Planar Magnetic open back headphones for Mixing/Mastering under 1000$

[waki]

Hello to everybody!
It comes to this time when, after 15 years, my Sennheiser HD 650 has to be replaced/upgraded by another pair of headphones. This time, I decided to go for Planar Magnetic open headphones. My main priority is studio and electronic music production/mixing/mastering, so I am looking for something neutral and accurate that can be easily tuned with EQ. I will use those headphones as a second reference, along with my Neumanns 310-A monitors. My budget is up to 1000$. My initial focus was on Audeze MM500, but unfortunately, they are over my budget.
Can anyone make recommendations on the best options in this budget?
Thanks a lot, good people!

 

[DVDdoug]

Pros will advise against mixing & mastering on headphones. But whether you use monitors or headphones, the important thing is to learn what a good production sounds like on your setup.

My initial focus was on Audeze MM500, but unfortunately, they are over my budget.

With headphones there is very-little correlation between sound quality and price.

Here are two somewhat opposing excerpts I "collected" from Recording Magazine:

This is from "Readers Submissions" where readers send-in their recordings for evaluation:

As those of you who have followed this column for any length of time can attest, headphone mixing is one of the big no-no's around these parts. In our humble opinion, headphone mixes do not translate well in the real world, period, end of story. Other than checking for balance issues and the occasional hunting down of little details, they are tools best left for the tracking process.

And this is from a mixing engineer:

Can I mix on headphones?

No. But in all seriousness, headphones can be a secret weapon and it really doesn’t matter what they sound like…

Over time, after constantly listening back to my work from different studios on those headphones I really started to learn them. They became sort of a compass. Wherever I went… It became a pattern for me to reference these headphones to see if what I was hearing was “right”…

I learned them, I knew them, I trusted them. It didn’t matter whether or not I loved them…

So, can you mix on headphones? Probably. I just think you really need to put some time into learning them first…

 

[dadregga]

Any of the Dank Clarks - they're well-reviewed, and well-designed.

 

[staticV3]

The LCD-X is around $1000.

It has phenomenally low distortion, so EQing the response should be a breeze:

Audeze LCD-X Review (2021 Edition Headphone)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the 2021 edition of the Audeze LCD-X open-back planar magnetic headphone. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $1,199 by itself or you can get the premium version with case and such for $1,699. The LCD-X is one serious looking and feeling...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[waki]

Pros will advise against mixing & mastering on headphones. But whether you use monitors or headphones, the important thing is to learn what a good production sounds like on your setup.


With headphones there is very-little correlation between sound quality and price.

Here are two somewhat opposing excerpts I "collected" from Recording Magazine:

This is from "Readers Submissions" where readers send-in their recordings for evaluation:


And this is from a mixing engineer:

Thank you for your opinion, DVDdoug, I appreciate it. As I mentioned in my initial message, I have used headphones along with my Neumanns 310-A monitors for almost 20 years, so I know all the pros and cons. I would not use just headphones for all production/mixing process, though.

 

[waki]

Any of the Dank Clarks - they're well-reviewed, and well-designed.

Do you have any particular models in mind to fit into the budget?

 

[GXAlan]

Do you have any particular models in mind to fit into the budget?

【インタビュー】SONY”MDR-CD900STを創った男”投野耕治氏インタビュー！

e☆イヤホンのはまちゃんです！2017年も、もう少しですね！今年のクリスマスの予定は決まっていますか？僕のクリスマスの予定は、バンドでレコーディングです！最高です！ 本日は！

e--earphone-blog.translate.goog

I have sent one to Amir to measure for an apples-to-apples comparison.

 

[waki]

The LCD-X is around $1000.

It has phenomenally low distortion, so EQing the response should be a breeze:

Audeze LCD-X Review (2021 Edition Headphone)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the 2021 edition of the Audeze LCD-X open-back planar magnetic headphone. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $1,199 by itself or you can get the premium version with case and such for $1,699. The LCD-X is one serious looking and feeling...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I thought about this model; they are slightly above my budget, but who knows... Thank you for your recommendation staticV3

 

[julian_hughes]

If your goal is accuracy for mixing/mastering then why narrow that field by specifying planar magnetics or a particular price range? Any headphone which is accurate will be suitable.

