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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Good Headphones for boompole operator

Joshua Hoareau

Joshua Hoareau

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Of the two that you list, the HD-25-1 II. They are sort of pricey though, and most boom operators will be more experienced with Sony MDR-75##, which are a LOT cheaper.

If you hiring a professional, there is a chance that they come equipped with their own cans. I'd go with the Sony. Although I own the HD25 and love them, it would be an unusual choice for a boom operator set since most ops won't have experience listening through them and why spend the extra cash?
 
@Tom I can get them really cheap brand new (hence price wasn't really an issue) but mainly it'll be for my own crew who don't have cans of their own. They'll use my gear. But in terms of performance for boompole operators, would these be good? Just not to familiar with sound stuff. :)
 
The Sony MDR-7506's have pretty much been the standard for 20 years that I know of, for both boom ops and on-set mixers. But I have worked with boom ops who carry their own headphones, sometimes custom-fitted. Choice of headphones is an extremely subjective call. I don't care what they use as long as they get the boom in the right place and they know how to listen, which is what's important.
 
Be sure to consider hearing impairment, as it relates to sound monitoring. This is a very important issue to be aware of and have a plan, in place, if you are allowing others to use your audio equipment. The professional sound mixer/recordist world is littered with hearing impaired operators and ex-operators, so it would be wise to be circumspect. Perhaps you are in a union or your operators have access to union or other guidelines, in this field.

Thank you very much

Fury
 
HD-25 are higher fidelity - no doubt. They are a sealed "on ear" design, in that the cups don't fully cover the ears, but rest on them, not to be confused with the non-sealed consumer style on-ear phones. I haven't had much leakage issues, but I don't monitor at insanely high levels either. I suspect the Sony MDR-7506 or like would be a bit bette seal since they are full over the ear. The HD-25 allow one ear to be flipped up, for some situational awareness, whereas on the MDR you can just sort of nudge the one pad off ear if you need to do the same. I find the MD-25 more comfortable, they are certainly lighter, but this is a personal choice. The MDR are certainly more rugged. My vote is still the MDR for boom op use, unless you can get the HD-25 cheaper than those. Another factor, although the HD-25 isolate outside noises quite well, the MDR offers higher isolation, which may or may not be important for your op. When it gets windy, for example, the HD-25 will allow more of the environmental noise to leak in. I know many mixers who use HD-25s. Every boom op I know uses MDR. There is also the eventual failure of the cable connection for the HD-25. It happens to all sets over time, normally fixable in the fiedl with a little jiggling or light cleaning.

One more thing I just thought of, because the tops of the HD-25 are hard plastic, it is more difficult to rest a boom on the head. This is a technique usually used by one-man-band mixers that try to boom and mix themselves (unscripted television for example), but it tends to be easier on the head to do this with the Sony's since they have a leatherette band that is quite wide and padded underneath.
 
Ive used Sony MDR 7506 for years now, mostly as they fold up and you can get a hat on over the HP's in cold weather. They sound perfectly fine, the 7509's are a little better if you can fid them. Also you can get spare parts for them, cables ear pads etc. They have 1/8 jack and 1/4 convertor which is useful too.
 
A great choice! As headphones have less to do with sounding good and more to do with being revealing. The Sony's are quite good at highlighting sounds like room reflections, A/C noise, fish tank bubbling, etc.

In a good room, I can certainly boom by eye and meters and don't need cans at all. But headphones will help point out when there is a problem or unexpected sound. Just the other week I was recording a car engine for some foley. And I was AMAZED at how different it sounded with different mic placements. Some accentuated a high pitched whirring, others the rush of air coming in. Without accurate cans, I wouldn't have been aware of the extent of these differences.
 
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