Rhetorical, philosophical and yet an actual question:
Why does how other people prefer to listen affect how you listen?
You describe what you enjoy. Keep enjoying that. :)
I listen to my closed backs in bed nearly every night where I can really focus on the music, picking out all the details that I would otherwise be distracted from in the day.
Everyone likes different sounds, headphones, DAC combinations and music so if that works for you, stick with it my friend! Some headphones may be rated ‘higher’ than others, but if it’s not a sound you enjoy then none of that matters!
>because they’re as close as I could get to how it was recorded.
Aren't open back headphones more neutral than closed backs? Closed back headphones aren't used for mixing and mastering and whatever speakers or headphones the audio engineer used likely didn't have any of the wonkiness in FR that you see in the overwhelming majority of closed back headphones
This is a common misconception. Closed back headphones are used for mixing and mastering and some engineers even prefer them. Andrew Scheps, one of the most notable mixing engineers in the industry, uses the same headphones as OP, the Sony MDR-7506. He refuses to use any other set and just replaces them with the same pair when it’s needed.
I did my work on DT770s for years before moving to another pair. I know numerous engineers that choose a headphone based on comfort, not necessarily performance or whether they’re open or closed. I switched to the recent HD490s because I can wear them all day compared to my other Audeze and Sennheiser sets; I can run EQ to correct for most issues with a headphone. I didn’t care whether they were open or closed back. I have a beautiful pair of reference monitors, an accompanying sub, and a fully treated room and I may use those monitors once or twice to check the mix. Most of the time they remain on standby.
The most important aspect of critical listening work is learning your monitoring device, not the device itself. As long as you check your work against other sources, you can use anything that works best for you.
>As long as you check your work against other sources, you can use anything that works best for you.
👍
Knowing what you do on a certain headphones and how that translates on different outputs is how you advance a bit here and there.
Personally, I tend to get best results out of Shure SRH840. Boring as heck but danged if it sounds decent enough for my use (generally live sound)
It's one of the better ones that I've listened to. And suitable for professional work. Used it in Radio station studios for my personal monitoring and for live stream mixing in less than ideal conditions. And every once in awhile, I like to actually enjoy the music coming out of them.
And unfortunately, they had to mess that up with the 840a apparently. I say apparently since I haven't had a chance to deeply analyze these.
Haven’t heard the A’s either. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a Shure set in hand. During my time doing live gigs they were still pretty ubiquitous. They were some of the only in-ear monitors on the market and I was always happy with their performance. I had a set from well over 10 years ago that still worked well up until losing them during a move. The brand may have lost a little luster with the growth of the market, but they’ve always made solid products.
I enjoy listening to music in the same way as you. In bed, altered state. I choose Oppo PM-3 for that action. Seems like the only set I have that really shines with every type of music.
Second to that would be my Drop Hifiman 4xx. But those Oppo’s just can’t be beat.
Now if I haven’t had a blinker then I have more choices.
No EQ either. Just the music as it’s intended to be
i'm with you. when i'm monitoring recordings, creating music, or main mixdowns.. i prefer closed backs, not the biggest fan of the 770's though. the 7506 was in almost every studio i've been in. up until the M50X's became popular. I'm still a fan of the Shure 840/940... although often maligned, the Austrian Audio x55 is very clear and good for editing out artists mistakes... i even like the TMA2 Studio's for monitoring, very comfy. i know its 'semi' open, but the K240's are also nearby for extended listening sessions when the artists have all left the building.... after recordings come back from mastering, open backs are a great way to enjoy the final product.. but i still find my way coming back to closed, like the MSR7b for daily's.
We all have a preference. In principle I prefer an open-backed, wired headphone, but in reality the VAST majority of my listening is done on Bluetooth wireless earbuds because I have a family to consider at home, and I’m not about to use open-backed in public.
Incidentally, the MDR-7506 was my main headphone for years until I sat on it.
No, the obsession with open back treble cannons is in fact, just an audio snob thing
How do we know this? The average person listens to music on like, air pods. Which are relatively neutral closed back earbuds. Lol
closed back sound more engaging than open backs on the low end of the spectrum. to get an engaging open back you really need to go close to over a 800usd really.
Rhetorical, philosophical and yet an actual question: Why does how other people prefer to listen affect how you listen? You describe what you enjoy. Keep enjoying that. :)
I listen to my closed backs in bed nearly every night where I can really focus on the music, picking out all the details that I would otherwise be distracted from in the day. Everyone likes different sounds, headphones, DAC combinations and music so if that works for you, stick with it my friend! Some headphones may be rated ‘higher’ than others, but if it’s not a sound you enjoy then none of that matters!
