best headphone dac under 100 image
oli
I'm about to buy a recording set online, but I've never had one, so I don't really know all the things I need. I don't want something professional and expensive though, just a little set so I can work on my music.
Answer
Here are the five basic tools that
every home studio needs:
1. A recording device
For a perfectly good digital
recording device, look no further
than your computer. Your built-in
sound card will probably work fine,
but if you're serious about home
recording, you should consider
investing in a sound card made
exclusively for that purpose, with a
high-quality digital audio
converter (DAC), microphone pre-
amps and MIDI input/output.
To record music on your computer,
you'll also need sequencing
software. This is software that
records either analog audio from a
microphone or MIDI data from
electronic instruments. Sequencing
software allows you to easily edit
and mix multiple tracks, add
effects, export audio files to CD. The
industry standard for professional
audio sequencing is Pro Tools
(comes with its own sound card),
but there are options for every
budget.
Computers are such versatile and
powerful home recording devices
that almost everybody chooses
this option. However, if you're a
firm believer that computers and
music don't mix, you can buy a
multi-track digital recording device
that records onto a compact Flash
card or even burns directly to a CD.
2. A good microphone
Don't skimp on your microphone.
Even with all of the magic of digital
editing and effects, you can't do
much with a bad source recording.
The best kind of microphone for
recording solo acoustic instruments
and vocals is a condenser
microphone. For vocals, you'll also
want a pop filter, an inexpensive
piece of material that protects the
mic from hard "p" and sharp "s"
sounds.
To record a full rock band, you'll
need to mic all of the instruments
separately using smaller dynamic
mics. You should be able to find
good condenser mics for under
$200 and dynamic mics for under
$100.
3. Monitor speakers and
headphones
Monitor speakers are different than
normal stereo speakers. They're
important in a recording studio
environment because they
broadcast the audio exactly as it's
being recorded, without "coloring"
or "sweetening" the sound [source:
BBC]. This is the best way to ensure
that your recording will sound
exactly how it did when you were
playing it.
It's common to record songs in a
multi-track format, recording each
track one by one (drums first, bass
second, keyboards third, et cetera).
The best way to do this is to use a
pair of headphones to listen to the
previously recorded tracks as you
lay down a new one. Good
headphones keep the sound in, so
the only thing that's recorded is the
new track.
4. A MIDI controller or
synthesizer
A synthesizer is typically an
electronic keyboard that can be
programmed to play many
different kinds of sounds. But
synthesizers come in many
different shapes and sizes, such as
guitar synths, wind instrument
synths and drum machines.
A MIDI controller is like a
synthesizer, but doesn't actually
produce any sounds by itself. The
instrument is literally a controller,
like a joystick for a computer
game. A MIDI controller produces
MIDI data which can be used to
play other synthesizers, whether
hardware- or software-based. For
example, you can use a MIDI
controller to play an electronic
keyboard plug-in like ProTools. Or
use a single MIDI controller to play
a whole network of interconnected
synthesizers and drum machines.
5. An audio interface
An audio interface is like an
external sound card. Instead of
plugging microphones and digital
instruments directly into your
computer, you plug them into this
external box that connects to your
computer with a single cord, either
USB or Firewire. The interface
handles the analog-to-digital
conversion, taking pressure off
your computer's processing power.
This is especially useful for laptops,
which don't have space for extra
internal PCI cards and generally
have slower processors.
Here are the five basic tools that
every home studio needs:
1. A recording device
For a perfectly good digital
recording device, look no further
than your computer. Your built-in
sound card will probably work fine,
but if you're serious about home
recording, you should consider
investing in a sound card made
exclusively for that purpose, with a
high-quality digital audio
converter (DAC), microphone pre-
amps and MIDI input/output.
To record music on your computer,
you'll also need sequencing
software. This is software that
records either analog audio from a
microphone or MIDI data from
electronic instruments. Sequencing
software allows you to easily edit
and mix multiple tracks, add
effects, export audio files to CD. The
industry standard for professional
audio sequencing is Pro Tools
(comes with its own sound card),
but there are options for every
budget.
Computers are such versatile and
powerful home recording devices
that almost everybody chooses
this option. However, if you're a
firm believer that computers and
music don't mix, you can buy a
multi-track digital recording device
that records onto a compact Flash
card or even burns directly to a CD.
2. A good microphone
Don't skimp on your microphone.
Even with all of the magic of digital
editing and effects, you can't do
much with a bad source recording.
The best kind of microphone for
recording solo acoustic instruments
and vocals is a condenser
microphone. For vocals, you'll also
want a pop filter, an inexpensive
piece of material that protects the
mic from hard "p" and sharp "s"
sounds.
To record a full rock band, you'll
need to mic all of the instruments
separately using smaller dynamic
mics. You should be able to find
good condenser mics for under
$200 and dynamic mics for under
$100.
