Buying studio headphones? [The 6 best studio headphones]

Contents

Closed back - studio headphones
Open back - studio headphones
Studio Headphones or studio monitors?
3 best closed-back studio headphones
3 best open-back studio headphones

Studio headphones, also called headphones. Considered buying one? In this article, we give you advice on why you should or should not purchase studio headphones. At the end of this article, we advise you the 6 best studio headphones that are currently for sale!

First things first, we want to reveal something crucial! We notice that this is not generally known in practice and that mistakes are made in this. There are two types of studio headphones for sale, and the difference is very important!

Closed back headphones
Open back headphones

Never heard of it? Read on!

Closed back - studio headphones

Closed back headphones as shown below on the picture is closed on the outside, like most headphones. These type of headphones are build to record this means that they will create a closed area around your ears. This type of headphones allows you to measure the input level of a recording track accurately. This results in the audio engineer hearing the sound as it is being played. The downside is that it is more isolated, reducing the overall image of audio, which is useful for recording tracks.

Open back - studio headphones

There are situations when you want the isolation not to be present that is when you start recording an instrument that does not contain a microphone such as a keyboard and when you start and work on a mix.

It sounds like the sound comes from de space instead of your headphones. It is better to hear space and positioning in a mix. Open back headphones are therefore only suitable for a studio!

Closed back studio headphones are only used for monitoring and tracking recordings and private use.

Open back studio headphones are purely for mixing audio and not suitable for other uses such as private use!

Studio Headphones or studio monitors?

Many musicians indicate that studio monitors are better if you are mixing or mastering, we agree with Inside Audio. However, there are some things involved such as:

Your room must be acoustically optimised
Your housemates, such as parents or neighbours, may get annoyed from studio monitors
They are generally more expensive than studio headphones, but that's not the main difference
You need an external sound card

Studio monitors are therefore not for everyone in every situation. The main reason is that if it is late in the evening, the volume has to be lower and that you can switch to good studio headphones. But rather see it as an additive instead of working fully with headphones, you have the chance to always go for studio monitors such as KRKs, Yahamas or Adam's.