Most Popular Studio Headphones 2022
Studio headphones are an essential tool for mixing music — perhaps what you should buy to get started with your home studio. Even if you eventually buy monitors, your trusty headphones will still be indispensable for recording and for referencing mixes. We’re talking about one of the most important decisions and maybe the one that will have the biggest impact on the final sound of your productions. Remember that you will probably spend a lot of time using them, so choose wisely. But there are more headphones on the market than ever: how could you possibly know which ones are the best? Well, let’s take a look at some of this year’s top choices.
Audio Technica
Audio Technica headphones have a good reputation for casual listening and studio-intensive tasks. Particularly, the ATH-M50x have earned a lot of praise for their performance in the one hundred and fifty dollar range. Similarly, at the top of the line, the ATH-R70x reference headphones can compete with the best on this list in sound quality.
These headphones feature a wide frequency range that reproduces bass tones effectively. In addition, you can rotate them to ninety degrees for greater comfort. They all have comfortable ear cushions, and, thanks to their professional headbands, will show much less wear and tear over time. They are high isolation, which means you won’t worry about any external noise.
The only obvious disadvantage is the fact that the high-pitched sounds are not at a professional level. Despite that, the advantages are many more: foldable design, deep bass, and a battery life of up to forty hours, among others.
Sony MDR-7506
When talking about headphones we could not miss Sony, a brand with a lot of prestige. If we focus on studio headphones that have a good quality-price ratio, these are some that you can not miss. Comfort, resistance, good finishes and noise reduction are some of the most striking features.
It is no coincidence that Sony is one of the best known brands in the world of electronics. The sensitivity of the MDR-7506 headphones is 106 decibels, and they are equipped with an impedance of 63 ohms. They are closed style, hence they will be the most appropriate for not allowing the entrance of outside noises. You can also use them in recording studios, and you will surely get the results you expect.
Their disadvantage? Well, because we are talking about a closed model, the quality of the treble sounds tends to be reduced — a little bit… — although, on the other hand, no matter where you work, whether professional or home studio, when recording you will always use headphones to monitor and listen to the reference or click (or the clapperboard itself). In this case, using closed headphones may be more convenient since they are the ones that let less sound escape to the outside.
Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro
The 770 Pro from the German manufacturer Beyerdynamic is one of the current standards in recording booths around the world. Being a closed headphone and with a fairly good isolation, the recording booth, if available, as mentioned above, is its natural habitat for recordings and to prevent the studio microphone from the clapperboard or the reference that you hear when recording.
The sound of these headphones is not as accurate as other open options, but they are well balanced at the frequency level and will allow you to make immediate decisions that you can then rectify using studio monitors or other headphones for mixing processes.
Roland RH-5
The Roland RH-5 has forty-millimeter drivers that will reproduce dynamic sounds and allow you to clearly hear all kinds of musical instruments such as guitars, electronic drums, and even pianos. One of the reasons for this is that the high-pitched sounds are perceived quite clearly, even though the mid-tones are not of professional quality. In terms of value for money, they could be the best on the market today, and will be high performance and long lasting. Every musician will benefit from these headphones, as they will facilitate DAW production, and play instruments such as guitars, drums, and digital pianos.
Sennheiser HD-25
The iconic Sennheiser HD25 is one of the most popular headphones used for years by producers, musicians, and DJs around the world, and this year is still trendy. They are of the closed supra-aural type: they rest above the ear. With a powerful and reliable sound, they have become one of the favorite headphones for concert musicians (so common for drummers and DJs on stage), as well as for recording in a professional or home studio. It is important to note that, with these headphones, you will not get the flattest sound possible for mixing, but they weigh only 140 grams, have a lot of resistance and will last a long time.
If you need further advice for your equipment (or, better yet, for your audiovisual projects), don’t hesitate to contact the experts at Enhanced Media Sound Studio. We’ll be more than happy to help you take your productions to the next level of audio quality.
