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740 Views 9 Replies Latest reply: Feb 26, 2012 6:30 PM by BigBob369 RSS
BigBob369 Just Startin'
BigBob369
58 posts since
Nov 9, 2007
Currently Being Moderated

Feb 22, 2012 5:02 PM

What is a good sounding headphone for a POD?

Since getting a POD HD Desk this week I realized that I don't have any functioning headphones right now, just old ones where only one side works or the ear cushions fell off,  and with so many out there I was wondering if anyone could give some good tips for picking one.  Something that obviously sounds good for guitar, is comfortable, and not a piece of junk that's going to stop working in a year.  I'm willing to go up to about $50-$70, maybe even $100 if need be. Thanks.

  • chaosbringer Just Startin'
    chaosbringer
    85 posts since
    Jan 29, 2008
    Currently Being Moderated
    Feb 22, 2012 8:42 PM (in response to BigBob369)
    Re: What is a good sounding headphone for a POD?

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grado-SR-60-Headphones-Wired/dp/B0006DPMU4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1329972020&sr=8-2

     

    I use one that is above your budget (ultrasone 750) but the grado is pretty good just for playing

  • still_fiddlin Just Startin'
    still_fiddlin
    69 posts since
    Jan 21, 2011
    Currently Being Moderated
    Feb 24, 2012 5:11 AM (in response to BigBob369)
    Re: What is a good sounding headphone for a POD?

    As typical, Line 6's "spec" sheet for your POD actually has zero technical information, aside from really useful things, like the weight, size of the box the item comes in, etc.  Actual engineering data, like input/output impedance, voltage, i.e., "specifications" are absent.  (Pardon my annoyance.)

     

    For previous POD devices, Line 6 has said they only support headphones with impedance greater than 150 ohms.  If the desktop POD HD is the same (and you have to guess, apparently, because they don't tell you), you will have a hard time finding anything meeting that spec in the price range where you are looking.

     

    However, many HD owners use consumer-grade headphones with mixed success - just be aware that they could be loud if the POD is really looking for a higher impedance load.  The other thing to realize is that with *any* headphone, it's going to sound different from what comes out in a PA or amplified system, and even what may be going out the line-out to get recorded, so you have to learn to hear and compensate.  How different it sounds can depend on a lot of things, but if you start with something good and relatively "flat" frequency response, i.e., no bass boost, etc., you can work with just about anything.

     

    With my HD400, I used a 20 year old Sony MDR-V6 pair, which just a year ago could be had for as little as $70, but now they have gone up quite a bit (tsunami fallout?).  I would search postings here, and look on Amazon.com for reviews of headphones in your price range.  Any of the major brands that have pro-lines will be fine.  (I also used a pair of "open-air" Sennheisers that sounded fine, until my wife took possession - she likes to be able to hear the phone ring, whereas I'm happy if I don't.)

  • Dshow Just Startin'
    Dshow
    38 posts since
    Feb 18, 2007
    Currently Being Moderated
    Feb 24, 2012 12:06 PM (in response to BigBob369)
    Re: What is a good sounding headphone for a POD?

    Hi,

    there is already a similar post: http://line6.com/support/thread/80075?tstart=0

    Maybe it helps

  • BigBob369 Just Startin'
    BigBob369
    58 posts since
    Nov 9, 2007
    Currently Being Moderated
    Feb 26, 2012 3:21 AM (in response to BigBob369)
    Re: What is a good sounding headphone for a POD?

    OK so I bumped up the price a little bit and am now considering these, which get rave reviews:

     

     

    http://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-DT770-PRO-250-ohm/dp/B0006NL5SM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1330254716&sr=1-1

     

     

    You can get them in either 250 Ohm, 80 Ohm, or 32 Ohm varieties.  So assuming the HD is looking for a better than 150 Ohm load the 250's would be the choice.

     

    BTW, how does a 250 Ohm model work with an average 100 wpc home receiver, without a headphone amp?  It's a Yamaha RX-V659 if that matters.

