Headphones while shooting

Cliff Etzel · July 1st, 2008, 06:24 PM

Wanted to know which is a better way to go for monitoring audio while shooting - in ear noise isolation or over the ear headphones.

I'm leaning more towards in ear as they are small and easy to travel with. But I'm not sure if they are the proper/best solution for monitoring audio while shooting. I've used over the ear headphones - specifically the AKG K44's and they seem like a decent set of cans, but the size is difficult to work with when needing to transport them since I work as a one person production crew.

My budget is pretty tapped after my recent purchases of a Sennheiser G2 wireless Lav and new Shotgun mic so I can't go for the upper crust cans - Any recommendations for a moderately priced monitoring solution while shooting???

Don Bloom · July 1st, 2008, 06:51 PM

Sony 7506-had the same set for 7 or 8 years and they work great. Small enough to fit into a small bag crammed with all kinds of gear -comfy enough to wear for hours.
About $100 IIRC.

Don

Richard Alvarez · July 1st, 2008, 07:47 PM

I'll second the Sony 7506s. I think I paid around $90 for mine, been a while though. Good cans, fold up nice in the pack.

Ear muffs are the way to go for really monitoring your audio. I do keep a pair of ear buds in my camerabag as emergency spares, and if I'm in a situation where I need to hear 'outside' the camera's audio for safety reasons.

Martin Catt · July 1st, 2008, 08:39 PM

Third call for Sony MDR-7506's. Shot a documentary of the Doolittle Raiders symposium at the local flight museum. The sound crew had 'em. I had a pair. Seems everywhere I look, the sound guy has a pair clamped on their head. Currently running about $99 USD. They seem to be a common denominator in the audio world. Plus, they give a good, loud sound from a low level drive.

Martin

Colin McDonald · July 1st, 2008, 09:25 PM

I just bought a pair of Sennheiser HD25 mk IIs three weeks ago after a lot of research. They are compact comfortable and isolate the audio very well, but I don't know if there are outwith your budget.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._25_1_II_.html

Bill Davis · July 1st, 2008, 11:14 PM

Just to expand this, there are a couple of good REASONS that the large numbers of shooters use Sony MDR-7506 headphones. And neither of them are about how great they are as general purpose musical headphones.

The first reason, as others have noted is their efficiency. It doesn't take a lot of juice to drive them to a very useful monitoring level. So they work great when being driven by a relatively anemic camera amps. (neither camcorders NOR pro cameras have even close to 100 plus watt home stereo system style power amps - so efficiency is mission critical)

Secondly, they are NOT the most accurate cans available and you don't WANT them to be.

The Sony's have a pretty pronounced "presence peak" right around the general frequency areas of human speech. This makes them pretty mediocre for listening to your stereo (unless you perversely enjoy brittle mid-range cellos and somewhat harsh horns, anyway.)

But PERFECT for monitoring dialog. It's the DIALOG that drives most field production. So you've GOT to hear that properly. If a talent slurs a word or mumbles, or reads a critical line wrong, it's just no good to discover that back in the edit suite. You need to hear it IN THE FIELD, so you can call for another take.

7506s are designed to let you monitor human speech well.

So you want to listen to music? Great - go buy yourself some full spectrum, balanced and very "musical" headphones and enjoy them. You want to listen to field recorded dialog to make sure you're not screwing up your recordings? Consider tools designed to do that well.

And one of those tools proven over time by countless professionals are Sony 7506 headphones.

My 2 cents, for what it's worth.

Michael Nistler · July 2nd, 2008, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cliff Etzel

Wanted to know which is a better way to go for monitoring audio while shooting - in ear noise isolation or over the ear headphones.

I'm leaning more towards in ear as they are small and easy to travel with. But I'm not sure if they are the proper/best solution for monitoring audio while shooting. I've used over the ear headphones - specifically the AKG K44's and they seem like a decent set of cans, but the size is difficult to work with when needing to transport them since I work as a one person production crew.

My budget is pretty tapped after my recent purchases of a Sennheiser G2 wireless Lav and new Shotgun mic so I can't go for the upper crust cans - Any recommendations for a moderately priced monitoring solution while shooting???

