How your headphone choice affects your Mic perception

[Mark LeBlanc]

Greetings one and all,

Back in December I experienced hearing damage due to stupidity on set. I wrote about it in previous posts here. Thankfully.. my hearing is making a nice recovery.. The injury sent me on a quest for less fatiguing headphones than the Sony's I had been using for years. I've since settled on the KRK KNS 6400 with the 8400 covers.. Finished up first full feature with them today and can happily report the lower frequency response in the 9-10k range has indeed reduced the usual fatigue after a long day on set.

A side note, the change in headphones has facilitated a alteration in how i perceive the performance of some of my mics. So question, when testing out microphones, do you listen to them on different headphones and or speakers before purchasing? The sight Headphone.com has excellent graphs comparing different models from many different companies.. In my case the 416 seemed to gain clarity that I didn't notice before when recording with the Sony's and spent most of the time on the boom over the Sanken which suddenly sounded thin. In posts regarding which Mic is best for any given situation, your choice in headphones is perhaps an underrated factor.

Mark L

[Jeff Wexler]

"In posts regarding which Mic is best for any given situation, your choice in headphones is perhaps an underrated factor.

Mark L "

The important thing to remember about headphones is they are just one tool of many that we use to do our job --- but a very important tool to be sure, particularly when our EARS are the main measurement and evaluation tool we use. Early in my career, I needed to learn the relationship of the headphones to the way the final product sounds, realizing at every step of the way that what I heear in the "cans" will NOT sound like the sound will sound when a project is completed and projected on the screen. To evaluate the work on a daily basis you have to have some constants --- I think using high quality headphones that you have gotten used to and maintaining consistent monitoring levels are the two most important constants.

I can't imagine trying to evaluate a variety of microphones while also changing the monitoring method (level or headphones used for example). If you have used a certain microphone for years and always listened with one type of headphone, and then you hear the same model mic with a different set of phones, the mic will always sound different. But this offers no clues when evaluating the mic. If the mic is a 416, for example, your choice to continue using that mic should be based on the results you have achieved for the final product, not what it sounds like when you change headphones.

[Marc Wielage]

I'd like to try out the KRKs and see how they do. I gotta say, after a few 13-14 hour days with certain kinds of actors, my ears are almost in pain at the end of the day. I had two shoots in a row with actors who SCREAMED at the top of their lungs -- one of them with six actors screaming simultaneously. That was rough. I try never, ever to change monitor level to keep consistent levels, but I was starting to do it by the end of the day, just out of self-preservation. (This is on the same pair of MDR-7506's I've had for 7-8 years.)

I always notice a different in top-end response with certain lavs. Sometimes, it boils down to mike position and clothing; other times, it's just the nature of the person's voice. I just finished watching a major network show and was struck by the difference in lavs I was hearing in the final mix (and it was definitely lavs). I think on the fast-paced schedule of a 1-hour drama, they just don't have the time to go in and meticulously tweak the EQ on everybody's tracks to get them 100% consistent.

[Eric Toline]

In my case I had been using the Sony 7506 for years until I was offered the opportunity to try out the new at that time Ultrasone phones on a only pay for them if you like them better than the Sonys basis. My standard was and still is the Sennheiser MKH 50. The Ultrasones just blew away the Sonys in every test I put them thru on jobs.

The Ultras were less fatiguing to wear & listen to for long periods of time, They had a more open sound that allowed me to actually hear the mic placement in the room. With the Ultras I can monitor at lower levels and still not miss any facet & nuance of what the 50 was hearing.

The Sonys always had a very compressed sound to my ears with everything sounding pushed together with no breathing room so to speak. While it is a good thing to have HP's that are the de facto standard in the industry, there are others that do the job with a lot more style & finesse. It's just a matter of retraining yourself how to listen. We only have one pair of ears, it's up to us to take good care of them as best we can.

Eric

[chris_bollard]

Yep.

Sometimes, usually at the end of a very long day, it is necessary to turn the headphone volume down (sometimes for more than the obvious reasons) and its better to turn it down than turn it up, hoping to hear more with fatigued ears.

I've have been using HD25s for the past 15 years. Like Jeff said you need to keep a constant reference. These are mine; their isolation over Sony is an advantage too.

I know for certain that if what I'm recording sounds ok on the HD25s then it will sound more than good by the time post has finished with my tracks.

[Jay Rose]

Just as a reality check... you might want to compare voice>mic>preamp>headphone>ear to the purest possible chain, voice>ear.

I've learned a lot when auditioning microphones (through theater speakers in a well-tuned room) by asking the "actor" to come in from the booth and actually talk to me.

Some mics that sounded great in the booth turned out to have a lot of obvious distortion when compared to my tester's direct voice. The distortion did make him sound sweeter - and would probably be a good choice in a music studio under similar circumstances - but my philosophy for media sound is "keep it as clean as possible... add the 'flattering' when you do the mix."

