Headphones for each use case

My picks:

In the past, I’ve relied completely on headphones for media production and content consumption. This is doable, especially when assisted by software like Sonarworks.

There are a few tiers in my book, and here are my recommendations for each. Generally, I recommend anything from Beyerdynamic as a first choice.

  • Critical listening and mixing

    • Found myself extremely happy with the fit and sound of some second-hand DT 880’s. As I began to learn a little more about headphones, I discovered that the 600 ohm resistance on my 880’s demanded a high wattage amplifier. I tried the Emotiva A-100 BasX, but found the noise floor unsuitable. (If you’re going down this road, the current best practice is to get your 600 ohm 880’s modded to be compatible with a balanced amp and to pick up a Topping A90.) In my case, I got rid of the 880’s, replaced them with 250-ohm DT 1990’s and a Rupert Neve Precision Headphone Amplifier (RNHP) with a JDS EL DAC. Then I dropped the DAC entirely and connected the RNHP straight into my Apogee Rosetta 200. Wasn’t a fan of the Neumann NDH20’s.

  • tracking

    • A pair of DT 770’s modded with a removable (read: breakaway) cable. Or the 1990’s if that’s easier for me at the moment. But the 770’s allow in less of the loud sax sound.

  • IEM’s for stage

    • These days, using some Harman-tuned Moondrop Starfields. I feel they sound great and don’t cost $1200. Sure, some custom-molded road-tough IEM’s would be theoretically better in sound isolation and durability, but I found my customs to be pretty uncomfortable, especially when unvented, plus they come with an expiration date on the custom fit. Pretty brutal tradeoff since they’re expensive, not to mention unsellable. I had some UE TripleFI 10’s molded into customs but found they had an OBSCENE high end rolloff which demands compensation on the belt pack. I don’t recommend them. I like the build quality and tip options of the Shure SE535 and SE215 but they don’t sound good at all. I know everyone loves stuff from 64 Audio but I haven’t auditioned them personally. I just go off of what Crinacle says.

  • day-to-day listening

    • If you’re in a job where you want to have podcasts/YouTube videos pumped into your head in a relatively covert/private way, I’ve tried earbuds, bone conduction earphones and even IFB’s to get this done. I recommend the AKG N400NC TWS. They sound fantastic. The touch controls are AWFUL but I don’t care because of how good they sound.

    • I really like the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds. But the noise cancellation and size is better on the QuietComfort ii Earbuds at the expense of system noise, very glitchy behavior and an overall much less polished user experience.

  • blocking out all external sound

    • I recommend the Bose 700’s if you’re willing to sacrifice sound quality for noise cancellation. I recommend the Bose QC35ii’s if you‘re not.

    • Here’s the truth from my perspective: as much as people love to rag on Bose, both of these headphones are very comfortable; they have acceptable sound quality, great control features, and exceptional, unbeatable active noise cancellation. This is a GODSEND for anyone who lives with others or travels a lot. This is a quality of life feature for me, not an audio feature. And at this point, it’s 100% essential for me. I tried a set of Sony noise cancelling headphones and found them appalling. Perhaps it wasn’t their top of the line model, IDK.

    • I often travel multiple times a month on airplanes. Every time I step onto an airplane, I insert Bose QuietComfort II Earbuds and put Bose 700’s on top of them. It’s unconventional and somewhat uncomfortable, but it beats those drummer cans which are the only comparable things I can think of for this level of external noise isolation.

Some other notes:

I’ve tried stuff all over the map.

Sony MDR-7506’s were fine but bright - Marco Arment has made a solid case that these headphones are horribly overrated due to their history. I tend to agree as these aren’t remotely flat in frequency response, they have uncomfortably shallow and poorly shaped earcups, and there are far better options available.

Sennheiser HD 280’s seem to be go-to tracking headphones, but the clamping force is insane and the sound is not great.

Please SKIP the Audeze Mobius. I hated them. Sounded bad, terrible noise floor, useless NX feature, no true wireless surround.

I really liked the Audeze iSINE’s for a while.

I highly recommend Koss PortaPros and FiiO’s E12 Mont Blanc amp.

Skip the Neumann NDH20’s. They don’t sound good and aren’t super durable.

Michael Incavo