miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
If a professional engineer recommends headphones for mixing...
So are you at that point where you're trying to decide if switching entirely to headphones is the way to go because they are becoming more prevalent in the home/project studio world?
Like I mentioned...I was using headphones exclusively as far back as early '80s. It was during my early days of "home" recording, when I first got into it heavily, on a 4-track, and TBH, I never even thought about speaker monitors. We (my band) use to have a dedicated rehearsal space, quite nice considering most young bands had to make do with funky basements and garages...and about the closest I came to a speaker monitoring system, was occasionally using our PA system just to listen to some of my mixes...but when I was recording at home, it was 100% headphones. Back then, it was the Koss Pro4AA...big-n-heavy, but they were pretty much a studio staple in the pro world, but mostly for tracking purposes. For me, they were also my monitors.
I still have about 8 pairs of them...and believe it or not, they are still fantastic for tracking use. They don't have the hyped bass, they are articulate without the mid-high harsh hype of the Sony MDR phones (which were quite common when the home studio boom kicked in...and I always hated them)...plus the Koss are still some of the best isolation headphones. I mean, they will block out the live sound almost as good as the purpose built isolation headphones, but they sound way better. Of course...they were/are also tedious after about 6 hours of constant use...and back in the day, I would record from like early afternoon, well into the early morning hours of the next day on most weekends. When I took them off...it was like a clamp had been removed from my head...but I still think they are great and will always offer them to people when they need more clarity and isolation. With other phones, you have to crank the volume much higher because they don't have that isolation. For their size & weight, they actually felt comfortable on your ears...and for shorter use, not a problem...but me, I would put them on and not take them off for hours.
Anyway...so much for the trip down memory lane.
I think that these days, the entire industry is set up to maintain the gear production. Back in the day, you would rarely see an ad or a promo from any industry insiders, but now they are all in bed with the manufacturers...because it pays. Even when they don't push a specific brand, they still push the need for having the latest new big thing. It's no different than the cell phone nonsense every year. I also don't believe half the promos and ads....that these guys use what they say they use. I also know that it will be along time before you see some pro in a pro studio...mixing on phones, and no monitors anywhere in the room.
IMO...it's a decent Band-Aid for situations where you can't have the monitors...or you don't have the room...or you need the privacy and convenience...but I always come back to what I said earlier...it's unnatural to have sound injected directly into your ear.
I think sometimes new technology drives decision making...it's something new, so it must be the way to go...but it doesn't always mean it's the better way.
Like a discussion on another forum...where someone commented that eventually everyone will stop using real tub amps in favor of things like AxeFX...because it's the new technology. I guess I need to stop buying tube amps.