Headphones: Can they be studio monitors AND noise cancelling?

[Ted]

I'm looking for some new noise-cancelling over-the-ear headphones, but I'd like to have some good studio monitor headphones for recording. I can't seem to find any that are described as both.

By "noise-cancelling," I mean headphones that have a little bit of circuitry that blocks out external noise better than closed backs and padding can do.

Is this a mutually-exclusive situation?

If not, are there any recommendations - $300 US or less?

If so, I'll probably just get some good noise-cancelling headphones and ignore whatever rationale there  is why I shouldn't use them as studio monitors.

[T.C. Elliott]

tl;dr - I recommend Sony MDR7506 closed back headphones for mixing etc.,

So a couple of points:

1- "You shouldn't use earphones to mix..." blah blah blah. It's mostly a crap argument but let's get it out of the way. I've heard some great mixes using only headphones. I've heard crap mixes using studio monitors. ymmv but I've found advantages to both and prefer to check my mix on both.

B- "Noise Cancelling." Not sure what the difference is between "noise cancelling" and closed back. I'm assuming the closed back headphones with the least amount of bleed are "noise cancelling." But the helpful video on amazon just mentioned closed back as being used for "isolating the sound" and reducing or eliminating bleed.

III- I'm assuming that the reason for "noise cancelling" is for bleed while recording. But if it's "merely" for keeping other people from being annoyed hearing what you're doing then I think you'll be happy with most closed back headphones.

4- Mixing at lower volumes is usually the best for reducing ear fatigue, getting a better balance in your mix and protecting your hearing. Obviously brief moments of louder and softer volume is always a good idea. So the tradeoff of sound quality vs reducing noise bleed at super high volumes (if there is a tradeoff)  is only relevant if you're using super high volume to listen.

My suggestion is the Sony MDR7506. It's closed back so it reduces bleed and has the best sound quality for the money. You can pick up a  pair in the states for under $100. (I just saw them on Amazon for 89.99 and free shipping with prime.) They are not the best at reducing bleed and noise cancelling but they're pretty darn good and the sound quality is the best in any headphone I've tried for under $200. They are relatively flat but still clear. I've noticed ear fatigue is reduced versus other "budget" headphones. However if you are primarily concerned about bleed then other headphones may be better at that.

Good luck.

[TPB]

I use a set of stienhuaser and TASCAM 300 to mix both are closed back The only thing I have to stay mindful of on the headphones is the bass is stronger in the cans
Tim

[T.C. Elliott]

Just realized you said recording and not mixing. I don't know how I was so easily derailed. But my advice remains the same because I prefer the sound quality to the 7506s to the others I've tried.

[Ted]

B- "Noise Cancelling." Not sure what the difference is between "noise cancelling" and closed back. I'm assuming the closed back headphones with the least amount of bleed are "noise cancelling."

Not quite. Noise-cancelling means there are some active electronics that cancel out environmental noise. People use these to help them concentrate, or sleep on airplanes, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise-cancelling_headphones] A microphone captures the targeted ambient sounds, and a small amplifier generates sound waves that are exactly out of phase with the undesired sounds. When the sound pressure of the noise wave is high, the cancelling wave is low (and vice versa). The opposite sound waves collide and are eliminated or "cancelled".

I'm starting to think that these types of headphones are mutually exclusive.

[64Guitars]

Not something I have any experience with. My general impression is that most noise-cancelling headphones are wireless and that wireless headphones generally don't perform as well as wired headphones, so they might not be as suitable for monitoring. But I could be wrong, and I'm sure there are exceptions anyway.

I just had a very brief look and found these which sound promising from the website's description, though they're slightly more than your $300 limit.

Marshall Monitor II A.N.C.
https://www.marshallheadphones.com/us/en/monitor-ii-anc.html

They have active noise cancellation circuitry (ANC) but it can be switched off when monitoring for better sound quality. They have Bluetooth 5.0, so they can be used wirelessly. However, they also come with an audio cable which you could use when monitoring. When the audio cable is plugged into the headphones, Bluetooth is disconnected. I would expect the sound quality to be better when using the audio cable than when using Bluetooth.

