Best Headphones for Location Sound (Top 3 Professional Options)
Headphones are a way of life for the location sound mixer. Discover which pairs are best in this article!
Headphones are effectively “ear-replacements” for location sound mixers. For many hours a day, the only sounds you hear come directly from your microphones, through your headphones, and into your ears.
Considering this, it is extremely important that your headphones sound good and are comfortable. There are a lot of factors that make a headphone good for these purposes. This article was created as a guide to teach you about those factors so that you can find the best headphone for yourself.
As such, I recommend reading this article from beginning to end. That way, when you get to the recommendations, you will fully understand all that each model has to offer, as well as their drawbacks.
Click here to jump straight to the best headphones for location sound.
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Why Independent Research is Important
Manufacturers are marketing masters. They know how to bend numbers to make a product seem better than it really is.
For example, headphone manufacturers often use unrealistic figures for noise isolation. Noise isolation measures how effective a headphone is at blocking ambient sounds. Good noise isolation is desirable so you can enjoy your music at lower volumes without any distracting sounds from your environment leaking in (people talking, machinery, sirens, etc).
Headphones are much better at blocking higher frequency sounds than lower frequency sounds. Manufacturers know this, so they use only the data for high frequencies to advertise the overall noise isolation value.
For example, a headphone may advertise a noise isolation value of -30 dB. You would expect your environment to become 30 decibels quieter after putting them on, but that’s not the case. In reality, when you measure the decibel reduction of all frequencies the human ear can hear and then take the average, you find the headphones only offer -15 dB of noise isolation.
Anyways, that’s a really long explanation of why I always look for independent product reviews and research when writing these articles.
Fortunately, an amazing resource exists full of detailed, independent testing of most headphones on the market. RTINGS headphone reviews is the most comprehensive and scientific authority on headphone testing. I will be referencing their data in this article.
RELATED: Best Shotgun Mics For Location Sound
Important Headphone Considerations
Before picking the best headphone, it is important to understand and consider the following topics. Becoming an informed buyer will help you make an intelligent decision you won’t regret.
Comfort
Comfort is the #1 consideration because even the best headphones in the world are useless if they are uncomfortable. Sure, you might be able to put up with them for a few hours, but when your job requires you to wear headphones up to 10 hours/day, they’re not even an option.
There are a lot of factors that determine a headphone’s overall comfort level. For this article, I focused on three variables: headphone type, weight, and clamping force.
Headphone Type
There are many different types of headphones but some are more comfortable than others. The following list is ranked from least to most comfortable. (This is a general consensus that most people agree with, your opinion may vary)
1. In-Ear — In-ear headphones fit directly into the ear canal and outer-ear ridges, creating a seal to ambient surroundings. Because of this, they are the best headphones for noise isolation and are commonly used by live performers.
However, they are not popular for location sound headphones for a few reasons. First, having a foreign object directly in the ear canal is uncomfortable for most people. You can get custom-molded in-ears that fit perfectly, but between the molding and manufacturing process, a pair can cost $600-$1400.
Additionally, taking in-ears on and off takes a little bit of time because of the small adjustments necessary to get them seated properly in your ears. This may seem small, but they’re so good at blocking outside sound that you’ll have to remove at least one whenever someone is talking to you. An entire day of this can be frustrating.
best for isolation
uncomfortable for some
time consuming to put on/take off
2. Earbuds — Like in-ears, earbuds also fit into the ear canal, but not as deep. This makes them worse at noise isolation but more comfortable for most users. What earbuds lack for location sound engineers is accurate audio, noise isolation, long-term comfort, and professionalism.
uncomfortable for some
inaccurate audio
unprofessional appearance
3. On-Ear — On-ears, not surprisingly, fit directly on your ear. They are used by some sound engineers in the industry. They look professional and can do a great job if you find them comfortable. When it comes to the on-ear fit, you either love it or you hate it. Personally, I don’t like having my ears pinned to my head and actually find it painful after only 20 minutes. However, if you like this style, the Sennheiser HD 25 is the industry leader in this category.
love or hate the fit
keep ears cooler than over-ear
accurate sound
professional appearance
4. Over-Ear — Over-ear headphones are far-and-away the most used type of headphone for location sound because of their comfort level. Many models are purpose-built for monitoring audio and boast highly accurate sound reproduction. Also, putting them on/off takes just seconds making for easier communication on set.
most comfortable
ears can get hot
accurate sound
professional appearance
Neutral Sound
Neutral sound headphones play sounds just how they sound. No levels are boosted in any frequency and the sound is reproduced as accurately as possible.
Unless you are making EQ tweaks on location, neutral sound headphones are not very important until you get back to the studio and begin editing. Here, it will be very important to hear your sounds as accurately as possible so that your mix can sound natural on as many devices as possible.
Each headphone listed in this article was tested for accuracy across three frequency ranges: bass (20Hz-250Hz), mid (250Hz-2kHz), and treble (2kHz-9kHz).
