I would like some advice from you seasoned professionals on this forum, on what you consider to be a very accurate set of headphones for field recording. They would also need to be closed and very good at eliminating surrounding noise. I am currently using sennheiser HD 25-1 headphones, and what I am hearing in the field isn’t what I hear when I get the tracks in studio. For example, if I am recording a choir with piano accompaniment, the piano seems loud in the headphone mix, but when I get it home in the studio its actually very quiet. I have been using these for about a year now and its time to get a good set that will give me a good representation of what I’m recording. Thanks

I use etymotics ER-4...those are by far the best I have used for that purpose..and ive used phones from 1000.00 a pop to 99.00 apop I also own hd600s, but the etys slay them.

It's also about knowing your cans. Started out with Beyer DT770 which is quite bright and nice-sounding (= bad for recording: everything sounds at least usable!), still my results improved quickly as I got to know them.
Now I have Beyer DT 250: if it sounds good on these, it is good. 80 Ohms version is loud enough for weak portable recorder HP amps and film location sound.

Beyer DT770 Pro here - but the 80ohm version. One of the better closed cans I've heard. Also the HD600 when I can use open.

Although you have asked for recommendations on closed headphones, I can't give you any.

That's because I feel that the best headphones for monitoring are diffuse field equalized and these are mostly "open" headphones.

Some good examples are:
Sennheiser HD 580--I like them much better than the HD 600
Sennheiser HD-650--with these Sennheiser solved the hideous problem of the loose cable connector zyndrom.

It takes a lot of listening to learn to compensate for what you will hear on loudspeakers when using headphones. Once you are comfortable making the 'translation" to what your pick-up will sound like on speakers, you have a good working method.

The best way to do this is to also bring along some monitor speakers and use them near field to remove the influence of the room. Switch back and forth between your phones and your speakers to train your ear to compensate when using only headphones.

I use these:

http://www.posthorn.com/Remote_2.html

Jerry Bruck at Posthorn sells 'em. They clamp on your head like a sonofabitch, but they have fabulous isolation.

I will second the etymotics ER-4's though I do highly recomend spending the money to get them custom fitted by the audiologist. Once they are fully sealed in your ears the bass in the lowest octave is very true and I tend not to mix too wet as I do with some other headphones. On the other hand, they are not as confortable as my sennheiser 580's which are incredible if you are acoustically isolated which I rarely am.

Cameron

The best isolated, closed back headphone I've used to date is the Ultrasone 750. I have the Etymotic's, but they're uncomfortable for extended periods.

i also recommend the etymotic er4...
just beware that sometimes getting them custom-fitted will make them a bit more fragile...
also, the only supposed difference between the er4p and the er4s is some added resistance...so with a cable you can turn the er4p into an er4s...

i just was looking around at the new shure e500 iem's...but still the reports are that the etymotics are "flatter"...so I'm sticking with the etymotics. and they're less than half the price of the shures too.

+1 thumbsup

ruudman

If at all possible, I suggest getting isolated from the room and use a monitor on stage to communicate with the conductor/ensemble. I used to record in the same room/hall, but now I run a snake from a back stage storage room with an output to a small powered speaker to communicate. This works much better. You can still use headphones, but I set up a pair of powered monitors so everyone can hear the results. They do like that. Just mentioning this in case you hadn't tried it.

I use my in-ears (I got them from hearyourself.com) and once I figured out that they were bass-light I've been okay. Definitely great isolation- I can put my head inside a kick drum that is being struckand be nice and comfortable (well...) At some point I will upgrade to a more accurate pair, but for now these work well.

Man, you're really thorough when trying to find the right piece of air to capture! I'd love to see a picture of this BTW.

+1 for the Etymotic ER-4. The detail is stunning. Excellent for tracking and editing. I bought the ER4-P along with the P to S adapter cable.

- Jim

So you read that book too? Ha! But really, I am starting to have a hard time with loud noise of any kind, and I always wear my earplugs around bands and my in-ears when I can. I like the fact that I can make it pretty quiet in the in-ears and still hear what I need to hear.

I was wondering who would pick-up on that phrase.