Headphones vs. Monitor mixing

alba320

New member
What are everyones thoughts/experiences in mixing with headphones and/or studio monitors. It's obviously recommended to use quality studio monitors with a flat response to get true mixes from your tracks. In situations where headphones are required, what do you guys think? What make/model to use? I've got some good mixes using headphones (after multiple trips to my car stereo). Just wanted to get some opinions and experiences.
 
There's been a few threads in the last several months on this topic...just do some searches...otherwise we will all be compelled to repeat ourselves! :D
 
And having this gang repeat ourselves sounds awful in any case, whether you're using phones or loudspeakers :D.

G.

If you must use headphones to listen to this gang repeating ourselves, you will inevitably lose the natural interaction between the sounds coming from the left and right sides. However, phones will take the room out of the equation, so you won't have to deal with standing waves around 194 hz which may be a result of miroslav's low voice.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=313491

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=313572
 
However, phones will take the room out of the equation, so you won't have to deal with standing waves around 194 hz which may be a result of miroslav's low voice.

Right...the standing waves are the result of the poor room acoustics and lots of "null nodes" in the room...
...there's nothing wrong with the voice. ;)
 
Right...the standing waves are the result of the poor room acoustics and lots of "null nodes" in the room...
...there's nothing wrong with the voice. ;)

Well, yes. That's why I began it with "takes the room out of the equation." I don't even know if you have a low voice. lol
 
I was doing some reading on equal loudness curves today and the article mentioned something that got me thinking.

Loudness curves are greatly influenced by the ridges on our ears. Sound we hear every day usually comes at us from some angle other than perpendicular to the sides of our head, bounces off the ear ridges, and then enters the ear. Those ear ridges accentuate some frequencies and attenuate others. Headphones fire right down the canal bypassing that. Hence we are dealing with an entirely different head transfer function when mixing on headphones messing up the chance that it will sound correct out in the real world.

So...What if somebody made headphones with large ear cups where the drivers are parallel to our face firing at the front of the ears instead of down into the canal? They would have to operate at louder levels than regular headphones since the driver would be farther from our ear canal, but they would get the ear ridges back into the game and we'd be working with our natural loudness curve. Would be interesting to try.
 
That's an interesting idea. The effect that the room has on the sound when playing back through normal speakers is still missing in that scenario, though. Particularly the converging of the sound from each speaker.
 
So...What if somebody made headphones with large ear cups where the drivers are parallel to our face firing at the front of the ears instead of down into the canal? .

Interesting, make a patent, but stay away from invention sites on the web. ;)
 
I'm going to need y'all to forget what I wrote until I can get the drawings finished and filed. :D
Go ahead, Chibi; I have already patented the "Gobo Collar"; a padded device that one can place around the back of their neck that has a couple of little pop-up gobos that pop up behind your ears to block the sound that comes out of your rear-facing headphones so as not to bother others so much. ;)

G.
 
I was doing some reading on equal loudness curves today and the article mentioned something that got me thinking.

Loudness curves are greatly influenced by the ridges on our ears. Sound we hear every day usually comes at us from some angle other than perpendicular to the sides of our head, bounces off the ear ridges, and then enters the ear. Those ear ridges accentuate some frequencies and attenuate others. Headphones fire right down the canal bypassing that. Hence we are dealing with an entirely different head transfer function when mixing on headphones messing up the chance that it will sound correct out in the real world.

So...What if somebody made headphones with large ear cups where the drivers are parallel to our face firing at the front of the ears instead of down into the canal? They would have to operate at louder levels than regular headphones since the driver would be farther from our ear canal, but they would get the ear ridges back into the game and we'd be working with our natural loudness curve. Would be interesting to try.

The problem is doubled if one is Feringe. Stroke the lobes baby. ;)
 
Go ahead, Chibi; I have already patented the "Gobo Collar"; a padded device that one can place around the back of their neck that has a couple of little pop-up gobos that pop up behind your ears to block the sound that comes out of your rear-facing headphones so as not to bother others so much. ;)

G.
Oh man, we are going to look SEXY wearing my giant 'phones with your portable gobos. :p
 
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