Headphones

  • Thread starter Thread starter n2themuzic
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n2themuzic

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Im looking for some headphones that I can mix with, something thats close to mixing with monitors. Im new to the home studio set-up (well to engineering in general). I understand that headphones wont give me as good of a mix as monitors but I producing and mixing in my bedroom, so I dont have the best acoustics. Also Im about to start SAE so I want to start training my ear to hear frequencys, reverb and so forth..

Any suggestions...
 
I only use headphones when recording parts - guitars etc. And when I am writing. The ones I have are decent just way too bass-ey. And if I start mixing with them, I find I have to re - eq everything when listened to through the monitors. As they are saying above, better to not use them for mixing at all.

Also, mixing at lower volumes through the monitors isn't a bad practice. Your ears will be less fatigued over the duration, and you can hear things with more clarity IMO.
 
AKG 240S Studio Headphones

I recently purchased the AKG 240S Studio headphones. Picked them up for $85. They are specifically for studio monitoring. I spent two weeks training my ears listening to a ton of CDs.

Like you, I had some inexpensive headphones, and found out what their deficiencies were after getting the AKGs. Pretty flat response and good bass response too, accurate bass response that is. Not overblown.

I mix both ways, and find that the headphones get me a just a little closer to the action. These headphones are also very light, and have a large cup so they fit comfortably and they don't really wear on your ears.

I have to add that, after two weeks of critical listening with the AKGs, I was able to make a better and more confident decision on my eventual nearfield monitor purchase.
 
So no headphones, then heres the next ? what would suggest on monitors thats not to expensive ($500 to $700) and where i can get a good mix. Also i understand that NS-10's are in every studio which I would be interested in investing in those. any thoughts.
 
n2themuzic said:
So no headphones, then heres the next ? what would suggest on monitors thats not to expensive ($500 to $700) and where i can get a good mix. Also i understand that NS-10's are in every studio which I would be interested in investing in those. any thoughts.
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Well first off, headphones are handy, but they are your reference set of ears. Sony MDR7506 are popular in the studio monitoring world. Then about the NS-10s....


It's great that studios have NS-10s, but a) they are over glamorized b) they are no longer manufactured c) for 700, a good set of NS-10s are high hopes d) If unfamiliar with NS-10s, they blow quite well in unfamiliar hands.


Honestly, for 700 you can do quite well with sets like event 20/20s or tannoy reveal actives. But that's a starting point.

A right set of speakers really depends on your needs: meaning your ears, room, type of music and applications for which you need them for.
 
n2themuzic said:
Im looking for some headphones that I can mix with, something thats close to mixing with monitors. Im new to the home studio set-up (well to engineering in general). I understand that headphones wont give me as good of a mix as monitors but I producing and mixing in my bedroom, so I dont have the best acoustics. Also Im about to start SAE so I want to start training my ear to hear frequencys, reverb and so forth..

Any suggestions...
Click to expand...

Right, HP's wont give you the same experience, but......
I was recently in a similar situation, didn't have monitors but needed to mix.
I can't say I have tried many different headphones, but I ended up settling on a pair of ATH M40fs which IMO do the job pretty good. ;)
 
You *CAN NOT* hear phase relationships in a mix while wearing headphones.

That pretty much ends the story, IMO.

Tweaking fades, adjusting balances, yeah. Actually performing a mix? Not a chance.
 
LeeRosario said:
It's great that studios have NS-10s, but a) they are over glamorized b) they are no longer manufactured c) for 700, a good set of NS-10s are high hopes d) If unfamiliar with NS-10s, they blow quite well in unfamiliar hands.
.
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Even as a self professed NS-10 FREAK I will support what is said here. If I were getting started now, I wouldnt even THINK about NS-10's

Now to support my crack habbit I gotta sell everything on Ebay and buy these white hunk of crap woofers at heroin prices! I am weaning myself off of them
 
LeeRosario said:
It's great that studios have NS-10s, but a) they are over glamorized b) they are no longer manufactured c) for 700, a good set of NS-10s are high hopes d) If unfamiliar with NS-10s, they blow quite well in unfamiliar hands.
Click to expand...
Well said!
 
To really be able to hear how well you are doing using headphones, try this experiment...record and mix something using only headphones, then burn a test cd, play the cd on at least three different players (home stereo, car stereo and portable stereo {boom box}) Chances are that what you thought sounded fine through headphones will be way off through other systems. Headphones do have a very usefull purpose, they will allow you to hear better when you are syncing or aligning tracks or segments.
 
It was funny - I had a client in a few weeks ago who mixed everything wearing headphones - HUGE phase issues. He knew it, but for some reason, didn't understand what was happening.

I played a stereo pink track into a set of phones here -

"Can you hear that?"

(Thumbs up)

I threw one channel out of phase -

"Did you hear the change?"

"I think one side got just a bit louder..."

"Here - I'll A/B with it (and I do)."

"Yeah - Definitely just a bit louder on one side."

Then I put the same signal through the speakers and told him to take the phones off while I continued to A/B it... I thought his head was going to twist right off every time the polarity inverted... But he "got it" finally.
 
Massive Master

What you are talking talking about not using headphones to mix for is phase cancellations that are inherent to the recorded material yes ?

Don't you usually get this from multiple microphone placements, and different types of inputs for the same instrument, delays in signal processing, etc?

Also, if you have multiple tracks for the same instrument, you can time adjust based on waveform comparisons(thankfully to DAWs). Unless you are going to use a send to cause delay on purpose. But what you are suggesting, is developing your ears to hear phase cancellation first.

Can you explain what to look/hear for better ? I mean, you were running pink noise, and there is no way to hear discrete frequencies or really what is being attenuated the most. You were suggesting for the guy to get an overal feel for phase cancellation at all frequencies.
 
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