You can view/download the user manual here: https://www.marshallheadphones.com/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-SharedLibrary-Marshall/default/dwe0dadd06/images/cms-pages/user/Monitor_II_ANC_Online_User_manual__R1_0_en.pdf

I don't know how they sound but this review says that the frequency response isn't flat. They say "There is an emphasis on midbass, a slight decline in the middle, and another slight emphasis on the lower part of the treble, although the highs are generally smooth." But I suspect that their assessment is purely subjective rather than scientific. Here's another review which seems to confirm that the frequency response is far from flat. Although, I'm not sure if their testing was done in Bluetooth mode with ANC on or using the audio cable with ANC off. It might say in the article - I didn't read it very carefully.

The price on the Marshall website is $319.99, which is slightly higher than your $300 limit. But I assume that the street price could be lower if you can find them. I checked on Sweetwater and a few other US retailers and they didn't carry them. I found them on Best Buy's website for $319.99 which is exactly the same as Marshall's price. The only other place I found them is at audico in South Africa. But their price is 5,990 Rand which, according to oanda, is equivalent to $408.47 US, so not a good price and way over your $300 budget. But I didn't spend a lot of time searching, so you might have better luck.

Don't take my comments as a recommendation of the Marshall Monitor II headphones as I have no idea how they sound and whether the sound is accurate enough for monitoring. It seems like most consumer audio products these days are made to sound "good" rather than accurate. But for monitoring, accuracy is very important. Having said that, I think the Marshall's are worth checking out. Also, there may be other headphones available with similar features. I think the two key things to look for are a switch to turn the ANC off, and an included audio cable for monitoring without the sound degradation of a wireless connection. I noticed that some headphones have an ANC switch but it doesn't turn it off. Instead, it mixes in outside sounds captured from the microphone so you can hear what's going on around you, but noise cancelling is not disabled so they probably wouldn't be suitable for monitoring.

Here's what Sweetwater carries in headphones that have ANC:

https://www.sweetwater.com/c412--Headphones?all&sb=popular&params=eyJmYWNldCI6eyJOb2lzZSBBdHRlbnVhdGlvbiI6WyJBY3RpdmUgTm9pc2UgQ2FuY2VsbGluZyJdfX0

Maybe you can find some there with an audio cable and a switch to turn ANC off. Just make sure the switch actually turns the ANC off and doesn't merely mix in the outside sounds from the mic.

[T.C. Elliott]

Not quite. Noise-cancelling means there are some active electronics that cancel out environmental noise. People use these to help them concentrate, or sleep on airplanes, etc.

That makes sense, but most of the ones I saw that were "noise-cancelling" merely described them as closed back in the details. It's odd. But maybe that's on the lower end of the market. I didn't bother looking at anything much more expensive than the Sony's which are on the low end pricewise.

[Ted]

My general impression is that most noise-cancelling headphones are wireless and that wireless headphones generally don't perform as well as wired headphones,

I think you are right. The headphones I've been using for about 8 years now are not wireless, and they have and the ANC can be turned on and off. I bought them mostly for the 30-hour travel days between the Arizona and Madagascar, but I kind of trust them for mixing, and I always mix with headphones. (I don't have studio monitor speakers.) And because I use the Micro BR for most things, I don't care about wireless.

I'll check out those Marshall reviews. Those are the closest I've seen to the dual-use scenario I envision. But I'm thinking these have a price premium intended for people who want to be wear the Marshall logo on their heads. Maybe I should abandon the dual-purpose scenario. For that price, I could buy some noise-cancelling earbuds for flights etc., and a decent pair of wired phones monitoring when I record and mix.

Thanks for the info. I'll update this post if I find other options.

[alfstone]

For those of you who prefer to work music (mastering, mixing etc.) with headphones.

Here:

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results

this guy put the needed eq for more than 2500 (!!!!!) different headphones.

Enjoy!

 

Alfredo

[Ted]

this guy put the needed eq for more than 2500 (!!!!!) different headphones.

What does one do with this info?

Would I mix my music wearing my favorite headphones, and then tweak the EQ before the final mixdown to compensate for the characteristics of my favorite headphones?