 

[waki]

If your goal is accuracy for mixing/mastering then why narrow that field by specifying planar magnetics or a particular price range? Any headphone which is accurate will be suitable.

I learned about Planar Magnetics that transients are hearable for longer periods of time compared to dynamic headphones, and your processing (especially compressing) is lighter. Beyond that, I still will use my HD650s, so I am looking for something from the other side of the spectrum. I am also looking for something with a bit deeper bass than my HD650s. My budget is up to 1000$, do you have any recommendations?

 

[julian_hughes]

If nobody has complained so far then stick with the HD650s.

 

[waki]

If nobody has complained so far then stick with the HD650s.

Yes, thank you for your opinion

 

[staticV3]

I thought about this model; they are slightly above my budget, but who knows... Thank you for your recommendation staticV3

Here's a super easy PEQ preset to correct the LCD-X to Harman:


The frequency response data is from oratory1990, the tool is just used to graph the EQ.

Audeze LCD-X (2021 revision).pdf

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[julian_hughes]

Yes, thank you for your opinion

You're welcome. If you're itching to spend that money I have a paypal address you can send it to. Your mixes will sound even more awesome.

 

[waki]

Here's a super easy PEQ preset to correct the LCD-X to Harman:
View attachment 347448

The frequency response data is from oratory1990, the tool is just used to graph the EQ.

Audeze LCD-X (2021 revision).pdf

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

Awesome! Thank you, staticV3! What are your thoughts on Arya Stealth? They are in a similar price range as LCD-X's.

 

[waki]

You're welcome. If you're itching to spend that money I have a paypal address you can send it to. Your mixes will sound even more awesome.

hemm...

 

[staticV3]

Awesome! Thank you, staticV3! What are your thoughts on Arya Stealth? They are in a similar price range as LCD-X's.

I'd go with Audeze personally.

Hifiman's QC is awful, plus the Arya's distortion isn't quite as nice as the LCD-X's:

(Stealth magnets do not reduce distortion)

 

[waki]

I'd go with Audeze personally.

Hifiman's QC is awful, plus the Arya's distortion isn't quite as nice as the LCD-X's:
View attachment 347455View attachment 347459
(Stealth magnets do not reduce distortion)

Great! Thanks once again!

 

[robertom]

I do mixing as a side job.. It all depends on your habits, someone prefer to use headphones with certain frequency ranges emphasized as a sort of psychological brake, knowing his common mistakes (i.e. overemphasizing vocal presence region) and trying to compensate them with a headphone that neutralizes that common mistake (for example a heapdhone with exagerated pinna gain zone). Or... you can be in search for the better translation possible between your speaker-room system and your headphones, when speakers are used as your main tool, and heaphone are just a secondary check. Or you can aim for the flattest possible reproduction in your headphone, given your own concept and perception of neutrality.
In my case I have the last two goals.
LCD-X 2021 is a widely used tool among mixing engineers: I did not try them, but from graphs I’d be a little worried for the pinna gain zone, too recessed for my tastes and perception of neutrality and translation in that zone. My choice is the Monoprice M1570, that is known to be 'inspired' to the Audeze line and has a similar driver. The M1570 comes with two pads: with the pleather one the FR is very similar to the LCD-X, while with the velour one the pinna gain is more forward, more or less on harman target; I find the velour pads more suitable for mixing, while the pleather are too forgiving, and tend to mask any (crucial) error done in the 2K-5K area.
The M1570 also costs half than the LCD-X. If you do a search, a lot of people who tried both the LCD-X and the M1570 prefer the latter.

Today, if I had the money I would buy the Modhouse Tungsten for sure, but it outside your budget (and mine).

I have had the Arya Stealth: No... not for mixing, for me.

 

[splitting_ears]

I'm using an EQ'd LCD-X 2021 with great results, although their FR is not so easy to correct.

I'd advise you to try them first if you can, because of their heavy weight. I like that it encourages me to keep a good posture while working, but it might be uncomfortable for some people.