HEADPHONE LATENCY

[brightcaster]

There was an interesting article about this issue some weeks ago:

www.headphonesty.com/2020/07/fix-sound-delay-bluetooth-headphones/

David

[rogerdee]

Hi Phil,
I'm afraid I can't offer any reason or solution to your question.
I can only say that I had exactly the same problem through my set up so have gone back to wired headphones.

regards

Roger

[didier]

Mar 14, 2021 20:41:23 GMT @shadphil said:

Hi David thanks for the link but most of it seems to relate to pc/mac i'm coming out of my mixers headphone socket via bluetooth transmitter regards phil

The article quoted by David also apply in your case, as long as you use digital wireless transmission (bluetooth or other), there a more or les noticeable delay.

Didier

[philc]

In my book, it's far better to use hard wired headphones, but as always, you get what you pay for.

Phil

[shadfan4]

Unfortunately you aint' gonna' change the laws of fizziks. Bluetooth or any other radio device will have some latency, it's all about how much latency before its a recording problem, and if you don't have an interface with zero latency capability by routing the input back,then
wired will always be better, and I can,t really see why it's a problem for home recording. Your probably better of than NASA talking to the Mars lander with an 11 minute delay.....

Mike.

[giuliani]

I use Beyer-Dynamic DT990 PRO 250 ohm open back headphone for mixing . About £100 and are great value to me.. Worth more is my opinion.. An investment..

I record and mix alot and use them all the time....

Best regards
Fernando

[Darryl]

Hi,
I gave up using cordless headphones with a guitar because of the delay but have had success using a wireless guitar system transmitter/receiver.
I take the output from a Zoom G3 into the Tx then feed the Rx into a small battery powered headphone amp which in turn is connected to the wired head phones.
I also use wireless to connect the guitar to the G3 input but can hear no delay.
The wireless equipment was relatively inexpensive (approx £36 and £45).
Regards,

[trevor]

Hi guys, this thread is eerie, I have just been looking to get some headphones but there is so much to choose from and so expensive, I don’t want to pay the earth for a set of headphones, I was wondering if anyone would recommend a good pair that come relatively cheap, I’m talking £50:00 quid max, I know you get what you pay for but sometimes there’s a bargain to be had, any suggestions greatly appreciated, thanks guys, Trev.

[philc]

It depends on what quality sound you are after, if you're serious about accurate reproduction, £50 ain't gonna cut it but you might get some suggestions?

Phil

[Darryl]

I bought Sennheiser head phone at auction for a fraction of the new cost. (Pre-Covid)

[George Lewis]

Mar 19, 2021 20:31:17 GMT trevor said:

Hi guys, this thread is eerie, I have just been looking to get some headphones but there is so much to choose from and so expensive, I don’t want to pay the earth for a set of headphones, I was wondering if anyone would recommend a good pair that come relatively cheap, I’m talking £50:00 quid max, I know you get what you pay for but sometimes there’s a bargain to be had, any suggestions greatly appreciated, thanks guys, Trev.

Hi Trevor,
The first step is to honestly evaluate your hearing.

It won't matter whether your headphones cost $10,000 or $100 if your ears can't tell the difference.
Nor will the fact that so much these days is played on mobile phones with pathetic sound reproduction.

In other words, unfortunately, buying expensive and accurate headphones will not improve your hearing.
Not so much "What you pay for ..." but "What you hear is what you get."

Regards
George

[philc]

All what George said but once you've established that your hearing is good, bare in mind that most cheap headphone produce a limited frequency range so what you're listening to is not necessarily what's on the record, and the same for what you are mixing.

Phil

[Tone]

I knew that the hi-fi type headphones I had weren't suitable for mixing and monitoring for which you need reference, unbiased phones. In January,on a friend's recommendation, I bought the AKG 240 professional semi-open over-ear phones for general listening (currently on Amazon at £52) and for more detailed mixing and monitoring I bought the AKG K702 open-back, over-ear Premium Studio Reference phones (currently on Amazon for £119). Both get excellent reviews and I like them both. I'm not an expert but I can certainly tell the difference between them - the more expensive K702s have a clearer, more detailed sound with excellent stereo separation so, if you can stretch to it, it's worth paying the extra. Or you can look out for a second hand pair.

I agree, though, that there's no point in splashing the cash if your ears aren't up to it.

Tony

[shadfan4]

I have a few different sets of HP's, old Koss hi-fi's, & some nice Senhheisers ie:, HD25's, HD 650',s HD 414's HD 450, & Beyer Dynamics 220.

I use the HD 650's for all my tracking/recording & most of the time mixing & the Beyers for listening to music when not recording..

I personaly would love to have a completely wire free "studio" as the tangle of wires drives me nuts sometimes, but bluetooth latency is not good enough for anything except for just pure listening pleasure with a large glass of vino.

Mike.

