Finding good headphones for recording vocals is easier said than done. There are literally hundreds of options out there, and the least of them are ideal for constant use.
With that being said, there are, of course, some great options to consider, and this is what we are here to do today. Let’s get to it and take a look at the top five contenders for the best headphones for recording vocals.
Comparison Chart
Sennheiser RS 175 RF Wireless Headphone System for TV Listening with Bass Boost and Surround Sound Modes
MEE audio Matrix Cinema Bluetooth wireless headphones with aptX Low Latency and CinemaEAR audio enhancement for clearer sound in TV shows and movies
Best Headphones for Recording Vocals: Reviews
1. Sennheiser RS 175 RF Wireless Headphone System
Here we have an extremely high quality and high-end set of wireless headphones. They are perfect for a variety of purposes, including recording vocals. They may not be cheap by any means, although we do think that they are well worth the investment.
Review
These particular Sennheiser headphones are fairly compact headphones. They may look a bit chunky, but they’re actually very lightweight and ergonomically designed.
They do come complete with very nice padding. They feature great padding both on the ear cups and the headband. That should help keep you comfortable while wearing them. They’re also not overly heavy, coming in at just over half a pound.
They are then also adjustable for size to ensure that you get a good fit at all times. The ergonomic design they feature is quite comfortable to wear. Also, keep in mind that these headphones do feature all of the main controls located right on them for user-friendliness.
These are noise-isolating headphones, so you really shouldn’t be able to hear anything else when wearing them. They are, of course, wireless headphones, and their connectivity is very good. They have a range up to 100 meters, or well over 300 feet. The signal here is extremely clear and accurate.
These are very high-quality headphones, and they feature excellent sound quality. They come with both a bass boost and a surround sound mode.
They have a maximum sound pressure level of 114 decibels at one kHz. At one kHz, the total harmonic distortion is well under 0.5%, which is very good. These headphones aren’t going to crackle or pop on you anytime soon. No, they definitely aren’t cheap, but we do think that they are well worth the investment.
Pros
- Very durable build
- Onboard controls
- Ergonomic and comfortable
- User friendly
- Adjustable fit
- Fantastic sound quality all around
- Long-range
Cons
- High price
- Battery life could be a bit better
2. Skullcandy Crusher Wireless Over-Ear Headphone
Here we have a really nice pair of headphones from the Skullcandy brand name. For a pair of high-quality headphones, they do come in at a reasonable price.
They aren’t the cheapest around, although by far not the most expensive, especially not when compared to the Sennheisers above.
Review
One of the things that really stands out about these particular headphones is the fact that they have amazing battery life. They feature 40 hours of battery life, which is about as good as it gets. Moreover, they are also fast charging. Just 10 minutes of charging allows for up to three hours of listening time.
You may also appreciate the fact that these Skullcandy headphones come complete with a noise-isolating fit. This means that when you are recording vocals, all you will hear is yourself, and nothing on the outside.
On that note, these headphones are also designed to be very comfortable. They feature very thick and plush padding on the ear cups.
They also come complete with an ergonomically friendly headband that should be comfortable to wear for prolonged periods. The fit of these headphones is also adjustable to make sure that they stay in place.
These are Bluetooth headphones, and they do have really good connectivity quality. They do also have a fairly long Bluetooth range. Keep in mind that they do also come complete with onboard volume controls, as well as a microphone with calling features.
These Skullcandy headphones do have fairly high-quality sound. They come complete with nice drivers, and do have really deep bass. They do also have a fairly good frequency response range to ensure that they accurately recreate highs just as well as lows.
All in all, for the moderate price that they come in at, we do think that they are very good headphones to consider. They work just as well for basic music listening as they do for recording vocals and other such musical purposes.
Pros
- Ergonomic design
- Quite comfortable with great padding
- Adjustable fit
- Great bass and good frequency response
- Noise isolating
- Reasonable price
Cons
- Somewhat cheap plastic build – not overly durable
3. Sony MDR-DS6500 Digital Wireless 3D Surround Headphones
Here we have another very high-end pair of headphones. They’re designed for a variety of purposes, including watching movies, listening to music, and for musical and vocal recording.
