Headphones for listening to tuba

[jlbreyer]

I'm sitting here listening to Toby Hanks "Sonata" on my new Grado SR80 'phones, which my son gave me for my birthday. The response is incredibly good, at least to my ears. Anyone else constrained to using headphones? What has been your experience?
jlb

[Dylan King]

For recording I use Sennheiser HD 280 Pros in my studio. They have a great sound and have a super tight closed back, so they don't bleed into the recording mics. They tend to get on the hot side if you wear them long enough.

The best for listening in comfort are the Sennheiser HD 650s open back. They have a comfortable vevet ear ring and the sound is amazing. The open back design gives your ears air flow to keep them nice and cool.

Unfortunately, headphones are a necessity to today's musician. I try to only use them for recording. They have a damaging effect on the hearing and actually take away from the intended mix of the artists and recording engineers. I'll take A decent pair of speakers over cans anytime. Even a not so decent set of speakers beats the ear destroyers.

[smurphius]

In regard to this topic, the hornist in my quintet and I were talking one day about how expensive it is to be a musician. The topic of headphones came up and how when listening to tuba, you cannot use any old set. I am of the impression that in the field of electronics, you pay for what you get. My experience has been, when listening to tuba, that in order to hear the closest to actual sound, at least $40 in a set of headphones. The low end frequency of any store bought headphones just don't seem to be of the best quality to listen to our beautiful, low instrument.


And suddenly, I have had an epiphony. I'm going to go into the business of selling tuba-phones. Headphones specially made for listening to tubas!!

I'm going to make millions.... of people laugh at me.


*Sigh*

That money making gig has to be out there somewhere.

[Doug@GT]

*Sigh*

That money making gig has to be out there somewhere.

http://www.usmint.gov/careers/

[smurphius]

hmm.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA........

[WoodSheddin]

http://headphone.com/layout.php?topicID=2&subTopicID=19

Check out the above URL.

I owned an Airhead from them that I used with my Sennheiser HD580 headphones. I have since sold the Airhead and replaced it with a Cosmic amplifier. This combination gives a very accurate reproduction of the source material, IMO. I judge that based on DAT recordings and playback of my wife and myself practicing. I use this setup for the playback and it sounds like you are right there, even with the lower frequencies and power required to reproduce a tuba sound.

The Sennheiser's are a relative bargain investment. They do require a headphone amplifier as do most high end headphones when used with low output sources such as portable listening devices. Besides, stand alone headphone amps are generally way better in quality and dynamics and accurate reproduction than built in cheap opamps in portable devices or even built in headphone amps in things like integrated recievers.

The Grados are also good headphones. I own a set of the SR60's. The SR60's are claimed by many to be the best reasonably priced sounding set for use without the "need" for an external amp. I use them when I don't want to haul around the Cosmic and the larger Sennheisers. The SR80's require a little more power. They are functional without an external amp, but will greatly benefit from one.

If you are on a budget, then I would get the Airhead and use it with your Grados for now. But, a set of Sennheiser HD580's would certainly be in my future if I were you. Don't buy the lower model numbers of the Sennheisers. The HD580 and HD600 models are the best ones for classical music listeners who demand accuracy.

Here are 2 excellent websites if you want to browse forums or ask more questions about headphone listening.

http://www.head-fi.org/
http://headwize.com/

[tubacdk]

I've been through three or four pairs of closed-ear headphones and I think the choice really depends on what you are looking for. My the ones I'm using now are AKG K240 which I like cuz they're super comfortable and sound warmer and clearer than pretty much any other headphones I've used. But, they're not terribly loud, don't block out as much sound as other closed-ear models and are very poor in regards to portability, cuz the ear cushions fall off the moment I put them in my backpack (no matter how gingerly I put them in there). So I leave them in my office all the time and use them while I'm working at the computer, or I'll take them if I'm recording and want to get a super true sound.

I'm curious about the comment higher in the thread about headphones damaging your hearing. I can definitely see how someone not using headphones wisely could definitely mess up their ears. But my thought is that if you're using closed-ear headphones, they don't need to be terribly loud cuz they're blocking out the outside noise. Also, because of the isolation they provide, they don't need to be as proportionally loud as speakers to get a full spectrum of sound. In an isolation booth, sure. Good quality speakers are going to be great, especially to give the engineers a good idea of what the consumer is going to be hearing. But if I'm in my living room listening to an LA Phil recording, I'm definitely going to have an easier time hearing Mr. Pearson on my headphones than my bookshelf speakers.

-ck

[smurphius]

Thanks a lot for those links Mr. Chisham, as well as the suggestions for headphones.


It's kind of amazing when you think of what things were like say 40 or so years ago. There would never have been a Tubenet then for sure. Also, it kind of makes you wonder if they ever actually heard a tuba in recording, or if the tuba was an instrument to really only be heard live.

Maybe this is something for a different thread, but what kind of microphones work well to record the tuba that we'll be listening to in tuba-worthy headphones??

[Getzeng50s]

BOSE!

[WoodSheddin]

BOSE!

In my experience, Bose has one of the most spectacular marketing departments in the entire retail electronics arena. They are simply second to none in that regard.

