Headphone advice: Sennheiser HD 560S VS Beyerdynamic DT880 (250Ω)

[mic31]

Hello, I would appreciate some advice from more experienced users about what headphones to buy for producing music with Reason.
Unfortunately I can not use monitors, so all my producing and mixing has to be done with headphones.
I have researched a lot about what are the most neutral headphones in the price range I can afford, and ultimately I narrowed down the search to this 2 models:

- Sennheiser HD 560S (detailed review here: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/he ... e/hd-560s/)

- Beyerdynamic DT880 (250Ω) (detailed review here: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/he ... 250%cf%89/)

Now, from the reviews, it seems like the Senneheisers have a better frequency response and a more "neutral" sound.
Taking into account that I don't care much about appearance or build quality (I know the Beyerdynamics are more solidly built, but I will just use the headphones in my home and no one else will handle them, so there is not much danger for breaking them), it seems like the Sennheisers would be the better choice.

But I still have a doubt about impedance: the Sennheisers are 130Ω, while the Beyerynamics are 250Ω.
How much that difference will influence the quality of the sound reproduction?
Maybe the higher impedance of the Beyerynamics can compensate for the slightly worse frequency response?
I have an external audio interface, so I should be able to manage the 250Ω of the Beyerynamic without issues.

Thanks to anyone who can give me some advice!

[danc]

I think I can help here... I've been a bit obsessed in the last few years trialling and owning a lot of headphone models from Sennheiser, AKG, Beyer, Mackie etc. I went for a few years swearing by my AKG K712, because they have a clear and transparent range, however the lower frequencies were lacking. This sent me on a little trip to try everything else in sub £500 range.

There is a lot of debate out there and there does seem to be a lot of love for the Beyer models. But I don't find them that precise - they sound nice for listening but not analytical work. For surgical mixing.. for say... honing in on a bass and kick and making sure that they sit really well together, the Beyer's I tested (770/880/990) are just not up for the job. I then discovered AKG's K371 and I was blown away with the clarity I got for surgical mixing. Then... I saw on Amazon a returned unused pair of HD560S for £119 - I had seen a lot of great reviews and jumped on it. My goodness me... these are the business for surgical mixing.

NOW - really important. You have to decide what you really want/need. Do you want to do precise mixing tasks, where you can hear every little detail... or do you want a full and warm listening experience that you can relax to for hours on end. I personally opt for surgical and wholeheartedly recommend the HD560S. Whereas... you might want warm and cuddly, easy listening - and if that is so... go for a pair of Beyer's.

As for the OHM ratings. Yes, arguably, higher is better... but this should be a secondary consideration compared to the overall quality of a pair of headphones.

Check out RTINGS.. I like their style of reviews...

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/revie ... er/hd-560s
https://www.rtings.com/headphones/revie ... mic/dt-880


How about this. Buy both pairs from Amazon. Spend a few hours A/B testing them both and then simply returning the pair you least like. BAX also offer a 120 day, no quibble return policy. I don't think you can totally rely on reviews - you need to experience it first hand yourself. If you are close to a music store, go in and ask to test a range of pairs.

As has been said many times before... also consider getting Sonarworks to get the best EQ balance possible for your chosen headphones.

As a side note - owning many pairs of headphones really opens your ears up to how different hi-hats (and anything else in the hi-freq) will sound to everyone listening. Every single pair of headphones I own makes hi-hats sound completely different. So much so, that some make hi-hats really piercing and too-loud and others will make them subtle. Even with Sonarworks calibration, the difference is poles apart on each headphone. Just worth noting, because when you go and get people's opinion on your productions... if you get feedback on hi frequency stuff.. a lot of it could be just a by-product of their listening environment, not your mix.

[DaveyG]

Out of those two I'd go for the Sennhesiers. As well as considering something like Sonarworks to flatten the response I'd also consider using something like Waves NX to simulate listening on speakers. In simple terms it feeds a bit of the right channel into the left and vice versa, with a bit of processing, to simulate the fact that both ears hear stuff from both speakers when listening on monitors. Some people get on with NX, some don't. I used it for a while but I can achieve decent mixes without it now, because I've done a lot of headphone mixing. The really important thing is that you regularly reference your mix to professionally mixed tracks and, if possible, seek the advice of others especially for your first few mixes.

On the impedance front, some interfaces might struggle to drive 250 ohm headphones. They still work but the max volume will be lower. It's usually not a problem unless you like mixing very loud (which you shouldn't!). Focuruite article: https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/ ... interface-

[Jackjackdaw]

I have these. They are awesome .

https://www.studiospares.com/studiospar ... lsrc=3p.ds

[danc]

I have these. They are awesome .

https://www.studiospares.com/studiospar ... lsrc=3p.ds

If you use Sonarworks... then obviously your headphones have to be included on their supported list.
Currently, Sonarworks do not support Studiospares and so, you won't be able to set the correct correlation for them - unless you decide to send your headphones to Sonarworks for calibration. BUT it's expensive and really not worth it for a cheap pair of headphones.

[aeox]

You mentioned build quality..

I know it's not the same headphone but I own some h600s and I have dropped them on the hard floor probably 3 times or more a day, for the last 5 years. No problems.

[DaveyG]

You mentioned build quality..

I know it's not the same headphone but I own some h600s and I have dropped them on the hard floor probably 3 times or more a day, for the last 5 years. No problems.

I gotta ask. Is it just headphones or is your hard floor littered with fragments of microphones, guitars, keyboards, computers, phones, coffee mugs, etc?

[aeox]

You mentioned build quality..

I know it's not the same headphone but I own some h600s and I have dropped them on the hard floor probably 3 times or more a day, for the last 5 years. No problems.

I gotta ask. Is it just headphones or is your hard floor littered with fragments of microphones, guitars, keyboards, computers, phones, coffee mugs, etc?

Surprisingly it's just the headphones that I drop so much.

[DaveyG]

I gotta ask. Is it just headphones or is your hard floor littered with fragments of microphones, guitars, keyboards, computers, phones, coffee mugs, etc?

Surprisingly it's just the headphones that I drop so much.

You need to get bigger headphones. Or maybe a lanyard.

[mic31]

Thanks for all the replies, very useful advice!!
I think I'll go with the Senns in the end.

[aeox]

Surprisingly it's just the headphones that I drop so much.

You need to get bigger headphones. Or maybe a lanyard.

True but I also would've have this valuable data!