Audiobus: Use your music apps together.
What is Audiobus? — Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
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Please recommend foldable on-ear closed headphones
I have Sennheiser 580s for general listening (stereo system & computer), and AKG 240s for when I'm making music (computer & iPad Pro), and until yesterday I had AKG 451s for my iPad Mini, which I use in bed and when travelling.
The 451s died yesterday and I need a replacement. The 451s are now obsolete. I used to have (now obsolete) Sennheiser PX-100s, which lasted for years, but the PX-100-II replacements are more than 3 times what I paid for their predecessor so I'm not going there.
What I am looking for is some foldable on-ear closed back headphones similar in size to the AKG451 or Sennheiser PX-100-II, with a price up to, say £60, that are happily driven by an iPad mini's headphone port.
Needless to say, I am not looking for bluetooth here.
There are a few out there but nothing is jumping out at me. Can anybody recommend anything they are using and love?
Comments
I have a pair of cheap headphones that I bought on a whim at the airport (because they were noise-cancelling and I was about to board a flight), and it turns out I really love them. Their sonic signature is very similar to the Sennheiser HD25-1s that I've used for years as my walking around headphones.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-SHL3850NC-00-Noise-Cancelling-ActiveShield-Black/dp/B010M32VAG/
They will be warmer and more bassy than the AKGs, so potentially not your cup of tea, but a similar sound to most Sennheisers.
Thanks for that. Interesting. I have never consider noise-cancelling headphones as I always blindly assumed there was a loss in quality. Maybe now is the time to try them out. The HD 25s ... ahhh ... dream on
So your comments are good to hear re the comparison.
The warmth/bass won't bother me as they won't be used for mixing.
I am just not prepared to spend that much on headphones that are going to get used for audio work any more. Years ago I blew an expensive tweeter with a synth. Lesson learnt, monitors purchased and I now have a limiter permanently in place on DAW defaults.. On IOS though I usually use things standalone with no limiter. [On the desktop I mess around with software modulars a lot at the moment, which can lead to DC getting accidentally sent out.] Anyway ... I digress ... any other suggestions gratefully accepted.
FWIW there's no loss in quality from the noise-cancelling, because you only turn it on when you need it. So most of the time it's inactive and not affecting your audio.
It's useful on a noisy train or plane though, as it can cancel out most of the low frequency rumble.
I think you can tell that my assumption was so blind that I never knew that you could switch it off. Cue sound of head being slapped .....
https://thestatusaudio.com/
Just picked up a pair of the CB-1's after listening to a friend's set. They sound incredible - VERY very flat, especially in this price range. Can't recommend these highly enough - they have replaced the Sony MDR-7506's I've been using for the last 20 years.
I've heard great things about the CB-1's.
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Hmm ... thanks again ... amazingly there is a lightning deal on the CB-1s on amazon at the moment, £44 from £59.99 .- 2.5 hours to run.
I realise that it is the £14.99 Audio HD One that fits my original spec. Tempted to get both now!
I cannot recommend the Status ones enough. Blew my mind when I tried them out
It's done .... GAS overcame me with 3 minutes to go for delivery tomorrow - CB-1 @ £44 on their way. Many thanks. I will report back tomorrow night !
You should get open or semi open back headphones. Closed back is for recording when you dont want any leakage of the sound. Open back has more natural sound and they sound more "open", which is better suited for mixing/mastering etc stuff that you likely do with ipad.
Hi, thanks. I already have AKG 240s for this. I specifically wanted some closed back ones for use in bed and when travelling. Cheers.
@lnikj I'd love to hear your thoughts when they arrive. I wanted to re-listen to everything in my music library after spending 15 minutes with them. I am very happy and they are a nice alternative to my trusty Sony ones.
Bought.
Enjoy. I have a feeling that (like me) you probably own far too many headphones already...
Hmmm .... unpleasantly bright is my first impression. My AKG 240 IIs are pretty neutral, and my Sennheiser 580s warm, so I think it is probably the contrast that is striking me.
I know the jury is out on burning them in but I have left them plugged into a pink noise source for now and will see if they change at all. Or I change !
I expect they will grow on me.
I've not heard the Status phones but I know myself well enough to steer clear of any headphone described as "flat" - it generally means I won't like them!
I think headphone listeners are divided into two broad camps: those who like some bass, and those who don't. Not saying either is right or wrong but I personally don't like an overly thin sound. I don't like the bloated bass of Beats either, but Sennheiser or Focal Spirit is around the sweet spot for me.
We'll see. If I don't like them in another ten days or so I'll send them back and try your recommendation
Early days though.
Call me Ismael...
Well about 15 years ago I remember persevering with some Etymotics Er4s for about 6 months, and eventually giving up once they had given me tinnitus... I really wanted to like them - so many people raved about them, but it was just cognitive dissonance on my part, I actually hated them. I bought a couple of different amps to try and make them sound better, but they never did...
Haha - I was wondering WTF Moby Dick had to do with headphones...
How'd they give you tinnitus?
Sorry to hear that you're not digging them. I don't find them bright, necessarily, but there is a decided lack of "enhanced bass" which I find in most headphones. I feel like this more honestly represents the low end than others - and I particularly like the very wide stereo field they have.
I know these things are very personal - I hope that they grow on you and you're not feeling like it was a wasted purchase.
It's not the lack of bass that bothers me. Banging around with the Model 15 just now the bass sounded pretty good I thought. It is when I listen to some of my standard test tracks, for example Madonna's 'Frozen' or Goldfrapp's 'You never know'. My ears immediately feel fatigued; the higher frequencies seem harsh.
The low end might be more honest but I am not sure the high end is.
I will get to listen to a lot more this evening as the long haired general is away visiting her son.
Forgive me for having a slight smile at the thought of you listening to in-ears through headphone amps
A combination of those insistent highs and the fact I kept turning the volume up just to hear some low-end.
As I said, the world is evenly divided. Some people find Sennheisers muddy, I love them because they're naturally (to my ears) warm and sound like a good pair of speakers. Some people like analytical phones without too much bass, and everyone disagrees on what natural bass should sound like
I know it's crazy, but some people insist you can only hear the true beauty of the ER4 with an amp. I couldn't hear any difference
I found my initial forays into the world of high-end headphones quite bewildering, because I hate over-bassy speakers and I like some definition in the bass, not boominess, so I thought I would like the ER4s, the AKGs etc... but they're not for me. That's why I am happy to listen to even really cheap headphones as long as they have the sonic signature that I personally like, it's way more important than anything else to me. In terms of sound quality I don't think there is actually that wide a gulf between those £40 Philips phones I use for walking the dog and my Focal Spirit Pros or Senn HD650s. The higher end phones have clearer and more extended highs, but the difference is actually relatively subtle.
...> @richardyot said:
Makes sense. I got a pair for air travel and find they need to be seated really well to get decent bass out of them. Even then, they don’t boost the lows at all, so if you’re accustomed to something with more bottom, the Etymotics can be disappointing.
That's probably the problem. I have listened to music on my 580s for nearly 20 years now. You get what you pay for in life and I have had my money's worth there (when they die I will buy 650s or whatever is current in a flash, confident that they will see me into the ground). The PX-100s I had for 15 years as my walkaround headphones. So, I am used to that Sennheiser sound.
I can't hear anything above 13.5k anyway!
On a plane with the rumble of the jet I literally couldn't hear any bass with Etys... In a quiet room you can hear some bass, but as soon as you take them outside and there is wind etc I found that it was drowned out.