Right Cliff, the Sony 7506 is THE standard enjoyed by most filmmakers. Actually, I love to use my Sennheiser CX-300 earbuds for non-critical, casual work and wear them hours each day with my iPod or simple audio/video shooting:

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-CX3.../dp/B000E6G9RI

But you needs a set of cans to isolate ambient noise and ensure you're only hearing true audio from the headset without leakage from a set of earbuds.

BTW, when you get your Sony 7506 headphone, get a Garfield softie - your ears will be very happy you bought these:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...C=GAHSBK&Q=&O=

Good luck, Michael

Wayne Brissette · July 2nd, 2008, 02:23 AM

Like Colin, I use the Sennheiser HD-25 headphones. I prefer these over the Sony 7506's, but you have to search around to find good deals on them, even then they are usually double the price of the 7506 headphones. I find these headphones much more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time (and I wear them a lot). Here in the US, the Sony headphones tend to be worn more often, but it seems that in Europe the Sennheiser's are preferred by many of the mixers over the Sony's.

Regardless of what headphone you use, avoid earphones. They are too cumbersome to put in and unless you get a great seal, you don't get the frequency response you need.

Wayne

Gary Nattrass · July 2nd, 2008, 02:33 AM

Sony 7506 for me too, I also have two sets of the MDR-V700 DJ cans which have the same drivers, I use them and are used for editing if I need to be quiet.

Paul Kellett · July 2nd, 2008, 03:19 AM

Sony MDR 7506 for me too. They're excellent.

Paul.

Pietro Impagliazzo · July 2nd, 2008, 03:37 AM

Would this Audo Technica cheaper one perform the same? Or is it not so good in some aspect?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Headphone.html

Harm Millaard · July 2nd, 2008, 04:33 AM

I second the Sennheiser HD-25. Especially the rotatable left capsule for single ear monitoring is a handy feature. Superb quality and very high sensitivity.

Hubert Duijzer · July 2nd, 2008, 04:49 AM

Sony MDR 7506 too.
Comfortable, good isolation and good volume.
The downside is that i paid more than twice the US price here in europe.

Gary Nattrass · July 2nd, 2008, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hubert Duijzer

Sony MDR 7506 too.
Comfortable, good isolation and good volume.
The downside is that i paid more than twice the US price here in europe.

There are plenty of ways to buy them from the USA and even with import duty and vat here in the Uk they are still a bargain.

Hubert Duijzer · July 2nd, 2008, 06:31 AM

I looked into that too, but for the Netherlands it didn't matter that much. The price doubled also on shipping/import/vat.

July 1st, 2008, 06:24 PM	#1
Cliff Etzel Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Eugene, Oregon Posts: 325	Headphones while shooting - which ones? Wanted to know which is a better way to go for monitoring audio while shooting - in ear noise isolation or over the ear headphones. I'm leaning more towards in ear as they are small and easy to travel with. But I'm not sure if they are the proper/best solution for monitoring audio while shooting. I've used over the ear headphones - specifically the AKG K44's and they seem like a decent set of cans, but the size is difficult to work with when needing to transport them since I work as a one person production crew. My budget is pretty tapped after my recent purchases of a Sennheiser G2 wireless Lav and new Shotgun mic so I can't go for the upper crust cans - Any recommendations for a moderately priced monitoring solution while shooting??? __________________ Cliff Etzel - Photographer Website \| Blog

July 1st, 2008, 08:39 PM	#4
Martin Catt Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: The Colony TX Posts: 327	Third call for Sony MDR-7506's. Shot a documentary of the Doolittle Raiders symposium at the local flight museum. The sound crew had 'em. I had a pair. Seems everywhere I look, the sound guy has a pair clamped on their head. Currently running about $99 USD. They seem to be a common denominator in the audio world. Plus, they give a good, loud sound from a low level drive. Martin __________________ Canon XF300, Canon 5DMkII, Canon XL2, Rolls MX422 mixer, Zoom H4N, AT899 lavs, AT2020's, Azden SGM 1X shotgun, Manfrotto 501 head on 351 tripod

July 2nd, 2008, 02:23 AM	#8
Wayne Brissette Major Player Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 383	Like Colin, I use the Sennheiser HD-25 headphones. I prefer these over the Sony 7506's, but you have to search around to find good deals on them, even then they are usually double the price of the 7506 headphones. I find these headphones much more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time (and I wear them a lot). Here in the US, the Sony headphones tend to be worn more often, but it seems that in Europe the Sennheiser's are preferred by many of the mixers over the Sony's. Regardless of what headphone you use, avoid earphones. They are too cumbersome to put in and unless you get a great seal, you don't get the frequency response you need. Wayne __________________ Mics: KMR 82 i, NTG-1, MKH418S, MKH8040, SR77, QTC1, QTC40, SR30 Recorder: Zaxcom Deva 5.8 & MIX-12. Wireless: TRX900 stereo, Lectro 411

