You can spend as little as you like on headphones. I don’t recommend headphones above $200 for heavy-duty mixing or DAW work. The $100-150 range of headphones will sound great, especially if you choose the over-ear models. You don’t need anything more for basic mixing or home studio music production.
Even the $50 headphones will sound great. The truly low-quality headphones that are not of high quality will be avoided.
The best place to get the most value is in the happy middle.
Understanding your needs
Closed back headphones – These are often the best option for recording musicians because they completely enclose the ears
Open-back cans : These cans tend to be lighter, and so are more comfortable for longer periods of time. However, they are not as common.
In-ear Monitors: These monitors are best used in studio settings, but they may be useful for monitoring on-stage.
What Features We Use and Don’t Need
When choosing cheap headphones for music production, there are some things I avoid. These include, but are not limited to:
- Wireless technology
- Microphone
- High level noise-cancellation
- Music production is where none of these features are necessary.
Although noise-cancellation can be nice, headphones tend to be more expensive than usual (Bose QuietComfort 35 is one example). This means that you have to pay for something you don’t really need.
However, I do like a few things.
- Padded headband
- Cable detachable in 3.5mm
- Extended frequency response
The headphones that have the cable “seared” in them are a sign that the whole headset is junk. Even cheap headphones for music production often have the cable detached. It has a 1/8″ input, much like an MP3 player. You can swap the cable for a new one if it breaks, which usually only costs a few dollars and saves you from buying a new set of headphones.
Based on the above criterian here are my top picks for the next gig
- Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
- Sennheiser HD 206
- Skullcandy Crusher Music Producer Headphones