Headphones
Opinions
The Sony MDR 7506 are not quite as good as the others on this page, but nothing else in that price range can touch them. I’ve mixed a lot of stuff with the Sony’s (live and in the studio) and they’ve always shown me what I need to hear. Another bonus of the Sony is that you can drive it with anything - if you’re looking at any others, make sure your headphone amp can drive them.
The Beyerdynamic and Sennheisers are a matter of preference - they’re comparable and I don’t think there’s a solid consensus on which is “Best”. I’ve been in a lot of studios that have both so that clients can just grab their preference. If you’re doing vocal tracking, the Beyerdynamic closed back DT 770 is my favorite - and matching it with a DT990 for mixing makes it easy for your ears to switch between them - so that’d be an expensive reason to pick the Beyerdynamic over the Sennheiser. The Sennheiser tracking cans aren’t on the same level IMO - but if you’re just using them for mixing, the Sennheisers HD650’s do sound nice. Just a different kind of nice from the DT990’s.
The only other option to add to the comparison is the AKG K702’s. They’re not my favorites, but they are in the same category as the others, and some people (Quincy Jones) won’t use anything else.
Ranking
Having used most of these in studios where you can really hear them, and having bought the ones with * stars for myself at various times, this would be my ranking when used for mixing and production:
- Sennheiser HD800s (The absolute best for the absolute most money)
- Beyerdynamic 1990 Pro (these and the 1770 are just a little bit better quality than the 990 and 770 for twice as much money, but with the same character and use cases)
- Beyerdynamic 990 Pro *
- Sennheiser HD650
- Beyerdynamic 1770 Pro * (7 series is better if you need isolation, but doesn’t sound as good as the 9’s in a quiet room)
- Beyerdynamic 770 Pro (if you need isolation - industry standard for each musician at many tracking studios)
- AKG K702
- Sony MDR 7506 *** (I’ve bought many of these over the years, and will buy more because I don’t treat them nicely)
- Everything else is below here, and probably only worth considering if you’ll be using them for other things too (Wireless, non-production listening, etc.)
Advice
If you can’t think of anything else your studio needs and you have to spend lots of money on something, get the Sennheiser HD800s. They are the best, and the price reflects that. But there’s a point of diminishing returns as headphone prices go up. They are undeniably better than anything else. But are they 3 to 4 times better? Probably not.
All of the phones above $400 are probably more than anyone needs until they really know why. You can’t go wrong with the HD650 or 990Pro (or the 770pro if you need isolation). If you can order both and send one back, that’d be my recommendation. The HD650 sounds a little “better” but the 990Pro seems a little more accurate to me - they’re very close in sound quality and build quality, but different in character. Once you try them both you’ll have a preference. The AKG’s have a very loyal fan base so they’re worth trying if you can.
If any of these look expensive - just get the Sonys - they sound great unless you listen to them next to the others. It’s easy to get a good mix on them, and you don’t have to be as careful with them at that price. Even having other options now, I still reach for them a lot.