Are studio headphones worth getting for your iPhone?

[chicken_wang]

My parents are thinking of getting me something as a graduation gift and I decided I wanted a pair of amazing studio headphones. I had the choice of Sennheiser's or the Dre Beats PRO. I've watched a couple of reviews on some random studio headphones and some of the reviewers noted that they don't sound as great as they would when you're in the studio recording something. Why? Does that have something to do with the iPhone/MP3 player?

**Edit - sorry if I posted this is off topic.

 

[Koharski]

"studio" headphones are such a loose term.

A speaker known as a "studio" monitor is designed to have a very "flat" response curve. What this means is that the speaker gives you a very clear, defined representation of all audio frequencies from the deep bass to the upper treble. These speakers are detailed and analytic, so that when you are in the studio you can check the quality of your various audio tracks (guitar, drums, vocals etc) while you mix them down into a final production. They are good for tweaking effects and such so that you can get exactly the sound you want.

This really is all opinion, but I hate them! I listen to music for pleasure (and I assume you do to). Music like pop, rock, hip-hop, electronica.. are NOT designed to be represented accurately. You want punchy bass! Filtered vocals! Crazy effects! You WANT the sound curve to be modified to suit your listening style so that your music is an EXPERIENCE! The beats by dre have huge humps in the bass and trebel. Personally I find these headphones pretty overpriced for what they are (a fashion headphone really) but lots of people seem to enjoy their sound. While these are described as studio headphones they really are not.

If you want some headphone suggestions I really suggest you tell us these things:

What kind of music do you like?
What is your price range?
How will you be listening to your music? Ipod? At home on an amp? Will you be walking around a lot of sitting?

 

[kornphlake]

I listened to beats by dre for about 5 seconds in a best buy, I couldn't get them off my ears fast enough, the bass was way too heavy, they'd need some serious EQ to tame the crazy bass response. They did seem pretty comfortable for the few seconds I wore them though.

Most audiophiles would recommend an external headphone amp with high end, closed ear, headphones because the amp built into an ipod can't output enough power to efficiently drive larger headphones. Presumably in the studio the headphones are driven by a headphone amp not an ipod which is the only reason I can imagine a pair of headphones would sound better in a studio than with an ipod.

 

[chicken_wang]

What kind of music do you like?
What is your price range?
How will you be listening to your music? Ipod? At home on an amp? Will you be walking around a lot of sitting?

I'm open to all types of music except for country. I mainly listen to R&B, soft pop, classic rock, heavy metal, rap and hip-hop. Price range isn't really a concern for my parents since it is the last gift they'll ever give me but I guess under $600 is good enough. I always listen to my music on my iPhone whenever I'm outside the house. At home, I tend to listen to my music when I just chill on the couch after a long day. For other uses, I plug my headphones into my computer whenever I feel like looking for a good band.

 

[chicken_wang]

I listened to beats by dre for about 5 seconds in a best buy, I couldn't get them off my ears fast enough, the bass was way too heavy, they'd need some serious EQ to tame the crazy bass response. They did seem pretty comfortable for the few seconds I wore them though.

Most audiophiles would recommend an external headphone amp with high end, closed ear, headphones because the amp built into an ipod can't output enough power to efficiently drive larger headphones. Presumably in the studio the headphones are driven by a headphone amp not an ipod which is the only reason I can imagine a pair of headphones would sound better in a studio than with an ipod.

How much difference is there in terms of sound quality? I sampled my cousin's Dre Beats Pro headphones on an iPhone and sounded great. I can't really compare it to "studio" quality because I haven't heard it before but I guess it would matter if I did.

 

[bobdole369]

Heres a googled up forum thread that mimics what I think about the beats line of headphones:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=699834

My brother (a hip-hop kid) loved the shit out of them in the BB kiosk. When I had him listen to the same thing on an open air Sennheiser HD555 (plus decent DAC and homebuilt amp) he was blown away.

I agree with the earlier poster that I couldn't get them off my ears fast enough (the beats). They are not studio quality nor are they worth the money. WAY too much bass, but definitely comfortable!