Review
These particular headphones are designed with 3D surround sound. First and foremost, they are technically designed for watching movies with surround sound quality. With that being said, there’s absolutely no reason why you couldn’t use them to record vocals or just to listen to music as well.
It actually sounds like there are seven different speakers in this one pair of headphones. These headphones do come complete with 40 millimeter drivers, which makes them extremely high quality in terms of sound reproduction.
They do reproduce sound very well, which is also thanks to the 12 to 22,000 Hertz frequency response combined with a 66 ohm impedance. In other words, these headphones have absolutely excellent sound quality.
They hit the highs and the lows really well, and they won’t distort or crackle on you either. The fact that these headphones are totally noise isolating is yet another added bonus.
You may also like the fact that these headphones are extremely compact and lightweight, much more so than most others out there. They are then also adjustable for size. They do also come complete with very soft and plush padding on both the ear cups and the headband. All in all, they are quite comfortable.
These are wireless headphones that use digital wireless technology to allow for fantastic connectivity. They have a 320 foot range, and they also feature real-time tuning so you always get the best digital signal for the best connectivity. Keep in mind that these headphones do also feature a 20 hour battery life, which is not too bad at all.
Pros
- Durable design
- Ergonomic
- Plenty of padding
- Adjustable fit
- No distortion
- Great bass and frequency response
- Great connectivity
- Good battery life
- Surround sound quality
Cons
- Not exactly cheap
- It may be a bit loose for some
4. MEE Audio Matrix Cinema Headphones
Here we have what are so far the most affordable headphones on the list today. However, just because they’re affordable does not mean that they are low quality. For the fairly low price that they come in at, they actually perform much better than we would usually expect.
Review
These are true multipurpose headphones. They are technically primarily designed for watching movies with awesome sound quality, but they work really well for recording vocals and for all other purposes too.
One reason for this is due to the fact that they come complete with high resolution 40 millimeter drivers. They allow for extremely clear speech and dynamic bass. They also feature a voice audio enhancement mode to help you hear vocals much better.
This is even the case at low volumes. This is generally best for movie watching, but it comes in handy for recording vocals too. There are actually several other hearing modes here, including a normal mode, a dynamic music mode, a bass boost mode, and two separate clear voice modes.
All in all, these headphones do feature a very wide frequency response range. This means that they recreate audio very accurately, and this is true for both the lows and the highs.
These headphones are then also made using special low latency technology. Yes, they are, of course, Bluetooth headphones, and they do have fantastic range. Their range is up to 330 feet.
Moreover, thanks to that low latency technology, there are absolutely no lip-syncing or time delay issues whatsoever.
What is also very impressive is that these headphones feature a full 30 hours of battery life, and yes, they do come complete with the charging cable. What you might also appreciate is that these headphones only weigh half a pound, therefore making them very lightweight.
They’re designed to be quite ergonomically friendly overall, and also come complete with great padding. The ear cups have really thick padding, and the headband has a bit of padding too. Keep in mind that these are noise-isolating headphones, so you shouldn’t hear much noise from the outside world.
Pros
- Comfortable and well-padded
- Ergonomic design
- Lightweight
- Great sound quality for the price
- Good battery life
- Good range
- Low latency
- Decent frequency response range
- Good price
Cons
- Not the most durable
5. Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Noise-Canceling Over-Ear Headphones
Here we have another very high-end pair of headphones, with these ones coming from a trusted brand name, Sony.
They come complete with a very wide variety of features that make me another perfect for recording vocals. They also work really well for watching movies, listening to music, and everything else in between.
Review
Here we have what are likely some of the best noise-canceling headphones out there. They are so good at noise-canceling that you won’t hear anything from the outside world even when the headphones aren’t playing any sound. This does make them excellent for recording vocals because it makes it really easy to hear your own voice.
At the same time, they also come complete with 1.57 inch drivers. These are in fact very large drivers that produce great volume and sound quality. These drivers allow for one of the widest frequency response ranges out there, which means that these headphones are absolutely excellent at recreating sound.
