Is Audio Technica a good brand for headphones?

[pencilart3]

So I don't own a pair of headphones or earbuds. Ouch. Apparently you are supposed to own a pair if you are serious about your piano recording. Is that right? Well anyway, because they are only $37 because of the Cyber Monday sale, I just purchased this pair of Audio Technica headphones. I probably should have asked FIRST, but better late than never - is Audio Technica a good brand? And has anyone had experience with these headphones? These are the bottom rung in a family of headphones, with the top rung being like THE HEADPHONES. And there's a bunch of middle rungs too, (and of course they get better the more you spend), but I'm a high school student, so I'm saving almost all of my money!

So here they are... how would these be for piano recording editing?

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M20x-Professional-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR18/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1448946768&sr=8-2&keywords=audio+technica+headphones

[iamazombie911]

I've heard the m50's are really good - I don't know about m20x though. I personally love my v-moda m100's
I am bad at saving money ._.

[pencilart3]

I've heard the m50's are really good

Yeah, m50 is pretty much at the top. The reviews look pretty good on m20 though.

[yewtree]

I don't mean to advertise, but I use  Kinsman headphones, they are very good and clear, and comfortable to wear, I purchased a pair two years ago and still going fine.

https://www.jhs.co.uk/kinsmanheadphones.html

[irrational]

Audio Technica is pretty reasonable and those are quite good. If they are comfortable for you then its perfect.
The price seems well worth it!

For headphones my preferences lie to:
Sennheiser and then BeyerDynamics. But those tend to be audiophile level.
Unless you are looking for absolutely top performance, there are many brands that get very close and give nothing away to the top brands.

For your stated purpose though, I think comfort is an important feature.

[pencilart3]

Thanks guys!

[quantum]

Audio Technica does make studio gear and is no stranger to audio devices.  For the price, there really isn't much to complain about. 

At some point in the future you may want to be looking at headphone amps to improve the sound of your headphones.  It really isn't necessary at this point, but something to think about if you want to further upgrade the sound of your cans.  The ATH-M20x is listed at 47 ohms, so there would be some benefit to having an amp.

They also make some pretty good affordable mics, so if you want to get into recording your piano these could be something to look at as well.

[pencilart3]

Thanks quantum! I actually am very pleased with the stereo recorder I have right now, but in the future I may want to upgrade to two separate mics, provided that my youtube channel keeps growing.

I'm kind of fuzzy on what exactly a headphone amp is. Could you clarify please? Thanks!

[quantum]

A headphone amp allows you to get the most out of your headphones.  A lot of audio gear, portable players, and computers were not designed to drive higher quality headphones.  They are fine with earbuds and consumer headphones, but once you start getting into better stuff plugging in directly may not be making the most of your better headphones.  

Headphone amps are designed specifically to drive headphones.  Generally speaking, the higher quality headphones tend to benefit, or sometimes even require a headphone amp to get the most out of them.  If you are currently plugging your cans directly into a laptop, a headphone amp with built in DAC would allow a much better listening experience then an integrated sound card that was most likely never designed for critical music listening.  

When trying to pick out an amp for your headphones, pay attention to the impedance rating of your cans and what the headphone amp supports.  

Again, for your selected ATH-M20x a headphone amp is probably not a necessity, but it is good to know there is a possibility of further improving the sound from these cans.  If you are interested in getting an amp for these cans, look for ones that are comparable value to your headphones.  Not much sense getting a $500 amp for a $37 pair of headphones.  Shop at a store that has good return policy - if you can't hear a difference, just return the amp.

[pencilart3]

I see! I feel like I've made a quantum jump in terms of my technical knowledge!

he... he...

[dcstudio]

Sennheiser

the absolute best there is...  when you absolutely positively have to hear every musician in the room...accept no substitute!

for the record...usually brands that contain the word technic, technical, technica -- etc... suck. lol.

[iamazombie911]

Except for Audio technica, which seems to be an exception to most people.

[dcstudio]

Except for Audio technica, which seems to be an exception to most people.

ok...fair enough...lol.   Still for the most part my original statement is valid when it comes to pro audio.

[irrational]

I would describe my headphones as velvet gloves for your ears. They are so comfortable. The sound is indeed perfect. In some recordings the clarity of all the different sounds is almost unbelievable, like hearing the conductor page, or a single violin's sound in a symphony. The sound separation is brilliant.
I use Senn HD650 with a Musical Fedility XCan V8 headphone amp. It is a vacuum tube amp that compliments the Senns well, giving a very warm and rich sound.

I can easily lose a few hours to that.

The downside is that bad and also old recordings are hard to listen to as you pick up every fault.
I would buy another pair if this ever wears out, which seems unlikely.

For Pensilart3's sake
The HD650 is a 300 ohm impedance, where the M20x you bought is a 47 ohm (Like most headphones). A normal music player can't drive the HD650, meaning the sound becomes muddied. The headphone amp is required to open up the sound. It also took many hours of listening before the headphones were played in. About 150 hours if I remember before the sound was as good as it got. But these are not studio headphones like you need of course.

But your m20x should be great for recording and perhaps start you on the road to audiophile listening.

[pencilart3]

Thanks, Irrational, that's just what I need! If you can't tell from my channel, I'm not exactly a pro yet. But hopefully it will give me a start!

[visitor]

i bought some jvc earbuds on the internet for 6 dollars. they sound incredible and are some of the best headphones/earbuds I've ever owned. I replaced a previous pair of jvc that I had also gotten for about 8 dollars or so.  so far those have been the best, and they are super comfortable.