The “Best” Headphones are Ones Designed for the Task at Hand.
When you choose headphones designed for the audio task at hand, you’re going to have a great listening experience. Sennheiser offers a wide range of headphones for different applications, from critical audio tasks to casual listening. While they all sound great, it’s important to pick the right headphones for the correct purposes – a drummer monitoring her performance in your studio will have different sonic needs than you do when you’re mixing the song. Read on to learn which Sennheiser headphones are best for four distinct applications.
Headphones for Studio Tracking
When you’re recording vocals and instruments in your studio, you don’t want your mics to pick up the monitor mix or click tracks from the artist’s headphones. And higher-output headphones help overcome loud guitar amps and drums. Sennheiser’s HD 280 Pro closed-back headphones are one of the most popular headphones at Sweetwater for their accurate sound quality, excellent isolation, and comfortable fit.
The HD 300 PRO closed-back monitoring headphones offer an impressive 32dB of acoustic isolation for clean recordings, and they’re capable of handling extremely high SPLs — up to 123dB – making then perfect for drummers. And for equipping your studio on a budget, it’s hard to beat the value and performance you get from the HD 200 Pro closed-back headphones.
Popular Sennheiser Headphones for Studio Tracking:
Headphones for Mixing and Mastering
While closed-back headphones offer the isolation you need for studio tracking, open-back headphones can provide the enhanced sonic accuracy and detail you need for critical audio analysis. Because air flows freely around the drivers, there is no distortion due to air compression as you get in most closed-back designs. The HD 800 S headphones boast the largest drivers ever used on headphones, and many experienced engineers are astounded at the level of detail and realism they provide. The larger drivers really help provide exceptional midrange detail and low-end power.
HD 650 headphones boast many similar features at a more affordable price and are also an ideal solution for accurate mixing and mastering work. Another great solution in most mixing situations is a pair of open-back HD 490 Pro headphones. They deliver a balanced, wide-ranging response for a steal.
Popular Sennheiser Headphones for Mixing and Mastering:
Headphones for Performing Live
Sennheiser has a wide range of in-ear headphones for musicians and performers to use with their wireless products, but we know electronic musicians and DJs often prefer traditional headphones for live performance. You need high-SPL handling to hear over a noisy club and powerful bass response, so you never lose the groove. With excellent acoustic isolation and powerful sound, HD 300 PRO headphones are a great-sounding choice that are also amazingly comfortable to wear. For DJs and electronic musicians who prefer single-ear monitoring, the HD 25 and HD 200 Pro headphones sport a rotating earcup, as well as high-SPL handling for noisy environments.
Popular Sennheiser Headphones for Performing Live:
Headphones for Leisure Listening
When you just want to enjoy some great music, you don’t necessarily need a flat, accurate frequency response or the most transparent sound possible – you just want a great listening experience. The HD 800 S headphones rival the experience of many world-class hi-fi systems. If you want wireless freedom to listen to music as you move around your house, a pair of Accentum Wireless Bluetooth Headphones let you roam while serving up stellar Sennheiser sound quality.
Popular Sennheiser Headphones for Leisure Listening:
Sennheiser has been a leader in transducer technology for over half a century, and it’s immediately apparent when you listen to their headphones. Whether you’re working with audio or listening for pleasure, Sennheiser has spent years developing solutions for virtually any application you could find yourself in. With this buying guide, and by anticipating what your listening needs will be, you’ll be able to find the right set of headphones. Sweetwater Sales Engineers have spent extensive time listening to Sennheiser headphones, so give us a call if you’d like to know more!