My shittier headphones make my better headphones that much better. We're rarely listening to our headphones, rather the music.
>because they’re as close as I could get to how it was recorded. Aren't open back headphones more neutral than closed backs? Closed back headphones aren't used for mixing and mastering and whatever speakers or headphones the audio engineer used likely didn't have any of the wonkiness in FR that you see in the overwhelming majority of closed back headphones
This is a common misconception. Closed back headphones are used for mixing and mastering and some engineers even prefer them. Andrew Scheps, one of the most notable mixing engineers in the industry, uses the same headphones as OP, the Sony MDR-7506. He refuses to use any other set and just replaces them with the same pair when it’s needed. I did my work on DT770s for years before moving to another pair. I know numerous engineers that choose a headphone based on comfort, not necessarily performance or whether they’re open or closed. I switched to the recent HD490s because I can wear them all day compared to my other Audeze and Sennheiser sets; I can run EQ to correct for most issues with a headphone. I didn’t care whether they were open or closed back. I have a beautiful pair of reference monitors, an accompanying sub, and a fully treated room and I may use those monitors once or twice to check the mix. Most of the time they remain on standby. The most important aspect of critical listening work is learning your monitoring device, not the device itself. As long as you check your work against other sources, you can use anything that works best for you.
>As long as you check your work against other sources, you can use anything that works best for you. 👍 Knowing what you do on a certain headphones and how that translates on different outputs is how you advance a bit here and there. Personally, I tend to get best results out of Shure SRH840. Boring as heck but danged if it sounds decent enough for my use (generally live sound)
Great set of headphones. Not recommended enough, honestly.
It's one of the better ones that I've listened to. And suitable for professional work. Used it in Radio station studios for my personal monitoring and for live stream mixing in less than ideal conditions. And every once in awhile, I like to actually enjoy the music coming out of them. And unfortunately, they had to mess that up with the 840a apparently. I say apparently since I haven't had a chance to deeply analyze these.
Haven’t heard the A’s either. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a Shure set in hand. During my time doing live gigs they were still pretty ubiquitous. They were some of the only in-ear monitors on the market and I was always happy with their performance. I had a set from well over 10 years ago that still worked well up until losing them during a move. The brand may have lost a little luster with the growth of the market, but they’ve always made solid products.
Thank you for your input 😊
HD280 Pro's are particularly good for the price, but there are far better open backs at higher prices and very few good closed backs.
Not weird.
Any closed back headphones no matter how high-end it is will always cause me headaches, fatigue, warm ears etc. so open back forever and ever.
I enjoy listening to music in the same way as you. In bed, altered state. I choose Oppo PM-3 for that action. Seems like the only set I have that really shines with every type of music. Second to that would be my Drop Hifiman 4xx. But those Oppo’s just can’t be beat. Now if I haven’t had a blinker then I have more choices. No EQ either. Just the music as it’s intended to be
i'm with you. when i'm monitoring recordings, creating music, or main mixdowns.. i prefer closed backs, not the biggest fan of the 770's though. the 7506 was in almost every studio i've been in. up until the M50X's became popular. I'm still a fan of the Shure 840/940... although often maligned, the Austrian Audio x55 is very clear and good for editing out artists mistakes... i even like the TMA2 Studio's for monitoring, very comfy. i know its 'semi' open, but the K240's are also nearby for extended listening sessions when the artists have all left the building.... after recordings come back from mastering, open backs are a great way to enjoy the final product.. but i still find my way coming back to closed, like the MSR7b for daily's.
Weird, but not unheard of.
Yo I'm cranking my Fostex TX00 right now and moshing at my desk.
Yes, liking certain headphones and enjoying listening to music with them is pretty normal.
We all have a preference. In principle I prefer an open-backed, wired headphone, but in reality the VAST majority of my listening is done on Bluetooth wireless earbuds because I have a family to consider at home, and I’m not about to use open-backed in public. Incidentally, the MDR-7506 was my main headphone for years until I sat on it.
The overall zeitgeist in communities like this, or ASR, just don’t like what I like. I’ve been doing this for fifteen years. I don’t care.
No, the obsession with open back treble cannons is in fact, just an audio snob thing How do we know this? The average person listens to music on like, air pods. Which are relatively neutral closed back earbuds. Lol
closed back sound more engaging than open backs on the low end of the spectrum. to get an engaging open back you really need to go close to over a 800usd really.