In the Recording arts industry, top of the line gear and technology is a must. With so many big name studios and personal home recording studios, the technology the studios carry is what brings in the business. It also needs to cater to today’s generation.
It used to be that the recording industry needed to make sure the deliverable content (music) was perfect for the popular medium (Record players, tape machines, CD players, ext.). Now, everyone is on the go with MP3 players and iPods. This means that the music has to be perfect for these digital mediums. This in its self is asking a lot because digital media presents glitches in music that was never a problem with analog media.
Now we must ask our selves how we perfect this media that it no longer being listened to through loud speakers but through tiny ear buds. The answer is to put the mixing engineer in the consumer’s shoes. This means mixing the music in headphones. But not just any headphones, the engineer needs headphones that will show the tiniest bit of imperfection so that no matter how high or low quality headphones or ear buds the consumers have they all get the best quality sound that they can get.
That brings us to today’s products. I will be reviewing three different, top of the line, professional headphones. First we have Audio Technica ATH-D40fs Enhanced-bass Precision Studiophones. These headphones are at the bottom of my three picks, although they do have their pros. The ATH-D40fs have an enhanced bass frequency response that allows for better hearing of the low frequencies such as the kick drum and the bass guitar. This can be helpful in many ways to the engineer but could also lead them to place those lower level frequencies to low to be heard with other headphones, seeing as only these have this bass enhancement. It would also be better if the headphones could have a larger range in frequency then the 20-28,000Hz that they have.
Next we will be looking at the AKG K701 Headphones. These headphones are a little older but are still at the top on the market. The headphones are unique all around. They are the first to ever use flat wire technology. This technology helps out with the spacing of the instruments within the headphones giving the listener a true dynamic sound. This dynamic sound will give the listener the feeling that every orchestra member is exactly where they should be in a concert hall, making the listening experience feel real. I think what also helps them achieve this is there frequency response of 10- 39,800Hz, which is absolutely amazing and almost unheard of in headphones. You really could not get much better then these until Sennheiser decided to fight back with the HD 800s.
The Audio Technica headphones are in the $150 range where as the AKGs are in the $450. These are a little more expensive but considering the amazing piece of technology that they are I would pay the difference, and the Sennheisers are a whopping $1700. Although these headphones are amazing, I do not have that much money to spend on a pair of headphones.
So there you have it. I have that I have been helpful for those on the look out for a good pair of headphones.
