe like about them, aside from
the fact that they gained their popularity when there was maybe 3% of the
headphone choices to be made that we have now, when they were first released.
The accented top end can be fine short term, some find them fatiguing after
long periods and I am in that category as well. Being that they are an industry
standard of sorts, having a pair in a busy, working studio can make a lot of
sense.
Conclusion: Too bright for me, but
people need different things out of headphones. Still a good seller due to
their industry standard status, you can never go wrong with the 7506 but I
prefer other brands over Sony when it comes to headphone choice.
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