Mixing on Headphones

I use headphones and a couple different speaker set ups to cross check things...one thing I'm doing to avoid setting up a headphone mix that, once I hear it in the speaker set up I'm using as the focus one, has to be changed, is to identify what the headphones boost in the mix that isn't that way in the speakers...last mix it was the tambourine and bass...figure if I can set up a reference system I'll know what kind of mix to make using them initially...new to pro recording /mixing /mastering though just getting started w/things and like to use the headphones a lot to hear what EQ/compression do (also due to the air conditioner being a noisy one I have to keep turning off to check the speaker mixes.. )
 
If mixing in headphones was more ideal then all or most recording studios wouldn't pay for those expensive drivers they use to mix on... I don't want to sound like a dick and I know you CAN mix on headphones but that doesn't mean you always should. The best translation you can achieve is with high fidelity monitoring, either it be near field or mid field. Its not just the speaker that is the benefit to the mix, its the environment in which the speakers operate in. This gives you so much information, it can be difficult to pick out with cans, not to mention the loss of imaging as mentioned above. And to add, its not just having monitors to mix on... its again, having the environment to mix in. the first thing for me, is the room, then the speakers and positioning, the reflections and nulls and nodes. When you cannot play out of speakers, well its just not the time to mix. I know everyone gets itchy but I hate to see people trending from the true audiophiia. its a science. theres a reason nice studios use focals or adams and not sony 7506's... Ive used cans to mix and "master" on and tbh they all sounded like shit compared to anything put thru the system with proper monitors and environment. I could use these to track or check something for reference but not to gauge a mix on. It just feels unnatural now to me, at least. My days of mixing with cans on are OVER! lol :) the best investment I made was studio monitors and a sub, and 250 sq ft rockwool and some lumber, fabric, and a few days to build a wall partition to make my room to ratio which will help any acoustic anomalies.

I used sony 7506 for mixing and sound design for years, and love them. They have been replaced 3 times over the twenty some years and I still use them for checking problems I cant work out in the studio. Or when Im on the go...!
 
I kind of agree with the speakers and pro room is best but then its confusing when you see small junky rooms like Motown that did pretty good...and more confusing the studios realized most people arent playing our great mixes back in highend rooms on high end speakers so they started "simulating" the average joe crappy system with auratones and ns10's.....

so Im imagining in some highend Capitol Records Mix room....they get it all tracked through the playback speakers which are awesome and in a pro room....then the band can leave ....and the Mix Engineers and Producer get to mix the tracks on HiEnd speakers in a Pro Room...and then they check their perfect enviroment mix on "average joe" playback systems...??
Maybe make small tweaks....

1950's= Auratone to simulate a crappy car mono radio speaker
1970's+1990's = NS10 hifi bookshelf era of average joe home speaker
Boom Boxes and home hifi speakers NS10's
2000's and on.... = earbuds, laptop, pc speakers, car stereos with subwoofers and 50,000 watts...and smart phones with bluetooh Dr Dre Beats phones....

Does anyone even use old hifi systems at home anymore? My kids never did and they are 27 +
they grew up with CD Walkman but even soon to go to MP3 players which died and turned into Smart Phones and even the CD purchasing has died...its all streamdownload...

I guess if someones mixing for a 1970's crowd who still might be using a old "vintage!" Pioneer component system with tower speakers... NS10's might simulate that.

What I see is earbuds and Dr Dre Beats phones and the players are smart phones....car stereos are bluetooth and pretty damn nice.
 
I use headphones and a couple different speaker set ups to cross check things...one thing I'm doing to avoid setting up a headphone mix that, once I hear it in the speaker set up I'm using as the focus one, has to be changed, is to identify what the headphones boost in the mix that isn't that way in the speakers...last mix it was the tambourine and bass...figure if I can set up a reference system I'll know what kind of mix to make using them initially...new to pro recording /mixing /mastering though just getting started w/things and like to use the headphones a lot to hear what EQ/compression do (also due to the air conditioner being a noisy one I have to keep turning off to check the speaker mixes.. )

yeah today with open back headphones, a good headphone amp, a "crossfeed" plugin on the master buss to simulate both ears hearing both speakers..... it cant be much worse than my crappy room.

i think HR suffers the most in tracking more so than mixing on headphones.

you think, imagine the beatles down in the studio and the engineers were in the control room listening to the pro-studio speakers and making the adjustments and having the mics moved to track a great take.
HR folk usually have to do it all and dont have separate rooms and so trackings done with some closed back headphones and no control room separation to even begin to know what the hell the track really sounds like in a control room.

so then after blasting the HR dudes ears out with the greatest guitar tone ever the tracking headphones come off....the active speakers are turned on and the HR dude plays back something that sounds like it was ran through a dog-shit plug in and the room is noisy due to the drywall vibrating when the window ac unit kicks on...

so a bunch of work goes into trying to fix the track that was made with some closed back headphone tone.

much different than mixing some excellent tracks already done...through headphones in a bad room.
 
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