As far as quality goes, they are almost never as good as other similiarly priced products. I have done back to back comparisons several times of their speakers and everytime Bose looses.

Their products appeal to the individual who has recently decided to make the jump from inexpensive department store audio equipment. Many times these types of people are not all that educated as to what is available and they must fall back on what they have gathered through TV and non-enthusiast magazine adds. This usually ends up buying things like Sony and Bose.

These first time stepping stone consumers also go to places like Circuit City or Best Buy looking for their new speakers or other audio visual equipment. Again, because they are familiar with these stores. All in all they end up spending a lot of money and walk away with a product which is perhaps much better than anything they are accustomed to, but still far below what they could have purchased for nearly the same amount of cash.

I would stay away from Bose.

[Dylan King]

I agree about the headphones, but the acoustic wave radio is something to behold. Especially if you have house with high ceilings and a good reverb. What a sound that little baby pumps out.

[WoodSheddin]

I agree about the headphones, but the acoustic wave radio is something to behold. Especially if you have house with high ceilings and a good reverb. What a sound that little baby pumps out.

http://home.earthlink.net/~busenitz/bs.html

[Steve Marcus]

BOSE!

In my experience, Bose has one of the most spectacular marketing departments in the entire retail electronics arena. They are simply second to none in that regard.

As far as quality goes, they are almost never as good as other similiarly priced products. I have done back to back comparisons several times of their speakers and everytime Bose looses.

There are those in the pro audio/sound reinforcement industry who say:

Bring
Other
Sound
Equipment

[WoodSheddin]

the acoustic wave radio is something to behold. Especially if you have house with high ceilings and a good reverb. What a sound that little baby pumps out.

Not to beat a dead horse but ...
Give this a listen in a back to back.

http://www.tivoliaudio.com/

[Doug@GT]

Eh, say what you want about marketing and all that, but I've got* a Wave Radio and I love it. It's exactly what I need. It sounds great, to me (what else really matters?). The size is perfect for my dorm. The two alarms are superb, and the radio/cd works great.

Oh, and my Pat Sheridan CD sounds excellent on it.


*Christmas present from the grandparents. Yay!

[WoodSheddin]

Eh, say what you want about marketing and all that, but I've got* a Wave Radio and I love it. It's exactly what I need. It sounds great, to me (what else really matters?).

Comments about the Waveradio are not meant to be personal attacks on you. The point is that Bose markets their products very well. Their products are generally "better" sounding than the products consumers are replacing also.

The main issue is that for the amount of money or sometimes much less spent on a Waveradio one could buy a piece of equipment which meets the same requirements but has much better performance. The Tivoli radio is an example.

Bose targets end user consumers who are making the next step up in electronics. I think it was very thoughtful of your grandparents to buy you the Waveradio, but they were the prime target of the Bose marketting machine. Another tactic they use to great success is inflated prices to give the further illusion of higher quality. I am sure we can all think of some company who inflates their prices beyond the norm to also give the illusion of superiority. I am not going to drop any names though.

You have no reason to be defensive of your Waveradio. That would be the fodder for online arguments which are rarely fruitfull. If you enjoy it, great. I spent nearly double for an XTR rear derailer for my mountain bike while the next cheaper XT level derailer is supposed to be just as smooth and some argue even more durable. I saved 60 grams or so, but does that make me a poser? Nope. I just bought what I felt I needed/wanted at the time.

[Dylan King]

I agree that the Bose Acoustic wave isn't the best thing since sliced bread and York AJ copied 6/4 horns, but it does sound great for the size and portability of thing. The moniters in my studio put it to shame, but it's a major task to move them outside by the BBQ.

Besides, the look so trendy on TV. Everybody should have one. And such a great infomercial. Herbie sure can dress, and those congas sound so real.

[WoodSheddin]

Radio Shack (Realistic)

Now that is old school. Radio Shack is like shopping at a rummage sale. They have lots of stuff and occasionally you find a real gem. When I am feeling high speed geeky and want to bore the wife to tears instantly I ask if we can stop by Radio Shack on the way home so I can browse. It is revenge for all those trips to Babies R Us.

[Matt G]

Has anyone listened to a tuba recording on electrostatics?



I listened to some pretty heavy classical stuff on a set of some big Martin Logan electrostics once at a high-end shop. I couldn't believe the clarity. Bells and triangle stuff sparkled from these puppies. Martin Logan puts some serious woofers in the big units and when coupled to a good sub, the bottom end was unbelievable. It sounded like the bass section of an orchestra sounds live. Bass drum smacks like the stuff in the Verdi Requiem were no problem.

Heaphones, especially good ones normally give the best overall reproduction, but these electrostatics were the best things I had ever heard (this was ten-plus years ago). They filled the room with sound well enough to the point that while there was direction diven from the stereo recording, the balance was so good that closing you eyes you could almost see the orchestra (no b.s.). But remember this is only my lame opinion...

[Getzeng50s]

I stick to my Headphones. For someone who doesnt want to do a crap load of research, doesnt feel like running around and trying all different kinds, you absolutly can not go wrong with the BOSE headphones. They are fantastic