Transparent portable closed-back headphones?

[lsanbourne]

Hello, I'm an internationally touring musician who flies around with a single carryon suitcase for 1-2 months at a time. I'm looking for headphones to use to judge mic placement and edit recordings. I love HD 600 but they're bulky to travel with, the metal grilles are easily dented, and plus I never have the luxury of a separate control room (so open-back is annoying).

1. I've tried Mark Levinson 5909, which even have a powered ANC mode (good for my many 10-hour flights). But I made recordings with it recently and discovered I'd very poorly judged the reverb-to-direct ratio. Do I just have to get used to them or do they risk making everything sound amazing?

2. I've also tried Neumann NDH20, and although they sort of help me find flaws, the sound is so bass-muddy that it's kind of horrible to listen to. I could try to get used to it but I fear that even good-quality reverb can sound muddy with those.

3. It seems that Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (and up) are common in classical music recording, but they'd be bulky to transport.

Any other ideas?

 

[staticV3]

The Austrian Hi-X60 folds down nicely, as do some DCA headphones.

 

[lsanbourne]

Thanks! I've been researching Hi-X60, but Amir doesn't recommend it and Mark Levinson No. 5909 apparently measures as even closer to the target curve. That said, I find that with No. 5909, all reverb sounds beautiful - even reverb that sounds ugly/muddy on monitor speakers or just HD600.

DC Aeon seems promising, but I'm worried it might be like 5909 where it doesn't reveal flaws. What measurements lead to a headphone revealing flaws, rather than just making everything sound good?

Thank you!
Larry

 

[solderdude]

HD620S is similar sized to HD600, does not fold flat nor collapse in the headband.
Once you have a good seal (VERY important) the SQ out of the box is good. Good isolation for a passive too.
I recommend to audition it if you can find one.

The Hi-X60 also is a good option but a bit too 'strident' in the 4-7kHz range.

What measurements lead to a headphone revealing flaws, rather than just making everything sound good?

Usually a good presence in the 1-4kHz region will do that for you.

 

[lsanbourne]

Thank you very much. HD620S looks quite flat indeed. One thing I don't yet understand -- even though the Harman curve sounds much better, is flat more useful for recording? If Harman curve is based on imitating the sound of loudspeakers then it seems like that would be better...but in all other parts of the recording chain, of course I want flat/transparent.

Does anyone know other headphones that would at least lie flat for transportation?

Lastly, if presence in 1-4kHz would help with revealingness, should I just EQ my 5909s to that and use them on location?

Important thing to note is that I am trying to listen to test takes with background noise, not in an isolated control room. I think this may be significantly impeding my ability to assess reverb and spill quality but am not sure if there's anything I can do besides just cranking up the gain?

 

[ZolaIII]

If you have money and they fit you:

Dan Clark E3 Headphone Review

This is a review, listening tests, and detailed measurements of the Dan Clark E3 closed back headphone. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $1,999. As you see, the E3 has quite large cups which makes fitment on your ears quite easy. I used the headphone for about 2 weeks with good...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[kelesh]

Sony 7506. They fold nicely into a compact "ball".