Hot answers tagged headphones
9
The best course I can recommend is to use the best tools and resources you have available. Headphones are not ideal, but they're better than bad speakers, and probably better than even good speakers in a bad listening environment.
A lot depends on what you're mixing and what the target environment will be. Mixing music or voice that will mainly be consumed ...
8
High-impedance headphones are designed for studio-like applications where there may be multiple phones wired in parallel receiving an input signal from one source. Low-impedance headphones are designed to be plugged directly into a single source, and can more effeciently generate sound from the lower level input signal.
High-impedance headphones are a ...
7
With headphones you get complete separation, which you don't get with speakers. Therefore the stereo imaging is different. And it can be better, if the music is made to listen in headphones, but worse if it is not.
An extreme example is Sargent Pepper. Listen to it on speakers, and then in headphones. There is no stereo field in any real sense, instead some ...
6
Volume knobs have a tendency to get "scratchy" over time. This is caused by corrosion and dirt in the inner workings.
It's definitely worth fixing. You can get a can of DeoxIT contact cleaner for about $15.
Just unplug the unit, open the case and spray the backs of the potentiometers. Usually there is a small hole where you can use the tube that ...
5
The power required to operate headphones is a function of the driver size and mass, whether the phones are open, closed, or in-ear, etc. The impedance of headphones is usually designed to get an acceptable volume level (power = voltage^2 / impedance) at the voltage level expected on the driving equipment. It's not necessarily a straightforward relationship ...
5
Does more impedance mean less volume ?
As to impedance, take a look at Bill Griddle's answer:
What is the effect of impedance on headphone sound quality?
In essence: yes, higher impedance = lower volume. But higher volume is not necessarily better quality. Most professional headphones has a high impedance. Are you A DJ then low impedance is more ...
4
In-ear phones would probably only be okay as long as they are the kind that completely seal and fit inside the ear canal—ones that are specifically made for monitoring.
Personally, if I wear that kind too long it'll start to hurt my ears, so I'd go with circumaural headphones, but that's me. So maybe it comes down to personal preference and what you find ...
4
I am not sure why this question was asked, but if you intend to do a production that is meant to be listened to specifically with headphones, there is an option on which I would like to write a general note.
Binaural system
You can record your stuff with a binaural microphone system (you don't have to get your hands on an artificial head, I got astonishing ...
4
It is a good idea to avail yourself to as many different listening environments as possible. As others have mentioned, higher quality monitors and higher quality listening environments will allow for more precise control.
However, unless your end user will be listening in that same high quality environment, some of that precision will be lost to the ...
3
While I agree with Jim, to use the best tools you can, I always recommend headphones, if for no other reason to isolate what you're recording from the background noise. You have no idea how many times I've not heard the applicance running in the background until I had my headphones on. Alternately, you may hear a lawnmower outside, but only upon wearing ...
3
In general, you should be very careful how loud you listen to music, both through headphones and through speakers, so you do not damage your hearing. You should be listening at the lowest level that still allows you to hear what you need to. Listening at higher volumes for short periods will allow you to better hear the nuances of the music, but should be ...
3
Usually when one side of my headphones stops working it is due to a fault in the cable somewhere. Most often it happens near one end of the cable or the other. Almost always the problem in the cable is caused by me catching the cable on something and yanking them off of my head.
If this is the problem, the only thing you can do is be more careful or buy a ...
3
This is a common complaint people have with Grados, due to the on-ear (as opposed to over-ear) design. You can try flexing the headband out a bit to loosen its grip on your head, you can try replacing the earpads with a different material, or you can simply get used to it over time. Alternatively, you can switch to over-ear headphones such as similar ...
2
In relation to achieving optimal sound
quality, is there any advantage to
pairing high-impedance headphones with
an amplifier for listening on an MP3
player or laptop, as opposed to just
using low-impedance headphones?
Yes, there is. In fact, there is an advantage to using an external amplifier for any headphones.
If you are resourceful, you ...
2
To do quick monitoring, finding disturbing signals and getting a general idea of the reverberation in the hall, I gladly use my Sennheiser HD-25, but basically any well closing pair of headphones will do.
