Music mixing is a form of art that requires a good ear, a great sense of rhythm and of course, the best types of headphones.
Headphones, the bigger and bulkier brother of the portable earphones, is a must for any good music mixers. Unlike earphones, headphones cover your entire ear. It might sometimes be difficult to wear them on when you are outdoors and wearing glasses. No worries, Music Critic has a guide you can follow for that. Headphones do a great job on isolating music from the outside noise. They allow you to hear the music as if you’re in a club or a concert. In this article, we will present some of the best types of headphones for music mixers and discuss why they’re the best.
Headphone Types
First thing you need to know is two different types of headphones that we’re going to be presenting in this article: Open-back and Closed-back.
Open-back headphones, as the name implies, have the back of the headphone cups open. Your ears will be open to the outside air, meaning they will stay cool while listening to music. Music will have more space to cover, resulting in your music not having any echo and blends it with the outside world as if you are in your own music video. While open-back’s advantages sound good, it has its own disadvantages. One is being open to the surrounding environment. Yes, this is one of its advantages, however being open exposes it to more outside noise.
Closed-back headphones, as you may already know, is the opposite of open-back. The back of the headphone cups is closed which trap the music and your ears together. This design makes your music sound more confined, making your ear absorb all the audio input. Closed-back headphones are also amazing at blocking any form of outside noise, however, this means it also blocks air. This makes your ear sweat more after long music sessions.
Now that we have discussed their advantages and disadvantages, let’s see which headphones are the best for music mixers in their respective types.
Open-back
If you love music and also want to look great while wearing it, the HIFIMAN SUSVARA does the job very well. It has a metallic and wooden design, hand-finished to look like the gentleman of headphones. Its looks isn’t the only thing that this headphone has to show off though. It boasts a frequency response of 6Hz – 75kHz and uses a new advanced magnet design that reduces sound distortion and improves the overall integrity of sound waves. Innovative and classy.
Comfort and amazing bass depth, this is what the Audeze LCD-4 guarantees. If you want headphones that treat your ears well, this one’s for you. Its earpads are made from premium leather-like material, giving your ears a nice and texturized cushion. Weighing at only 370g, it will rest lightly on your head while the earpads hug your ears. Other than the comfort it provides, it also has an exceptional bass depth paired with its frequency response of 5Hz – 50kHz that brings out the best lows headphones can offer. A perfect balance of quality and comfort.
Considered as one of the best audiophile headphones, the Sennheiser HD800S screams “open-back”. It has one of the widest sound stages headphones have to offer. Having a sturdy and lightweight build, weighing at only 330g, it rests on top over your head with its soft earpads with music seamlessly blending with your surroundings as it plays. It has a frequency response of 4Hz – 51kHz which results in very detailed mids and highs. It’s also has a pretty generous price for its value. This is definitely one of the headphones you have to check out.
Closed-back
Personalization and noise-cancellation is where the Sony WH1000XM3 excels. It’s a wireless headphone that has a very dynamic noise-cancellation system that can detect if you’re walking on a busy street, traveling on a moving vehicle or waiting in a public area. The headphones’ system will automatically adjust the ambient sound settings for you depending on where you are and what you are doing. Aside from these amazing noise-cancellation features, the headphones give a good sound balance in the low and mid-tones and it has a frequency response of 4Hz – 40kHz, which emphasizes on bass. Truly, a wonder brought by modern technology.
Comparable to a double-edged sword, the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x sacrifices a bit of its noise-cancellation to bring forth a really powerful bass. It has a rather tight clamp paired with soft earpads to keep it in place while still maintaining comfort. Its earcups can also have a 90-degree swivel to easily monitor with one ear. It has a frequency response of 15Hz – 28kHz which hits all the sweet spots when listening to music with lots of basses. A powerful headphone, perfect for studio use.
Verdict
And there you have it, our picks of some of the best headphones for music mixers. Whether you work in a studio or just mix music as a hobby, these headphones will truly make your music sound better and give your listeners a unique musical experience.
