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[lepidotos]

Would like to know from those who have tried both which one is a better pair for production, or if they're equally good. I already have the K240s and I like them, but I'm unsure which one is better in what circumstances.
I'll mostly be doing voice and sound effects, but may record the odd song that's meant to sound like it's from the 1970s for something I'm doing set in 1971.

[GaryN]

I own both the K240 and an MDR-7506 which is 99% identical to the V6. They're both excellent headphones. IMHO, the Sony is a little punchier which may or may not appeal to you. Overall accuracy is excellent on both.

I tend to use the Sony more for vocals because the cups seal really tightly against your head so virtually no leakage back into the mic. On the other hand, the 240 is more comfortable when used for a long time since it just sits more lightly on and around your head.

When you say "production", you have to define what that encompasses. I could use either of them during tracking. I'm old school however, and I can't get behind using headphones for final mixing unless the project is intended to be or is highly likely to be heard only on headphones. If it will be heard on both phones and speakers - as most things are - you also really need a good pair of monitor speakers and you need to check the mix on both speakers and phones to find a compromise that will sound good on both.

[DieHard]

I agree with Gary, you did say the word "Mastering" and I would say that is a bold endeavor on any headphones. 

I also have the a few sets 240s, and a single Sony Sony MDR-SA1000.  For some reason, the 240s take a lot of juice to get the volume up compared to other sets I have used, but they are definitely useful for setting individual track levels with no crazy colorization or improper EQ band representation.  That is not to suggest that you can properly EQ a bass or drum track with them (maybe you can, I can't), but they are essential to check overall panning and compression that is sometimes hard with monitors if you have a small setup like me.

I stopped using the Sony MDR set all together since it gives me actually pain and ear fatigue after about 20 minutes,  they are extremely clear and cut like a knife sonicallly.  The Sony is probably the best "voice over" set of headphones around, but pushing a music mix thru them with a lot of 6 to 8 K stuff will eventually hurt (Me anyway). I also have a cheap K44 that I use at the office for listening only.

I have tracked with the 240s and have also used them to pre-mix (grouping, effects, basic levels, test panning),  but for the final project (MutiBand compression and EQ) I use my Event monitors or my Sony NS10-T (bought at a yard sale to $10 lol), I can't imagine, pulling up "finished" tracks and then "mastering" (additional tweaking) with any headphones.

[GaryN]

For some reason, the 240s take a lot of juice to get the volume up compared to other sets I have used,

I stopped using the Sony MDR set all together since it gives me actually pain and ear fatigue after about 20 minutes,  they are extremely clear and cut like a knife sonicallly.  The Sony is probably the best "voice over" set of headphones around, but pushing a music mix thru them with a lot of 6 to 8 K stuff will eventually hurt (Me anyway).

The AKG's are much less efficient than the Sony's and do require more from the amp. I have plenty of amp power to drive them (Crown D-75) but I can't see plugging them into a phone or iPad.

You're absolutely correct about MDR sonic damage. They do sizzle, which makes them seem very clear, but the real issue is that they beat the crap out of your eardrums with low end. I have had serious ear-ringing tinnitus following an extended session with them. You absolutely must keep them at a moderate level. They're fine if you do but it's very easy to nudge them a little higher and higher and then you pay for that the next day.

[DieHard]

They're fine if you do but it's very easy to nudge them a little higher and higher and then you pay for that the next day.

Yeah... done that... morning coffee with ears ringing, totally sucks

[IIO]

you can use sub-100-dollar headphones for mixing if you do not exclusively listen with them but also use your speakers from time to time to compare and eventually do the final mix / decisions.

but most of them have that issue gary mentioned, if they have a good bass range, the bass is also too loud.

i recently tried to replace a midprice open sennheiser with a new cheap closed sennheiser, and they are not only two times louder and go down to 10Hz (which would be something positive). it is impossible to mix techno and electronica with them - or do sounddesign and software development - because the bass feels like it would be 3 times louder than it should be.

my old ones kind of sound like my big speakers and also similar to my smaller speakers, these new ones sound like i would be sitting right inside a bassdrum, beeing outlocked from the rest of the world.

eventually i am gonna replace it with an AKG K701 soon.

[GaryN]

Just to drag this thread a little more…

You know, I have a lot of (probably too many) headphones including three pairs of Stax electrostatics. Those are as accurate as it gets.
They're also by far the least fatiguing / ring-inducing and are literally a joy to use. They are invaluable to peer deep into a mix and/or precisely place things L to R (not front to back, obviously) and hear the exact timbre of things without the coloration of room resonances and such.

ALSO…

I'm very aware that a lot of… call it "contemporary" shit is listened to almost exclusively on shitty headphones and shittier earbuds driven by incredibly shitty internal cellphone IC amps which makes a valid case for mixing that shit using the same shitty equipment.

BUT…

I guess I'm just too old for that shit.

[lepidotos]

Well, by "production," I mean mostly just voice clips and the odd sound effect. Recording them, checking for any dumb mistakes, placing them in a scene and making sure they aren't too loud, and a lot of the time, I'm going to be crushing them down to 22KHz 8-bit anyway in order to fit within hardware limitations, I just want to hear how they sound as neutrally as possible before then and make sure that the resulting crushed versions sound as good as they possibly can at that quality. I definitely won't skip on using my speakers, but I'd rather use headphones to listen for stuff that would be basically lost under all the traffic and police sirens and airplanes right next to my window. San Diego is a loud place.
I'm not going to be doing a whole ton of music, but it seems like the K240s are better (maybe not perfect, but better) for that purpose, then? I'm hearing about way too much bass on the MDRs.
And regarding using them without an amp, I've honestly been totally fine plugging my K240s into my 7th gen iPod, and that's with the max volume set at -5db and the actual volume set at about -10, and a diagnosed 5db hearing loss in one ear. Same deal with my phone, a Moto G Play 2021. Now, if something loud happens nearby it'll drown out the noise, they aren't magically not openbacks, but volume's never really been a problem for me. Quality on the other hand, I've heard an amp will help with that.
I don't really have the budget to drop $6,000 on a pair of Stax X9000s when I'm literally just starting out, so the budget pairs are about as good as I can get. Better than a pair of Behringer HPS3000s.
Any recommendations in the sub-$300 range to save up for?

[robespierre]

Note that the vents on the K240 are more heavily filtered than many open-back headphones, so they are probably helping more with environment noise than many would. The polar opposite would be a "free field" phone like the MDR-F1 which filters nothing at all.

[smilesdavis]

get the psbm4u1 (disc.) the best mixers and mastering engineers are particular to them