Comments on: Best Budget Headphones For Music Production

By: Tomislav Zlatic

Tomislav Zlatic — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 14:00:29 +0000

In reply to Mark. Thanks for your comment, Mark! I will test them later this month.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 13:25:51 +0000

In reply to Mark. Just received in the mail the Rode NTH-100 headphones. Very solidly built and comfortable to wear. Sound is quite reasonable too.

By: alex

alex — Tue, 25 Oct 2022 06:45:06 +0000

Well, it doesn’t really matter what half the planet listens on:) Most used studio headphones are Sony MDR-7506. They are like NS10’s of headphones. I also have a pair of HD600’s, but they can’t be considered budget headphones. AKG K44 and Sennheiser HD206 are really cheap cans that will do the work.

By: Wendel

Wendel — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 10:51:12 +0000

I know this is cheesy to say, but ive actually produced an released a lot of music on Apple headphones (the cheap wired ones)…Apple Airpods coud also be used if not for the battery life…

A good point about this, is that half the planet listenes on these LOL

By: whiteaxxxe

whiteaxxxe — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 08:07:31 +0000

Where are the Superlux headphones? Especially the HD 681?

By: ASJ

ASJ — Sun, 23 Oct 2022 17:49:30 +0000

In reply to Ben. M50s are fine. Really brigth and far from flat, but M40s' response curve is wack as well. Simply pick a pair and get used to them. When mixing, referencing is more important than flat response.

By: Ben

Ben — Sat, 22 Oct 2022 23:15:19 +0000

You may want to go on dms and zeos panterra reviews on YouTube to get their headphone ratings guide. Your recommendation ofbthebaudiotechnica 50 headphones is a little off since if you watch their reviews and listen to other audiotechnica headphones the M40 are the preference almost universally on the internet. It shows a real lack of research and comparative listening when I see someone recommend the 50s. They are widely considered treble nightmare.

By: Alex S

Alex S — Sat, 22 Oct 2022 11:27:45 +0000

I have Philips Fidelio X2HR which i really like, they have good rating on RTINGS for neutral sound. Should be around the 100$ mark when on sale which is very often for those interested.

They are open back so i advise you use them only in quiet surroundings.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 11:15:51 +0000

I have a pair of AKG K92 headphones which perform quite well considering the budget price.

By: Tomislav Zlatic

Tomislav Zlatic — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 10:13:23 +0000

In reply to Darryl Lim. Hey Darryl, thank you for the info in the links. Much appreciated. I will investigate this issue a bit more and update the article where needed.

By: Darryl Lim

Darryl Lim — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 09:43:56 +0000

As an aside, for those with discomfort issues having a big weight around your head for long periods of time (or thinning scalp issues like me lol), IEM earphones might work well for you, even if not always as good as traditional headphones.

For mixing clarity/accuracy, go for a multi-driver design with at least one Balanced Armature focusing on trebles. I myself use the Mackie MP240, which is not perfect (mids are a bit weak, comparing with my JBL LSR305 monitors), but still highly recommended for those stuck on a low budget.

Mixing on closed-back headphones or iem earphones completely eliminates sound issues from an untreated room (or partially-treated like mine). Reverb trails & other ambiance effects in your tracks SUPER easy to hear & adjust.

By: Darryl Lim

Darryl Lim — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 09:25:03 +0000

That short segment on Impedance was not entirely accurate. While low impedance headphones are generally easier to drive to a good volume without a dedicated amp, their default frequency response curves might also be “off” if the audio output is unsuitable.

Basically, as a rough guide, you’ll want your audio output impedance (from the headphone amplifier, etc) to be 8x lower than your headphone’s impedance rating, or its frequency response curve might shift. Typically results in things such as bloated mid-bass, among other effects. For example, the 38ohm impedance rating of the Audio Technica ATH-M50x (above) would optimally need an output source of at least 5ohms or below to sound its best, but you’ll discover that many audio interfaces or soundcards, while powerful, do not go that low in output impedance.

TLDR: The impedance of your audio source (amplifier, soundcard, handphone, etc) goes hand-in-hand with your headphone impedance rating. Something you need to consider when purchasing either.

For a good explanation of all these, i recommend Julian Krause’s Youtube channel (also tremendously helpful budget-recording-audio-interface reviews):
https ://youtu .be/xLShpyzwvJs
https ://youtu .be/SpTsWVLI-ig
(Remove spaces.)