The logic about your own personal hearing specs is an important one as I did a not really scientificaly accurate test of my hearing and found it rolled off about 12khz, so HP.s that can reproduce 20,000khz wouldn't benefit me but they will still give a better listen than cheapos as there are other factors in good phones that make them a good investment particulary once they have been "run in".

[philc]

I have hearing loss at around 4khz, but the thing is, with nearfields and especially headphones as backup, those frequencies are amplified, so, not too bad.

As for buying second hand, yes, providing you know how much use they've had as I have sets of good quality ones, which are years old now and have had thousands of hours use, and I now that they don't produce what they should as componants deteriorate and wear over time.

Phil

[tolo]

Mar 20, 2021 13:43:53 GMT shadfan4 said:

I use the HD 650's for all my tracking/recording & most of the time mixing

I use Neumann NDH20's as my mix sanity check - they are totally transparent and balanced (for my ears anyway) - I have used this
www.waves.com/plugins/abbey-road-studio-3#presenting-the-waves-abbey-road-studio-3-plugin - a few times in order to get some spatial reference - but I find almost always that the mix translates well on the 20's. I have several sets of 'phones - from Audio Technica to AKG to Sennheiser - but the Neumann's are a class above.

There is no way - at the moment anyway - that you can track, mix or master audio properly on any wireless 'phones. In my view.

[philc]

Yes Tony, forget about wireless for serious monitoring, I use HD650's at the moment, I find them excellent, as for nearfields I use Neumann KH 310's totally transparent, shows everything for what it is, I bought them after reading a Sound on Sound review, when the writer decided not to send them back but to keep them himself

[Deleted]

LINDY BNX-60 ARE GOOD. RATED BY RICHER SOUNDS AND WHAT HIFI PHIL

[philc]

Noise cancelling hi-fi are not quite the same as reference headphones, but not everyone is into pro sound and expensive cans, so I guess it's down to what suits

[Deleted]

THE DEAREST HEADPHONES ARE NOT ALWAYS THE BEST AND THEY ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR EARS.

[philc]

Correct.

[trevor]

Wow, guys, thank you all very much for your excellent and valued comments and recommendations about the headphones, certainly food for thought.
The comments about “hearing” is very relevant at this moment in time for me as I have just had an appointment (not two days ago) to check my hearing and low and behold, my ears are full of wax, so now in the process of ear drops and a further appointment to have them seringed, ironically my £50 is now going to be spent on having this procedure done, my doctors are not doing this at the moment because of the COVID situation and are diverting all procedures to the private sector.
Once I’m hearing better I will commence my search for the headphones and armed with the information you have supplied will hopefully come to a decision as what to get, once again I would like to thank you all for your time and efforts for writing your thoughts and comments on this subject, apologies to the original subject post, as I feel like I’ve led everyone off track a bit, sorry, Trev

[giuliani]

Thank for explanation.

Good luck with ear wax trouble.. Not nice

Fernando...
.

[trevor]

Hi guys, just thought I’d update you all on the ear wax problem, had them sorted and can hear again, I had to go to a local hearing clinic in gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, the procedure undertaken was micro suction, painless and quick, the
Only downside was the cost, £80:00 for two ears, it was just like putting a mini hoover in your ear, I am still going for a hearing test to see exactly how bad my hearing is, it’s a problem that I didn’t ever really think about, working in industry since
I was 16 years old, going to all those clubs and venues watching and listening to great bands, great local bands, I didn’t realise all the harm you do to your ears from all the noise in those early days, you think you’re invincible, until you get to the
Point of no return and the damage is done.
I’ve had a few weeks of not being able to hear perfectly well enough to watch TV, listen to music and most importantly playing guitar (not without having to turn it up to ten) also it was affecting me at work, not being able to hear what colleagues
Were saying and having to repeatedly ask them to talk louder, so apologies again for hijacking the original post but it got me wondering how is your hearing guys, does anyone wear a hearing aid, I have a feeling that I may have to have a hearing
aid but that’s not a problem as long as I can still hear, there are lots of people not so lucky, so I’m not complaining.
Back to the ear phone saga, all I wanted was to get a half decent pair of ear phones so as not to disturb the neighbours and the wife, at evening time, rather than have the amp turned on and at low output, so once again thanks for your input
And advice on the matter, when I eventually do get a pair of headphones I will let you all know, will have to start saving again, cheers guys, Trev.

[sandra]

Mar 31, 2021 21:26:16 GMT trevor said:

Only downside was the cost, £80:00 for two ears.

Just think how lucky you are only having the two ears Trev, unlike Captain Kirk in Star Trek with his third ear, as he was always going on about his "final front ear" wasn't he

[trevor]

Nice one Sandra, to be honest my wife and I had a really good belly laugh about this ear wax problem, as she had to phone to make the appointment for me, when she spoke to the receptionist she unwittingly said, “hello is that the ear removal clinic”

[giuliani]

Hear hear!!!