Headphones vs monitors?

[Schaddaddy]

Really simple question really.. During mixing do you prefer headphones or studio monitors? Im thinking about getting a quality pair of monitors or headphones for mixing however I'm on a budget and I do not want to buy both. So what would be a smarter purchase?

 

[TimN]

Monitors for me. This is a common question here--you can spend astronomical sums on monitors, but there are good buys out there for a decent ones. You don't state a price range, and that's important. You're going to need headphones no matter what, so you'll want to maybe start there and then save up more money to get good monitors. Then, you'll need some more sets of 'phones, for tracking and whatnot, and you'll also want another set of monitors to check mixes from a different perspective . . . prepare to spend money (wisely) for the next few years . . . .

 

[BroKen_H]

See the bottom of the page where it says, Similar Threads. You will see 5 post strings from 2003-present on this topic...
And the answer to your question is yes.
Normally, I use my monitors when mixing. I also use the headphones if there is a critical frequency I'm trying to track down. Don't know why, but sometimes the cans help me find mud better than the monitors. Also, sometimes the opposite is true.
So, like Tim said, buy a good set of cans (Senny 280/380 Pros, AT m50x, Sony 7506, or similar) to track with and for the time being get your head wrapped around the way they sound so you can make good mix decisions (play back on several other sources to hear what's wrong and learn to correct it during mix). Then a nice set of monitors in a nice (treated) room will get you that much closer.

 

[bmwerx]

No matter how good your mix is, your program material will sound different on every system you play it back on. This could drive you crazy. Don't be obsessed about this. The big myth is, that you need multiple listening environments to judge the quality of the mix/master you've produced.

That said, here are three golden rules for qualifying your recorded music;

1, Buy the best pair of powered monitors you can afford for the size and acoustics of your studio/recording environment.
2, Buy the best cans you can afford with the best head phone amp you can afford for critical listening. (don't use the headphone amp on your mixer!)
3, A/B everything audio at every stage of production and try to stay objective.

 

[BroKen_H]

Beamer's right to a point. You shouldn't stress over it, and I should have been more clear in that explanation. Listening in several different environments and hearing A thing wrong in every environment is what I was trying to point to. Yeah, if the vocals are hot in one and not in another, that's not the point. But if you get WAY too much bass in every environment you listen to or way too little, that's something you want to correct On the other hand, as he's saying, ONCE you get your ears in tune with your mix environment, you should be able to mostly walk away from that. I used to listen to 5 different environments for every mix, but now that I know where my mix should sit IN THE ROOM, I don't much mess with that...on occasion for a spot check, if you know what I mean.

 

[bmwerx]

Yeah, I appreciate that BroKen. I don't want to mislead anyone hear about monitoring their productions. Listening on many systems at different times, in different rooms etc..etc... might be the ideal way to judge and do corrections. However, what I would like to stress is, that your main production environment and all your monitors and listening devices are of professional quality and that you the artist/engineer/producer/performer etc. achieve aesthetic audio balance. And this you can achieve on any decent stereo monitoring system.

In so far as 'the smarter purchase', I'll put my dime on the powered monitors. A great all-round, quality pair of Yamaha HS 7's or 8's for around $600.00 Pr., would be a great starting point for anyone needing a reliable monitoring system. As for the cans, wait until you can afford a good headphone amp and a set of HQ cans. I probably would recommend something in the $250.00 to $300.00 range for cans and probably another $250.00 for a decent headphone amp for you Schad.

 

[Schaddaddy]

Thank you guys so much!

 

[ecc83]

And! Invest in a $20 sound level meter early on and research calibrating monitors, you must have speakers of some sort about you!

Not easy to calibrate headphones but try to be aware of the levels you are listening to relative to sounds around you (if 'er indoors complains they are "leaking" you are probably on the way to hearing loss!)

We make different decisions depending loudness (try to keep it constant) state of tiredness, overhang, pissed upness and length of exposure (keep sessions shortish, have non-alcoholic breaks)

Not that anybody will give a shit about all that!

Dave.

 

[joey2000]

Really simple question really.. During mixing do you prefer headphones or studio monitors? Im thinking about getting a quality pair of monitors or headphones for mixing however I'm on a budget and I do not want to buy both. So what would be a smarter purchase?

Headphones. Your "on a budget" made this an easy call.

 

[Pinky]

Headphones. Your "on a budget" made this an easy call.

Agree, I get much more mileage from my headphones than my monitors. Monitors for fine tuning only. And really, I have two good pairs of headphones with completely different playback qualities so I'm even finding use of my monitors is more habitual than necessary anymore. Ymmv.

 

[Bobbsy]

Here's a very good article on the differences between mixing on headphones and speakers. Mixing On Headphones

Basically, although headphones can sound nice, it is much more difficult to critically judge what you're doing with your mix. There's all sorts of psychoacoustics involved--people have written PhD theses on the topic--but the headphone sound is much more artificial.

That said, you'll eventually need both--headphones for tracking and monitors for mixing.

 

[bmwerx]

All monitors and headphones cast their own coloration. Every single one of them. Speaker design and headphone technology have come a long way in a few short years given the DAW phenomenon. I think that you still get what you pay for in these technologies weather you're monitoring through speakers or cans. I only use two sources to monitor program material. External speakers and cans. It really should be left up to the individual as to when and what to use. There are no rules on this. Just opinions. I prefer to read and hear from seasoned engineers and well known producers on any vital topic, especially concerning my music.

