David was sent a pair of these headphones – the Status Audio CB-1 Closed Back Studio Monitor Headphones a couple of years ago on The New Music Industry Show (Facebook live stream). Yep. We’re just getting around to editing and sharing this video with you now.
David is quite sanguine about these headphones. In fact, he’s been using them extensively since moving to Abbotsford, BC two years ago. Having broken multiple pairs of earbuds and portable headphones he’s felt more at home with these.
The Status Audio CB-1 cans are comfortable, offer detailed audio, and look simple but luxurious besides. And according to David, they’re better than AKG headphones costing two to three times the price.
Video Highlights:
- 00:00 – The Status CB-1 headphones
- 00:15 – The headphones look great
- 00:24 – The headphones are comfortable
- 01:08 – These cans sound great
- 03:40 – What closed back headphones are for
- 04:56 – These are super affordable!
- 05:08 – The cable that it comes equipped with is too short
- 05:52 – The box
- 06:18 – Closing thoughts
Transcription:
The Status Audio CB-1 Closed Back Studio Monitor Headphones.
I have nothing but good things to say about this. I only have one gripe. But let’s start with the pros and then we’ll get to the cons.
The Headphones Look Awesome
They look great. They are simple, elegant, and beautiful.
The Cans Are Comfortable
They’re comfortable. I don’t know that I would wear them all day. I don’t if I would ever wear them for longer than three to four hours. The first two to three hours are great. And that can be a big deal if you’re constantly mixing, and listening to music, and doing audio editing work.
Fortunately, there aren’t too many scenarios in which I would find myself sitting with a pair of headphones for hours on end. I might occasionally put them on to get into the zone while listening to music.
Stunning Detail & Nuance
They sound good. I’m positively amazed. I have a pair of AKG headphones and that used to be the standard against which I measured everything. And they are studio headphones. But I’ve heard not so good things about AKG headphones since, and I think they’re probably not the best headphones out there.
But I had them. They were comfortable. It’s what I worked with. It’s what was in the studio. So, I never bothered to compare my AKGs against another pair of headphones.
And these ones instantly sounded better.
The first thing you do oftentimes when you have a pair of new headphones, you’re going to put them on, you’re going to listen to music. These are studio headphones, and that’s not necessarily their application, but that’s the first thing you do.
And I was surprised. I put the headphones on – and this is kind of what I was excepting – and I could hear nuances in the music I could not hear through a pair of computer speakers. I have a surround sound speaker system for my computer but they’re nothing special. They’re decent.
So, compared to that, with the Status Audio headphones, I could hear so many nuances I just wouldn’t be able to hear with any other source I have. So, I’m impressed and amazed.
Even with Voiceovers, You Could Hear More
Same thing with recording my own work. I’m a podcaster. I used a dynamic broadcast mic. It’s great. It shuts out a lot of the surrounding sound so that you can just hear the voice. There are a couple of downsides to this specific mic, one being that I must be extremely close to it, and the second being that it doesn’t have huge gain on it. So, I’m always cranking it up to 11 whenever I’m recording.
But when I listened to the soundwaves I recorded with these headphones, I could hear nuances I wouldn’t otherwise be able to hear. I could hear my body shifting, I could hear weird sounds from my mouth, throat, or my teeth. So, that was comedic.
If you are particular about your mix and you’re looking to clean it up, these headphones could certainly help.
How to Use Closed Back Headphones
But typically, you want open back headphones for mixing. Closed back headphones are generally for tracking. If you have click or drums in your ears, and you’re playing your guitar, bass, piano, or something along to that, closed back headphones will help alleviate bleed. And the CB-1 headphones are quite effective.
I’ve talked to some musicians and studio engineers who’ve said to me, “click track bleeding into the mix – I’ve never heard of that!” It happens to me all the time, but if you haven’t had that problem, awesome, maybe you’re already using closed back headphones.
For those who have experienced that, where bleed was an issue, you’ll want a pair of these. Maybe not this specific pair, but maybe.
Quality Gear at a Reasonable Price
Finally, these headphones are amazingly affordable. They’re about $60 USD. You get a great pair of headphones for the price.
Short Headphone Cable May be Useless
My one gripe. The headphone cable that comes equipped with is a shorter one. But they do include a longer one in the box. The shorter cable is almost useless.
My mixer is just below my keyboard, even with that short amount of distance, up to my head, it’s not long enough. So that’s a problem. That’s why I put the longer cable in. It works well.
Closing Thoughts
Another thing I will show you is the box. The box itself is so cool. You feel like you’re getting a gift, something special. So, thank you Status for sending over a pair. They’re awesome, they get used all the time in my home studio.
You can get the Status Audio CB-1 headphones here.
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