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Wow! That's really an incredible story. A life-changer for him!
I have what is generally the loss most folks have, in the middle frequencies. It's a dipping bell curve. For example, pre-aides, I'd never had to ask a guy to repeat what he said (low), but young women (high) could stand right in front of me in a whisper-quiet office environment and I couldn't understand a syllable, repeated many times. Now I hear them crisply, but don't know what they are really saying, young or old.
I limped along for years, then 2 years ago bit the bullet. I could NOT believe what I had been missing, especially singing. It was like the first time I got glasses. I had no idea anyone could see that far. Modern aides are pretty spendy, lots of adjustments can be made by the doc, so they are dialed in as well as can expected, I control them with a smartphone app. And they are hidden behind the ear, ...no one even knows I wear them.
In reality, they are really just microphones and speakers. Just really complex, micro-circuity equipment. But we all know that mics/speakers have limitations in the real world. I don't really need to wear them all the time, though I do. But I can't cover them with ear cups or they feedback. But, even the 12 cent headphones I use now are pretty awesome for me. I am looking forward to getting the new sets to do the Pepsi challenge with.
Thanks, again, to all of you guys.
Andy, I would suggest that you try making your own hearing loss compensation EQ in your DAW so that you can wear good quality phones without hearing aids. I can walk you through how to do this if you get your HL curves from your audiologist.
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....that is the nicest gesture, Scott. I sure will get the info and I'll message you.
Wow...Thank you, Scott.
Andy
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Thanks, Critter. They are out of my budget range, I'm sure they are awesome. Probably throwing pearls before swine, though. I might not really be able to tell the difference.
I got the Sonys and HD 280s today, so I'll be testing them out. They both sound fantastic and are comfortable. It will be a hard decision.
Thank you, again, to all.
Andy
BIAB 2017 Ultra
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I've been using the ATH-40f/s for a long time. Bought a second pair when I heard they were being discontinued. I use mine a lot. Eventually they shed and I have to get new covers. The newer model was supposed to fix that but I haven't tried those so can't say. Andy hope you will update us on which pair you wind up keeping. And I hope you don't mind if I ask this here. Does anybody know how long headphones are supposed to last? Not talking about ear pad covers - does the quality of sound in them degrade over time? I've seen some really old ones on ebay. I wouldn't buy an old pair like that but it made me curious about headphone real usable lifespans. ??? 
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I've never had one where the sound deteriorated in any way. I suppose it might be possible to do the equivalent of blow the speaker, but it hasn't happened in my 55 year experience. There's only between one and two volts max going into it.
Headphones have plenty of parts that break but the sound is either fine or gone; it doesn't degrade.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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I need Josie and Bob to pick stocks for me. Their investment in the discontinued ATH 40 f/s, for (and I'm making a WAG here) $100 or less, had a 350% return! $450 a pair now, and as rare as hen's teeth.
I ordered the Sonys, ATHX, and HD280 Pros. The other suggestions were very helpful and greatly appreciated. I couldn't bring myself to order more, knowing I'll return all but one.
I can definitely hear a difference, but it's hard for me to tell which would be the best choice overall. The HD280s are the most comfortable and seal completely, like with no tracks playing, I can't hear anything in the outside world. I can wear them for hours without discomfort, which is the way I like it, just need to let a little heat out occasionally. The only drawback is the cable coiling. For my situation it catches on the desk, like stepping on an untied shoestring, but there's a work around, binding the coil at the interface, and using an extension cord.
Scott's helping me with an EQ plug-in adjustment and I'm really stoked! He's a mensch! You all are!
Andy
BIAB 2017 Ultra
Windows 8 and 10
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Cool story (you may have heard it);
I had my first set of M40s and thought 'well this time I'll get the M50s', because they must be better, right?
I ended up trading my new M50s with a forum member here and he gave me his new M40s.
We both felt like we won.
I still do. I can see both sets from here.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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.....have you had an issue finding replacements? I haven't had to look yet .. so curious. Nope, found a couple sellers on eBay that had ones identical to the originals for $3.99 a pair shipped from Mars, or $6.99 a pair shipped from NY. Both were the exact same, so I bought 4 pairs from the NY guy.  When I find his eBay ID I will update this post.... 
i5 3.20GHz, 32gb RAM, 1tb SSD OS, 12tb HDD, 4gb gForce vid card, 32" monitor, Audient id44, Win10 x64, BiaB/RB 2023, Reaper 6,IK Multimedia Total Studio 3.5 MAX, Waves 10
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They cost a little more, but I use the Sennheiser HD6 mixing headphones, and am delighted. As ever, you have to listen to a mix on several systems to make sure its right. My acid test is to make a CD and listen to it in the car. if it sounds good there, it's finished.
ProTools 12, Faderport 8, Melodyne, JBL monitors, Novation UltraNova, Yamaha MX49, Stratocaster, Telecaster, Rickenbacker 12, Ovation 12, Vox VT20X amp
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Thank you, JC and Will.
I'll keep the Sennheiser HD6 in mind. Of course everything is subjective, that day, that song, how much sleep you got.
