Upgrade Reference 4 Headphone To Studio

Good Studio headphone....

Although I wouldn't call the X2HR a reference style open back headphone, I would say they are a very enjoyable pair to listen to all kinds of music on. I've listened to everything from Jazz, Classical, Hip Hop, old school to modern R&B, all eras of rock to Death Metal, and the X2HR sounded great with all of them. Great detail, ample bass that holds together and the soundstage is wide but not so much that you lose the mix or the vocals. The X2HR is bright, but never sibilant and the treble range allows for great resolving of ear candy usually lost or hard to hear in poorer performing headphones. I would say the EQ is a bit more of a V shape, but there is enough midrange where recordings never sound hollow. I find the fit very comfortable for my large head and the build quality is excellent. I will say that ear fatigue settled in for me after about 2 to 2.5 hours of listening at a moderate volume. All in all, a great set of cans.

Reference has breathed new life into my Sony MDR-V6's which have been faithfully serving me for more than 10 years. The only qualm I've had with the Sony's are an apparent sibilance, even if it can be pleasant at times. Reference improves that problem (including an issue with bass) to flatten the response. This has helped immensely with mixing, but has also made general listening more enjoyable and less fatiguing. SONARWORKS has reviewed lots of headphones and rated them based on their before and after calibration performance, so if you're on the market for new headphones, that might be a good starting point for reference. They also offer an additional service for individual calibration which requires sending your headphones in so they can produce a personal profile for your headphones, as opposed to using the general profiles included with the software (you can also purchase a new pre-calibrated pair from them). That's all of course if you're looking for some kind of edge and really find yourself doing a great deal of work on headphones; it could certainly be worth the extra cost particularly for mastering headphones. Pairing this software with something like CanOpener (to simulate monitor crossfeed) will put you pretty close to a solid monitor mixing environment, so this is incredible software particularly for compact or mobile headphone-centric setups, or as a compliment to a studio setup that utilizes headphones in any critical way. Looking forward to using it with new headphones when the time comes. Highly recommended. Be sure to check the full headphone compatibility list to be sure they at least have a general profile for your particular model.

Why anyone spends money on Beats headphones is beyond me. These are the reference headphone standard for the price point. Flat response, compact design. Add Scruffies for the winter or when the earphone material gets chapped.

I was recording a few singers in an apartment and needed more headphone outs than what my interface had. I didn't need them to be reference quality, because it was just for tracking. This gave me everything I needed for under $ bucks. Perfect.

The HAUC Active Stereo Headphone Control Box by Whirlwind fits the bill perfectly for studio headphone control. Easily mounted under the desk, it is a solid piece of gear. In my studio, I have several headphone locations branching off a multi-headphone amp. Using the HAUC, i am able to give each user a choice of 3.5 mm and 1/4 jacks, and full volume control. Installation was a breeze with four screws. At my news-talk table, I have daisy-chained three thanks to the dual jacks in the back, and each still has its own volume control. Well worth the money and highly-recommended.

exactly the solution I needed to extend my studio headphone

A really good price and a very good quality for use in studio and in the field. Is the best all terrain headphone.

Purchased these as a second pair of headphone for the studio. They are. good for the price.

4th one I have bought and installed. Have 2 more to go.