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Headphone Recommendations

Hey, there!

My lovely remote client, Denise Fleener, wrote:

Along the lines of headphones…can you recommend a few choices of headphone for the home studio VO artist?
Thanks, as always, for all the info!
Denise

Absolutely, including one which I’ve been using for over 2 decades, and the other I use more and more frequently.

Here’s info on the two headphones I use all the time. You can use either of them effectively in a home studio situation, and easily with the AT-2020 USB Plus microphone. One is the Sony MDR 7506 headphones, and the other is what I call the Sony $10 earbuds.

First, you might consider the Sony MDR 7506 over-the-ear headphones. These classic, amazing headphones are in use in radio studios all around the world, and have been for years. They have a clean, vibrant, full sound that accurately reproduces every nuance in your voice. The plug is a stereo 1/8″ mini jack, and has a screw-on adapter for 1/4″ professional jacks as well, and comes with a drawstring carry bag:

Screen Shot 2013-03-30 at 5.04.52 PM

Here’s a link to the Sony MDR 7506 headphones that I use.

Second, and I use these in class when I’m recording voice tracks and mixing them back for playback, are also from Sony. And I call them the “Sony $10 earbuds,” because they’ve changed the model numbers a few times over the years – so just know, that if you get the Sony earbuds that are around $10 (sometimes on sale for less), you’ll be golden. The Sony MDREX10LP is a typical set of earbuds, fitting in your ear canals, with three different sizes of soft rubber tips included, so you can fit them to your particular ear size. They’re ultra comfy, and they reproduce terrific sound just as well as the MDR 7506s, but you’ll need an adapter if you’re going to plug them into a 1/4″ jack. They have the added bonus of being very, very portable:

Screen Shot 2013-03-30 at 5.02.18 PM

Here’s a link to the Sony MDREX10LP Earbuds that I use.

I hope this helps.

David

11 Responses to Headphone Recommendations

  1. eugenia cre April 3, 2013 at 12:28 pm #

    Thanks for all the fab info you provide, david – greatly apprecited – and, btw, I created my email address long before the other person did! My given name is eugenia and have always gone by “genie” – I’m an actor, ergo “actorgenie” … just fyi! ;-)

  2. Craig Burnett May 29, 2014 at 5:32 am #

    Two things changed my life.

    One, when Marice Tobias told me to stop recording with my Sony MDVR-7506’s on (the only headphones I, too, have used for more than 20 years). My voice is much more genuine now, and it’s much easier to “find my signature voice.”

    Two, when David Lawrence told me about the Sony $10 headphones. I immediately bought several pair, and carry them in all my bags.

    Good times.

  3. Pat England May 29, 2014 at 6:51 am #

    Thanks David. Great info!

  4. Kyle McCarley May 29, 2014 at 11:50 am #

    My go-to headphones are the audio-technica ATH-M40fs. They’re fantastic over the ear cans for a relatively low price ($50 on Sweetwater right now), low bleed, completely flat EQ, so you hear exactly what’s being recorded. Also in use in a couple studios I’ve been in.

  5. Lawrence March 6, 2017 at 5:54 am #

    Those earbuds can take abuse, too. I bought two pairs at David’s recommendation a few years ago. Ever since I’ve bunched them up and stuffed them in desk drawers or a backpack, stretched the wires pulling them out of my ears, and occasionally stepped on them. The second set remains in its box as back-up. I continue using the first pair, which has taken all that foul treatment and still works perfectly.

  6. Stan Robinowitz March 6, 2017 at 6:18 am #

    I have the classic Sennheiser HD 414 which was reissued and updated in1995. I have new yellow pads. for them.
    When i bought them they had a raffle for a new classic VW Beetle. By the time I bought them the contest expired.
    By the was David how much is each video and also how much is the audio version

  7. John March 6, 2017 at 12:55 pm #

    Are there any wireless over-ear options you’ve tried that maintain fidelity at an attractive price point?

  8. Stan Robinowitz March 7, 2017 at 8:54 am #

    How much is each video and how much is each audio of self direction lesson one

    • David H. Lawrence XVII March 7, 2017 at 10:14 am #

      Ah. Each class in the curriculum is $75. If you want to take any class, just visit https://vo2gogo.com/vclasses and scroll to the class you want. If you haven’t yet purchased that class, you’ll be given instructions o how to register.

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