I am looking for a pair of closed headphones for use with my little Logic set up. I mainly play around with classical music and a little heavier stuff. Thing is, being a home/hobbyist user only I have to put up with withering looks from the wife when mixing in my laptop and if I go on the main computer it's not much better.

Right now I am using an old'ish pair of Sennheiser HD 595's which are nice for listening to stuff on my iPod etc but are not really suitable for recording/mixing and have way too much leakage for my family to put up with!

So, I have narrowed it down to the Sony MDR 7510 (based on reviews of the MDR 7520 to be honest - but they are out of my price range) and the Shure SRH 940.

Does anyone have an opinion they would care to share? Would be appreciated.

Thanks

Hi and welcome!

Tracking and mixing have significantly different requirements. I've not met a set of closed-back (i.e. ideal for tracking) headphones that I'd want to use for mixing, and my favourite mixing (open back) headphones would be hopeless for tracking.

My suggestion would be to throw more money at a set of open-backed cans for mixing and save money by downgrading the spec of the tracking cans.

Most of my work is done in a pair of AKG K701s for mixing and a pair of Sony MDR-7509s for tracking. I'm not a great fan of the 7509s. The ear pads fall off constantly and the sound is muddy to me, but others seem to like them. How similar 7509s are to 7510s - dunno, I'm afraid!

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

Hi, thanks for the "welcome" - you're from my home town! In fact, back in the 80's I used to work in studios near the Leadmill (can't remember the road).

Thanks for the info, never really thought about the difference between tracking and mixing. What I really want is my own bloody studio so I can then get a pair of decent nearfield monitors - but I need a house extension before then!

I have heard/read reviews of the Sony's you have and many say the same about the muddiness etc.

I am leaning towards the Shure's due to reviews - just wished I could get both, try them out and then send one back but for some reason they don't want you to do that ;-)

Small world, my friend! 'Red Tape Studios' happened largely as a result of a visit to my studio in the north of Sheffield one dark, rainy night, but that's a long story...

Can't comment on the Shures, but it's not a name I associate with good things headphone-ish. This subject comes up a lot, so try some searches in the forum and you'll find loads of options to consider.

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

My feeling is that if you buy either, you'll quickly get used to them. I haven't heard the 7510s, but I've used 7509s for a long time and like them. They are certainly quite 'warm' at the low end, in a way which can appear muddy if you're used to other phones. The Shures are quite different, they have quite a recessed low end and a very punchy mid-range. If I was buying phones I'd probably lean marginally towards the Shures for mixing and the Sonys for listening for pleasure.

(All this assumes that the 7510s are similar to the 7509s, which may not be the case! Certainly the 7506s are completely different, and the 7520s noticeably different.)

I had some Sonys a while ago, but they were DJ headphones, so probably not designed to be a linear response. I wouldn't recommend them though, a bit bassy and clunky.

I use Sennheiser HD25 for my vocal recording and they are very good; good isolation and lots of gain if needed. Not ideal for mixing, but do a pretty good job for closed back phones.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Sony headphones tend to polarise opinions - people either love them or hate them. In my experience of some of their other models they don't stand up to commercial studio use as well as even the cheaper Sennheisers and don't sound as good. Personally I'd stick to the established German makes like AKG, Sennheiser or Beyer which all seem to survive studio use better than the Japanese or US headphones I've tried.

I use a combination of Sennheiser HD25's and Beyer DT250's although I always do a check on speakers as well.

James.

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JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net

My Sony ones did break eventually, with no way of repair, unlike the Sennheiser which can have parts replaced, though I've never needed that yet.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Quote skipstream:

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the Sony MDR 7510 (based on reviews of the MDR 7520 to be honest - but they are out of my price range)

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Don't make that assumption. They're different 'phones. I've tried the 7509HD, which I didn't like. And the 7520 which I thought excellent for a closed-back model. But not the 7510.

For mixing, I'd stick with open-backed designs where possible. The only advantage of closed back for mixing are that (a) if you're doing this stuff at home in a shared place, then open-backed can be noisy and let in external noise (eg if the other half is watching TV in the same room); you can probably listen to your closed back cans with your iPod without fear of annoying fellow tube/bus/train travellers... which makes it easy to become very familiar with those cans very quickly. But generally they're rather more fatiguing than open backed models and not capable of as great accuracy (not that all open backed phones are accurate...)

Personal recommendations...

