The Best Headphones for Your Recording Studio

Choosing the right pair of headphones for a record studio is an investment. You’re bound to use it every-time when you use your studio for recording and mixing purposes. Ergonomics, build quality and comfort matter.

 

There are headphones that specialize and exist for individual tasks such as:

• Mixing
• Sound Design
• Recording
• DJ jams.
• Listening to music.

Unless you’re willing to spend money on separate headphones for each task, a compromise is necessary. The following headphones count among the best studio headphones that help with mixing and recording, both of which are tasks that you’ll be frequently undertaking in your recording studio. 

Sony MDR7506

These are legendary cans. Affordable, timeless and precise in what they deliver, they’ve been around for decades and retail around $100. The headphones come with a soft-case which is handy while traveling. Altogether, this is one of the best studio headphones out there.

Sennheiser HD-280 Pro

Lasting around 6-8 years on average, the Sennheiser is one of the most comfortable and accurate sound-production studio headphones money can buy. It doesn’t cost a lot either, often under $100 which makes for a sound investment. It’s an all-purpose pair of headphones with parts that can easily be replaced. 

Beyerdynamic DT 880

These are high end headphones with a wide frequency response range that exists from 5-35000 Hz. It comes with excellent detailed reproduction of sound and is very accurate.

The Extreme Isolation EX-29

It’s as the name suggests. This pair headphones is geared for maximum isolation and is designed for drummers, by a drummer. You could fly a helicopter, wearing these isolation headphones and they readily rival the isolation levels of many hearing protectors worn in mechanical industries. They don’t make for the prettiest pair of headphones but drummers and those seeking complete isolation don’t often seek a good-looking pair of headphones.

Then and Now: Between Vintage Vinyl and High-Resolution Audio

HRA or high-resolution audio is currently tagged as the best music format for your listening pleasure. Of course we already have gone digital but ever since the vinyl has been creeping back in our time, the analog playback are also making it to the mainstream.

The laidback appeal

HRA’s streamlined playback is said to be better than that of the vinyl records. Why? It only requires a digital format with HRA specifications to run. There are sites exclusively for this such as QuBuz and HDtracks where you can buy HRA tracks directly.

The retro appeal

The current revival of vinyl meanwhile takes us back to the nostalgic past. Get mesmerized by touching the record album and the fall in love all over again with the warm sound that only the vinyl could create.

Where to get HRA

Major companies have already released a special hardware that could playback HRA files via stereo or headphones as well as through your PCs.

• Astell& Kern
• FIIO X5
• Schiit Audio
• Audioquest Dragonfly
• Light Harmonic Geek Out

Where to get vinyl

The trend that goes with Instagram and anything vintage has brought back the vinyl era in more ways than one. What makes it more special is how you acquired the old record and the story behind it. Mostly, you can find these via online sellers or got it from a family heirloom (if you’re very lucky).

What we think

As for durability, an HRA file can last for many years without high maintenance. The Vinyl on the other hand may need extra care. However, most music enthusiasts won’t mind the difference because of the fact that both are really fabulous finds. We are now in the generation where we could see highly impressive products almost every single day. Nevertheless, what’s important is we can jive to any type of music be it with a drop of a needle or a swift tap onscreen.

It’s an expensive habit, being a musician. If you’re serious about your trade, you’re likely to spend plenty of money on essential recording equipment, the instruments and more. With this in mind, you’ll be pleased to know that there are some excellent digital recording software that’s available for free, if you’re a Windows user.

The cherry-picked ones, in no particular order are:

• Audacity
• Wavosaur Free Audio Editor
• KRISTAL Audio Engine
• Quartz AudioMaster

Audacity

Audacity is a popular software among budding musicians with plenty of features and is free to use. It has an open source license and is extremely light-weight, making it perfectly usable even on older computers (if some of you out there are on a student’s budget!). Audacity supports various codecs including MP3, WAV, OGG and AIFF sound files.

You can just about use Audacity for all your audio requirements.

Wavosaur Free Audio Editor

Wavosaur does it all, as a free sound and audio editor. You can also use it as a WAV editor for editing, processing and recording sounds which can be output to MP3 files. It also has a sample rate of up to 192 kHz and does not contain an installer, thereby sparing your Windows registry. Another excellent software that’s free to use.

