Do you mix/master with headphones or studio monitors?

Monitors. Always

For me, and this is just my personal preference, Ns10s and Equator d-5s.
 
Monitors always for me as well.

Know that there are reasons and variables which will allow you to make the best decision for yourself. Room size, ability to make noise, acoustic treatment, the size of your head, etc. lol!

Way too much to throw out in one response...

Search the forum here man. There are many opinions and facts that will allow you to do what is best for your situation.

Everyone has different needs and goals. Figuring out what they are and finding what is best to achieve them is best done by educating yourself.

That sounded like preaching but it is absolutely the way to start.

:)
 
Studio Monitors.

But it depends on the person. For someone who listens to music through headphones all day, everyday, then it's much easier for them to make a good master with headphones because they know what a good master should sound like in their headphones. Same applies to someone who always uses monitors.

My recommendation would be to use both and if it sounds good on both monitors and headphones, you have a winner. Always test your master in different sound devices such as car, home theater system, club, small mono radio etc.

Don't rely on only one sound device, but monitors work best for mixing and mastering as they're not colored. Or get some studio monitor headphones instead of ordinary or djing headphones.
 
Studio monitors for me.

Sometimes I switch to headphones as a 2nd reference and
to check out the panning/effect more (if I exaggerated some it will definitely pop out to my headphones)

So it's like 90% monitors - 10% headphones , cause your ears are getting easily tired with headphones, at least mine xD
 
Currently using headphones, but only for 2 reasons...

1. I don't currently own monitors

2. I live with friends and all the PC's are in one room, so I pretty much have the headphones on all the time when I'm at my PC

BTW, the last few mixes I've posted in these forums were mixed completely on headphones.
 
Both. I spent a lot of time listening to music exclusively on my studio headphones when I didn't have a monitoring situation and in an apartment where I couldn't have music at reasonable monitoring volumes. In that time I became accustomed to how commercial mixes sound on those exact pair of headphones, and how to make my mixes sound the same. It also took lots of time taking those mixes out of the headphones and into consumer speakers, the car, ear buds, etc.

Now I spent about 70-80% of my time mixing on good monitors, and the rest on those same headphones to check it against what I learned in the aforementioned time.
 
Monitors.

I may use some headphones to do some rough "starting out" stuff if it's late and monitors would be antisocial but for the proper mix it has to be monitors.
 
Monitors in a treated room are the best................but the reality today is that most people are going to listen to pre-recorded (unless it's FM radio....then mostly in their car) material on their (crappy) headphones. So you have to use headphones as one of your reference points. To go even further.......you have to check using average headphones and very good ones as well. Nothing will replace good monitors that you are EXTREMELY familiar with. But in reality.......we often check our mixes on many players (consciously or not)..........and if we actually go back and make any changes as a result of listening to our mix on a car radio.......the living room stereo........the iPad.......the iPod.......our cell phone or any other device..........then didn't we really mix on those things as well? Just my 2 cents.
 
Monitors. Although I don't have studio monitors, I have a badass pair of Wharfedales with a Wharfedale amp. I know them well as I've used them for the past 8 years.

Only ever used headphones for tracking. :thumbs up:
 
Mr Clean said:
Monitors. Although I don't have studio monitors, I have a badass pair of Wharfedales with a Wharfedale amp. I know them well as I've used them for the past 8 years.
Click to expand...
Which brings up a point -- Most speakers out there that have a sticker on them that says "STUDIO MONITOR" have no business having that sticker. I'd take a set of fine quality loudspeakers / high-fidelity / audiophile type speakers over most boxes that say "STUDIO MONITOR" on them any day.

I used to have a set of Wharfies... Small... Maybe 7" woofers -- Can't remember what they were called now for some reason. Diamond 8.2...? Whatever. They were effing fantastic. Years later, they made a "STUDIO MONITOR" version that sort of sucked (but that's beside the point -- NS10's sucked BEFORE they started putting "STUDIO MONITOR" stickers on them).

Point being -- Speakers are either reasonably accurate or they're not. Reasonably accurate speakers can then be reasonably consistent or not. If they say "MONITOR" on them makes not a damn bit of difference.
 
Yeah...I kinda like to see a frequency response test graph....at least to have some idea how much they claim to be accurate...of course, that test would have been properly done in a test chamber....which means that the monitors on their own may be accurate, but in your room that may change.
 
I used to mix on the monitors, then check with the headphones, but now it's the other way around. I think it's easier to get to know the headphones. They have a much flatter frequency curve. My room is not treated and I like to re-arrange med furniture every once in a while. I use the monitors as well as cheaper headphones and the HIFI-system for reference.
 
Monitors--a pair of AR's; one-offs I got from a friend. I had to replace the tweeters and re-cone the woofers (they have passive radiators). They're mounted in the corners pointed down and towards me. Driven by an Adcom 535 with a GTP 450 as the pre. It even has a remote whereby I don't have to reach over. I used to use headphones for all the usual reasons. A pair of Focal Alpha 80's will be in the room in a month or so . . . .
 
Monitors all the way. I just use headphones once in a while while editing or recording vocals. I don't even own a nice pair of headphones as there's not much of a point to justify the costs.
 
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