Headphones: Neumann NDH-20, or ?

Sri

Hi. Ken recommends Neumann NDH-20 headphones for tracking vocals. I see he also uses some black headphones with red foam ear-pads, especially in high volume rock tunes.

Are the Neumanns still his recommendation? Or does he have a new favourite?

Can anyone tell me what are those black ones with the red foam ear-pads?

Which ones should I get?

My style does go into rock, but not extreme screaming or ultra high pitch.

Thank you very much.

— Sri Krishna Chaitanya Swami

Klaus_T

hi, i am not sure which red ones you mean, can you link to a video or pic? i am an audio engineer, and i would say that you can also get headphones which are much more affordable than the neumanns for vocal recording (not to say they are bad or anything, but they are definitely a premium product). good studio grade headphones should be capable of most styles, vs. being tied to a specific genre. which ones suit you, is kind of a matter of taste, and comfort. some headphones have a bit of a bass boost, some are more linear sounding, for example. ideally, try a few different ones, if you can. beyerdynamic, sennheiser and AKG are some popular brands that come to mind

highmtn

The headphones with the red foam earcups are FOCAL brand. The model number is a little strange:
CKBNTF007580. They are very accurate, but have a very midrange sound, which is great for hearing vocals while recording, and they also have good sound isolation so the mic won't pick them up while recording. The Neumann's are very high-end headphones, and Ken often uses those, as well. The black ones are made by SHURE. Those are loud/efficient, and they work well for recording, as well. All three of these headphone sets cost in the $400+ range.

Sri

I'm grateful for the information. Yes, now I can find the FOCALs on a website. Any suggestions on where I could go to audition any of these headphones? I am in India, but plan to visit Singapore, Australia, USA, UAE...

Klaus_T

not sure if you have the same kind of online shopping as we have here in europe, we can just order and try and send back if we don't like a product (unless you damage it or something). of course you normally need to pay in advance. you get a refund once you send it back. we also have these big "offline" stores for music gear but they close down more and more (probably because a lot of people use online shopping). i prefer to support these offline shops but do order stuff online if necessary. i do live in a big city (Berlin, Germany), so maybe easier to find stuff offline.

i am sure if you google for hifi or music shops, you can find some good locations in either India or the countries you plan to visit

Sri

Thanks, Klaus for your insights from Berlin. I am not familiar with trying things and then sending them back when shopping online. Maybe it's a good idea, and I should see if it is possible either here in India, or when I travel.

Grateful for your help.