Axe-Fx III and Headphones

gigawatt said:
Yeky, see the last post above. Note the impedence of both sets, there's also a 32 ohm version, why choose an 800ohm set over a 32?
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You shouldn't choose a 800 ohm can over a 32 ohm one, not for your use.

Some reason for high impedance cans are: harder to blow out with too much signal, potential for less distortion, less susceptible to music source output impedance differences, etc.

But this matters little with your use case! I think all these posts show that you're overthinking it... buy things for your use case and budget. There is no "perfect headphone" for you out there :p And if you do want to get obsessive, there's all this info available already with a little googling. This ain't a headphone forum! haha.
The noted Innerfidelity can be a good source. Sonarworks, I don't think it applies for your use much, it's only for desk/mixing use, and there's a valid argument for why no one should mix on headphones anyway. So take Sonarworks headphone stuff with a grain of salt IMHO.

From what you've already said, you need: isolation, very loud, usable with variety of music sources including portable players, $200ish. That means: closed back, low impedance, high output, mid-priced headphones. Many of those are available. Pick a reputable audio brand you like, go with the best they have for how much you can spend.
 
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gigawatt said:
Is the cable included with the cans? I mean the USB cable, mini to standard?
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Mine came with a USB-to-Micro USB cable. I've never used it. I just plug it into whatever cable is already hangign around for my phone, Bluetooth headset, or whatever else I was last charging.
 
Rex said:
Mine came with a USB-to-Micro USB cable.
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Thanks Rex, I haven't seen that piece of info in any reviews, nor on their website.

So it's amp or no amp… Has anyone tried the MixFi's.

yeky83 said:
And if you do want to get obsessive, there's all this info available already with a little googling. This ain't a headphone forum! haha.
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Seriously? Whata ya think I been doing? I've Googled and Binged over two dozen cans and read countless reviews. I've had to switch browsers and search engines because some sites just don't work with Safari. "Headphone forum?" Take another look at the title of this post. I'll be using them primarily with the Axe's headphone output and my Macbook, and a smartphone, if I ever get another one but it's not that important right now. I don't doubt the Axe is capable of driving most any headphones, so then the question came up about laptops and phones, impedance, sensitivity, etc.

I'm taking my time because $300 is a lot for me to spend on just headphones, so I want to be sure I like what I get. Plus, I don't have the luxury of going to a store to check them all out, even Amazon doesn't have all of them. o_O
 
gigawatt said:
Seriously? Whata ya think I been doing? I've Googled and Binged over two dozen cans and read countless reviews. I've had to switch browsers and search engines because some sites just don't work with Safari. "Headphone forum?" Take another look at the title of this post.
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I didn't mean to offend ya, and I don't appreciate the attitude, so I'll leave ya here. Gluck with your continued search for finding the perfect pair of headphones for your preferred listening volume of 105 dB.
 
Genghis said:
OK, I'm goofing off in the studio and to follow up on my original post, I ended up with the Sennheiser HD600 open back cans for critical listening, and they sound pretty good with the Axe-FX III. I'm still in the camp that would never use them for tweaking sounds, as they aren't as you need the speaker vibrating in the room to get that detailed with the tones, but between those and my MoFi's I'm getting adequate sound quality for those times when I have to use phones.

The DT880's and AKG phones mentioned were also on my short list of cans I wanted to check out, but I found a pretty nice price on the HD600's and am quite happy with them.
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Nice choice, I have the HD600 set and they are incredible.
 
I've tried many pairs of headphones, and I can't really get high gain presets to sound as good as even cheap monitors. Cleans sound really good though.

Could anyone share their best high-gain headphone preset?
 
gigawatt said:
That looks very interesting phnola, I see it uses a test mic but how does it work?

The studio version requires a test mic, which is supposed to offset any room for flat response. It basically calibrates the software based on the acoustics in your room. I have not tried that, though. I am using the $99 headphone version. The headphone version has models for most studio headphones built by the company. You just select your headphone from the list, and select from a few EQ curves (flat being the one I use). It's simple, and makes the headphones sound much more like my studio monitors. I think the studio version is more powerful, but the headphone version is all I needed at the moment.
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Surjikal said:
I've tried many pairs of headphones, and I can't really get high gain presets to sound as good as even cheap monitors. Cleans sound really good though.

