Roland Forums

Hi all,

Got a quick question for you - I work on the drums for my band's songs in my bedroom, where I have to use earphones (I'm using my in-ears at the moment, which is not too comfortable over long periods). I've noticed though that some things, particularly kicks and things like gain levels in my effects, often sound very different when coming out of the amp at rehearsal to how they do at home. Can anyone recommend what headphones I should be using to get closest to the sound I'll get in rehearsal or live, when playing at home?

Cheers,
Tom

Have you a price range in mind?

There are soooo many different phones out there..
In ears..
Open backed..
Closed Backed (handy for isolation against the pad noise)..

I've a preference for Sennheiser's.

The last set I bought where HD 280 Pro's.
Closed back, good deep low end performance, sound good on the TD-20 too.
There have an impedance of 64ohms, and seem to match most things I plug into.

About the only thing I don't like is it has one of those 1/8" to 1/4" adapters.
It has a screw thread, but for some reason my adapter no longer provides a stereo signal. I've had to use another, which of course hasn't got a thread on it..

Headphones will always sound different to speakers, so finding a set that matches to you're live / rehearsal set-up is going to be quite hard to do.

Hi S-E-A,

Yeah I've been looking at this again as (having finally taken the plunge and sold my acoustic kit) I've got some money again, and I want to get a decent pair. I just need something as accurate and clear as possible. I'm looking at Roland RH-300s or Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro or DT 150s.

What I really need to know, though, is whether I'm going to need a headphone amp. I've read on forums, where people have been talking about relative prices of phones, people saying that with a particular pair you'd need a really good headphone amp to power them which would cost as much as the phones, etc. I'd be listening through my mixer, which is a Mackie 1642 VLZ-3. How can I tell whether a given pair of phones would be powered by it ok? I see the Beyerdynamics have a much lower 'power handling capacity' than the 'maximum input' of the Rolands - does this mean they'd be more likely to be powered by my mixer?

Thanks,
Tom

biguana - 28 October 2010 06:57 PM

Hi S-E-A,

Yeah I've been looking at this again as (having finally taken the plunge and sold my acoustic kit) I've got some money again, and I want to get a decent pair. I just need something as accurate and clear as possible. I'm looking at Roland RH-300s or Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro or DT 150s.

Hello Tom,

Out of the selection you've made, I think I would pick the DT 770's.
I know nothing about the Roland's.
I use DT100's for when I mix live, good isolation of sound, but sound a bit 'boxy', but this may have been addressed with the DT150's.
Don't forget the Sennheiser HD280's..

What I really need to know, though, is whether I'm going to need a headphone amp. I've read on forums, where people have been talking about relative prices of phones, people saying that with a particular pair you'd need a really good headphone amp to power them which would cost as much as the phones, etc. I'd be listening through my mixer, which is a Mackie 1642 VLZ-3. How can I tell whether a given pair of phones would be powered by it ok? I see the Beyerdynamics have a much lower 'power handling capacity' than the 'maximum input' of the Rolands - does this mean they'd be more likely to be powered by my mixer?

Thanks,
Tom

You shouldn't have any issues driving the headphones with the headphone amp within the mixer, unless Mackie warn of a minimum impedance.
As with loudspeakers, sensitivity is the main thing to look for, the higher the figure, the louder they sound given the amount of power given.

The headphone amplifier might be worth considering, especially if you will be running with a click track.
They aren't that expensive, for your application..
A Hi-Fi nut could spend serious money on a headphone amp, so yes you could find one that costs as much as the headphones themselves, personally I would get a Berhinger.

S-E-A - 28 October 2010 10:47 PM

You shouldn't have any issues driving the headphones with the headphone amp within the mixer, unless Mackie warn of a minimum impedance.

The headphone amplifier might be worth considering, especially if you will be running with a click track.
They aren't that expensive, for your application..

OK well the output impedance of the Mackie is specified at 120 ohms, and the impedance of the Beyerdynamics is 250. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I have no idea.

Why would a headphone amp be worth considering specifically if I was using a click? I'm a bit confused by this. What would it do, apart from just making everything louder?

biguana - 31 October 2010 12:40 PM

S-E-A - 28 October 2010 10:47 PM

You shouldn't have any issues driving the headphones with the headphone amp within the mixer, unless Mackie warn of a minimum impedance.

The headphone amplifier might be worth considering, especially if you will be running with a click track.
They aren't that expensive, for your application..

OK well the output impedance of the Mackie is specified at 120 ohms, and the impedance of the Beyerdynamics is 250. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I have no idea.

Why would a headphone amp be worth considering specifically if I was using a click? I'm a bit confused by this. What would it do, apart from just making everything louder?

Yeah they should be fine. You should never attach a driver with an impedance lower than the rating of your mixer. In effect the Beyers will half as loud as a pair of headphones rated at 120R.

I personally like the DT100's but i must admit i only ever use them live for PFL monitoring when mixing. I also have a pair of Sennheiser in ears and they sound great and i have used them with IEM's live. I would suggest something with a good bass response as that is what you will miss with phones.

Hope this helps!

Hey, thanks Dickyc, that is really helpful. I might look around a bit then and see if I can see something with an impedance lower than 250 but still higher than 120 - don't really want to get the phones home then realise I have to shell out for a headphone amp as well!

Cheers

So - just out of interest - what would have happened if I had put something like the 80 ohm Beyers, or the 24 ohm Sony mdr-7509, or the 38 ohm Audio Technica ath-m50s into my 120 ohm output mixer?

It seems like the Beyerdynamic 250 ohm models are about the only top quality phones I can find with an impedance higher than the output of my mixer... what's going on here?

Again Using my PA experiance if you connected to a 2R speaker to an amp that was rated at 8R then it would go into protect (If the amp has that feature (Best case)) blow one of the output devices (worst case).

I have never worried about headphones to be honest, i just tend to plug them in!!!!!!! I have a couple of Mackie desks at work and various 'phones lying around i will take a meter to them later and see what they are rated at and let you know the results.

I have a headphone splitter from a Behringer that does warn of not using any 'phones less than a certain rating.

Also how do you plan to monitor your sources? If you just use the headphone jack on the desk you will either get just a PFL of an individual channel or a total output mix. My suggestion would be to use a headphone amp and an Aux send.

At home I'll just be listening through the headphone jack as it'll be just me. These headphones are just for working on sounds/effects etc at home.

Live I use in-ears with a wireless Shure beltpack with a click coming from the computer's audio interface and an aux send from my stage mixer as the two inputs to the transmitter.

I have actually previously been using my in-ears (which are rated at 21 ohms) to listen at home through my old mackie mini mixer (which I guess would have the same output impedance rating) and I don't seem to have caused any damage / rip in the space-time continuum etc. Maybe does the stated output impedance refer to the main outs, and for the headphone out it's lower?

Who knows?

Think I'll just order the Beyerdynamics and get a Behry amp if needed later.

Thanks for the help and advice - I am slowly learning!

Tom :o)