Headphones for Editors

I’m hopeless with headphones. I change my mind all the time depending on my mood, the job, the tunes on at the moment… anything really. Now that I am freelancing and moving between different editing suites I’ve been able to test a few studio quality bins out. I still stand by the Sennheiser HD 280’s that I researched and purchased for Pretzel Films. If you can find a pair anywhere around £100 and you want a true studio representation of your audio you’ve done very well indeed. However, they do start to warm your ears after a few hours of continuous use and will attract a bit of undue attention on the tube.

How about a pair of headphones that do a reasonable job of blocking ambient sound (not noise-cancelling mind you, can’t be doing with batteries etc), are comfortable for long periods, offer studio crispness without missing treble detail or blowing out bass AND maybe even look and play well enough to use on the commute or whilst travelling (they could even have a play/pause button on the cable) ? Does such a mythical beast even exist?

Well, I’ve done my research and I’ve been testing them for a couple of months now and I’m pleased to say YES.. and AKG have come up with the goods. I’m talking about the AKG headphones K451.

AKG K451


They are portable, they are light (oh so light). £80 on the AKG site, £50 if you shop around at Richer Sounds and SuperFi. They really pack a punch. I can edit for hours in them, control my podcasts and tunes on the tube and don’t (debatably) look like a wannabeDJ whilst doing so. Practically the only thing I can’t do in them is anything too sporty. I think that whilst running or cycling they might slip around a bit too much. There you have it – my top tip for Editor’s stockings this xmas.

a1dan

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