Granted, mic>preamp>headphone adds another variable. But if you trust the mic...

[mikewest]

Have used HD-25's since their introduction in 1990.

I hung up my Beyer DT48's and have never looked back having worn out probably 8 pairs of Sennheisers.

They offer very accurate monitoring and enough bass end to depict wind.

I can hear detail with HD-25's that my Dynaudio monitor speakers do not display

Enough said

mike

[Rob Lewis]

HD 25 for me. Could never really stand the Sony's. Never enough Isolation and harsh sounding. I have been using in ears lately and find that the Sure SE535's are very accurate and reproduce the low end needed to hear handling noise.

[Rich Reilly]

"I know for certain that if what I'm recording sounds ok on the HD25s then it will sound more than good by the time post has finished with my tracks."

Not familiar with those cans but brought up the auracube/NS10 approach as lowest common denominator. My HD280 I use for outdoors seem like they fall in that category..sonically pinched but with with more iso than my 7506.

But mikewest brings up a good issue of having accurate monitoring with enough isolation to hear disturbance/intrusions like wind etc. My 7506 has enough builtt in whistle outdoors to be very deceiving.

But I admit zero knowledge of krok cans' existence.

[wbrock001]

Yes I agree that in windy conditions the 7506's aren't good for judging wind recording...all the noise from air on the headphones sounds like its what you're recording. What headphone provides the best wind isolation?

[soundslikejustin]

Probably IEMs. They would catch the least wind, as they have less surface area. Failing that, earphones that isolate more..? I'm thinking something alone the lines of the RA high-noise headphones etc.

[Geoff Tirrell]

Yes I agree that in windy conditions the 7506's aren't good for judging wind recording...all the noise from air on the headphones sounds like its what you're recording. What headphone provides the best wind isolation?

I've actually been wondering this lately as I have had a few outdoor jobs where wind was an issue. Is there a foam upgrade for the 7506 cans? Ideally I am thinking I want to rotate out my spare set and keep both an indoor and outdoor set in the equipment case. Knowing I could use either in the right conditions but thinking something built for heavy wind would likely weigh more and be hard on the neck after a while.

[Dan Ostroff]

In addition to the advantages of the Remote Audio HN7506's outdoors, I find them helpful with isolation indoors and keeping headphone levels down. Do whatever you can to save your ears.

(null)

[benr]

I would think for wind isolation youd want a headphone ear cup that envelopes the entire ear and not just sits on it like the HD 25 or MDR-7506 headphones do.

[Geoff Tirrell]

In addition to the advantages of the Remote Audio HN7506's outdoors, I find them helpful with isolation indoors and keeping headphone levels down. Do whatever you can to save your ears.

(null)

Do you find these give the full 40 db of attenuation that is advertised, and how do they do in wind. I am hopping they do not transfer wind noise from wind passing over the outside into the hearing area. Here in I have found that certain times of year it tends to blow and when it does it can be a pain to discern if the wind noise is enveloping the headphones, coming from the miss or both. I know for a fact that I am usually overly cautious on the subject and would like to avoid being a pita if there is a better monitoring option. Any input you can give will be appreciated as I have been looking at these for a while and am unable to lay hands on them locally to test out.

I would think for wind isolation youd want a headphone ear cup that envelopes the entire ear and not just sits on it like the HD 25 or MDR-7506 headphones do.

this is what the RA-7506 cans do they are actually built like pilots headphones but if I read their site correctly they still have the same sound and internal bits as the standard 7506.

[Wandering Ear]

For high wind i put the hood of my softshell jacket over my headphones. works pretty well for me.

[Toy Robot]

For high-wind situations I'm learning to go with in-ear monitors. Strangely, the shape of the human ear is miraculous at canceling wind noise. Can you imagine if our eardrums did what microphones do when the wind kicks up?

[Derek H]

I worked on a wildlife doc recently and was able to look inside an owl's ear. Very amazing anatomy. Massive ear canal and super fine feather fluff like a built in Windjammer covering the entire opening of the ear!

[Jerry B]

"I would think for wind isolation youd want a headphone ear cup that envelopes the entire ear and not just sits on it like the HD 25 or MDR-7506 headphones do."

That was my mind-set benr when I bought my first pair of headphones, but I was convinced to purchase the HD25s (with, mmmmmm velour pads) 16 years ago when I left the network and went freelance. I find the isolation is surprisingly good on them, in fact I'll throw them onfor hearing protection when the need arises and there's no plugs available.

I would change them, when you pry them from my cold dead ears!

Jerry.

[John Bauman]

What the HD-25s lack in ear coverage/isolation they easily make up for in low end accuracy.