Impedance
Impedance is measured in ohms (Ω) and measures the amount of power needed to drive a pair of headphones. Headphone impedance ranges between 8-600 Ω. Lower values requires less power and vice versa.
Higher ohm headphones provide better overall sound & enhanced bass reproduction
If your recorder cannot fully power your headphones, your audio will be very low volume, even with the gain cranked all the way up. Make sure your recorder matches or surpasses your headphones Ω.
How to Find Device Ω Output?
Most manufactures will have this value listed under the “Headphone Output Power” specification. Try looking there first.
If you cannot find this value specifically, the general rule of thumb is that most portable recorders can power headphones with ≤ 50 Ω.
How to Use High Impedance Headphones On Location
Some higher-end dedicated recorders have powerful headphone amps built into their design. Professional recorders like the Sound Devices Mixpre Series have powerful headphone amplifiers capable of powering “any impedance headphone” as stated on their website.
Best Headphones for Location Sound
Most Popular: Sony MDR-7506
Tried and true since 1991, the Sony MDR-7506 is perhaps the most widely used headphone by audio professionals. Comfortable, lightweight, and neutral sounding, the 7506 gets the job done and doesn’t cost a fortune to replace, which you might have to because the build quality is cheap.
• 0.46 lbs • -11.75 dB isolation • 63 Ω
The MDR-7506 headphones were released by Sony back in 1991 and audio professionals have been using them ever since. To this day, they are still the most popular headphone for location sound.
The Sony MDR-7506 are straightforward recording headphones featuring neutral sounding bass and mid frequencies. There is a 10 dB spike at 10kHz making sibilants particularly sharp.
They do not have the best build quality although they are lightweight and comfortable.
They are fairly affordable but I wish they offered a little more noise isolation. Also, at 63 Ω impedance, they are slightly on the higher side, but you should still be able to get enough sound from them with nearly any device.
| Pro: | Con: |
|---|---|
| • good sound for low budget | • plastic build |
| • comfortable | • overemphasized treble @10kHz |
| • lightweight | • poor isolation |
| • excellent bass and mid accuracy | • non-detachable cable |
Best Overall: Audio Technica ATH-M50x
The ATH-M50x headphones are professional monitors that have a lot of great features.
Across all bass, mid, and treble frequencies, the ATH-M50x excels at reproducing accurate sound. The only critique is that mid-treble frequencies are under-emphasized by 3 dB, detracting a small amount of detail and brightness.
Build construction is solid and is made from higher density plastic than the Sony MDR-7506, giving the headphones a sturdy feel. Additionally, the metal frame reinforcing the headband is thicker than previous Audio Technica models, adding another layer of durability.
As an added bonus, the ATH-M50x headphones come with three different cables: 4’ and 10’ coiled cables and a 4’ straight cable.
The only thing that would make these headphones better is better isolation, which is rather poor at just -11.45 dB.
| Pro: | Con: |
|---|---|
| • excellent accuracy | • poor isolation |
| • durable construction | • under-emphasized mid-treble |
| • comfortable | |
| • lightweight | |
| • detachable cable |
Best Neutral Sound: Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro
The Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones are very good, closed-back, neutral listening headphones.
The DT 770 Pros are extremely accurate across all tested frequencies with near perfect bass and mid. Treble is also good, with a slight, 2.5 dB high-treble emphasis, making the 770s a bit bright sounding.
All impedance versions of the DT 770 Pro have non-detachable cables but the length and style varies. The 32 Ohm comes with a 4-foot (1.6m) straight cable. The 80 Ohm comes with a 10-foot (3m) straight cable. And the 250 Ohm version comes with a 10-foot (3m) coiled cable.
All models come with a soft, microfiber fabric on the ear pads that makes them very comfortable to wear. If you would rather have leather earpads, Adorama has that option for the 32 Ohm version.
They are solidly built with durable, dense plastic that can take some drops, and features a metal frame.
The DT 770 Pro headphones do not fold or lay flat like other models, making them more difficult to fit in a bag.
The 770 Pros have the best isolation so far at -13.81 dB, a fair rating.
| Pro: | Con: |
|---|---|
| • excellent accuracy | • tight fitting |
| • microfiber padding | • do not fold or lay flat |
| • durable construction | • non-detachable cable |
Final Thoughts
Any of the headphones on this list will do a great job on set. All of them are already well-established models in the field and are used by real professionals.
None of them are particularly good at isolation, but that is a fault of closed-back, over-ear headphones as a whole. Most are engineered for use in a studio where things are already quiet so isolation is not a priority.
If you work on loud sets and find ambient audio leakage a problem, you may be interested in aviation headphones. They don’t offer neutral sound, but they have great noise isolation. A pair sometimes used for this purpose are the David Clark H10-13s on Amazon. They’re built like tanks and offer -23 dB of isolation.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me through my contact page.
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-Jared