Previously, I bought 4 various sets (not including the HD6) and kept the HD 280 Pros. For me, they were/are awesome. The HD6s are rated a little higher (again, that's subjective), so might have been a good set to test also. I bet you do like them.
Eventually I'll get a 2nd set of something and will certainly check out the 6s. Thanks for the tip, Will!
Andy
BIAB 2017 Ultra
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They cost a little more, but I use the Sennheiser HD6 mixing headphones, and am delighted. As ever, you have to listen to a mix on several systems to make sure its right. My acid test is to make a CD and listen to it in the car. if it sounds good there, it's finished. I love the Sennheiser HD6s, so consider this another vote for them from me!
Will - PG Music
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Go for the Mo-Fi headphones. They are a bit pricy but worth the money.
Computer: Macbook Pro, 16 inch 2021
DAWs: Pro Tools, Logic, and Maschine
plays drums, percussion, bass, steel pan, keyboard,
music producer/engineer
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I like recording vocals with one cup on, closed headphones. Do open headphones achieve that also, or what are they designed for? I find having both cups on, with my very good closed set (HD 280s) doesn't give me enough in-the-moment sound and I'm flat/sharp a lot. The HD's are great for mixing, coupled with good monitors (and trials on other cd players,car, etc.).
Thanks.
Andy
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You would not use open headphones as you record vocals; the sound would bleed into the mic.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Headphones are like stereo speakers in that they are all biased or add coloration to the sound. Be aware of that up front. To minx on them you will need to "learn them".
That said, almost every studio has them and they are critical for monitoring during recording takes.
My advice.... for what it's worth.
Go to a music store and try them. Ask the sales guy to let you try the ones you are interested in possibly buying. You will find that they sound quite different from each other.
Find a pair that feel good and are comfortable. remember, you'll likely be wearing them for several hours at a time. Next is the sound quality. Listen to the lows and the highs and the mids. In fact, I highly recommend that you carry your own source material on a laptop, phone, or mp3 player and an adapter in case they are 1/4" plugs. Play the same material for each pair you try. A good source song is Heart's Magic Man. It has synths that are high and it also has that dive-bombing super low synth in it to test the bottom response as well as the standard instruments and vocals. Also select a song of the same genre and style that you plan to work with. Put the cans through their paces.
My story on cans. I went to the store with a budget of $300 top. I was looking for a pair to replace my existing Yamaha rh5ma cheap cans. I bought those on an impulse buy from the 50% off bargain bin in a Guitar Center store for $30. They don't sound bad. In fact I use them all the time in my studio and have even mixed...as in final mix.... several songs on them. They work and sound good and are comfortable enough to wear for hours of recording and mixing.
I went to the store with my mp3 player and my ear buds that cost $20. (Creative EP-630). Note that these ear buds are well built and have exceptionally good sound quality and superb low end reproduction, due to the rubber ear-cups that seal quite nicely. They are sound reducing and I have used them in a pinch when mowing the lawn and shooting my rifle to reduce the ambient dB level to prevent hearing damage. Back to the store... I tried several of the cans in the +$200 range and compared them to the sound in the 630's. End result....all of the cans were disappointing. I could hear no discernible improvement in sound reproduction with the high dollar cans over the $20 ear buds. I walked out of the store having bought nothing. The 630's had the same or similar sound quality, and in one case better sound quality than the cans costing nearly 15 times as much.
You want to audition the cans you plan on buying and just remember that the price of the headphones doesn't always equate to better sound. Trust your ears and not the hype from the ads or the salesman in the store.
BTW: You can still buy the Yamaha rh5ma cans on Amazon brand new for around $50 And the Creative EO-630's for $20 on Amazon. And, BTW.... I have used my ear buds when tracking vocals. Talk about having almost ZERO bleed into the mic.... nothing even close to the cans which do tend to bleed.
My 2 cents worth
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 04/08/17 02:02 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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All good info. I didn't think about bleeding, Matt.
Herb, that is great to know. I need another set and I'll look for those. And listen.
Thanks, guys.
Andy
BIAB 2017 Ultra
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All good info. I didn't think about bleeding, Matt.
Herb, that is great to know. I need another set and I'll look for those. And listen.
Thanks, guys. Bleed happens. No matter what you use...closed back, open back, ear buds..... it all depends on how loud the mix is in the cans and how sensitive the mic is. A good condenser will pick up the bleed no matter how low it is in the cans. The big question is will it be an issue? Generally if you do some editing of the vocal track with volume envelopes or mute, you can get rid of it. The problem with either of those arises when you have reverb trails in the track. You can't mute those.... but again, if the bleed is of the program material and the source is playing, you got a nice coverup happening and no harm no foul.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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singing flat while tracking vocals using cans is a time honored tradition!
If you have issue with this, and want to avoid bleed, one cup off does work - just set the playback balance to feed only the cup that is on your head.
You can do this in your DAW or on your headphone amp if it has a balance control which it probably doesn't.
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Some people just cut the wire to one side of the headphones.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Thanks, guys. RS, if so, I am a CHAMPION! I try the balance deal (such an obvious thing to try. DOUGH!) cut a wire, and try removing a cup. I have several cruddy sets that I can experiment with. Happy Monday!
Andy
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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