July 2nd, 2008, 02:33 AM	#9
Gary Nattrass Trustee Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Cornsay Durham UK Posts: 1,992	Sony 7506 for me too, I also have two sets of the MDR-V700 DJ cans which have the same drivers, I use them and are used for editing if I need to be quiet. __________________ Over 15 minutes in Broadcast Film and TV production: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1044352/

July 2nd, 2008, 03:19 AM	#10
Paul Kellett Trustee Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bristol UK Posts: 1,273	Sony MDR 7506 for me too. They're excellent. Paul. __________________ Round 2 GH5,FZ2000

July 1st, 2008, 06:51 PM	#2
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	Sony 7506-had the same set for 7 or 8 years and they work great. Small enough to fit into a small bag crammed with all kinds of gear -comfy enough to wear for hours. About $100 IIRC. Don

July 1st, 2008, 07:47 PM	#3
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	I'll second the Sony 7506s. I think I paid around $90 for mine, been a while though. Good cans, fold up nice in the pack. Ear muffs are the way to go for really monitoring your audio. I do keep a pair of ear buds in my camerabag as emergency spares, and if I'm in a situation where I need to hear 'outside' the camera's audio for safety reasons.

July 1st, 2008, 09:25 PM	#5
Colin McDonald Trustee Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 1,546	I just bought a pair of Sennheiser HD25 mk IIs three weeks ago after a lot of research. They are compact comfortable and isolate the audio very well, but I don't know if there are outwith your budget. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._25_1_II_.html

July 1st, 2008, 11:14 PM	#6
Bill Davis Trustee Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Posts: 1,538	Just to expand this, there are a couple of good REASONS that the large numbers of shooters use Sony MDR-7506 headphones. And neither of them are about how great they are as general purpose musical headphones. The first reason, as others have noted is their efficiency. It doesn't take a lot of juice to drive them to a very useful monitoring level. So they work great when being driven by a relatively anemic camera amps. (neither camcorders NOR pro cameras have even close to 100 plus watt home stereo system style power amps - so efficiency is mission critical) Secondly, they are NOT the most accurate cans available and you don't WANT them to be. The Sony's have a pretty pronounced "presence peak" right around the general frequency areas of human speech. This makes them pretty mediocre for listening to your stereo (unless you perversely enjoy brittle mid-range cellos and somewhat harsh horns, anyway.) But PERFECT for monitoring dialog. It's the DIALOG that drives most field production. So you've GOT to hear that properly. If a talent slurs a word or mumbles, or reads a critical line wrong, it's just no good to discover that back in the edit suite. You need to hear it IN THE FIELD, so you can call for another take. 7506s are designed to let you monitor human speech well. So you want to listen to music? Great - go buy yourself some full spectrum, balanced and very "musical" headphones and enjoy them. You want to listen to field recorded dialog to make sure you're not screwing up your recordings? Consider tools designed to do that well. And one of those tools proven over time by countless professionals are Sony 7506 headphones. My 2 cents, for what it's worth.

July 2nd, 2008, 03:37 AM	#11
Pietro Impagliazzo Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rio de Janeiro, BR Posts: 170	Would this Audo Technica cheaper one perform the same? Or is it not so good in some aspect? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Headphone.html __________________ Pietro Impagliazzo flickr.com/photos/impagliazzo

July 2nd, 2008, 04:33 AM	#12
Harm Millaard Trustee Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands Posts: 1,832	I second the Sennheiser HD-25. Especially the rotatable left capsule for single ear monitoring is a handy feature. Superb quality and very high sensitivity.

July 2nd, 2008, 04:49 AM	#13
Hubert Duijzer Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Netherlands Posts: 177	Sony MDR 7506 too. Comfortable, good isolation and good volume. The downside is that i paid more than twice the US price here in europe.

July 2nd, 2008, 06:31 AM	#15
Hubert Duijzer Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Netherlands Posts: 177	I looked into that too, but for the Netherlands it didn't matter that much. The price doubled also on shipping/import/vat.