Choosing headphones for the home studio

You've probably noticed there are several different styles of headphones out there, some go in you ear, some go over. Some are wireless and some cancel noise. Which is the best kind to buy?

Studio Headphones
There are three kinds of headphones most commonly used in studios. They look similar but there is one feature that distinguishes the three types, that is the vents on the back of the cup.

A headphone with no vents is called a closed-back design, sound from the speaker are prevented from leaking out and outside sounds are isolated. This type of headphone is great for recording because of the isolation they provide, greatly reducing extra noise picked up by your microphones. The problem with this design is that it is difficult to build an accurate and detailed speaker in a sealed box, so you can't really trust the sound from them for mixing.

Open-back headphones are just that, there is lots of venting or open space behind the speaker which let's the speaker driver move easily. The most accurate (and expensive) models of headphones will usually be an open-back design. You will want accurate headphones to check your mixes for details you might miss in your monitors. The downside to this type is the absolute lack of isolation. In noisy environments, you risk hearing damage pushing the output above the noise, and in recording situations the music played through the headphones will go right into your microphones.

In between closed and open-back designs is the semi-open headphone. This type is right in-between and is a fairly good compromise if you have to pick just one set. The ear cups are mostly covered but there will be air vents to help with the accuracy. Isolation is not as good as fully closed but sound is more crisp and detailed, though not as much as a fully open design.

Closed-back: AKG K 271
Open-back: AKG K 702
Semi-open: AKG K 240
These are just a few of the available headphones at Revolution Audio. We have headphones from AKG, Audio-Technica, KRK, Roland, Samson, M-Audio, and Extreme-Isolation.

Other types of headphones
Earbuds - Ear buds are the kind that sit in your ear and are typically a semi open design. The very common iPod headphones provide very poor isolation as well as very inaccurate sound.

In-Ear-Canal - Sometimes called IEM (in ear monitor) or Canal phones. This design has a short tube that goes into your ear canal which provides vastly superior isolation than earbuds as well as better bass frequency response. This is a closed-back design with excellent acoustic isolation but frequency response is often very inaccurate except in very expensive models.

Isolation Headphones - This is a variation of the closed-back design that uses foam or other acoustic materials along with thick plastic to block sound. These are best in noisy environments, such as behind a drum set. Sound accuracy is a low priority in these designs compared to stopping sound from getting in. This is a useful special type of headphone to have in the studio.

Sport headphones - headphones that go behind your head, sit on your ear, clip on, etc really can't be trusted in the studio. Usually they'll be far too fragile to last in the studio.

Active Noise Cancelling - This is a fairly new style of headphones that blocks outside sounds electrically. Microphones on the ear cups capture the sound outside, the signal gets turned around and added into the speakers. These work surprisingly well and good models can sound very nice however these should really be only used for privacy or traveling.

Wireless - Wireless headphones could be any of the above styles but really have no benefit in the studio. The extra weight of the batteries make them less comfortable. Dying batteries will degrade sound quality and interference can cut that perfect take short.

Headphone Distribution
Something else worth mentioning is headphone distribution. If you are recording several people at once, they will all need to hear themselves and others in headphones. One or two headphone outputs on your audio interface or mixer just won't be enough. You need a headphone distribution amplifier.

A headphone DA such as the Presonus HP4 or HP60 will give several more headphone outputs, each with their own volume control. You can also use these to send a custom mix for the performers from your mix in your monitors. The HP60's "more me" inputs will allow you to turn up the guitar in Mr Rockstar's headphones while keeping a good balanced mix for everyone else.