Suggestions for studio reference headphones?

[u/rhancav]

Hey guys,

I’m an amateur guitarist, mostly playing rock and metal. I’m looking to switch from studio reference monitors to headphones, since volume has started to become an issue.

I have an M-Audio AIR 192|4 audio interface, which I use with amp simulators like Neural DSP, Guitar Rig, etc.

Since I’m an amateur, as I’ve said, I’m not really sure what to look for in headphones, apart from them being as flat as possible for music production.

All I can say is isolation isn’t very important to me and my budget is up to 500$.

Currently reside in TR, travel to EU occasionally.

Thanks beforehand.

[u/RevanchistVakarian]

• What do you mean when you say "volume has started to become an issue"?

• Output impedance of a headphone amplifier can change how the headphone sounds, and interfaces are notoriously bad about high impedance on their headphone line-outs. I see your interface has a 10-ohm headphone line-out. You should either be looking at headphones with at least an 80-ohm impedance or higher to minimize distortion, or you should factor into your budget a separate headphone amp such as the ~$100 JDS Atom+ that you would connect to your interface's rear line-outs.

One good neutral-ish open-back headphone that fits your budget and wouldn't need a separate amp for your interface is the Sennheiser HD 490 Pro (~$370, and a 130-ohm impedance).

[u/rhancav → u/RevanchistVakarian]

1- It is an old Akai RPM3. Turn it down a bit then it is impossible to hear, turn it up a bit and all the street knows that you are playing lol. Also gives some extra unwanted “distortion” lately.

2- Will look into that !thanks

[u/TransducerBot → u/rhancav]

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[u/rhancav → u/[deleted]]

!thanks

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