Trusted and reliable monitoring is an essential part of music at every step of the process. To this end, most will opt for headphones, speakers, or a combination of the two. Naturally, certain production tasks specifically call for – audio playback while recording a track, for example.
They’re often a sensible choice if you’re dealing with noise constraints in a shared apartment, or your music-making space is lacking acoustic treatment. What’s more, a good set of cans will set you back far less than of the same quality, so they’re one of the best investments you can make at the start of your music production journey. Typically, you won’t need any extra hardware to connect your headphones to your setup either.
Make no mistake, monitor speakers hold a valuable position in a music producer’s arsenal. However, headphones offer greater flexibility and portability, and a cheaper barrier to entry – not to mention you won’t upset your neighbours when you’re tweaking mixes at 3am. There’s no shortage of choice when it comes to headphones, from simpler entry-level models to sophisticated audiophile headsets capable of reproducing microscopic detail.
Check out our round-up below for ten of the best headphones across a range of budgets and applications. Best headphones at a glance: Best overall pick: Sennheiser HD 490 Pro £349 £419 Coming in as our top overall pick is ’s flagship . Marking the upper end of the HD range the manufacturer is so well known for, the .