If you need to check the amount of recorded reverb, just listening in the hall while the musicians are playing is not enough, you need to record a bit, ...
2
I really like Sony's low end headphones. They usually sell for around $10 usd and sound pretty good.
Since you will be running with them, I recommend the type that hook on your ear. I haven't done much running with them, but I have done lots of yard work without any issues. They have a nice clear full sound, though they are a bit weaker on the low end ...
2
The most common use for a headphone amp is to feed multiple sets of headphones from a single headphone socket. They can also provide some amplification if your original headphone out signal is too weak.
See this Sound on Sound article from Martin Walker for a helpful explanation of when you might need a headphone amplifier. Also, check the Wikipedia ...
2
I use headphones for stuff like late night tracking , mobile production but will always check my tracks on a good pair of speakers in the morning
Sennheiser HD25 series are the bare minimum IMO
Headphones are great to get into production but you will need a pair of decent speakers sooner rather than later .
A mid range pair of Hi Fi speakers will be ...
2
Forget about headphone impedances; as you assume they're primarily an indicator for the loudness, but you can't conclude anything about the sound from them. In particular, the higher the headphone impedance the lower the influence on the sound.
Actually, the sound of any headphones is mainly governed by their mechanical construction. I personally have never ...
2
The “USB to 3.5mm adapter” you link is exactly the same thing as a “USB sound card”. USB is a generic digital protocol; the only way to “adapt” it is to provide the USB-device and digital-to-analog hardware that is commonly called a “USB sound card”.
The remaining question is the quality of the device. I would be wary of a device which calls itself an ...
2
If you intend to use the mic with your PC only (and given that you don't have a fancy audio interface with preamps), the better choice would be to use a cheap condenser mic, just like those intended for skype and those which are supplied as a part of a headset, example. The reasoning behind this is that usually the dynamic mics have a lower sensitivity and ...
1
There are a number of reports of the volume lock getting turned on on the iPod nano. This is a "feature" that limits the output volume to save little ears.
I don't know which nano you have, but somewhere in the neighborhood of Settings>>Playback>>Volume Limits
Alternatively, you can always try resetting your nano to factory. Method depends on your model.
...
1
Here is a site with lots of different amps.
http://www.headphone.com/headphone-amps/amplifiers.php
I don't have any of these, but I have used the site before and they are quite particular about good sound. I'm guessing this could help you. As with anything, I recommend you read reviews and buy the best amp in your price range. This may not be the most ...
1
The only difference is that the 2nd pair is silver in color.
What are you going to be using them for?
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 380 Pros and they are the best headphones I have ever owned. I bought them to use for mixing and mastering my music and they are amazing. After listening to an album with them I had listened to hundreds of times, I heard ...
1
I've not used them myself, but just going by the specs on Shure's site, I don't see why not. Shure is generally a good name in audio production, although I know them more for microphones than for headphones.
The 840s are circumaural ("goes around your ears") and so will probaby not leak audio very much, so they shouldn't interfere with your location ...
1
In my efforts to try to strike a balance between price and performance, I finally settled on a set of Koss UR40 headphones. They are over the ear (surround the ear) headphones. They run in the $25-$40, depending on where you get them. I picked them because they seemed to get good reviews, I had owned other Koss headphones in the past that I liked, and I ...
1
If this is happening over and over, it's almost certainly something you've been doing. As DreLambo says, do you wrap the cable around something? Do you twirl the cable around your finger? Stuff them in a pocket when not in use? Wind the cable sharply when putting them away?
Pay attention while using the headphones, and perhaps you'll have an "aha!" moment. ...
1
It seems that your headphones were made to work with your type of phone. Therefore, they sound right and the play/pause button works correctly.
The play/pause button or any other controls will not work on a computer because the computer is not looking for any signal on the output jack of it's sound card.
If you are looking for (cheap) headphones to use ...
1
I have their older HeadAmp four-output box. It's been a solid little box. Quiet with preamps that have a ton of gain so you can drive loud signals over long cable runs. I think I paid ~CAD$75 maybe 8 years ago now. Didn't come with any cans. It's one of those little boxes I have in the home studio that I don't think about, use all the time, and if it was ...
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