They can pick up sound and recreate it at all levels of the sound spectrum. They have really deep bass, they recreate vocals well, and the mids are fantastic too. In terms of overall sound quality, these might just be the best headphones on the list today.
What is also worth noting is that these are wireless Bluetooth headphones with excellent connectivity. They feature a range of up to 100 meters or roughly 330 feet.
This Bluetooth connectivity is very secure, and it also comes with special low latency technology. This means that you won’t ever have any lagging or lip-syncing issues to deal with.
These headphones then come complete with onboard controls for ease of use, and they also feature a microphone so you can easily take and make phone calls. In terms of their overall build, we do have to say that they are very heavy.
These headphones weigh nearly two pounds, therefore making them the heaviest model on the list today. That said, they do come complete with an ergonomic design and a whole lot of padding, both on the ear cups and the headband. So, although they are quite heavy, they should still be fairly comfortable to wear.
Pros
- Great bass
- Fantastic frequency response
- Very clear vocals
- Great connectivity range
- Very low latency
- Noise-canceling
- Comfortable and well-padded
Cons
- Very heavy
- Not exactly budget-friendly
Buyers Guide
Before you go out and buy headphones for recording vocals, there are a few important factors to keep in mind. Look out for all of the following factors before you purchase any specific pair.
1. Frequency Response
When buying any pair of headphones, one of the most important things to pay attention to is the frequency response. If you go for something like a 12 to 22,000 kilohertz frequency response range, you should be on the right track.
What is important to note here is that the wider this frequency response range is, the higher the sound quality is going to be.
A high-frequency response range means that the headphones will be able to accurately reproduce both low notes and high notes. When buying headphones, especially for recording vocals, this might just be the most important thing to look out for.
2. Ease of Installation
Ease up installation really shouldn’t be a huge issue with most headphones, as most of them are simply Bluetooth. This means that you just have to turn on the headphones, and then detect them on the device you are using to record the vocals with.
Generally speaking, this of course means that you are simply going to connect them to your computer via a simple Bluetooth connection. You may also go for headphones that are wired, which means that they really won’t need to be installed at all.
3. Comfort Level
You do also want to ensure that the headphones in question are comfortable. First of all, this means being able to adjust them to get the right fit. Second, having light headphones is always nice as well. You don’t want anything way too heavy on your head.
Next, you also want headphones that feature great padding on the ear cups as well as on the headband. You don’t want anything that is too hard and is going to crush your ears.
4. Wireless or Wired
You then want to decide whether you want wireless or wired headphones. With wireless headphones, you always have to worry about the connectivity range as well as the battery life.
Although, if you go for a high-quality model, these should both not be issues at all. That said, with wired headphones, although you are limited by the length of the cable, you never have to worry about connectivity issues or battery life.
5. Sound Performance
Of course, the headphones in question do need to have good sound performance. They should have a very wide frequency response range, low latency, and high-quality drivers that can produce really deep bass, yet also pick up on vocals with ease.
FAQ
1. What are the main types of studio headphones?
There are three main types of studio headphones that you need to consider. The three most commonly used types of headphones in music recording include closed back, open back, and semi-open headphones.
Generally speaking, for music recording and other vocal purposes, closed-back headphones will be the best choice.
This is due to the fact that these are really the only type of studio headphones that fully noise isolating. Of course, when you record vocals, having noise isolated is extremely important. You don’t want to be able to hear anything but your own vocals.
2. What’s the difference between studio headphones and normal headphones?
Without getting into too much detail, studio headphones are simply much better. They are designed specifically so that people can try to find and remedy influences in the audio. They, therefore, have a very wide frequency response range, large drivers, plenty of volume, low latency, and more.
They are just generally designed to be higher quality in every single way when compared to normal headphones. Instead of being designed to enhance the sound of music, like normal headphones, studio headphones are designed to provide you with exactly what is being played.
3. How much do studio headphones cost?
For a decent pair of studio-quality headphones, you are looking at around $150 at a minimum, but you may spend up to $1,000.
Conclusion
If you are looking for the best headphones to record vocals, we recommend the Sennheiser RS 175 RF Wireless Headphone System. They’re just extremely high-quality headphones with excellent frequency response, massive drivers, and so much more.