 

[Chapbass]

Heres a googled up forum thread that mimics what I think about the beats line of headphones:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=699834

My brother (a hip-hop kid) loved the shit out of them in the BB kiosk. When I had him listen to the same thing on an open air Sennheiser HD555 (plus decent DAC and homebuilt amp) he was blown away.

I agree with the earlier poster that I couldn't get them off my ears fast enough (the beats). They are not studio quality nor are they worth the money. WAY too much bass, but definitely comfortable!

This. Not a fan of the whole beats thing...

OP: How portable do you need to be with your headphones? One thing an iphone has is the LOD (line out dock) which will allow you to easily use any headphone amp to drive your cans. I'm pretty anti-apple, but this is one thing that I wish other phones/mp3 players did.

Edit: To give you an example, I use Sennheiser HD650's. Well regarded as a solid choice around the 200-300 dollar price point (definitely not the only choice). I typically use mine when at work and at home. They're open ear, which means you'll be able to hear things around you and people around you will be able to hear what you're listening to. Definitely not for an airplane ride or something like that. Are you going to use your headphones in an open or noisy environment? If so, you'll probably get more use out of closed ear headphones. If you're doing a ton of travelling and such, maybe even a pair of IEM's (in ear monitors, like the cheapo earbuds that come with the iphone/ipod, but a ton better and actually isolates sound so it will block a ton of noise as well).

Mine need to be amped, and since I mainly use it in 2 different spots, I use the Fiio e7/e9 combo. The e7 is a DAC/small amp, which allows me to bypass the internal (crappy) soundcard of my work laptop (and my home desktop for that matter). The e9 is a big amp (that the e7 plugs into) to make the HD650's sound even better when I'm at work (I leave the e9 at work since its kinda clunky, then use the e7 by itself when I'm at home).

I use this because almost all of my music is coming out of my computer (hence the desire for a DAC). You, on the other hand, if more mobile, will probably want to go with a dedicated portable amp that works with well with the iphone. Someone else might be able to chime in, does the iphone have an EQ?

Either way, a small amp with some good headphones sounds like a solid choice for you. Didn't mean to ramble about what I had, mainly just saying it for education purposes.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I've used $60-100 Sennheiser and Sony on-ear and over-the-ear headphones with my iPod, and the bass and midrange are a nice step up from the Apple white earbuds.

This is with 160 kbps AAC and 192 kbps MP3 ripped from my own CDs, not 128 kbps torrent garbage.

 

[hans030390]

Studio means nothing when it comes to headphones. Here are some you might want to consider in your price range that SHOULD be find running without an amp:

Sennheiser 598 - Apparently has an amazing soundstage and smooth sound. Excellent mids. Bass might be considered lacking to some.

Denon D2000 or D5000 (D7000?) - Get the highest end model you can afford. These are very comfortable, fun, natural sounding headphones. Some say they have too much bass and not enough mids, but many love them.

Audio Technica ATH-M50 - A very popular "monitor" headphone due to being excellent for the price. They sound great, but some consider them to be too bass heavy/mid recessed with ever so slightly harsh treble.

Honestly, you're better off asking this question on Head-Fi.

 

[JAG87]

I'm open to all types of music except for country. I mainly listen to R&B, soft pop, classic rock, heavy metal, rap and hip-hop. Price range isn't really a concern for my parents since it is the last gift they'll ever give me but I guess under $600 is good enough. I always listen to my music on my iPhone whenever I'm outside the house. At home, I tend to listen to my music when I just chill on the couch after a long day. For other uses, I plug my headphones into my computer whenever I feel like looking for a good band.

$600?

Get your parents to buy you a pair of JH5 Pro.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

if you are looking for some nice IEMs, check out the westone 4, http://www.westonemusicproducts.com/catalog/westone-4-quad-driver-earphone

doesn't need an amp, and will play out of your iWhatever nicely, provided you got high bitrate quality rips (alac or 320
kbps or whatever).

i'm getting these for myself next time i've got the expendable funds.

 

[sdifox]

err, I don't think iphone's output is all that stellar to start with. Just buy something better than the shitty ones that came with the phone.

You are not going to be able to drive studio headphones with the iphone.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

err, I don't think iphone's output is all that stellar to start with. Just buy something better than the shitty ones that came with the phone.

