Studio Headphones For Mixing Vs Recording

Great headphones for mixing and recording.

If your needs are anything less than a professional recording studio, these are the headphones for you.

As a composer, recording artist and 20-year veteran of big recording studios, I had been looking for a reliable headphone to use during the mixing and mastering process in my new home studio (I have great reference speakers, but I like to mix at night, and this helps keep peace in the neighborhood). Yeah, I know and I've read in every magazine and online source that you can't mix with headphones. WRONG. The K 701s provide superbly reliable reproduction of instrumental music during tracking and mixing (bleed during tracking can, of course, be an issue with the 701s...if your mic is close to your headphones during recording, you need a closed-back headphone...I use my Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones for those kind of tracking applications). But mixing and mastering is where the 701s are worth more than twice the price. Finally...reliably true sound (no phony extra bass, etc.), no ear fatigue (even after a 6-hour mixing session), and the price, especially from B&H, is on the money. I buy all kinds of recording gear from MIDI controllers to outboard effects processors, etc. Nothing I've ever purchased has made me feel as good about spending my hard-earned money. If you are a WORKING (home) studio musician and you want your next CD to sound professional...mix it using these, and it will. PS: I'm a struggling musician and recording pro, NOT an audiophile. I like things that work, that last and that sound good. That's why I like my 701s.

Great headphones...I use it for mixing in my home studio and I love the sound clarity

Not surprisingly, Sennheiser has made a great pair of headphones. I use them for monitoring when recording and mixing, and for general use when listening to music. I love the sound quality and the flat frequency response. They're pretty darn big, which could be good or bad depending on your wants/needs. I don't mind it, and they fold up pretty compactly. Overall a great pair of phones.

My go-to headphones for mixing, and for field recording for filmmaking. Comfy, though slightly head-pinching, but it's not super noticeable. Love the ability to switch out the aux cables. Great for going from mixing position, to the booth, and back. Great when paired with the Garfield headphone softie covers, for long hot studio sessions or field recording. ( BH #GAHSBLU ) Right price, great functionality, trust it for recording film audio, good build quality.

This is my third pair of MDR headsets for use in a home recording studio, simply because they hold up in everyday use and are extremely reliable for mixing. Replacement ear pads are widely available from a number of vendors, and are easy to change. I use these along with a good set of reference speakers and they seem to match the frequency curve quite nicely. My brother, a retired LA radio announcer introduced me to these years ago and advised they are very widely used across the industry, in fact, preferred by many engineers and talent. The fact that Sony continues to make and sell them, speaks well for the product. The best part is you don't have to shell out several hundred to get quality and accuracy. I would easily recommend these to any content creator involved in monitoring or mixing. They are hard to beat.

These headphones reproduce sound very well for the price. I use them in my recording studio.

I have had these headphones for almost 10 years. In these 10 years, they have been THE BEST headphones I have used for mixing. I have used a bunch of headphones and studio monitors in that time, and nothing has beat them out, not even the infamous Sony 7506 (given, cheaper, but more prevalent headphones in studios) Things to note with these headphones; they are not super low end present. If you are getting these to listen to consumer music, you may not like them because they are not "boomy" or "full". These headphones are for users who are looking for definition and clarity for making a solid mix. The other note is a MINOR complaint; the part of the headset that rests on the top of your head/hair has worn out for me. The muffs also wore out, but I replaced them. If there is a way to replace the foam under the band, please let me know because I would love to have them looking brand new again. I broke the cable that came with the headphones by accidentally vacuuming it about 2 years in (stupid, I know), but the detachable cable saved me some money. Also nice if you want to swap out different size cables. I would highly recommend these to anyone looking to invest in headphones for studio mixing.

These headphones have many good reviews from pros who use studio headphones for mixing and editing, many recommend M40x rather than the more expensive models. I am not experienced enough to evaluate them like a pro, but I will say that they seem to pick up sound very accurately - they are not noise cancelling though, but I think noise cancelling headphones are a lot more expensive. If you have a small head (like I do) they fit perfectly and are very comfortable. The included coiled and longer cables are a nice bonus.