 

[bmwerx]

Here's a very good article on the differences between mixing on headphones and speakers. Mixing On Headphones

This SOS article was written in 2003. It's very old and might not represent the state of headphone technology and it's uses vs open speaker monitoring.

Today, more and more people use headsets than anytime before. i-phones i-pads and every different type and kind of app available have headset adapters. Also, the disciplines of monitoring music projects today have changed a lot since 2003 when this article was written. With the sale of home audio listening devices down (stereo components, affordable speakers etc..) and home speaker technology getting more and more expensive and inconvenient to listen on, the average person who loves their music might only afford a good headset and amp for listening.

My projects are mixed with both audiophiles in mind. One way of mixing is in no way better or worse than the other way. It's very subjective today. 20 some-odd years ago, I only used my cans for critical listening and recording live instruments and vocals where I needed to hear distinctions and separation between frequency characteristics and level degrees. Though I still like to use both systems for monitoring tracks, I believe you can produce a whole album on a quality set of cans and a very good HP amp.

In consideration that, many more people are listening to music on their ear buds and headphones today than ever before, monitoring technology had to keep up with the demands of the listener.

 

[bmwerx]

Won't allow the deletion of a duplicate post. Why? The editing system has this bug. Or so it seems. It needs to allow for the deletion of a post by the person making the post. Have I overlooked an icon or tab enabling me to do that?

Thanks.

 

[ecc83]

To point up the directional/acoustic space difference between headphones and speakers do a Dummy Head recording. You don't need anything special. Expanded poly wig stand is great but a head sized cardboard box stuffed with an old jumper will do, just poke two holes in it for a pair of SDC mics.

You man the fort and get significant other to bugger about the place, shutting doors, yelling from the kitchen, going out side and tapping on the window (scares you witless that one!) .

Play back the result and be amazed at the realism and directional accuracy. No microphone/loudspeaker system can come close (well, maybe the Calrec 4ch mic and Ambisonics, where they now?) .

Sure, if stuff is intended for cans (or tolerated like low bit MP3) fine but the two systems are not interchangeable.

Dave.

 

[Bobbsy]

All monitors and headphones cast their own coloration. Every single one of them. Speaker design and headphone technology have come a long way in a few short years given the DAW phenomenon. I think that you still get what you pay for in these technologies weather you're monitoring through speakers or cans. I only use two sources to monitor program material. External speakers and cans. It really should be left up to the individual as to when and what to use. There are no rules on this. Just opinions. I prefer to read and hear from seasoned engineers and well known producers on any vital topic, especially concerning my music.

You absolutely get what you pay for and I might even agree that you'd be better off with an excellent set of headphones than with some of the cheap speakers on the market today with the word "monitor" in the title to trap the inexperienced or unwary. It's also true that every transducer, whether a speaker or a headphone, adds its own colouration and, whichever you use, you have to "learn" your system to get the best from it.

However, this is where I start to disagree with you. It's nothing to do with opinion. It's an acoustic fact that your ears react differently to a sound source clamped hard against them (or, even worse, an ear bud shoved inside). I won't try to explain the whys and hows...I've read papers hundreds of pages long experimenting and detailing this and I'm sure you can find similar for yourself if you have the time and interest (which I doubt). The upshot is, though, that although you can "learn" any system, the process is far easier with speakers.

Here's a very good article on the differences between mixing on headphones and speakers. Mixing On Headphones

This SOS article was written in 2003. It's very old and might not represent the state of headphone technology and it's uses vs open speaker monitoring.

Today, more and more people use headsets than anytime before. i-phones i-pads and every different type and kind of app available have headset adapters. Also, the disciplines of monitoring music projects today have changed a lot since 2003 when this article was written. With the sale of home audio listening devices down (stereo components, affordable speakers etc..) and home speaker technology getting more and more expensive and inconvenient to listen on, the average person who loves their music might only afford a good headset and amp for listening.

My projects are mixed with both audiophiles in mind. One way of mixing is in no way better or worse than the other way. It's very subjective today. 20 some-odd years ago, I only used my cans for critical listening and recording live instruments and vocals where I needed to hear distinctions and separation between frequency characteristics and level degrees. Though I still like to use both systems for monitoring tracks, I believe you can produce a whole album on a quality set of cans and a very good HP amp.

In consideration that, many more people are listening to music on their ear buds and headphones today than ever before, monitoring technology had to keep up with the demands of the listener.

Sorry. You lost me at the word "audiophile" or, as they are known by most professionals, "audiophools". You won't want to hear this but most audiophile mythology is unscientific claptrap. It's much more an industry designed to part the gullible from their money than anything genuinely to do with audio quality.

Anyhow, yes, a lot of music is listened to today on ear buds in noisy locations and anybody in the industry has to be aware of that when mixing. This includes things like aiming for a much reduced dynamic range than would normally be desirable. However, this doesn't mean that the best way to mix and balance sound is by reducing the studio to the lowest common denominator. Most of my professional life was spent working in television and, even though my mixes tended to be heard through tinny 4 inch speakers on home receivers, it didn't mean that would be the best way to mix things!

I stand by what I said before. You can "learn" your headphones and get away with using them--I even do it myself sometimes for "quick and dirty". But the reality--backed up by science and experience is that GOOD monitors (in an acoustically treated room( are easier and better to mix on. However, the whole argument becomes moot since you need a set of headphones to track with anyway.