3. Monitor speakers and
headphones
Monitor speakers are different than
normal stereo speakers. They're
important in a recording studio
environment because they
broadcast the audio exactly as it's
being recorded, without "coloring"
or "sweetening" the sound [source:
BBC]. This is the best way to ensure
that your recording will sound
exactly how it did when you were
playing it.
It's common to record songs in a
multi-track format, recording each
track one by one (drums first, bass
second, keyboards third, et cetera).
The best way to do this is to use a
pair of headphones to listen to the
previously recorded tracks as you
lay down a new one. Good
headphones keep the sound in, so
the only thing that's recorded is the
new track.
4. A MIDI controller or
synthesizer
A synthesizer is typically an
electronic keyboard that can be
programmed to play many
different kinds of sounds. But
synthesizers come in many
different shapes and sizes, such as
guitar synths, wind instrument
synths and drum machines.
A MIDI controller is like a
synthesizer, but doesn't actually
produce any sounds by itself. The
instrument is literally a controller,
like a joystick for a computer
game. A MIDI controller produces
MIDI data which can be used to
play other synthesizers, whether
hardware- or software-based. For
example, you can use a MIDI
controller to play an electronic
keyboard plug-in like ProTools. Or
use a single MIDI controller to play
a whole network of interconnected
synthesizers and drum machines.
5. An audio interface
An audio interface is like an
external sound card. Instead of
plugging microphones and digital
instruments directly into your
computer, you plug them into this
external box that connects to your
computer with a single cord, either
USB or Firewire. The interface
handles the analog-to-digital
conversion, taking pressure off
your computer's processing power.
This is especially useful for laptops,
which don't have space for extra
internal PCI cards and generally
have slower processors.
What are the best headphones for under $100?
Macro
Taking only sound quality and build quality into consideration. Cosmetics, portability, etc are not an issue for me. I just want amazing sound quality that will last me at least 3 or 4 years.
Ideally under $100, but I would consider something up to $150 if it's leaps and bounds better than anything I can get for under $100.
Also wanted to add they are purely for music listening. Nothing else. I want flat response and a wide frequency range.
Oh that's another thing, no headphone amp. I will be plugging them straight into my laptop or ipod.
Answer
I would suggest the Audio Technica M50's and the Creative Aurvana Live's.
I don't own either, but I own the Denon d1001's which are supposed to sound very similar to the CAL's (they're from the same maker). I find them to be nicely balanced, so you'll probably like them. A lot of people seem to prefer the M50's, which are also described as a good all-around pair, but stronger than the CAL's when it comes to bass. I don't think you can lose with either choice. And you won't need an amp with either pair.
A wide frequency range doesn't matter unless you're listening to analog recordings. Also, the equipment itself has to be capable of producing those ranges.
As for flatness of response, I don't know how to interpret response graphs, I get the feeling it requires somewhat of a trained eye. A perfectly flat response wouldn't sound flat to the human ear (e.g. white noise), because of how our brains work. So a pair of headphones with what looks like a flatter response (to the untrained eye) might actually sound less flat. Also, freq. response isn't always important because when headphones are used with an amp or a dac, the amp/dac has a sound signature of its own, so people can often match their headphones with a contrasting amp to balance them out. For these reasons, I haven't paid much attention to graphs as of yet. Usually I can get an idea of a headphone's style of sound from hearing what people say.
For more info (and any audio question in the future) you can check out the head-fi.org forum. I'm pretty new to audiophilia, those people know a lot more.
I would suggest the Audio Technica M50's and the Creative Aurvana Live's.
I don't own either, but I own the Denon d1001's which are supposed to sound very similar to the CAL's (they're from the same maker). I find them to be nicely balanced, so you'll probably like them. A lot of people seem to prefer the M50's, which are also described as a good all-around pair, but stronger than the CAL's when it comes to bass. I don't think you can lose with either choice. And you won't need an amp with either pair.
A wide frequency range doesn't matter unless you're listening to analog recordings. Also, the equipment itself has to be capable of producing those ranges.
As for flatness of response, I don't know how to interpret response graphs, I get the feeling it requires somewhat of a trained eye. A perfectly flat response wouldn't sound flat to the human ear (e.g. white noise), because of how our brains work. So a pair of headphones with what looks like a flatter response (to the untrained eye) might actually sound less flat. Also, freq. response isn't always important because when headphones are used with an amp or a dac, the amp/dac has a sound signature of its own, so people can often match their headphones with a contrasting amp to balance them out. For these reasons, I haven't paid much attention to graphs as of yet. Usually I can get an idea of a headphone's style of sound from hearing what people say.
For more info (and any audio question in the future) you can check out the head-fi.org forum. I'm pretty new to audiophilia, those people know a lot more.
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