headphones

[Guest devil7]

Hi,

 

I'd like to know the best choices of headphones for making e-music. That's NOT for djing.

I've told headphones are not good for making music because the lack of bass. Is it true? I don't have enough money to buy professional speaker, so please can anyone help?

[Guest vasyachkin]

here's the deal, headphones do have more than enough bass BUT

 

bass is both felt (vibrations felt by your body) and heard (by your ears).

 

in headphones you do hear the bass but you don't feel it. this is not a natural way to experience bass and therefore speakers are preferred.

 

BUT speakers that can pump the same amount of bass as nice $100 headphones would probably cost around $1000.

 

HOWEVER there is yet another advantage to speakers over headphones. The stereo perception is different in headphones and speakers because headphones provide total left-right isolation and speakers don't. You will end-up applying different amounts of panning depending on what you are using - headphones or speakers, and i belive that what you want here is again speakers, because that's what most people listen on.

[Guest JC]

I ve used headphones for making trance the whole last year. I Had 2 cause I live in a block of flats. What I did was when I was happy with the result through my headphones, I would go to my parents place and try it out on their stereo. They got a nice sound system.

 

Then I would take notes on the music and go back to my ministudio and adjust sounds accordingly.

 

 

After saying that the whole process fucken sux. I hate it. But I can't afford an amp and good speakers.

 

Important tip on buying headphones. All brands a relatively the same in their own price range. Make sure that when picking, don't go for looks or brand name. Try them on. If your going wear headphones for hrs on end like I do, you want them comfortable. Try them on for little while see if your ears might sweat or get itchy. Is the material good for your ears? I made that mistake and bought a pair of headphones that hurt my ears after 1/2 hr of wear.

 

have fun

[Guest Mike Indidginus]

Hi Devil7,

 

I use a Beyer Dynamic set of headphones and they do me fine (they cost about £120). A decent set of monitors might not be as expensive as you think - I use a pair of Tannoy Reveal and they cost around £175 which (compared to the headphones!) really isn't too bad. They have won various awards I believe, and I know a few people who use them in professional studio situations... I hope that is helpful (sort of).

[Guest Mike Indidginus]

PS You should speak to Vasyachkin! He builds speakers I believe, so he'll be the man to have a word with...

[Guest adrenachrome]

but vasyachkin already answered!

All I can say is that open-end headphones give higher-quality sound than closed-ends in general because that way the sound can go away instead of staying in the headphone and causing a slight distortion effect...

[Guest Slidingtrancer]

I would like to have some grado's, even if they wouldnt be comfortable for my ears in the beginning

 

Anyway, be sure to hear headphones yourself in the shop --> You are not buying groceries, ...

 

Guys, how much are good monitors/speakers...?

 

I need some, but I don't have @!#$ like $1000 or something

 

What do you guys think about PC speakers and dolby surround sets..?

 

I don't see anything special in them, I don't really feel an extra vibe when sound its everywhere, its the sound that matters. As for speakers, they usually have a lousy range and bass

[Guest adrenachrome]

for the PC speakers: I've heard that Klipsch Promedia's are EXCELLENT quality and rival speakers 10 times the price!!! Well, they're THX approved, so that says enough about the sound quality, I guess. Don't know if they're any outlets in the Netherlands (good stuff almost never come to these parts *sigh*), but after thorough checking, I have actually managed to find a dealer in Belgium!!! But only one dealer in the whole country means no competition which means shamelessly high prices...

[Guest vasyachkin]

thanks Mike Indidginus, but i am only a newbie at speakerbuilding

 

i guess there can be two fundamentally different approaches at looking on what is required of the monitor speakers

 

1 - is to have speakers that can produce all detail and all bass that CD medium can give, that requires a near-field monitors with at least 10 - 12" woofers and around 100 watt per channel of power.

 

2 - is to realize that people who will listen to the music do not have this kind of speakers and will not hear all the detail and bass on CD anyway, and then you can be cheap and have smaller, less powerful monitors.

 

of course you could opt for subwoofer, but subwoofers are usually made for home theater use (movies, not music) and are not very musical (not very accurate). I suppose there may be exceptions of course

 

peace

[Guest vasyachkin]

you will also go deaf pretty soon if you adopt the first approach ))

[Guest devil7]

JC,

 

I loved the tip about the parents' house. My father has a kick-ass stereo in a kick-all-asses large room, that's perfect for testing my songs. It's just take some notes and make the adjusts. Preaty smart!

 

** ** ** **

 

Vasyachkin,

 

Thanks for all the tips, but I disagree with you about the speakers. People may not have powerful speakers at home, but when your music is played in clubs or parties, you'll listen to it through speakers even more powerful than the ones used in professional studios. I already had the experience of hearing in a club a song made by me. I think pale is a good word to describe the result.

[Guest vasyachkin]

"in clubs or parties, you'll listen to it through speakers even more powerful than the ones used in professional studios."

 

maybe louder, but not not more revealing, a hand-held megaphone is also loud but its still sh*t

 

if you can't hear any imperfections on good(not just any) studio monitors you will not hear them on party speakers, because studio monitors are designed (supposed to be designed) to have more resolution than party speakers, party speakers are mostly designed just to be loud.

 

that said, a professional monitor should ALSO be loud.

 

the thing below is a studio monitor