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Beatport (Aug 16)

Elsewhere (Aug 30)

Some of my headphone-production experiences: Overall, the Sennheiser HD280 pro is my pick.

Since I mostly have to produce on headphones, I’ve gone through many different types. The Sennheiser HD280 pro is the best pair of cans I’ve used thus far.  Through trial and error, I’ve come to trust the frequency response of these cans.  I can wear the Sennheisers for extended periods without ear fatigue. And they are comfortable. 

Some others I’ve used:

Beyerdynamic DT770 pro (250ohm): Deceptively good sound. Clarity is impressive. But lows get overemphasized. Its cavernous lows make everything sound better. But your production will be weak in the low-end. Great for pleasure listening.

Apple earbuds v. Sennheiser HD280pro: Believe it or not, these sound almost comparable to me in terms of frequency response. After producing in the Sennheisers, stick in the Apples, and you might notice a slight muffling around 1k, but the lows and highs will be similar.

Apple earbuds are terrible for your ears. Lack of isolation makes you turn up the music so you can hear it over your environment. This causes ear fatigue much faster.

Bose Triport headphones are great for listening enjoyment, but bad for production. Highs rolled off. Lows overemphasized.

Etymotic 6i: These are the flattest earbuds at its price point. Definitely not for listening enjoyment.  I used these for a while to re-train my  ears to flattened frequency response. They have great sound isolation, which is ideal again for the subway, but they are flimsy. I went through 2 pairs because of the cat. And foamy tips are impossible to replace without destroying a few in the process. Great for production except for judging the lows.

Woodies IESW101B Inner-ear Stereo Earphone: Lots of bass. You will immediately notice if your production is lacking in highs. Good isolating earbuds for the subway. Terrible for production except for extreme troubleshooting.