Are There Headphones Designed For Playing Electric Guitar?

[DozeyGit]

I assumed that the Sony WH100XM4 headphones would be suited for playing an electric guitar, as they are rated highly among over-ear headphones, however, I saw a pair of headphones that were touted as being designed for playing electric guitars that cost less than Sony's and we're highly rated. What's going on?

[T-Bay]

Sales pitch? Looking for an angle to make them stand out. They may be decent or may not. If you can get the specs you could work it out to a degree but it doesn’t tell you everything.

Edited February 9, 2022 by T-Bay

[DozeyGit]

There are headphones designed for gamers, and studio professionals. Is it a reasonable assumption to say there are headphones made for electric guitarists? Or, are all those gamer headphones and studio professional headphones fabricated sales points? Why wouldn't a £280 pair of Sony WH100XM4 headphones be up to the job? What would be unique about the sound of an electric guitar that it warrants some special headphones? Surely, once a level of technological quality has been reached, say £280 worth, then those headphones can be used for accurate sound reproduction, right? Afterall, sound is sound, right? What don't I know about this topic of conversation, and need to learn, so I can answer these questions? Keep it civil, please. [Now he's gonna get it!]

[FrankAtari]

I only play with headphones, it's my choice, and I have some experience. I have an Audio-Technica model (not sure which one, but I can let you know if you're interested) that has incredibly positive reviews. There are a few things designed for guitars, boss makes a wireless model, quite pricey, etc. but any decent headphones will get the job done. The major concern IMO is to get something with a good fit, because you may be find yourself playing for long. So anything for gaming etc will do, trust me.

[FrankAtari]

PS the price range should indeed be around £200. For less the sound ok but they are not durable.

[Woodinblack]

If I was spending money like that on headphones I would get the Boss Waza-Air guitar headphones, seem very highly rated

[EdwardMarlowe]

On 11/02/2022 at 20:31, DozeyGit said:

There are headphones designed for gamers, and studio professionals. Is it a reasonable assumption to say there are headphones made for electric guitarists? Or, are all those gamer headphones and studio professional headphones fabricated sales points? Why wouldn't a £280 pair of Sony WH100XM4 headphones be up to the job? What would be unique about the sound of an electric guitar that it warrants some special headphones? Surely, once a level of technological quality has been reached, say £280 worth, then those headphones can be used for accurate sound reproduction, right? Afterall, sound is sound, right? What don't I know about this topic of conversation, and need to learn, so I can answer these questions? Keep it civil, please. [Now he's gonna get it!]

Well, if you think about it, headphones are, ultimately, just a pair of stereo speakers. I've played my LP through my Vox bass amp. It does sound a touch different than via a guitar amp, but it works. Similarly, I have a Vox 2x12 stereo cab that I keep toying with the idea of trying out with a hifi. It will work. It'll sound different than a hifi speaker set, because it is voice primarily with a guitar's frequencies in mind. Same with headphones. I would expect guitar-specific headphones to be designed to specifically work well for the frequencies a guitar runs at, whereas hifi headphones are designed to cover a wider range of sounds well. TBh, though, I doubt I could tell you which was which in isolation. I'd expect to hear a *difference* against each other, but what sounds *better* will depend on the individual human ear, and the subjective preferences to which it is attached. All done and said, if I was sinking serious money into headphones dedicated to use with a guitar amp, I'd at least look at guitar-specific phones. If I wanted phones I could also use for more general purposes, I'd probably be looking at the hifi stuff. Both will do the job for a guitar amp just fine, they'll jut be voiced slightly differently. 

[Paolo85]

This does not necessarily answer the question but: headphones, including good expensive headphones colour the sound. That's good, that's on purpose, and that's part of their selling point. I have the Sony wh1000xm3 and I love them. Lovely warm sound, the bass guitar in songs can be heard very clearly, though maybe a bit at the expenses of the drum sometimes, and it can get boomy.

Now, when I play instruments - mainly the bass - I do not want any of that. I want headphones to give me a flat response, with minimal to no alteration of frequencies. Sames as a sound engineer would do. The sound is already coloured by amps and pedals that are designed to enhance my instrument specifically. If I go through headphones that alter the sound, I end up making choices in terms of amps/pedals settings in response to that, which I guess would not give me the sound I have in mind in other contexts.

So in that sense I do nof find the expensive sony to be good. And I find some cheaper ArsTechnica I have to be better.

So, flat response, clarity and detail even at high volumes would be my idea of headphones for a musician.

I can imagine somebody triying to make headphones to make the guitar sound "better" but what's the advantage of that? Headphones are meant for practice and learning about tone. And how do you define "better" anyway?

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Paolo85

[randythoades]

As mentioned by @Paolo85 doesn't the device used to amplify the guitar have more of an impact on this than the headphones? You wouldn't just plug headphones into the instrument output surely?

So since the amplifier headphones output or the multi effects unit will already be colouring the sound and may also have made appropriate adjustments before it gets to the headphone itself, I would have thought that just a flat response studio headphone would be appropriate, or something like an In Ear monitor headphone. But that wouldn't be an accurate the sound of the amp itself as the speaker has been taken out of the equation, it is just the sound from the headphone socket of whatever device you are using...

Edited December 22, 2023 by randythoades
bad spelling

[Dad3353]

Far too much over-thinking here, I'd say. Any decent (for whatever definition of 'decent'...) pair of headphones would be fine. It won't, and will never, sound like a guitar playing in the room (and that will change, depending on the room...), so define your 'decent' and play away. For reference, my 'phones, used for every thing from listening to ISIHAC on R4, mixing whatever genre I'm working on (along with other monitoring methods...), playing guitar, bass, keys etc are Superlux HD669, 32€ from Thomann. Your 'decent' may be different, but not by much, I'd suggest. Hope this  helps. 

 

Douglas