    • still_fiddlin Just Startin'
      still_fiddlin
      69 posts since
      Jan 21, 2011
      Currently Being Moderated
      Feb 26, 2012 1:02 PM (in response to BigBob369)
      Re: What is a good sounding headphone for a POD?

      One of those reviews might have been mine.  I'm still very happy with my 250 ohm DT-770s.  I will say that the more I listen to them, the more I can hear that they do have definite bass hump, but it really depends on the music and your listening preference whether that will bother you.  It's not something, IMO, that affects their use as a POD HD monitor.  As far as the impedance, they work fine in any use that I would have plugged in other phones/earbuds, but you may have to turn up the volume a bit.

      • BigBob369 Just Startin'
        BigBob369
        58 posts since
        Nov 9, 2007
        Currently Being Moderated
        Feb 26, 2012 4:38 PM (in response to still_fiddlin)
        Re: What is a good sounding headphone for a POD?

        Oh okay, that's great news. Thanks.

        And if no one has any further objections, I'll be ordering them tonight.

         

        One thing though, are yours the 770-Pro with the closed but ported bass reflex design? Or the regular 770 or 770M that are totally enclosed? There are so many of each model to chose from  that I want to be sure to get the right one.

         

        One thing I noticed though is that the company says that the 770 and 990 have "strong bass and treble response" which may not be exactly what you want for mid-range guitar tones, where the 880 says "neutral and linear" which is what you do want.  You don't see that in any description unless it has the full factory description...

         

        In the chart here:

        http://www.amazon.com/product/dp/B000Y03A3A

         

         

        It also contains a good description of how impedance relates to headphone drivers in case anyone was unsure

         

         

         

         

         

         

        • still_fiddlin Just Startin'
          still_fiddlin
          69 posts since
          Jan 21, 2011
          Currently Being Moderated
          Feb 26, 2012 4:47 PM (in response to BigBob369)
          Re: What is a good sounding headphone for a POD?

          Don't have the box handy, but mine say DT 770 PRO on the side.

           

          I really only notice the bass on "modern" recordings of popular music.  Much of what I listen to doesn't fall into that category.  The 880s are supposed to be different, and if I had money to spend, I'd get a pair of those, too!

           

          Really, you can get "regular" headphones and use those (except for the "not supported by Line 6" part) - it's a matter of learning to "hear" what your own monitors output vs what the recorded sound will be played back on, and that covers a wide range, unless it's just you listening back on the same headphones.  Not much different than the problem with monitor speakers.

          • BigBob369 Just Startin'
            BigBob369
            58 posts since
            Nov 9, 2007
            Currently Being Moderated
            Feb 26, 2012 6:30 PM (in response to still_fiddlin)
            Re: What is a good sounding headphone for a POD?

            Yeah the Pro's are the ones I'm looking at. They're closed but with a baffle or port for better base.

             

            I forgot to mention that I actually did get a pair of regular headphones from Sam Ash when I bought my Pocket Pod a few years ago. Interestingly the salesman said any cheap phones will do because guitar tones don't require very high or very low frequencies, which made sense at the time. But I just today got them working when I returned the defective, only one side working, plug adapter for a good one and tried out those phones on the HD for the first time with both sides working. Even at moderate volumes those $40 Samson headphones distort horribly with chords in the lower registers, and generally sound like tin cans. I never noticed this with the Pocket Pod, although I knew they weren't that great.

             

            So for the last two weeks I've been using the only phones I had with a 1/4" plug... the ones that came with my GF's metal detector. LOL They're built like tanks out of very thick, heavy plastic and are only made to transmit "beeps and boops" from the detector as you move it across the ground. Talk about crappy sound!  I think they're waterproof though. LOL

             

             

             

             

             

             

             

             

             

             

             

             

            This is them:

             

             

            $24.95

             

             

            http://whiteselectronics.com/images/stories/products/401-2016-b.jpg

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