Could anyone share their best high-gain headphone preset?
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Yeah this is my problem as well. Ambient and cleans sound great, distortion sounds small and fuzzy. I have a pair of HD280 Pros, but I have been using some consumer Bose Quiet Comfort 35's more frequently because they sound a little better.
 

That sounds pretty cool phnola, do they have an EQ curve for the Blue Mo-Fi's?

Pombero said:
Yeah this is my problem as well. Ambient and cleans sound great, distortion sounds small and fuzzy. I have a pair of HD280 Pros, but I have been using some consumer Bose Quiet Comfort 35's more frequently because they sound a little better.
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Surjikal said:
I've tried many pairs of headphones, and I can't really get high gain presets to sound as good as even cheap monitors. Cleans sound really good though.

Could anyone share their best high-gain headphone preset?
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I had pretty good luck with the Ultra and Senn HD280's, not as good as my old pair of FRFR QSC K12's (very nice little speaker) but not bad, I do know what ya mean about fuzzy though. I imagine a headphone that has a lot of high frequency content would exaggerate it even more. I don't remember any of my settings on the Ultra, but it's a different animal anyway.

I'd like to know what the metal heads are doing using headphone's too for future reference. So feel free to chime in on this post and tell us your cab settings, amp too if you have the time.

BTW, I'm leaning toward the Mo-Fi's, just looking for a good deal. ;)

Thanks
 
phnola, I tried to quote your post but I guess you can't quote a quote, was hoping you'd get a msg to my response.
 
I have Audiofly AF160 in ear monitors, they have 18 ohm impedance. When I connect them directly to the Axe everything sounds very fizzy...and now I understand why.
Do there's a way to reduce the impedance coming from the headphone output of the Axe?
 
Oh, someone mentioned the old Sony MDR 7506, great for tracking, but definitely not mixing, they're far from 'Neutral", they have a smile curve built in with a bit of a bass heavy boost, also the old Japanese made ones sounded a lot better then the newer Chinese made models (I know, I bought a pair of Chinese made ones, without realizing they'd switched the production line that builds them, they sounded quite a bit worse then the Japan made ones I had to compare side by side - though they may be flatter in response then the older ones...maybe). It's not to say they're bad phones, they're just not neutral.

For something much closer to neutral and way better for mixing as well as tracking I'd strongly suggest something from the Ultrasone line, preferably from their "Pro" line (I have the old PRO 650s, but from the current models, the PRO 480i is probably your best choice, though they'll run you about 50 bucks more then the Sony 7506s, you'll get much more then 1 1/2 times as good of cans):


https://ultrasone.com/?lang=en

https://shop.ultrasone.com/en/product/ultrasone-pro-480i-headphones/

Hope that bit helps! :)
 
phnola said:
Do the trial first to make sure it meets your expectations. Good luck!
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Thanks for the tip, good idea.

Rex said:
The manufacturer calls it “Mix-Fi (formerly known as Mo-Fi).” That would seem to indicate that there is no difference.
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Yeah I was thinking that too. I guess no-one here has had any experience with them. Why would they just change the name without making any improvements?

Dogstarr said:
For something much closer to neutral and way better for mixing as well as tracking I'd strongly suggest something from the Ultrasone line, preferably from their "Pro" line (I have the old PRO 650s, but from the current models, the PRO 480i is probably your best choice, though they'll run you about 50 bucks more then the Sony 7506s, you'll get much more then 1 1/2 times as good of cans):
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Thanks much for the info about the Sony's, wonder which ones I had, they were purchased in '99
Ultrasone eh? I'm not familiar o_O. …and the quest continues.

There's a seller on eBay selling headphones dirt cheap; username "blinq" They had a set of Senn HD 598 SR open back for around $80. I think they have mostly older models (I didn't check) and "open box." In the review section of the 598 Cs (closed back) a guy said they didn't include the cables, that was one guy out of 11. My browser's running really slow today so check them out if you like, and as always "caveat emptor." ;)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sennheiser...&itm=401514270647&_trksid=p5411.c100167.m2940

Geez that's a long url.
 
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