$100 monitor / headphone options?

[MikeBmusic]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

Nearfield monitors trump headphones in this situation. By a very long mile.

True, but nothing short of $200 is going to be very flat for response, and until you do some acoustic treatment in the room, its suspect anyway. $99 headphones will do better in that situation.

To the OP: learn how your mixes translate to other systems, and adjust your mixes accordingly. Use some reference recordings - professionally released music that sounds similar to yours and listen to how that sounds in your headphones/speakers.

[paulp1960]

I would recommend spending enough to get headphones with detachable cables and easily available spares.

I use the closed back Sennheiser HD25SP for tracking. I've had these for around 12 years and have just replaced the earpads. Still going strong, and for critical listening or mixing on headphones I have the AKG K702 open back phones.

These kind of headphones can save you money in the long run.

[Rudy4]

I have a couple of different $100 phones and thought they were OK til I got my Beyerdynamic DT770 Pros. I can't stand to use anything else now.

Sorry to throw something out that is outside the OP's budget, but with cans I've found it's worth saving up til you can audition several sets and then make an informed choice.

[wkbryan]

Have you looked at the Bose Companion 2 speakers? They're small, fit (barely) in your $100 budget, and we think they sound quite good.

[wkbryan]

Koss Pro 4A headphones and Koss PortaPro headphones also fit the budget and are great buys, have a lifetime warranty, and long, proven track records.

[YamaYairi]

If you buy used you can get small speakers for a good price. Do not buy "pro audio" speakers, these usually have colored sound to them. Look for audiophile speakers.
A small set of Polks, KEFs, possibly even B&W's can be had for around $100. British speaker manufacturers excel in making super accurate, natural sounding small speakers. Paradigms are good, too.

[RedJoker]

OP here. I got my $60 AKG K240s yesterday and like how they sound much better than my old headphones. As I originally posted, it's not that I'm looking for great mixes as I'm just a beginner player, just something a little better.

Thanks for all the advice!

[paulp1960]

Hi RJ,

That is a very good price - and they have a replaceable cable - which is great.

I've lost count of the number of times I've trodden on the cable and pulled the phones off my head.