For open backed, my preference is Beyer DY770 Pro or Sennheiser HD650. Mainly because they both sound good and stay on your head when you move around! AKG K702 come a close third (sound great but they kept slipping of my head!). Thing is, if the HD595s leak too much, then all these will too...

For closed back, does your budget cover Senny HD25-1 II? They're very good for the money. I also quite like the Shures you listed. On a budget, the Audio Technica ATH-M50 does an OK job, though I'd aim higher if possible. If you can try the 7510 then do, but I'd hesitate to buy blind (or should that be 'deaf'?)

Quote The Elf:

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Small world, my friend! 'Red Tape Studios' happened largely as a result of a visit to my studio in the north of Sheffield one dark, rainy night, but that's a long story....

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Yeah, I used to work above Red Tape in a private studio, next to the dude from Human League's studio - he had one up there too. I had been working at Roof Top Studios owned by CBS in London for a while but got home sick so moved back to Sheff!

Quote Richie Royale:

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I use Sennheiser HD25 for my vocal recording and they are very good; good isolation and lots of gain if needed. Not ideal for mixing, but do a pretty good job for closed back phones.

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Thanks Richie - I have always loved Sennheiser stuff but never had any studio cans so will check out the HD25 - they are a good price too.

Quote James Perrett:

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I use a combination of Sennheiser HD25's and Beyer DT250's although I always do a check on speakers as well.

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Hmm - that's 2 mentions of the HD25's and the Beyer DT250's sound interesting too! Thanks

Quote Mixedup:

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For closed back, does your budget cover Senny HD25-1 II? They're very good for the money. I also quite like the Shures you listed. On a budget, the Audio Technica ATH-M50 does an OK job, though I'd aim higher if possible. If you can try the 7510 then do, but I'd hesitate to buy blind (or should that be 'deaf'?)

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Thanks Mixedup - and another vote for the HD 25's! Will definitely have to check those out though quite a few reviews on Amazon say they are quite uncomfortable as they are too tight - well, until a few weeks of wear has stretched them some!

In regards to the Shure I guess I am going off SOS review mainly - more research needed. I may buy both from Amazon and try them both and return one pair!

As has been said open back are preferable for mixing and (when I do mix on cans) I now use HD-650 - not an option for you.

Of the closed back designs, I have 7509's, HD-25, HD-380 and Beyer DT250s.

I do like the sound of the HD-25s, but in balance, I think I prefer the 7509s for critical work, it's just that they take some getting used to. So I wouldn't write of the 7509s just yet - however, I don't know how they compare to the 7510s, which do look interesting.

If at all possible it would be good if you could audition before buying.

Bob

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www.bickerton.co.nz

Just re-reading, I see it's mostly classical music.

In that case, if you go closed-back, the HD25 would be best IMO. Larger models like the Shures and even the 7520s *all* suffer to some extent with a slight boxiness to the sound, which I'd probably find of-putting for 'natural' music styles like classical and Jazz. You might find the 7509s good too, but I'm less enthusiastic than Bob is. They're rather smoother than the 7520s, but I personally found that they tend towards masking problems that I really want to be able to hear: I found them a touch 'lazy' with transients and rather misleading and flabby at the bass end. It has to be said that I'm rarely working with 'pure' genres like Jazz or Classical... though I do a fair bit with stripped-down acoustic material (folky rock, with drums, ac guit, cello etc) where similar concerns will apply.

Make sure when you look at the HD25s that you get the right ones. There are variations on the basic design. It's the 25-1 II you want. In terms of comfort, yes, they do pinch a very little. They're uncomfortable to use for long periods... but they're perfectly comfortable for the kind of periods you want to be doing critical listening for. When you start to feel the pinch it should be time to give your ears a break in any case!

Can't you find somewhere to go and listen without annoying the family? Other than for tracking purposes (where anything within reason will do, you'd really be much better off with open-backed. Btw, the Beyer model was 'DT', not 'DY' as I mis-typed in my earlier post.

Not sure if the velour pads on the HD25s would improve their comfort? Mmm, velour.

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http://soundcloud.com/richie-royale
http://www.mixcrate.com/richieroyale

Quote Richie Royale:

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Not sure if the velour pads on the HD25s would improve their comfort? Mmm, velour.

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Yes they do. Slight compromise of seal according to John Willett, so slightly more bleed.

Either way they still become a little uncomfortable for long sessions.

Bob

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www.bickerton.co.nz

Quote Richie Royale:

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Mmm, velour.

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I take it you intended that to be read in a Zap Brannigan voice?