Headphones (<$500) with un-EQd frequency response closest to neutral speakers in a treated room?

[Phosphenetre]

On the subject of engineers recommending certain headphones that are not really competitive choices in this day and age, many of those recommendations originate from an era where you simply did not have some of the better tuned and more neutral headphones that have debuted in the past decade or so.

For example, I'd never recommend the DT 770 or M50x as an engineer myself, knowing there are things like the Sennheiser HD 400 Pro/560s and Audio Technica R70x around now in the same price bracket. But back in the day, the M50 and 770 may indeed have been some of the best options available at the time, and engineers simply 'learned' them and their frequency response idiosyncrasies, adapting to work around them. Most of those are also closed back, which is mandatory if using headphones in the tracking room, as opposed to while mixing. That's how some of these headphones came to be so widely recommended even though they are now far from good picks.

 

[Deleted member 60987]

You wouldn't use DT770 for the same thing as 400s You use it for clarity and definition. I'm actually interested in one more pair like a 600, 650, 701 or 702 but I would have to hear them first. After about $170 I won't buy headphones based on recommendations. I have heard the 400s though at guitar center, side by side with others like MDR and M50X. They are decent. But not that great. Even the 650s have a 8.0 Neutrality rating. Coming in behind the $35 Superlux HD 668B 8.1 and $50 Superlux HD 681 8.3 ratings. But again, those are detail headphones accenting brightness. If you want a higher rating than 8.3 you really have to start spending money like Hifiman. Sundaras are 8.4, like their $550 Anandas. A little above the $50 Superlux. The HE 400s have an 8.2 but at a very reasonable $109. I have seen as high as 8.7 for the $500 XS but I've seen one rating here who claimed Shure 440 top the list, but god knows how they came upon that. They are good but not especially clear in the high end and slightly muddy in the low. Better than my Samson 850s but not as good as my $50 Rockville Pro-MA50, much less my Beyer, Sony, ATH or Superlux. And maybe better than the Philips 9500 I just got reported to have an 8.3 rating that lack clarity. It's a crapshoot to by headphones without hearing them first. After a certain price point it is hard to find a brick and mortar store that lets you. I will have to visit music row in NYC soon. Between all the stores there someone will have really high end brands and models.

 

[Deleted member 60987]

Alan uses what they give him and NS10's are obligatory to him even now (he uses Genelac's as main monitors). His amount of knowledge eneabes him to do this all do now he does need young blood for what he can't hear anymore (he is down to 10 KHz or even less now). Regarding equipment to quote him you get what you paid for. Point of this place is to point you out what you can get for your money and get you as far from snake oil as possible.
Future on you will rarely see him with any headphones at all. Which is somehow expected from pioneer of surround sound.

ASSR - MCTS Munich

You are very ignorant individual and I wish you luck (you will need it).

For $50 you can get Superlux 681 with a 8.3 Neutrality rating. For $500 you can get Ananda with an 8.4 rating. 10 times as much for a little bit better. If I am ignorant, you are a complete simpleton. Where are your recordings? Mine are online. You're all talk as far as I can tell.