Which headphone you use for digital piano practicing?

nhanzero

Hi,

It's been a year since I got here and have been practicing piano like a madman on P-515 and ATH M50x headphone, but lately the headphone has started developing cracking noise when I play loud passages, I wonder if it has run its course and maybe want to upgrade to better headphone. Which ones do the folks here for practicing? I'm eyeing on Sennheiser HD600 or HD650, maybe it could last longer than M50x.

Thank you.

Starfish

nhanzero I use Sony WH-1000XM4. They are ultra-comfortable, excellent sound quality, and have highly effective noise cancelling. They support bluetooth - but I use them wired for minimal latency.

I needed headphones for jamming over the Internet (we do this using Jamulus), both with the keyboard and also acoustic instruments like violin. Particularly with an acoustic instrument I needed to hear the sound coming back as others hear it, so cutting down direct sound was important - hence the noise cancelling - but actually, it helps in really helping me focus in on the piano and what I'm playing when playing on my own.

David B

I really like these headphones.

https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-headphones#login

Sometimes they are on sale for around $150. I've bought three pairs of these over the last few years. One for me, my wife and son. Super comfortable and great sound (to our ears).

God Bless,
David

nhanzero

David B It looks lovely but my local Senn dealers don't have such model, they only have 560S, 599, 600 and 650.

Austin_D

David B Couldn't the second wire from the right earpiece have been avoided? To me, even one wire, from the left earpiece, is enough to lower the comfort.

MHirsch

Right now I use Philips Fidelio X2. But I play 30 minutes/day digitally, max.

CyberGene

I think open-back headphones are much better for piano practicing than closed-back. Even the fact your ears are "breathing" makes it a more comfortable experience and the sound is less boxy, thus more realistic to how a real piano would sound to you when playing it live. Unless you need to be completely silent (difficult with digital pianos anyway because their actions will always make a thumping sound that is really annoying), there's no real advantage of using closed-back headphones. These are useful in studio situations for recording vocals since open-back headphones would bleed and the sound will be captured by the microphones. However an open-back pair will have as a general rule a better sound and better frequency response. With my N1X I use both Sennheiser HD-595 and HD-650.

nhanzero

CyberGene Is the high impedence of 650 would be a problem with Headphone Out on digital piano, the Headphone Out would not have enough power to drive it? Yes the closed-back is very uncomfortable and sweaty after 1 or 2 hours of practice, the 650 is big enough I think it would make a good one, I'm just not sure about the impedence

MacMacMac

nhanzero but my local Senn dealers don't have such model, they only have 560S, 599, 600 and 650.

Count yourself lucky to find those! I've found very few dealers with a broad selection of phones. 🙁

David's uses the Senn 58x. Those are sold by Massdrop online.
I use the Senn 579. Very nice. I think they came from Amazon.

CyberGene I think open-back headphones are much better for piano practicing that closed-back.

I agree with CyberGene on this. I find the open phones are much better (and not just for piano).
Closed phones (a) don't sound as good and (b) they are uncomfortable head clamps.

CyberGene

nhanzero Is the high impedence of 650 would be a problem with Headphone Out on digital piano, the Headphone Out would not have enough power to drive it?

Depends on the piano. On my N1X there's just enough power with the volume slightly below max for my HD650. The HD595-s are better in that respect. Their signature is a bit brighter though. I'm not sure how P515 is in terms of power but since it's a new model and Yamaha are an audio company and HD650 are probably one of the most popular headphones, they should have ensured the power is enough.

David B

nhanzero Is the high impedence of 650 would be a problem with Headphone Out on digital piano, the Headphone Out would not have enough power to drive it?

Another reason to consider the 58X Jubilee. Impedance is only 150 ohms. No need for an amp and they work fine with digital pianos, iPhones, computers, etc., with lots of headroom on the volume selector.

God Bless,
David

CeDur

If you care for durability, look at some Beyerdynamics. DT990Pro or DT770Pro (if you're after closed ones). They will definitely last much longer than M50x with that faux leather pads. Also, they are available in low impedance variants.

HD600/650 are open and it's top3 of comfortable headphones I ever had on my head 😉 Soundwise, it's a matter of taste, I do like AKG K701/702/7XX sound more - more detailed and analytical, but a bit bass-shy. Also very comfortable and can be bought really cheap nowadays.

nhanzero

HD600/650 have the same shape that HD58X Jubilee, so it's just as comfortable and they are (theoretically) 'better' sounding.

nhanzero

CeDur Thank you, I will have a look at those.

CyberGene Thank you, I will have a look at the specs of the pianos and headphones.

CeDur

David B

Not to go too deep into details, but I just want to warn people about considering impedance alone as the only factor deciding 'how loud' or 'how easy to drive' the headphone will be. Sensitivity matters as well. For example, AKG K701 is only 62 Ohm rated impedance, but sensitivity is around 90 dB/mW SPL (quite low) which makes them quite power hungry.

MacMacMac

Both open and closed backs can be 'head clamps'. Typical discomfort in case of the latter comes from the fact that there's no 'airflow' causing more pressure build up (air pressure when the sound is generated, not the headphone 'pressing' on the head by itself).

Still, I agree that open-backs are better choice unless someone's listening in really loud environement. In such case open-backs would require really high volume levels to 'hide' environmental noise which is not healthy by any mean.

vagfilm

I have Senn 599. When I ordered from amazon, I also bought a pair of AKGs (don't remember the model) of the same price range. The AKG were returned the following day.

David B

Austin_D Couldn't the second wire from the right earpiece have been avoided? To me, even one wire, from the left earpiece, is enough to lower the comfort.

These things are light as a feather. They were a little strong in the clamping force at first, but have "broken-in" fine. I have worn them for several hours at a time and have not experienced hot-spots or discomfort. Same with my wife and son.

God Bless,
David

dore_m

I use plain old Sony MDRV6's, which are the cans you see on every late 80's-90's DJ's head. But they're made for flat response like all monitor headphones, and not to "sound good".

What I want is a headphone with accelerometer/gyro so I more easily do the head tracking needed for VR. Some headphones have them, including ones from Sony and Apple, but no manufacturer allows development on their headphone platforms.

n-player

I use Sony MDR-MA900. They are featherweight and ultra open.

Theophilus Carter

Sony MDR7506.

dore_m

Theophilus Carter
The renamed mdrv6's. Not just me then.

OdliDPrincess

Senn 599 is also in my collection.