Headphone questions

katsumura78

Inspired
I just bought a pair of beyer dt770's. I plugged them into my axe and the sound is super thin compared to when I'm using my mackie speaker. Is that just the nature of using headphones or am I doing something wrong ? What do you guy do to get a good sound from these.
 
I have used a set of Sony MDR-7506s, which sounded good but never as good as an open speaker. I'm not familiar with the Beyers, but I don't think it's a headphone problem as much as it's just the nature of the beast translating the tone. I have noted many here advising against building tones with headphones only because it doesn't translate well to the live environment. That makes me think it would work in reverse too (tones created in the live environment won't sound right through phones). Maybe not apples and oranges, but at least two different kind of apples.

Depending on what you're ultimately doing with the sound you're getting, I would adjust the preset to where it sounds best at your intended destination, or the monitoring system you use most.

You can also do a forum search on "headphones." Click advanced search, enter headphone, search titles only, and voila. I did a quick one and got three pages of results. Better minds than mine probably have some great answers there!
 
Yeah, something's got to be up here. I don't have my monitors yet but have the same exact headphones. No issues here! Unbelievable sound.
 
Yeah, something's got to be up here. I don't have my monitors yet but have the same exact headphones. No issues here! Unbelievable sound.

Could you post a preset to see how it sounds when I run it with my headphones. It sounds very thin and just terrible.
 
Interesting. Actually in the headphones my sound is killer. Its actually better than through my speakers (KRK 8s). But some of that is room dynamics that I have to sort out.
 
I think that is just a natural thing. Ive recently just started to use headphones with my rig and I was thinking the same thing, but you have to factor in the room ambience that you aren't getting and that your ears are directly up against the sound rather than the sound having time to vibrate and move. Im sure there are solutions, but Im with Rick, if your patches sound great live, isn't that what matters? Lol
 
Mhhh... headphones are a strange beast. I'll try to translate a technical article I 've written for an Italian forum when I've some time. But the same pair can sound very differently with different sources depending on the levels and impedance matching. furthermore, the mid-high and the high response is very influenced by... our head's shape. If you factor in personal preferences and individual sensitivity to the different frequencies, you'll easily arrive at the matter of fact that every single person will possibly give you a different valuation about the same pair :/
 
I use a set of senn hd650's and akg 701's. They sound very good through a soundcard with an axe fx, but monitors definitely have more excitement. This is a combination of the acoustics and air of the room. The natural reverb of the room will exaggerate the sound from your monitors in an ordinary room. This comes in the form of your bass and low end being exaggerated resulting in killing your high end. It's definitely more exciting to play through monitors in a room, but you will probably get more accurate tone through your headphones unless you have your room sound treated (in an ideal spaced room), and your monitors corrected with software. I hope this helps!
 
yes, you are spot on with the head shape affecting the way we hear through headphones. I noticed as you tilt your headband forward (at least for my head) that you get less bass and more high end and vice versa.
 
No advice. My headphone output sounds harsch and digital. I have the same sound than the one of my Pod XT Pro.
It's great to have a headphone output but i can't use it.

What headphones are you using? While my Adam A7's sound more in the room for obvious reasons my headphones all sound sweet! Nothing harsh or digital at all.

I am though sad they don'g pick up the Axe II "swish" :lol
 
I'm going to spend more time with them Thursday night. If I can't get a decent sound out of it then I'll pick up some actual studio monitors. Might as well go with Mackie since I use the hd in a live setting. I'm open to all advice monitor and headphone wise. Thanks for the replies gentlemen.
 
yes, you are spot on with the head shape affecting the way we hear through headphones. I noticed as you tilt your headband forward (at least for my head) that you get less bass and more high end and vice versa.

Yeah, it seems that twisting your head changes the internal volumes hence the resonance to the different frequencies. This might not be true for everyone tho LOL
 
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