You are not going to be able to drive studio headphones with the iphone.

he can use a line out dock to a cmoy to drive a decent set of cans and stay under 600.

that being said starting from the iphone 3gs and onward, the output hasn't been bad at all, via headphone jack or line out dock.

 

[chucky2]

Just went through this researching to get my cousin some buds (sits in the opening of the ear, not way down in it), and to my surprise, at the $250 pricepoint (a little under shipped from B&H), were the Monster Turbine Pro Copper. Lifetime warranty too (might need them, there have been reports of some of them breaking). I never thought that Monster anything would actually rate that highly in independent reviews...really surprised me.

Might use the money saved to get a nice portable headphone AMP to tape to your iPhone.

If you're going to get cans, then I second the Audio Technica ATH-M50. Just got these a little while ago locally at a Guitar Center for like $180 (I think).

I like the idea of a good set of headphones and an amp, rather than a stellar set of headphones and no amp. Of course, one could look at it the other way: Stellar set of headphones now w/ no amp, and then later add an amp and then you've got the perfect setup...can't do that the other way as you'd not have the better headphones.

Think about the end route you want to be at, then go with that...

Chuck

 

[sdifox]

he can use a line out dock to a cmoy to drive a decent set of cans and stay under 600.

that being said starting from the iphone 3gs and onward, the output hasn't been bad at all, via headphone jack or line out dock.

Can you honestly expect an iphone user to carry another box? :awe:

 

[kornphlake]

Can you honestly expect an iphone user to carry another box? :awe:

An iphone with big closed ear headphones is the first oxymoron. Personally I wouldn't spend top dollar for a pair of headphones to be used exclusively with a portable device. For a portable device there are many options for smaller headphones that will sound just fine and will be much more portable. If you want a pair of studio monitors for listening to at home or in an office, in my opinion it makes sense to have a dedicated amp even rather your source is an iphone or something else, when you put the iphone in your pocket the rest should stay behind.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Can you honestly expect an iphone user to carry another box? :awe:

lol if you had asked me before i got into the iem hobby i would have said HELL NO.

but if you ask me today, you'll find me with an ety er-4s hooked up with a jds labs cmoybb fed via lod from my iphone containing 30 gigs of alac.

that being said, i'm really looking to save up get a easily driven 3/4 armature iem and ditch the portable amp, but that won't happen for a while.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Just went through this researching to get my cousin some buds (sits in the opening of the ear, not way down in it), and to my surprise, at the $250 pricepoint (a little under shipped from B&H), were the Monster Turbine Pro Copper. Lifetime warranty too (might need them, there have been reports of some of them breaking). I never thought that Monster anything would actually rate that highly in independent reviews...really surprised me.
Chuck

the coppers are 220 at amazon with free 2 day shipping if you have prime. monster has really good cs apparently, and those things have life time warranty, so even with not so great build quality, it's a good deal.

 

[sdifox]

An iphone with big closed ear headphones is the first oxymoron. Personally I wouldn't spend top dollar for a pair of headphones to be used exclusively with a portable device. For a portable device there are many options for smaller headphones that will sound just fine and will be much more portable. If you want a pair of studio monitors for listening to at home or in an office, in my opinion it makes sense to have a dedicated amp even rather your source is an iphone or something else, when you put the iphone in your pocket the rest should stay behind.

My DT-770 is for when I can't crank my system. I don't really walk around with music playing. Used to back in MD days :biggrin:

 

[sdifox]

lol if you had asked me before i got into the iem hobby i would have said HELL NO.

but if you ask me today, you'll find me with an ety er-4s hooked up with a jds labs cmoybb fed via lod from my iphone containing 30 gigs of alac.

that being said, i'm really looking to save up get a easily driven 3/4 armature iem and ditch the portable amp, but that won't happen for a while.

seek help before you start lugging car battery around to provide clean power to the amp :biggrin:

 

[ubercaffeinated]

seek help before you start lugging car battery around to provide clean power to the amp :biggrin:

i know right?

blocking external noise while being able to enjoy good sound is a joy to have.

 

[sdifox]

i know right?

blocking external noise while being able to enjoy good sound is a joy to have.

only if you are not walking.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Beats Audio != Beats by Dre

One is audio processing that actually does quite a good job. The other is overpriced headphones that don't really do anything much.