KRISTAL Audio Engine

While a commercial license is available, KRISTAL is entirely free for personal, educational and non-commercial usage. Rejoice!

As a modular system, it contains a mixing console with sequencers, live audio inputs and other features are available as add-ons (also free). If you’re a musician who is new to the world of recording and mixing, KRISTAL is a good choice.

Quartz AudioMaster

Packed with features to the brim, Quartz AudioMaster also includes MIDI sequencing for those who prefer it and makes for a capable software which help you record, mix, compose and share music on your Windows computer.

The running joke is that the drummers are often neglected. Never in the spotlight and ridiculed because of it. It’s easy to put down the drummer, traditionally speaking but the beat of the drum is often the most crucial aspect of a band’s music and tone. There is no beat, nor rhythm without drums and there is something so fundamentally primitive and pure about drumming.

Fundamental Drumming

A simple drum set includes:

• The Snare Drum
• The bass Drum
• Mounted Tom(s)
• A Floor Tom.

The most common drum-set is the 4-piece that includes the snare and bass drum sets, a single mounted tom and a floor tom, originally made popular by Ringo Starr with the Beatles. It’s also popular because:

• The drum set is easily portable.
• It doesn’t take up much space.
• It produces a sound that’s readily suited to rock, jazz and blues, popular genres all of them.

Larger kits = Advanced drumming.

Additional toms that come with bigger sets such as a five-piece, six-piece or larger ones than those are routinely used in genres including metal and heavy rock. For the beginner and a casual drummer, a starter drum set or a 4-piece will do swimmingly and makes for a good choice.

Drum Woods

Drums with different woods offer distinctively different sounds, each of which are unique. Some of the most-used wood for producing drums are:

• Maple wood is the most popular, with a balanced tone that’s usually considered the default standard.
• Oak wood provides a similar sound to maple, with a booming, powerful sound.
• Mahogany wood has a warmer sound to it and offers a more ‘vintage’ character to the look and output of the drums.

Cymbals

Drummers will swear that cymbals are a fundamental component of drum sets. Ironically, most drum sets don’t come with cymbals which leaves you to buy them separately. Different kinds of cymbals include:

• Ride cymbals
• Crash cymbals
• Hi-Hat cymbals
• Splash and more.

Beginner’s Essentials for a Home Recording Studio

It’s often a daunting task to set up a recording studio at home and you can’t be blamed for being overwhelmed at the beginning of such an endeavor.

Fret not. There are simple, affordable solutions to help set up a functional and efficient recording studio at home for beginners.

The perfect newbie Studio

With the following items, you’ll be well on your way to quickly set up a home recording studio.

• A computer.
• Audio Interface Combo/a Digital Audio Workstation.
• A pair of Studio DJ headphones.
• A microphone.

A computer

A must-have for any modern-day recording studio, this is bound to take a big chunk off of your budget. A Mac is more recommendable than a PC, being the industry standard with most mainstream studios.  Recommended Mac models are:

1. The MacBook Pro
2. The Mac Pro
3. The iMac

A Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)/ Audio Interface Combo

A DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) is what you’ll need as a software to edit, record and mix your recordings on your computer. Furthermore, the Audio interface connects your studio equipment to your computer. These can be purchased separately but beginners are advised to get a combo.

Avid Pro Tools make some of the best beginner/entry-level combos in the business. Some of their best-sellers include:

• Avid Mbox.
• Avid Fast Track Duo
• Avid Fast Track Solo

Headphones

Studio headphones, much like others that make this list are fundamental to your homes studio setup. Sony offers the legendary MDR-V6s which are affordable and flat, giving you the perfect headphones for your first home studio.

Microphones

If you’ve been looking at home studio setups, odds are that you’re already aware of the Shure SM57. You can’t go wrong with this versatile and affordable microphone.

Cables

For a beginner, having a clean, clutter-free studio helps. A standard studio in a 10×10 room could do with the Mogami Silver XLR 25ft (cable for your microphone).

Plug in and get started!