Studio Headphones - Leading Models Compared
Sound On Sound januar 2010 publiserte artikkelen/sammenligningstesten "
Studio Headphones - Leading Models Compared". Dette er en omfattende gruppetest med mange modeller og fabrikater som i bladet ble trykt over ganske mange sider. Det er en fin informasjonskilde å vende tilbake til.
Denne testen er annerledes enn de fleste vi er vant til å lese i hifipressen av flere grunner. Den er utført av profesjonelle lydfolk med forskjellig bakgrunn og yrkespraksis. Hver hodetelefon (i hvert fall de fleste) er vurdert av minst to personer, gjerne flere. De er vurdert for forskjellige typer oppgaver. De fleste gode hodetelefoner som er aktuelle for profesjonell bruk (per slutten av 2009/starten av 2010) er inkludert fra rimelig til dyrt inkl. AKG K 702 og Sennheiser HD 600, HD 650 og HD 800. beyerdynamic T 1 er dessverre ikke med, formodentlig fordi den ikke var tilgjengelig på dette tidspunktet.
Hver persons omtale av det enkelte produkt er publisert separat med forfatterens navn. Det legges ikke skjul på at personene er uenige om visse prodkter, f.eks. om komfort, isolasjonsevne, lydkvalitet eller egnethet for en bestemt oppgave.
NB: Ikke overse de tre boksene nederst på siden merket "One Of The Best". Disse ble også trykket som separate bokser i bladet.
Conclusions?
In general, it seems that you still get what you pay for with headphones, because quality improved noticeably with cost in most cases. The Sennheiser HD800s were by far the most expensive on test, and probably the best — although not all of us had the opportunity to audition them, as they were only just becoming available as we wrote this article. The two notable exceptions to the rule were the Beyerdynamic DT250, which demonstrated a relatively poor cost-quality ratio (although they're very robust), and the Fostex T50RP, which most — though it has to be said not all — of us found disappointing.
It seems we weren't all able to agree on the best all-round headphones, or, for that matter, the best ones for mixing or tracking, which just goes to show how personal preferences, or the musical styles in which you work will affect your choice. However, quality does seem to shine through, because the same suspects did crop up again and again. The now long-established Sennheiser HD650, and the Beyerdynamic DT880s seemed to get the most plaudits as mixing phones, with the AKG K702s and other Sennheiser and Beyer models coming close behind — all of which are open-backed or semi-open-backed models. For recording on location or working in noisy environments the Sennheiser HD251 II seemed popular, for their combination of excellent performance, build quality and exclusion of external sound. For closed-back designs, the Sony MDR 7509HDs seem to come out on top, with qualified plaudits also for the Audio-Technica ATH M50s.
Sound On Sound har både før og etter dette testet hodetelefoner, f.eks. den nye
Shure SRH-940.
Sammenligningstesten omfatter følgende fabrikater og modeller (rekkefølge som i artikkelen innenfor hvert fabrikat):
AKG
K 702: Semi-open, 62?, £391, $449
K 240 MK II: Semi-open, 55?, £138, $199.
Audio-Technica
ATH-M35: Closed-back, 65?, £57.74, $139.
ATH-M40: Closed-back, 60?, £69, $150. (
Best Low-Budget Tracking)
ATH-M50: Closed-back, 38?, £128.99, $199.
beyerdynamic
DT 150: Closed-back, 250?, £169.12, $299.
DT 250: Closed-back, 80?, £183.61, $259.
DT 770 PRO: Closed-back, 80?, £178.79, $299. (
Mid-Price All-Rounder)
DT 880 PRO: Semi-open, 250?, £270.58, $379. (
One of The Best)
Fostex
T50RP: Closed-back, 50?, £125.35, $199.
Sennheiser
HD 25-1 II Pro: Closed-back, 70?, £228.25, $299.95. (
Good For Tracking)
HD 280 Pro: Closed-back, 64?, £129.18, $149.95. (
Best Budget Closed-Back)
HD 600: Open-back, 300?, £343.32, $519.95.
HD 800: Open-back, 300?, £999.99, $1399.95. (
Ultimate Quality At A Price)
HD 650: Open-back, 300?, £338.19, $649.95. (
One of The Best)
Shure
SRH-840: Closed-back, 44?, £212.99.
Sony
MDR-7509HD: Closed-back, 24?, £253, $265. (
One of The Best)
Ultrasone
PRO 900: Closed-back, 40?, £371.45, $599.