We love our VO shop-talk don’t we? Cans. Headphones.
So right off the top, let me say, this blog entry will NOT get into the sometimes animated, but always inconsequential argument about whether you should wear your cans while you’re recording.
Some say doing so makes you too much aware of your voice, and pulls you inward, instead of reaching out. Another school of thought says when you listen with your cans, you can more readily hear and resolve the plosives and mouth clicks. Then there are the advocates who say headphones don’t reflect the real-world sound of box speakers/monitors. The counter-argument to that comes from a generation who ONLY listen to sound with headsets.
So, who is right?
Look at it this way; sooner or later, you’ll be putting on headphones for a critical close-up listen to something you recorded, and THAT’s when you might wonder if you’ve got some worthwhile cans.
How to choose? Like microphones, ya gotta get out there in the stores, and try ’em out. Most music stores get that, and will let you try out their best brands.
To help, you might try Electronic Musician’s ROUNDUP – STUDIO REFERENCE HEADPHONES. This is an article with some good general advice, and reviews of 5 of the top headphones on the market today. Caution: prices are not for the faint-of-heart!
CourVO
