Budget tracking headphones under ?50?

[dickiefunk]

Hi,

I'm looking for a pair of budget tracking headphones and have a budget of up to ?50. Ideally I would like something with a replaceable lead.
I've done quite a bit of research and come up with the following models :-

Monoprice 8323 - ?15
Superlux HD669 - ?24
Superlux HD661 - ?24
Superlux HD631 DJ - ?36

What are you thoughts on these headphones? Which would offer the best audio quality and prevent sound leakage into the microphone most efficiently?

Are there any other headphones that have a replaceable lead that would be a better alternative?

What would you recommend?

[blungo2]

I have a pair of one of the Superlux's at the studio and for the money, they're more than decent. Similar in sound to my akg 701s, but not as transparent.
I can't remember the model, but they're the open back ones. I prefer open back headphones in general though.

[dickiefunk]

Thanks for the reply. Yes I know what you mean about open back headphones. I have a pair of Beyer DT880 Pro's which I absolutely love.

For tracking though I prefer closed headphones to stop sound leaking into the microphone.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

I have a few nice sets of phones for checking mixes and critical listening but I refuse to spend good money on tracking headphones. They take way too much abuse and get treated too badly. I also don't think it makes enough of a difference to invest in great phones when good ones will do the same job with no complaints from the band

More Me Standard phones are $22USD a pair. I've got 4 or 5 of them kicking around and like them just fine for tracking. They're not great by any stretch of the imagination but they do the job well and are fairly indestructible.

http://www.itrstudio.com/staff/alex-gerst/94

Put the money you save towards something more fun.

[Bro Shark]

MoreMe's are functional, but sound suuuuper shitty. If you want something a little more pleasant for a similar price I like the Sennheiser HD202s.

http://www.bswusa.com/Headphones-Sennhe ... P4982.aspx

[blungo2]

Not to argue with A.David as his point about tracking headphones getting thrashed is well taken, as is the OP's regarding closed back phones being preferable for tracking, but for quieter stuff i find that better (cheap but decent) phones can be well worth it.

In the context of loud rock or other tracking, the musicians probably won't notice phones that aren't uncomfortable, but for acoustic stuff, i've had musicians ask for different phones when they were given crappy tracking phones like the ATH-50s.

Having said all that, i particularly hate the more me phones. To my head and ears they're uncomfortable and shitty sounding. I won't track through them unless there's absolutely nothing else available. I think there are quite a few phones around that may be nearly as durable as the more me's but are better sounding and more comfortable.

I plan on trying some of the closed back superlux's, but you can't go wrong with the standard Sonys (MD 7406?), i can't remember the model name) if you have a little more dough.

[jhharvest]

At the TV station where I worked a couple of years ago we tested a few Superlux models. Long story short, I ordered a bunch more of the 662 (for location) and 668b (for edits). For the money they seemed pretty solid.

I sent an email to a colleague asking if the cans have survived. I'll post here if I hear back. Edit: Heard back from them and he said that the pairs have lasted well. Of course this isn't quite the same as tracking conditions but those location shoot cans can sometimes really take punishment.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Not to argue with A.David as his point about tracking headphones getting thrashed is well taken, as is the OP's regarding closed back phones being preferable for tracking, but for quieter stuff i find that better (cheap but decent) phones can be well worth it.

In the context of loud rock or other tracking, the musicians probably won't notice phones that aren't uncomfortable, but for acoustic stuff, i've had musicians ask for different phones when they were given crappy tracking phones like the ATH-50s.

Very true. When I recommended the More Me phones I was thinking of live off the floor band recordings or the kind of sessions where the headphone mix is just the stuff that isn't loud enough in the room.

I probably wouldn't use them on acoustic gigs either.