Morning all,

Can anyone recommend good in ear headphones that can be used for monitoring? I normally use closed back Sennheisers but it's a bit painful on the ears when I wear glasses as well. The budget would be around £100 - £150.

Any advice appreciated. Many thanks.

If by closed-back Sennheisers you mean HD-25s, I know what you mean. They squeeze my ears like an angry Jesuit working on a suspected heretic. However, this is probably what gives them their excellent bottom end and isolation.

I am also a four-eyed git, and have always found Beyer Dynamics comfy (DT-770s are wearable for hours and are closed back ... although their isolation is not as good as the HD-25s). The open-back Sennheisers (inlcuding the legendary HD-650s) are nice as well. All these headphones fit around the ear rather than on top of it, which might explain a bit.

I never did find in-ear phones comfortable for long periods, and their sound varies according to how far they get stuffed in your ears, which is not ideal.

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Thanks for the info. I'll have a look at the DT-770s and the HD-650s. I agree that in ear don't work for long periods, plus I worry a bit about hearing damage.

Thanks again.

Greetings!

Are we talking monitoring whilst recording in noisy situations (and/or studio tracking) or "studio" mixing of previously recorded stuff - or all of these?

Whatever it is I personally wouldn't use in-ears - just too many variables and difficult to get an accurate assessment of what's actually going on.

Bearing in mind your budget, if you want a decent set of cans for mixing and critical listening I'd suggest a listen to the AKG K240 MkII. They're open-backed so no good for monitoring if recording in noisy environments - but very good for the money and very comfortable.

If you need maximum attenuation of external sounds then I like the Sennheiser HD380 Pros. Excellent isolation - better than most of the purpose-designed 'isolation' headphones - and reasonably comfortable. I can wear mine for 2+ hours no problem - and I also wear specs. However, I wouldn't choose these for critical mixing listening - the AKGs are much better for that IMHO.

HTH. Mike